is 1200 calories to low?
morganpalmer9
Posts: 73 Member
I'm a 5'4 124 lb female and I pretty much eat 1,200 on the dot every day. I also run (HIIT) between 30-35 mins a day and do strength training for 30-40 mins a day as well. Should I be eating a lot more with this activity level? I want to lose a few lbs but don't want to do it in an unhealthy way.
Also-I do wear a heart rate monitor while working out to see how much I burn, but it's usually super super high, but I assume I burn at least 400 cals a workout.
Also-I do wear a heart rate monitor while working out to see how much I burn, but it's usually super super high, but I assume I burn at least 400 cals a workout.
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Replies
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Where did you get that goal from, MFP? If so, it's designed for you to eat back the calories burned through exercise.0
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1200 calories is pretty darn low for someone doing HIT daily and training - i'd say too low. i am 5' 3 1/2", and at 1200 calories i was losing 2 to 3 pounds a week - and i'm not as active as you are. you might want to add some protein calories so you don't burn muscle.
are you logging your workouts into MFP along with your foods?0 -
Heart rate monitors are fairly inaccurate for interval work, as they're really only meant for steady state cardio.
What do you have your goal set at? With a few pounds to lose, you should only be aiming to lose half a pound a week, which unless you're older, will give you more than 1200 calories a day.0 -
morganpalmer9 wrote: »I'm a 5'4 124 lb female and I pretty much eat 1,200 on the dot every day. I also run (HIIT) between 30-35 mins a day and do strength training for 30-40 mins a day as well. Should I be eating a lot more with this activity level? I want to lose a few lbs but DON'T want to do it in a healthy way.
Also-I do wear a heart rate monitor while working out to see how much I burn, but it's usually super super high, but I assume I burn at least 400 cals a workout.
Did anyone else see that..... is that a typo?0 -
lesleyloo7879 wrote: »morganpalmer9 wrote: »I'm a 5'4 124 lb female and I pretty much eat 1,200 on the dot every day. I also run (HIIT) between 30-35 mins a day and do strength training for 30-40 mins a day as well. Should I be eating a lot more with this activity level? I want to lose a few lbs but DON'T want to do it in a healthy way.
Also-I do wear a heart rate monitor while working out to see how much I burn, but it's usually super super high, but I assume I burn at least 400 cals a workout.
Did anyone else see that..... is that a typo?
I figured it was a typo.0 -
Not sure how to take it. Being fairly small already at 124# - eating 1200 and working out that intensely may be very hard on your body. However, since it is written that you "DON'T want to do it in a healthy way" - perhaps this is accurate for you. Did you perhaps mean you DO wish to do it in a healthy way? Then a few questions.... Your age? Your lifestyle (desk job?), any medical issues? 1200 calories a day may be okay for someone like me, old, desk job, hypothyroid, blah blah blah..... For a young, active, work out type of person... Nope.0
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lesleyloo7879 wrote: »morganpalmer9 wrote: »I'm a 5'4 124 lb female and I pretty much eat 1,200 on the dot every day. I also run (HIIT) between 30-35 mins a day and do strength training for 30-40 mins a day as well. Should I be eating a lot more with this activity level? I want to lose a few lbs but DON'T want to do it in a healthy way.
Also-I do wear a heart rate monitor while working out to see how much I burn, but it's usually super super high, but I assume I burn at least 400 cals a workout.
Did anyone else see that..... is that a typo?
hah yes, oops! I mean't unhealthy :00 -
itsbasschick wrote: »1200 calories is pretty darn low for someone doing HIT daily and training - i'd say too low. i am 5' 3 1/2", and at 1200 calories i was losing 2 to 3 pounds a week - and i'm not as active as you are. you might want to add some protein calories so you don't burn muscle.
are you logging your workouts into MFP along with your foods?
