1350 calories a day...how do you do it?
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Aaron_K123 wrote: »I think for the purpose of health if you are a younger, able bodied person that is looking to lose a little bit of weight and get healthier and is struggling with low calorie that a good way to do that is to increase your activity level (work on your cardiovascular health) and eat more to feel more satisfied.
This. I'm not in the 'younger' crowd, and with prior injuries not always in the 'able bodied' crowd some days, but it still worked for me. I needed to eat more so I increased my activity/exercise. For me, it was a logical choice and gained me many more benefits than just lost weight.
The OP asked the question about how to do 1350 cals per day.. for me, that's how I'd do it.. I wouldn't. I'd increase it through exercise. I think that's what he's saying and I'd tend to agree.
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Aaron_K123 wrote: »I'm just curious. What do people think when they think they are sedentary?
To me sedentary means basically bed-ridden. You are on the couch or in a chair 16 hours and you are in bed 8.
Lightly active is you have a desk job but you do occasionally get out of your chair and walk to go get something.
Moderatly active is you have a desk job, get out of your chair occassionaly but also intentionally go for long walks in the mornings and evenings.
Active is the above plus doing some intensive cardio or having a more active job.
I think people mark sedentary WAY to often. Sedentary should be an unusal set of circumstances, not the norm. Lightly active is probably what most people are. If you are in an office job where you walk down the hall to talk to Bob, then you walk to the printer, then walk to your office do some work then get up and walk to the lunch room then walk down the stairs to get a coffee you aren't sedentary.
Sedentary is less than 5000 steps a day. That's walking about 45 minutes a day. I highly doubt that most people with a desk job do that, unless they get a 20 minutes walk at least. I think that grocery shopping gives me 1000-2000 steps, for example.1 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Katch-McArdle uses lean body mass. Based on that my maintenance is 1550 sedentary and 2200 when very active (these stats seem about right for me, as I was maintaining at 2200 when actively tri training). Lightly active is 1775, but that's not going to mean just walking 5000 steps, I don't think--MFP's lightly active is different from the TDEE calculators that include exercise.
I've tested MFP's lightly active with my fitbit. If I go over 5000 steps in a day it starts adding calories to my net.
5000+ steps a day is what I get doing basically nothing working a desk job. I get the feeling almost everyone puts in sedentary even though chacnes are they aren't.
I don't know how Garmin and MFP are working together. My Garmin info (steps, specifically) always syncs, but the adjustment I get for them is often "0" if I've logged other exercise (even if there's no overlap in steps and logged exercise). For example, if I have 12,000 steps, I'll get about 250 calories back. Then when I log my yoga class, the adjustment from the steps goes to "0" and stays there in MFP.0 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Katch-McArdle uses lean body mass. Based on that my maintenance is 1550 sedentary and 2200 when very active (these stats seem about right for me, as I was maintaining at 2200 when actively tri training). Lightly active is 1775, but that's not going to mean just walking 5000 steps, I don't think--MFP's lightly active is different from the TDEE calculators that include exercise.
I've tested MFP's lightly active with my fitbit. If I go over 5000 steps in a day it starts adding calories to my net.
5000+ steps a day is what I get doing basically nothing working a desk job. I get the feeling almost everyone puts in sedentary even though chacnes are they aren't.
Right -- that's why I said lightly active as used by a TDEE calculator (which is including exercise, and not expected it to be added separately) is different from MFP's. Doing nothing but walking 5000 steps would be sedentary under your TDEE calculator estimate.
I agree a lot of people use sedentary on MFP incorrectly, but that has nothing to do with the K-McA estimate.0 -
I do it by practicing 16:8 intermittent fasting. My eating "window" is somewhere around 1pm-9pm daily. It varies a bit, but I always do at least 16 hours. I basically eat 2 meals a day, and most days I leave enough calories for a couple squares of dark chocolate or a yogurt bar in the evening. I have hot tea in the morning, and then water or unsweetened iced tea until I break the fast in the early afternoon.0
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Aaron_K123 wrote: »So what are people saying?
