Come on, mfp. 1200?

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Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    lexylondon wrote: »
    Oops 7 week old and 12 MONTH old I mean!!

    Are you breastfeeding either of them? If so, 1200 calories will likely mess with your milk supply.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    lexylondon wrote: »
    Oops 7 week old and 12 MONTH old I mean!!

    I thought.. Wow magic :lol:

  • lexylondon
    lexylondon Posts: 89 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    lexylondon wrote: »
    Oops 7 week old and 12 MONTH old I mean!!

    Are you breastfeeding either of them? If so, 1200 calories will likely mess with your milk supply.

    Lol yeh I know. No I'm not breastfeeding, I wouldn't do it if I could breastfeed.

  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    I'm around the same weight and height. Mine is set to 1650 and I eat back most of my exercise calories. I take a fast day occasionally but most days I average 1800-1900 calories. The weight loss is slower but this is sustainable for me and that's what I really want, a sustainable life style change.

    My best advice is to experiment until you find something that works for you that you can see yourself doing for the rest of your life.
  • lexylondon
    lexylondon Posts: 89 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    lexylondon wrote: »
    malibu927 wrote: »
    lexylondon wrote: »
    Oops 7 week old and 12 MONTH old I mean!!

    Are you breastfeeding either of them? If so, 1200 calories will likely mess with your milk supply.

    Lol yeh I know. No I'm not breastfeeding, I wouldn't do it if I could breastfeed.

    Still, if you gave birth 7 weeks ago and are exercising an hour a day and eating 1200 cals? That is going to catch up to you fast. You are going to hit the wall very hard... You need to take it slower, especially with a 12 month old too. What's the rush? Eat more food. Nourish your body. Focus on doing this in a healthy, sustainable way.

    It doesn't really need to be sustainable as I'm only going to do it for 7 more weeks, til I hit my goal, then I'll be on maintenance calories which are a lot more.
  • lexylondon
    lexylondon Posts: 89 Member
    Also, yes 1200 is low, but short term I highly doubt it's going to be very detrimental to my health.. the food I am eating is healthy. The exercise is healthy. The meditation is healthy. I'm sure I'll cope just fine for 7 more weeks.
  • thedodgeruk
    thedodgeruk Posts: 132 Member
    katandwaves wrote: »
    Why does myfitnesspal suggest 1,200 calories a day? I am 5'8, about 190 pounds. I work full time so I'm at a desk all day. I'm doing about 3+ days a week of spinning/elliptical.
    Any suggestions on what my calorie goal should be?

    male 5'9 166 pounds, full time computer programmer , 5 days a week doing weights and i do between 1200 and 1300 a day , its dead easy
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    edited June 2016
    thedodgeruk wrote: »
    katandwaves wrote: »
    Why does myfitnesspal suggest 1,200 calories a day? I am 5'8, about 190 pounds. I work full time so I'm at a desk all day. I'm doing about 3+ days a week of spinning/elliptical.
    Any suggestions on what my calorie goal should be?

    male 5'9 166 pounds, full time computer programmer , 5 days a week doing weights and i do between 1200 and 1300 a day , its dead easy

    Female, 5'8", 162 pounds with a desk job. Used to lift at least 2 days a week until I sustained an injury (not from lifting), so the last three months or so has been: 2 days of Brazilian jiu jitsu/wk; aim for at least 5 days a week at 10k steps, sometimes it ends up at 4; 2 days a week often only around 5-7k steps.

    Lose (slowly by preference) on around a likely average of 1800-1900/day, possibly more.
  • idioblast
    idioblast Posts: 114 Member
    veganbaum wrote: »
    thedodgeruk wrote: »
    katandwaves wrote: »
    Why does myfitnesspal suggest 1,200 calories a day? I am 5'8, about 190 pounds. I work full time so I'm at a desk all day. I'm doing about 3+ days a week of spinning/elliptical.
    Any suggestions on what my calorie goal should be?

    male 5'9 166 pounds, full time computer programmer , 5 days a week doing weights and i do between 1200 and 1300 a day , its dead easy

    Female, 5'8", 162 pounds with a desk job. Used to lift at least 2 days a week until I sustained an injury (not from lifting), so the last three months or so has been: 2 days of Brazilian jiu jitsu/wk; aim for at least 5 days a week at 10k steps, sometimes it ends up at 4; 2 days a week often only around 5-7k steps.

    Lose (slowly by preference) on around a likely average of 1800-1900/day, possibly more.