Yes I am. But I really think my heart rate monitor over exaggerates what I burn so I still am unsure how many calories I should be eating. Surprisingly though, I'm not really losing any weight lately which makes me wonder..!0 -
1200 is too low for me. I'm 5'3" but significantly fatter than you. I'm ok at 1400-1500, but at 1200 I get unfriendly. I'd set myself to maintain or maybe just lose .5lb a week and eat at whatever mfp tells you plus half of the exercise calories. I'd stick with that for a month and see what happens.0
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Try eating back half of the exercise calories. At your height 1200 would probably be ok if you were sedentary and didn't do any exercise, but if you are exercising then you need to eat more.0
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OP, you mean 1200 plus eating back some/most of the 400 calories burned? I think that's ok since you probably don't have much to lose, if any and it gets harder and harder the closer you are to your ideal weight. Or do you mean 1200 flat out without eating back exercise calories? Now that would be way too low.0
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vegasleo79 wrote: »OP, you mean 1200 plus eating back some/most of the 400 calories burned? I think that's ok since you probably don't have much to lose, if any and it gets harder and harder the closer you are to your ideal weight. Or do you mean 1200 flat out without eating back exercise calories? Now that would be way too low.
Yes, right now I eat 1,200 calories and thats it. regardless of what I exercise or burn that day. And I don't know how much to eat back in because my calorie burn is always at like 700-800, which i know is not true lol. I just wasn't sure if I should be at say, 1400 just to be safe?0 -
morganpalmer9 wrote: »itsbasschick wrote: »1200 calories is pretty darn low for someone doing HIT daily and training - i'd say too low. i am 5' 3 1/2", and at 1200 calories i was losing 2 to 3 pounds a week - and i'm not as active as you are. you might want to add some protein calories so you don't burn muscle.
are you logging your workouts into MFP along with your foods?
Yes I am. But I really think my heart rate monitor over exaggerates what I burn so I still am unsure how many calories I should be eating. Surprisingly though, I'm not really losing any weight lately which makes me wonder..!
How long is "lately"?0 -
morganpalmer9 wrote: »vegasleo79 wrote: »OP, you mean 1200 plus eating back some/most of the 400 calories burned? I think that's ok since you probably don't have much to lose, if any and it gets harder and harder the closer you are to your ideal weight. Or do you mean 1200 flat out without eating back exercise calories? Now that would be way too low.
Yes, right now I eat 1,200 calories and thats it. regardless of what I exercise or burn that day. And I don't know how much to eat back in because my calorie burn is always at like 700-800, which i know is not true lol. I just wasn't sure if I should be at say, 1400 just to be safe?
Then you're too low. You may lose the couple lbs that you're after, but still may not like the results because you sacrificed more of the weight in LBM than fat and didn't change your BF% much....if at all.
You're dead center for a healthy BMI. To get the results you're looking for you should be invstigating a recomp, and a recomp won't be accomplished at the low level you're eating at.
How did you get 1200 for a calorie goal? I just ran a quick calculation and that's TDEE -50% and definitely not advised, especially for someone of your height/weight/activity level.0 -
morganpalmer9 wrote: »vegasleo79 wrote: »OP, you mean 1200 plus eating back some/most of the 400 calories burned? I think that's ok since you probably don't have much to lose, if any and it gets harder and harder the closer you are to your ideal weight. Or do you mean 1200 flat out without eating back exercise calories? Now that would be way too low.
Yes, right now I eat 1,200 calories and thats it. regardless of what I exercise or burn that day. And I don't know how much to eat back in because my calorie burn is always at like 700-800, which i know is not true lol. I just wasn't sure if I should be at say, 1400 just to be safe?
If your calorie burn is correct then you are netting about 450 calories a day (1200 - 750 + 450) which is not good. I agree that the calorie burn may be too high, so if you eat half then you would net 825 a day (1200 - 750 + 375 = 825) which is still really too low. It is hard to know how much to eat back when you are eating at the minimum because any calorie burn will put you netting under the limit. I would start with eating back half and maybe go up to 75%. I personally try to make sure I net over 1000 per day. I have my goal set to 1300 and if I don't eat back enough of my exercise calories then I don't net the minimum. I am now eating back about 80% and I think I just about have it right. I was losing faster than my goal so I started eating back more of my exercise calories.0 -
janejellyroll wrote: »morganpalmer9 wrote: »itsbasschick wrote: »1200 calories is pretty darn low for someone doing HIT daily and training - i'd say too low. i am 5' 3 1/2", and at 1200 calories i was losing 2 to 3 pounds a week - and i'm not as active as you are. you might want to add some protein calories so you don't burn muscle.
are you logging your workouts into MFP along with your foods?