That despite being uncomfortable eating 1350 calories a day that it is inappropriate of me to suggest that the OP might be okay to eat more than that? Is that really such a bad thing to say? Should I instead be recommending she drink lots of coffee to supress her appetite?
I'm just repeating myself at this point to the myriad of responses I am getting which means I am spamming the thread which I imagine the OP isn't appreciating. I'm going to stop because of that but I stand by what I said. I think for the purpose of health if you are a younger, able bodied person that is looking to lose a little bit of weight and get healthier and is struggling with low calorie that a good way to do that is to increase your activity level (work on your cardiovascular health) and eat more to feel more satisfied. I also suggested that that advice might very well apply to a lot of the "1200-1350" calorie dieters out there. If people really want to go at me over this I can create another thread and can debate there but I think its wrong of me to spam in here any longer replying to people.
If you're talking to the overall MFP population, your advice would generally be accurate for that population (for example, the majority of all MFP users can probably lose weight at/around 1900 calories per day). I think the issue is that the people most likely to click on a thread with "1350" in the title are petite women, so you're talking to the population of MFP users for whom your advice is most likely to be inaccurate.
Heh, this is true.1 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Katch-McArdle uses lean body mass. Based on that my maintenance is 1550 sedentary and 2200 when very active (these stats seem about right for me, as I was maintaining at 2200 when actively tri training). Lightly active is 1775, but that's not going to mean just walking 5000 steps, I don't think--MFP's lightly active is different from the TDEE calculators that include exercise.
I've tested MFP's lightly active with my fitbit. If I go over 5000 steps in a day it starts adding calories to my net.
5000+ steps a day is what I get doing basically nothing working a desk job. I get the feeling almost everyone puts in sedentary even though chacnes are they aren't.
I don't know how Garmin and MFP are working together. My Garmin info (steps, specifically) always syncs, but the adjustment I get for them is often "0" if I've logged other exercise (even if there's no overlap in steps and logged exercise). For example, if I have 12,000 steps, I'll get about 250 calories back. Then when I log my yoga class, the adjustment from the steps goes to "0" and stays there in MFP.
Do have negative adjustments on? Garmin changed its calorie formula and it does funky things now when it transfers over. I switched off negative adjustments for that reason and just slightly adjusted my calorie goal down manually (only necessary if you are truly sedentary).0 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Honestly troubles me how many people on this site seem to be trying to eat 1200-1400 calories a day, that just seems ludicrously low to me. That is like a sandwich, a glass of milk, a salad and a bowl of cereal for your entire day. You look at people who claim to be full on that and they are just eating a ton of fibery plant matter to I guess make them feel full in the physical sense...but that can't be satisfying.
I'm female, 5'3, 115, and sedentary. For maintenance I get 1440 a day. I'm very active and eat back most of my exercise calories most days. But on days where I'm stuck all day and night (training, usually), it's not a lot. I have my strategies for managing.
It's not ludicrously low, it's just math for a small female, in my case. You're lucky you can eat more without gaining. :
Exactly! Sometimes it feels like there's an automatic bias against people (women in particular) who need to eat fewer calories to maintain or lose in agonizing ounces. There's a sentiment that we must be trying to lose too fast or are miscalculating or aren't honest in our logging. Am I hungry? Yes. Is this sustainable forever? Not for me, but it's what I've got and I'll make the best of it until I hit maintenance and can re-evaluate my food plan. Do I know that if I exercise more I could eat more? Of course. That's not an option for me most days, and some posts make me feel stupid for not knowing that 1200 calories is too low, and lazy for not exercising more so I can eat more.
