What's the lowest amount of calories I can eat?

beckygirl177
beckygirl177 Posts: 19 Member
edited December 2 in Health and Weight Loss
Like the baaaaaare minimum ?

Replies

  • tryett
    tryett Posts: 530 Member
    It is recommended that women do not go under 1200 calories a day. However that also depends on how much you have to lose. It is also recommended that you not lose more than 2 pounds per week or you could be losing lean muscle with the fat. What did the MFP calculator give you?
  • karahm78
    karahm78 Posts: 505 Member
    Typically 1200 net
  • beckygirl177
    beckygirl177 Posts: 19 Member
    tryett wrote: »
    It is recommended that women do not go under 1200 calories a day. However that also depends on how much you have to lose. It is also recommended that you not lose more than 2 pounds per week or you could be losing lean muscle with the fat. What did the MFP calculator give you?

    Mm that makes sense. Yeah the mfp calculator gave me 1200 calories.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    MFP won't go lower than 1200 for a woman. And it gives the daily calorie allotment based on the information we enter. Many women have a 1200 calorie goal because they set their weight-loss for 2 pounds per week. That might not be the best goal--unless you have 75+ pounds to lose. 50-75 generally means 1.5 pound loss per week; 25-50 corresponds to 1 pound per week and if you have less than 25 pounds to lose .5 pounds per week is recommended. People can lose at a slower rate, but losing at a faster rate can set you up for binge eating (due to over-restricting) and a greater loss of lean mass due to a lack of nutritional support.

    Have you calculated your BMR or TDEE to know what you're working with as a start?
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    Like the baaaaaare minimum ?

    Zero. And then you will get sick and eventually die. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starvation

    1200 for women and 1500 for men are the minimum recommended calories to get adequate nutrition. Most people can lose weight eating much more than those amounts. MFP will give you an appropriate safe calorie goal based on your age, weight, height and activity level.
    If you are 50 lbs or less overweight trying to lose 2 lbs a week is too agressive for most people. Set your goal to 1 lb a week. If you are really close to a healthy weight already then choose .5 lbs a week. Eat a portion of the calories you earn from exercise.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    None. But that would be unhealthy over a prolonged period, and why?
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited July 2016
    karahm78 wrote: »
    Typically 1200 net

    This^

    You may have read about very low calorie diets. For safety, these are generally doctor prescribed for OBESE patients (vitamin injections, heath check-ups, etc). These are not do-it-yourself projects.

    1200 net helps you reach minimum nutritional requirements. As other posters have pointed out....the trade off for fast weight loss is often losing a higher % of lean muscle mass. Healthy weight loss helps you lower your body fat %.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,600 Member
    Alluminati wrote: »
    Funny , I wanted to know what the most amount was that I could eat and still get away with losing.

    Good plan. Much better plan - healthier - than the 'bare minimum' plan.

    OP, focus on finding the calorie level that you can sustain over the long haul, and that hits healthy nutrition targets. Then review your diary periodically to identify foods that 'cost' too many calories for the amount of satisfaction & nutrition they bring you. Replace those foods with something else you like that better meets your goals. Rinse & repeat. This will help you learn how to eat forever in a way that keeps you at a healthy weight.
  • beckygirl177
    beckygirl177 Posts: 19 Member
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    MFP won't go lower than 1200 for a woman. And it gives the daily calorie allotment based on the information we enter. Many women have a 1200 calorie goal because they set their weight-loss for 2 pounds per week. That might not be the best goal--unless you have 75+ pounds to lose. 50-75 generally means 1.5 pound loss per week; 25-50 corresponds to 1 pound per week and if you have less than 25 pounds to lose .5 pounds per week is recommended. People can lose at a slower rate, but losing at a faster rate can set you up for binge eating (due to over-restricting) and a greater loss of lean mass due to a lack of nutritional support.

    Have you calculated your BMR or TDEE to know what you're working with as a start?

    BMR: 1586
    TDEE: 2074
    okay, so where do I go from here ?
  • beckygirl177
    beckygirl177 Posts: 19 Member
    psulemon wrote: »
    The better question is what is the amount of calories and workout plan that will help you hit the ideal body. Severely cutting calories comes with a lot of problems to include malnutrition, muslce loss (we means less fat loss), brittle nails, hair falling out and metabolic slowdown past that of normal adaptive thermogenesis.

    And over the 7 years i have been here, no one ever gets to their ideal body that eat.

    Okay so what do I need to do to get my ideal body
  • beckygirl177
    beckygirl177 Posts: 19 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Alluminati wrote: »
    Funny , I wanted to know what the most amount was that I could eat and still get away with losing.

    Good plan. Much better plan - healthier - than the 'bare minimum' plan.

    OP, focus on finding the calorie level that you can sustain over the long haul, and that hits healthy nutrition targets. Then review your diary periodically to identify foods that 'cost' too many calories for the amount of satisfaction & nutrition they bring you. Replace those foods with something else you like that better meets your goals. Rinse & repeat. This will help you learn how to eat forever in a way that keeps you at a healthy weight.