Yes I am. But I really think my heart rate monitor over exaggerates what I burn so I still am unsure how many calories I should be eating. Surprisingly though, I'm not really losing any weight lately which makes me wonder..!
How long is "lately"?
probably 3 to 4 months.0 -
morganpalmer9 wrote: »vegasleo79 wrote: »OP, you mean 1200 plus eating back some/most of the 400 calories burned? I think that's ok since you probably don't have much to lose, if any and it gets harder and harder the closer you are to your ideal weight. Or do you mean 1200 flat out without eating back exercise calories? Now that would be way too low.
Yes, right now I eat 1,200 calories and thats it. regardless of what I exercise or burn that day. And I don't know how much to eat back in because my calorie burn is always at like 700-800, which i know is not true lol. I just wasn't sure if I should be at say, 1400 just to be safe?
Then you're too low. You may lose the couple lbs that you're after, but still may not like the results because you sacrificed more of the weight in LBM than fat and didn't change your BF% much....if at all.
You're dead center for a healthy BMI. To get the results you're looking for you should be invstigating a recomp.
How did you get 1200 for a calorie goal? I just ran a quick calculation and that's TDEE -50% and definitely not advised, especially for someone of your height/weight/activity level.
in MFP that's what it gives me. I put in I'd like to lose a lb a week and that I work 6 times a week for around an hour and it tells me 1,200 calories. What exactly do you mean by recomp?0 -
I don't know about recomp, that's definitely an area for someone else, but yes, if you're trying to lose a bit of weight, I would eat back like half of that estimated burn. So maybe around 1500-1600 calories a day? 1200 + 300-400 in exercise calories = 1500-1600. That's at least what I would do, not sure if it is correct.0
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Juts for reference, I eat 1400 plus all of my exercise calories (about 200-500, depending on what I do. I wear a heart rate monitor so it's more exact, but still can be faulty). I'm 5'8, was 210, now 187, goal 165.0
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morganpalmer9 wrote: »morganpalmer9 wrote: »vegasleo79 wrote: »OP, you mean 1200 plus eating back some/most of the 400 calories burned? I think that's ok since you probably don't have much to lose, if any and it gets harder and harder the closer you are to your ideal weight. Or do you mean 1200 flat out without eating back exercise calories? Now that would be way too low.
Yes, right now I eat 1,200 calories and thats it. regardless of what I exercise or burn that day. And I don't know how much to eat back in because my calorie burn is always at like 700-800, which i know is not true lol. I just wasn't sure if I should be at say, 1400 just to be safe?
Then you're too low. You may lose the couple lbs that you're after, but still may not like the results because you sacrificed more of the weight in LBM than fat and didn't change your BF% much....if at all.
You're dead center for a healthy BMI. To get the results you're looking for you should be invstigating a recomp.
How did you get 1200 for a calorie goal? I just ran a quick calculation and that's TDEE -50% and definitely not advised, especially for someone of your height/weight/activity level.
in MFP that's what it gives me. I put in I'd like to lose a lb a week and that I work 6 times a week for around an hour and it tells me 1,200 calories. What exactly do you mean by recomp?
1 lb per week is too aggressive for you, and even though you entered in that you work out 6 times a week MFP still doesn't adjust for that.
Recomp = Lowering your BF% while you stay roughly the same weight.
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Well I would tell you to eat more like other people have, but I see you are saying that you haven't lost weight in 3 to 4 months; the only way that happens is if you're actually eating too much. So my next question is if you weigh your food on a food scale because if not you're eating way more than you think.0
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morganpalmer9 wrote: »morganpalmer9 wrote: »vegasleo79 wrote: »OP, you mean 1200 plus eating back some/most of the 400 calories burned? I think that's ok since you probably don't have much to lose, if any and it gets harder and harder the closer you are to your ideal weight. Or do you mean 1200 flat out without eating back exercise calories? Now that would be way too low.
Yes, right now I eat 1,200 calories and thats it. regardless of what I exercise or burn that day. And I don't know how much to eat back in because my calorie burn is always at like 700-800, which i know is not true lol. I just wasn't sure if I should be at say, 1400 just to be safe?
Then you're too low. You may lose the couple lbs that you're after, but still may not like the results because you sacrificed more of the weight in LBM than fat and didn't change your BF% much....if at all.