I admit to bias when I see a woman eating 1200 calories due to the hundreds of threads I've seen in which most of the time the OP's weight loss goals are overly aggressive for the amount of weight she has to lose.3 -
spinderellaj wrote: »I'm trying to stick to a goal of 1350 calories a day...and I'm finding it impossible! I'm usually coming in around 1600, which is fine but I don't lose any weight with that.
Just curious, to the people who actually do this - how the heck do you do it? Are you hungry? How much preparation do you take for your meals? And what the heck do you eat?
I do this by following an intermittent fasting plan, where for two days a week you 'fast' (actually you just eat a low amount of calories) and for the other five days you eat roughly at maintenance. For me this is working out that on a 'fast day' I'm eating around 500 cals - with my meals being based around English porridge (oats) made with semi skimmed milk and water. And the other days I'm eating around 1600 cals, sometimes more, sometimes less.
Having looked over my calories in for the last month, it averaged out at 1370 cals. MFP has me at 1300 cals a day if I want to lose a pound a week, and ... yup, my weight loss for this month has been about that.
I am hungry on the fast days, but usually I can shrug it off as I know that the next day I'm going to eat well. And I find that physical hunger is easier to shrug off than 'cravings'.
In terms of meal prep, I like to have a day planned out and I eat fairly simply. Fruit, oats, eggs, yoghurt and if I'm cooking my main meal it's usually based around chicken, veggies and either potato or rice.
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I go for long walks, then 1500-1600 is fine to the point of generous!
The thing I needed to cut out to get there is sweet stuff. I don't eat low fat at all and actually shuffled around my macros to 40% carb, 40% fat 20% protein to better reflect the proportions I find satisfying.
My diary is only visible to me and my husband, but this is today, ignoring the wine I've just had! Almost exactly 1350 - muesli, banana and a bucket of white coffee for breakfast, sarnie for lunch and a massive pasta bake with a little asparagus on the side (overcooked it and too full to force it down) for dinner. (Don't ask what happened with the squash - I put 1.05 times a portion in on the app, but I'm on my laptop, now)
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Aaron_K123 wrote: »Honestly troubles me how many people on this site seem to be trying to eat 1200-1400 calories a day, that just seems ludicrously low to me. That is like a sandwich, a glass of milk, a salad and a bowl of cereal for your entire day. You look at people who claim to be full on that and they are just eating a ton of fibery plant matter to I guess make them feel full in the physical sense...but that can't be satisfying.
You're a man, not a small woman. Live with it and try not to worry your pretty little head about us eh?14 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »I'm just curious. What do people think when they think they are sedentary?
To me sedentary means basically bed-ridden. You are on the couch or in a chair 16 hours and you are in bed 8.
Lightly active is you have a desk job but you do occasionally get out of your chair and walk to go get something.
Moderatly active is you have a desk job, get out of your chair occassionaly but also intentionally go for long walks in the mornings and evenings.
Active is the above plus doing some intensive cardio or having a more active job.
I think people mark sedentary WAY to often. Sedentary should be an unusal set of circumstances, not the norm. Lightly active is probably what most people are. If you are in an office job where you walk down the hall to talk to Bob, then you walk to the printer, then walk to your office do some work then get up and walk to the lunch room then walk down the stairs to get a coffee you aren't sedentary.
I have myself down as lightly active. Even on days when I don't leave the house, I potter a lot. My fitbit tends not to register the steps from that, though. in term time, I walk 4km minimum on top of that for the school run, but I liet fitbit and mfp sort that out between themselves. Owing to some mobility problems, it's rare I get above 12000 steps. Was overjoyed at managing a slow 2km pokewalk with the boys, this afternoon, given that I could barely make it to the kitchen and back, last night, owing to my hip giving out. I'm all too acutely aware of how easy it would be for my activity level to be knocked down to truly sedentary (ie couch potato).