    Okay, sounds good. So how many calories should I eat a day though
    Like maybe not bare minimum, after reading these comments I realizes that's not a good idea, and I just want to be less chunky I feel gross
  • tryett
    tryett Posts: 530 Member
    How old are you and how much do you weigh?
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited July 2016
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    MFP won't go lower than 1200 for a woman. And it gives the daily calorie allotment based on the information we enter. Many women have a 1200 calorie goal because they set their weight-loss for 2 pounds per week. That might not be the best goal--unless you have 75+ pounds to lose. 50-75 generally means 1.5 pound loss per week; 25-50 corresponds to 1 pound per week and if you have less than 25 pounds to lose .5 pounds per week is recommended. People can lose at a slower rate, but losing at a faster rate can set you up for binge eating (due to over-restricting) and a greater loss of lean mass due to a lack of nutritional support.

    Have you calculated your BMR or TDEE to know what you're working with as a start?

    BMR: 1586
    TDEE: 2074
    okay, so where do I go from here ?

    So you could do:
    20% cut - 1659 calories per day (0.83 lb per week loss)
    15% cut - 1762 calories per day (0.64 lb per week loss)
    1 lb per week - 1574 calories per day
    0.5 lb per week - 1824 calories per day

    or

    You could set MFP to 0.5-1 lb per week, select the correct activity level for what your day is like without exercise and eat that calorie goal when you don't work out. Then eat that goal + 50% of your exercise calorie burn when you do workout.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    OP what are your current stats: height, weight, and activity level. Do you have a goal weight in mind? Do you exercise? What sort of exercise do you do currently?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    MFP won't go lower than 1200 for a woman. And it gives the daily calorie allotment based on the information we enter. Many women have a 1200 calorie goal because they set their weight-loss for 2 pounds per week. That might not be the best goal--unless you have 75+ pounds to lose. 50-75 generally means 1.5 pound loss per week; 25-50 corresponds to 1 pound per week and if you have less than 25 pounds to lose .5 pounds per week is recommended. People can lose at a slower rate, but losing at a faster rate can set you up for binge eating (due to over-restricting) and a greater loss of lean mass due to a lack of nutritional support.

    Have you calculated your BMR or TDEE to know what you're working with as a start?

    BMR: 1586
    TDEE: 2074
    okay, so where do I go from here ?

    If those are accurate, i would eat 1600 calories, and do some resistance/weight training and some cardio.. and recognize that ideal bodies can take a lot of time. And that really depends on your definition of an ideal body.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,600 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Alluminati wrote: »
    Funny , I wanted to know what the most amount was that I could eat and still get away with losing.

    Good plan. Much better plan - healthier - than the 'bare minimum' plan.

    OP, focus on finding the calorie level that you can sustain over the long haul, and that hits healthy nutrition targets. Then review your diary periodically to identify foods that 'cost' too many calories for the amount of satisfaction & nutrition they bring you. Replace those foods with something else you like that better meets your goals. Rinse & repeat. This will help you learn how to eat forever in a way that keeps you at a healthy weight.

    Okay, sounds good. So how many calories should I eat a day though
    Like maybe not bare minimum, after reading these comments I realizes that's not a good idea, and I just want to be less chunky I feel gross

    I don't disagree with the calorie-level suggestions of those who've comment above, as a starting point. If you have less than 20 pounds to lose, pick a higher calorie level (slower loss rate). If you have more than 50 pounds to lose, pick one of the lower calorie levels (faster lost rate) initially, and taper it to be less aggressive as you get lighter.

    Either way, assess how you feel. If you're at a higher loss rate, and feel fatigued, or have trouble sticking with it, increase your calories & lose more slowly, but more reliably/achievably. If you don't feel satisfied, experiment with your food & nutrient mix (within an healthy range) and eating timing, until you feel more satiated. If you're at a low loss rate in theory, but don't lose at all (over a period of a few weeks, not a few days), then reduce your calorie level gradually to find a reasonable loss rate.

    Bonus: You'll learn a lot about your body and your metabolism along the way, so that when you reach your target weight, you'll know exactly how to eat in a healthy way to maintain that weight.
  • LisaKay91
    LisaKay91 Posts: 211 Member
    That is a question for your doctor and a nutritionist.. not people here. Quicker isn't always better when it comes to weight loss and you may find that a low amount of calories that works for one person is miserable for you.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Alluminati wrote: »
    Funny , I wanted to know what the most amount was that I could eat and still get away with losing.

    Good plan. Much better plan - healthier - than the 'bare minimum' plan.

    OP, focus on finding the calorie level that you can sustain over the long haul, and that hits healthy nutrition targets. Then review your diary periodically to identify foods that 'cost' too many calories for the amount of satisfaction & nutrition they bring you. Replace those foods with something else you like that better meets your goals. Rinse & repeat. This will help you learn how to eat forever in a way that keeps you at a healthy weight.