You're dead center for a healthy BMI. To get the results you're looking for you should be invstigating a recomp.
How did you get 1200 for a calorie goal? I just ran a quick calculation and that's TDEE -50% and definitely not advised, especially for someone of your height/weight/activity level.
in MFP that's what it gives me. I put in I'd like to lose a lb a week and that I work 6 times a week for around an hour and it tells me 1,200 calories. What exactly do you mean by recomp?
1 lb per week is too aggressive for you, and even though you entered in that you work out 6 times a week MFP still doesn't adjust for that.
Recomp = Lowering your BF% while you stay roughly the same weight.
Okay. I'm not super concerned about dropping weight at this point as much as I just want to lose some body fat leftover, so I guess recomp would be what I Need to do. Any suggestions on how to go about that as far as workouts/calorie intake?0 -
Well I would tell you to eat more like other people have, but I see you are saying that you haven't lost weight in 3 to 4 months; the only way that happens is if you're actually eating too much. So my next question is if you weigh your food on a food scale because if not you're eating way more than you think.
This was about to be my next question as well. There's no way you wouldn't lose weight if you work out that much and were actually only eating 1200 gross cals.0 -
Well I would tell you to eat more like other people have, but I see you are saying that you haven't lost weight in 3 to 4 months; the only way that happens is if you're actually eating too much. So my next question is if you weigh your food on a food scale because if not you're eating way more than you think.
yeah I do diligently0 -
Well I would tell you to eat more like other people have, but I see you are saying that you haven't lost weight in 3 to 4 months; the only way that happens is if you're actually eating too much. So my next question is if you weigh your food on a food scale because if not you're eating way more than you think.
This was about to be my next question as well. There's no way you wouldn't lose weight if you work out that much and were actually only eating 1200 gross cals.Well I would tell you to eat more like other people have, but I see you are saying that you haven't lost weight in 3 to 4 months; the only way that happens is if you're actually eating too much. So my next question is if you weigh your food on a food scale because if not you're eating way more than you think.
This was about to be my next question as well. There's no way you wouldn't lose weight if you work out that much and were actually only eating 1200 gross cals.
I always weigh my food and stick to my meal plan 98% of the time. That's why I'm so confused
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Again, don't really care about weight just wanna lose fat0
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Then to be honest with you, something is amiss. Sorry but there is something that just doesn't add up about the facts you've provided.
Anyway, if you want to lose fat and you don't really care about dropping weight, recomp really is the best you can do.
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I think this level of exercise is not productive for fat loss. Do you have a rest day? You don't have to alternate workout days, but I think that would be helpful. Overtraining can increase cortisol levels.
As you are lifting, I would be interested to know what your protein consumption looks like. Are you losing inches/gaining muscle?
You don't want to lose muscle mass from too low calories/low protein. I'm 5'4", 120 lbs and I consume more (according to my diary) and exercise less and fat is falling off of my body. Feel free to IM if you want to discuss. (No, I don't take weird supplements or eat "diet" foods.)0 -
when I first started MFP my goal was to eat 1200cals and I was also running 5km 3times a week and walking a lot.The weight really dropped off without much thinking. I am 5'3" and went from 146lbs to 118lbs. I found it very difficult at one stage to run.. got very heavy legs and felt tired all the time during exercise so in the end I realised my body wouldn't work without eating back at least say 75% of the cals I gained from the exercise. I think you may find something is amiss.. are you longing everything.. drinks, cappucinos etc? I found on a low intake of cals. I went to bed most night hungry and slept rubbish because of it. I have since put on some of my lost weight am currently 125lbs and am currently trying to reach a happy medium between being happy with me, eating more mindfully, and having energy to get through my day. I believe I have a slow metabolism.. not sure if that helps:) .. one thought are you eating the same thing each day.. I have heard that our bodies do get sluggish always eating the same thing and I imagine that is the same if we do the same thing often.
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Then to be honest with you, something is amiss. Sorry but there is something that just doesn't add up about the facts you've provided.
Anyway, if you want to lose fat and you don't really care about dropping weight, recomp really is the best you can do.
Agreed. Something doesn't add up, but to get to the goals it sounds like you have, recomp is the best answer.0
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