    Not a whole lot to add, except Twinsies! I'm also 5'8", 165 lbs, desk job and lose approx 1/2 to 1 lb a week on around 2000 gross calories a day. I average around 10-15k steps a day.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    synacious wrote: »
    thedodgeruk wrote: »
    katandwaves wrote: »
    Why does myfitnesspal suggest 1,200 calories a day? I am 5'8, about 190 pounds. I work full time so I'm at a desk all day. I'm doing about 3+ days a week of spinning/elliptical.
    Any suggestions on what my calorie goal should be?

    male 5'9 166 pounds, full time computer programmer , 5 days a week doing weights and i do between 1200 and 1300 a day , its dead easy

    What exactly are you trying to accomplish body wise by doing weights five days per week while eating so little? You're sure as heck not going to build muscle that way.

    I have to wonder if people who claim eating 1200 is easy are actually weighing all their food. The odds are that they're not and the "dead easy" 1200 is more like 1500+.

    Well, if his diary is accurate, he's only eaten between 1200-1300 twice in the last week or so. I can never tell from people's diaries whether they are using a food scale or not, but yeah, I assume they are eyeballing. At least I hope so :confused:
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    synacious wrote: »
    thedodgeruk wrote: »
    katandwaves wrote: »
    Why does myfitnesspal suggest 1,200 calories a day? I am 5'8, about 190 pounds. I work full time so I'm at a desk all day. I'm doing about 3+ days a week of spinning/elliptical.
    Any suggestions on what my calorie goal should be?

    male 5'9 166 pounds, full time computer programmer , 5 days a week doing weights and i do between 1200 and 1300 a day , its dead easy

    What exactly are you trying to accomplish body wise by doing weights five days per week while eating so little? You're sure as heck not going to build muscle that way.

    I have to wonder if people who claim eating 1200 is easy are actually weighing all their food. The odds are that they're not and the "dead easy" 1200 is more like 1500+.

    truth be told I assume the same...based on my own experience.

    For example...protein powder in my smoothie...package says 2 scoops is 35 grams @ 120 calories...2 scoops is 45 grams...and that is a small portion of my day.
  • LisaKay91
    LisaKay91 Posts: 211 Member
    veganbaum wrote: »
    thedodgeruk wrote: »
    katandwaves wrote: »
    Why does myfitnesspal suggest 1,200 calories a day? I am 5'8, about 190 pounds. I work full time so I'm at a desk all day. I'm doing about 3+ days a week of spinning/elliptical.
    Any suggestions on what my calorie goal should be?

    male 5'9 166 pounds, full time computer programmer , 5 days a week doing weights and i do between 1200 and 1300 a day , its dead easy

    Female, 5'8", 162 pounds with a desk job. Used to lift at least 2 days a week until I sustained an injury (not from lifting), so the last three months or so has been: 2 days of Brazilian jiu jitsu/wk; aim for at least 5 days a week at 10k steps, sometimes it ends up at 4; 2 days a week often only around 5-7k steps.

    Lose (slowly by preference) on around a likely average of 1800-1900/day, possibly more.



    How do you average those steps? I am 100lbs more than you and I can get maybe 3k steps on my work days if I am lucky. I would gain weight on 1800-1900 per day.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    LisaKay91 wrote: »
    veganbaum wrote: »
    thedodgeruk wrote: »
    katandwaves wrote: »
    Why does myfitnesspal suggest 1,200 calories a day? I am 5'8, about 190 pounds. I work full time so I'm at a desk all day. I'm doing about 3+ days a week of spinning/elliptical.
    Any suggestions on what my calorie goal should be?

    male 5'9 166 pounds, full time computer programmer , 5 days a week doing weights and i do between 1200 and 1300 a day , its dead easy

    Female, 5'8", 162 pounds with a desk job. Used to lift at least 2 days a week until I sustained an injury (not from lifting), so the last three months or so has been: 2 days of Brazilian jiu jitsu/wk; aim for at least 5 days a week at 10k steps, sometimes it ends up at 4; 2 days a week often only around 5-7k steps.

    Lose (slowly by preference) on around a likely average of 1800-1900/day, possibly more.



    How do you average those steps? I am 100lbs more than you and I can get maybe 3k steps on my work days if I am lucky. I would gain weight on 1800-1900 per day.

    You have to make walking a habit. Start with small changes like parking further back in the lot if you drive.