    Okay, sounds good. So how many calories should I eat a day though
    Like maybe not bare minimum, after reading these comments I realizes that's not a good idea, and I just want to be less chunky I feel gross

    I don't disagree with the calorie-level suggestions of those who've comment above, as a starting point. If you have less than 20 pounds to lose, pick a higher calorie level (slower loss rate). If you have more than 50 pounds to lose, pick one of the lower calorie levels (faster lost rate) initially, and taper it to be less aggressive as you get lighter.

    Either way, assess how you feel. If you're at a higher loss rate, and feel fatigued, or have trouble sticking with it, increase your calories & lose more slowly, but more reliably/achievably. If you don't feel satisfied, experiment with your food & nutrient mix (within an healthy range) and eating timing, until you feel more satiated. If you're at a low loss rate in theory, but don't lose at all (over a period of a few weeks, not a few days), then reduce your calorie level gradually to find a reasonable loss rate.

    Bonus: You'll learn a lot about your body and your metabolism along the way, so that when you reach your target weight, you'll know exactly how to eat in a healthy way to maintain that weight.

    Whats wrong with 1600? Its less than 1lb per week.
  • Fridaywed
    Fridaywed Posts: 10 Member
    I ate 1000 or yes, Even less for a short while before I crashed and burned(I,E Binging out, Mood swings). I eventually realized a higher amount for a longer amount of time to lose was way more attainable. Losing weight quickly is basically setting you up for failure, In my honest opinion
    I'm trying to lose a couple pounds again and eating just below my TDEE, It'll be slow but I can still enjoy a couple cookies, Or a big meal here and there
  • nancy1465
    nancy1465 Posts: 25 Member
    MFP recommended I take in 1596 calories daily. I adjusted it to 1500 calories and have been here for a month and have lost just about 12 lbs. I am very happy with that and must confess I am a bit hungry at times. I am hoping my stomach shrinks soon ...lol I used to eat alot of junk food and still crave it badly but I am going to do it this time and really love this program. You can do it!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,600 Member
    psulemon wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Alluminati wrote: »
    Funny , I wanted to know what the most amount was that I could eat and still get away with losing.

    Good plan. Much better plan - healthier - than the 'bare minimum' plan.

    OP, focus on finding the calorie level that you can sustain over the long haul, and that hits healthy nutrition targets. Then review your diary periodically to identify foods that 'cost' too many calories for the amount of satisfaction & nutrition they bring you. Replace those foods with something else you like that better meets your goals. Rinse & repeat. This will help you learn how to eat forever in a way that keeps you at a healthy weight.

    Okay, sounds good. So how many calories should I eat a day though
    Like maybe not bare minimum, after reading these comments I realizes that's not a good idea, and I just want to be less chunky I feel gross

    I don't disagree with the calorie-level suggestions of those who've comment above, as a starting point. If you have less than 20 pounds to lose, pick a higher calorie level (slower loss rate). If you have more than 50 pounds to lose, pick one of the lower calorie levels (faster lost rate) initially, and taper it to be less aggressive as you get lighter.

    Either way, assess how you feel. If you're at a higher loss rate, and feel fatigued, or have trouble sticking with it, increase your calories & lose more slowly, but more reliably/achievably. If you don't feel satisfied, experiment with your food & nutrient mix (within an healthy range) and eating timing, until you feel more satiated. If you're at a low loss rate in theory, but don't lose at all (over a period of a few weeks, not a few days), then reduce your calorie level gradually to find a reasonable loss rate.

    Bonus: You'll learn a lot about your body and your metabolism along the way, so that when you reach your target weight, you'll know exactly how to eat in a healthy way to maintain that weight.

    Whats wrong with 1600? Its less than 1lb per week.

    @psulemon: Nothing's wrong with 1600, based on what we know about OP.

    That's why I said "I don't disagree with the calorie-level suggestions of those who've comment above. . .". @shadow2soul suggested several options, and you suggested a sensible specific one.

    The rest of it was about picking among those that had been mentioned by anyone. Sorry that that was not clear.

    After any sensible estimate-driven starting point, I'd pretty much suggest to everyone that they monitor how they feel, and adjust if necessary - the standard calculations' calorie levels seem to be pretty accurate for most people, but they are materially off for some (e.g., they're surprisingly low for me, and I know some folks for whom they're high).
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    edited July 2016
    nancy1465 wrote: »
    MFP recommended I take in 1596 calories daily. I adjusted it to 1500 calories and have been here for a month and have lost just about 12 lbs. I am very happy with that and must confess I am a bit hungry at times. I am hoping my stomach shrinks soon ...lol I used to eat alot of junk food and still crave it badly but I am going to do it this time and really love this program. You can do it!

    Your stomach wont shrink. Increase protein and fiber to see if that helps. If not decrease your deficit to see if that helps.

    You can also increae volume foods such as low sugar fruits, egg whites, low sugar veggies, and lean proteins like chicken.
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