For clarity, I'm a 5'4 almost 47 year old and last set my calories to lose 1lb per week when I was about 155lb. The 1370 that came up does seem about right - I've long been aware of the fact that, even with lots of walking, I gain above 2000kcal. I've been eating/drinking back most of my exercise calories (and then some) and have lost 13lb in 100 days.0 -
Wish I had your problem of not being able to eat as little as 1300 calories. I never eat nearly enough to maintain or lose weight at a slower rate. I wish I had more to eat
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spinderellaj wrote: »Hi everyone!
I'm trying to stick to a goal of 1350 calories a day...and I'm finding it impossible! I'm usually coming in around 1600, which is fine but I don't lose any weight with that.
Just curious, to the people who actually do this - how the heck do you do it? Are you hungry? How much preparation do you take for your meals? And what the heck do you eat?
My diary is open. And honest.
Thanks!
Below is an example of what I ate, when I was losing, to gross 1470 calories. I found it reasonably satiating, and think it's also fairly nutritious. If I were trying to hit your 1350 goal, I would drop the dried mango, the green olives, and around half the blueberries - I think that would still leave adequate nutrition. I always find it more satiating to eat simple foods like those listed, in preference to prepared foods or fast food, but that may just be me. The only reason there's no meat or fish is that I'm ovo-lacto vegetarian: That's completely unnecessary for weight loss, and it would probably actually be easier to get reasonable protein on low calories if you do eat meat.
There's not a huge lot of prep work there, I think, mostly just combining things. I think the dinner was probably a couple of hardboiled eggs, sauteed summer squash & onions with miso tomato sauce, and the celery stalks on the side, though I don't recall for sure. The whole wheat pop cake thing at breakfast is like a big tortilla-sized cracker thingie, that I could put the peanut butter on.
I'm sorry that your thread turned into one where most people argued about your goal, rather than simply answering your questions.4 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »
(snipped for length)
It isn't that hard for an average sized woman to lose weight at 1900 calories a day (i lose weight at 2400 a day). So again it baffles me how many are on this site (from the forums) eating 1200 or 1300 a day.
(more snipped)
So yeah, do you really need to be eating 1350 calories a day?
Aaron, Aaron, Aaron. So much to argue with, but others have already done that.
But didja read the part in OP's OP, where she said:spinderellaj wrote: »I'm usually coming in around 1600, which is fine but I don't lose any weight with that.
So, yeah, you could speculate about whether she's weighing food or measuring right or whatever, and whether she could or should get more exercise, but the bottom line is this: However she's measuring, whatever exercising she's doing, she doesn't lose weight on 1600. My guess is she's therefore not gonna lose on 1900, either.
I'd very much like to think you mean well, and have her, and all us other little ladies' best interests at heart, but . . . ?13 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Honestly troubles me how many people on this site seem to be trying to eat 1200-1400 calories a day, that just seems ludicrously low to me. That is like a sandwich, a glass of milk, a salad and a bowl of cereal for your entire day. You look at people who claim to be full on that and they are just eating a ton of fibery plant matter to I guess make them feel full in the physical sense...but that can't be satisfying.
I'm 5'2, and not incredibly active...for an example often for breakfast I have an English muffin with avocado, egg and salsa (approx 300), for lunch I'll have a green dragon roll (400), and that leaves 650 for a completely satisfying dinner. (if I have zero activity)
I think people try to imagine THEIR lives on lower calorie diets and that's not fair...I'm not a 6' male fitness trainer. 1200 calories only puts me at one pound per week loss.
I also think there is a HUGE disconnect when it comes to people saying they "eat" a certain number of calories when they mean "net"...I used to net 1200 easily while eating closer to 1600-1700 a day.4 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »SuzySunshine99 wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Correct me if I am wrong but BMR is a function of lean mass which is basically a function of your muscle mass. Men do have an advantage in this (but a small advantage not a huge advantage) and size does add to this of course.
My lean mass is about 136 pounds and I weigh 173. I'm 6' tall so my BMR is around 1700. So if you are a 5'6'' woman you probably have a lean mass of around 100 (although it varies). So in theory your BMR is probably around 1400.