    I live in NYC so I walk everywhere and have no need for a car. I'm also a very fidgety person and don't like to sit for long periods of time. I get at least 15K steps per day and it's usually more like 20 to 25K per day. My highest is 44,411 in one day.
  • LisaKay91
    LisaKay91 Posts: 211 Member
    We have a full lot and I do park in the back. I work 12-16 hour shifts from dark to dark.. and I have a 3 year old so I can't exactly go anywhere after 10pm. My off days are the only days I am able to get anywhere near 10k steps per day and that's because I make myself do at least an hour of cardio or 4 miles a day when I can. On a good day I can do 3 or so hours of cardio at the gym. Work schedule doesn't really allow for that.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    LisaKay91 wrote: »
    We have a full lot and I do park in the back. I work 12-16 hour shifts from dark to dark.. and I have a 3 year old so I can't exactly go anywhere after 10pm. My off days are the only days I am able to get anywhere near 10k steps per day and that's because I make myself do at least an hour of cardio or 4 miles a day when I can. On a good day I can do 3 or so hours of cardio at the gym. Work schedule doesn't really allow for that.

    Ah, so then there isn't much you can do I guess. My job keeps me on my feet all day and I walk to and from work most of the time which is five miles each way and takes a bit over an hour each time. Having children is also going to change that step count significantly. There's no need to hit 10K anyway, as long as you are more active than you were before any small changes help. I'm 5'3" and 109 pounds but I'm still losing weight on 1800 to 1900 calories per day. However, on a sick day I can only eat around 1300 to maintain, I think.
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,989 Member
    synacious wrote: »
    thedodgeruk wrote: »
    katandwaves wrote: »
    Why does myfitnesspal suggest 1,200 calories a day? I am 5'8, about 190 pounds. I work full time so I'm at a desk all day. I'm doing about 3+ days a week of spinning/elliptical.
    Any suggestions on what my calorie goal should be?

    male 5'9 166 pounds, full time computer programmer , 5 days a week doing weights and i do between 1200 and 1300 a day , its dead easy

    What exactly are you trying to accomplish body wise by doing weights five days per week while eating so little? You're sure as heck not going to build muscle that way.

    I have to wonder if people who claim eating 1200 is easy are actually weighing all their food. The odds are that they're not and the "dead easy" 1200 is more like 1500+.

    I think this is the case with a lot of people, myself included. I set my goal at 1200, knowing that without a food scale I was likely eating more than that. I still lost, but much more slowly.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    LisaKay91 wrote: »
    We have a full lot and I do park in the back. I work 12-16 hour shifts from dark to dark.. and I have a 3 year old so I can't exactly go anywhere after 10pm. My off days are the only days I am able to get anywhere near 10k steps per day and that's because I make myself do at least an hour of cardio or 4 miles a day when I can. On a good day I can do 3 or so hours of cardio at the gym. Work schedule doesn't really allow for that.

    You might look for "walking" videos on-line. There are lots. You can do these in the safety of your own home. Most of the "steps" will register.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3q5e1pV4pc

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnCMUGnWVIg
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    LisaKay91 wrote: »
    We have a full lot and I do park in the back. I work 12-16 hour shifts from dark to dark.. and I have a 3 year old so I can't exactly go anywhere after 10pm. My off days are the only days I am able to get anywhere near 10k steps per day and that's because I make myself do at least an hour of cardio or 4 miles a day when I can. On a good day I can do 3 or so hours of cardio at the gym. Work schedule doesn't really allow for that.

    In a 12-16 hour shift do you get breaks and a lunch period? I have a desk job and small children, but I get about 12-15K steps/day. I get up in the morning and walk for an hour before work or on days I do weights I try to walk for about 20 minutes before I start my weights. I park in the back of the lot AND walk an entire lap around the building before I go in. I take a 15 minute break in the morning and one in the afternoon and go outside if weather permits and try to walk a lap around our campus (about 1000 steps) and at lunch I can usually squeeze in two laps. When I leave in the evening I walk out the door and walk all the way around before going to my car. I also don't sit down in the evening (other than eating) until the kids are in bed. A lot of times I will even pace while I am reading to them at bedtime. I do the same on weekends, I try not to sit down!

    All those little changes mean I have worked my way up to a much higher activity level than normal for my petite frame, so I maintain on 2200 cals/day at 5'2.
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  • LisaKay91
    LisaKay91 Posts: 211 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    LisaKay91 wrote: »
    We have a full lot and I do park in the back. I work 12-16 hour shifts from dark to dark.. and I have a 3 year old so I can't exactly go anywhere after 10pm. My off days are the only days I am able to get anywhere near 10k steps per day and that's because I make myself do at least an hour of cardio or 4 miles a day when I can. On a good day I can do 3 or so hours of cardio at the gym. Work schedule doesn't really allow for that.

    In a 12-16 hour shift do you get breaks and a lunch period? I have a desk job and small children, but I get about 12-15K steps/day. I get up in the morning and walk for an hour before work or on days I do weights I try to walk for about 20 minutes before I start my weights. I park in the back of the lot AND walk an entire lap around the building before I go in. I take a 15 minute break in the morning and one in the afternoon and go outside if weather permits and try to walk a lap around our campus (about 1000 steps) and at lunch I can usually squeeze in two laps. When I leave in the evening I walk out the door and walk all the way around before going to my car. I also don't sit down in the evening (other than eating) until the kids are in bed. A lot of times I will even pace while I am reading to them at bedtime. I do the same on weekends, I try not to sit down!

    All those little changes mean I have worked my way up to a much higher activity level than normal for my petite frame, so I maintain on 2200 cals/day at 5'2.




    4 short bathroom breaks per day. I drive over an hour to and from work. I do not have other breaks at work and it is dark when I leave and dark when I come home. I only sit when I am going to sleep for my 4 hours lol. I don't think I could manage to wake up an hour earlier and get 3 hours of sleep just to walk in the dark with my 3 year old
  • LisaKay91
    LisaKay91 Posts: 211 Member
    You might look for "walking" videos on-line. There are lots. You can do these in the safety of your own home. Most of the "steps" will register.


    Thank you... will this be as effective as full pace walking? I can likely do 20 minutes of it on my work days before going to sleep
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    LisaKay91 wrote: »
    You might look for "walking" videos on-line. There are lots. You can do these in the safety of your own home. Most of the "steps" will register.


    Thank you... will this be as effective as full pace walking? I can likely do 20 minutes of it on my work days before going to sleep

    Some videos are faster than others. I like to add arm movements when the pace is a little slow. You can always add jogging sequences too. Videos with a timer clock are great for this. That's the nice thing about no choreography, you can change things up as needed.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    LisaKay91 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    LisaKay91 wrote: »
    We have a full lot and I do park in the back. I work 12-16 hour shifts from dark to dark.. and I have a 3 year old so I can't exactly go anywhere after 10pm. My off days are the only days I am able to get anywhere near 10k steps per day and that's because I make myself do at least an hour of cardio or 4 miles a day when I can. On a good day I can do 3 or so hours of cardio at the gym. Work schedule doesn't really allow for that.

    In a 12-16 hour shift do you get breaks and a lunch period? I have a desk job and small children, but I get about 12-15K steps/day. I get up in the morning and walk for an hour before work or on days I do weights I try to walk for about 20 minutes before I start my weights. I park in the back of the lot AND walk an entire lap around the building before I go in. I take a 15 minute break in the morning and one in the afternoon and go outside if weather permits and try to walk a lap around our campus (about 1000 steps) and at lunch I can usually squeeze in two laps. When I leave in the evening I walk out the door and walk all the way around before going to my car. I also don't sit down in the evening (other than eating) until the kids are in bed. A lot of times I will even pace while I am reading to them at bedtime. I do the same on weekends, I try not to sit down!

    All those little changes mean I have worked my way up to a much higher activity level than normal for my petite frame, so I maintain on 2200 cals/day at 5'2.




    4 short bathroom breaks per day. I drive over an hour to and from work. I do not have other breaks at work and it is dark when I leave and dark when I come home. I only sit when I am going to sleep for my 4 hours lol. I don't think I could manage to wake up an hour earlier and get 3 hours of sleep just to walk in the dark with my 3 year old

    No lunch break in a 12-16 hour shift? I'm not saying you should use any and all free time alotted to get your steps in, you clearly have a very busy schedule, I'm just surprised that you don't have at least a 30 minute block for lunch in addition to 15 minute breaks.

    It's tough being a working mom because I know the last thing you want is to spend more time away from your kids. That's why I try to work in as much as I can while they are asleep or while I'm at work and already away from them, but if your situation is not conducive to that then you may need to try to squeeze in more exercise on the days off, maybe with your little one in a stroller or in a bike trailer or something like that.
  • LisaKay91
    LisaKay91 Posts: 211 Member
    No lunch break in a 12-16 hour shift? I'm not saying you should use any and all free time alotted to get your steps in, you clearly have a very busy schedule, I'm just surprised that you don't have at least a 30 minute block for lunch in addition to 15 minute breaks.

    It's tough being a working mom because I know the last thing you want is to spend more time away from your kids. That's why I try to work in as much as I can while they are asleep or while I'm at work and already away from them, but if your situation is not conducive to that then you may need to try to squeeze in more exercise on the days off, maybe with your little one in a stroller or in a bike trailer or something like that.


    I work in emergency services and from 6pm-10pm I am completely alone unable to get up. I have been with 3 different areas and none of them given breaks aside from a handful of bathroom breaks that can not last longer than 5 minutes. We do not get lunch breaks or other breaks we can eat at the desk as long as it isn't messy or smelly.

    I do 2 hours of gym time at least two days a week and that is about all I can manage.. which is why 1200 is appropriate for someone my size to lose 1.5lbs per week while measuring in grams

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