So the difference between a man and a woman on average is about 300 calories from BMR. Now if I go for a mile run I probably burn 20% more than that example woman but again, not a ton more...just some more.
It isn't that hard for an average sized woman to lose weight at 1900 calories a day (i lose weight at 2400 a day). So again it baffles me how many are on this site (from the forums) eating 1200 or 1300 a day.
Here is a TDEE calculator, can try it yourself.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
With my stats my TDEE from this calculator is 2800 which is pretty spot on because I lose about a pound a week eating 2300 calories a day. A 5'6'' woman at 155 pounds doing moderate exercise would lose 1 pound a week at 1900 calories a day.
Playing with this, thinking about a slightly overweight woman who wants to lose at a quick 1 pound per week I tried to figure out what size of woman that would be where 1350 would be the target. In otherwords were 1350 would be 500 calories a day under their maintenance.
Assumed 3-5 hours a week of light to moderate activity (because you can go for a walk now and again), 36 years old. Looked for what height and weight that person would have to be for 1350 calories to be their diet.
So 1350 calories for 1 pound a week loss (aggressive diet) is the diet of a 4'4'' tall 110 pound woman.
So yeah, do you really need to be eating 1350 calories a day?
Well, just as an example, and using the Scooby calculator...I am a 40 year old, 5'4", 127 lb female. I have a desk job that keeps me sedentary 6 days a week for up to 14 hours a day. My TDEE is 1576, which is where I stay to maintain, so 1200-1300 to lose was where I needed to be.
My husband is a 6'0", 190 lb male. He has a very physical, active job 6 days a week. His TDEE is 2764. So, it really depends on the person and the lifestyle. You can't paint everyone with such a broad stroke.
Also keep in mind just opting to go for a 30 minute walk everyday would qualify you as being lightly active...most people I feel can fit that into their day. Rather than post on MFP at a computer for example they could post from their phone while walking. That 30min a day of walking would add a good 100 calories to your daily amount, can add 200 of you just make that 30 min in the morning and 30 min after work.
I get people are busy, but if health is the goal then health should recieve at least some priority. 1350 calories a day is not necessary except in the most extreme of cases.
Absolutely! I've been walking at a good clip while reading this thread and 10 more before it. I could have chosen to sit on my comfy couch while reading the forums, but why not kill 2 birds with one stone and exercise and read at the same time.
I'm fortunate enough that i have time and health on my side, so i can exercise as much as i want/need. Exercise is the key to not having to eat a minimal amount of calories.
OP i don't know how people eat such little calories either. I've tried unsuccessfully many times to eat under 1450 calories a day, but i failed every time.3 -
If someone is going to set themselves to lightly active or above, it is important to tick the negative adjustments box. I recently bumped mine up to L.A from sedentary, and even though i get over 20,000 steps a day(10ish miles) i still lose around 150 calories inbetween bed and midnight.
Ive found i have to keep moving regularly ALL day to prevent calories from being taken away. I have to leave a couple hundred calories in the green before i go to bed at night, or else I'll be in the red the next morning.1 -
I eat just below 1350 almost every single day, and here's how I do it:
Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs and a banana, about 250 calories
Lunch: a grilled chicken breast with onions, cilantro, banana peppers, tomato, and salsa (enough of each to fit in those little to-go condiment cups) and a side of cooked veggies (usually either squash or carrots), about 350 calories
Afternoon snack: serving of fruit (varies, but lately I've been really into black grapes), about 50 calories
Dinner: totally varies! My boyfriend and I love to cook, and we do it usually at least 6 nights a week. We did Blue Apron for a year, so we have a whole menu book full of recipes of about 700 calories. But we like to experiment a lot, too. Last night was chicken breast stuffed with ricotta and spinach, on a side of angel hair pasta with spaghetti sauce. Tonight my boyfriend was out and so I splurged a little and ordered Pizza Hut, which I love and boyfriend loathes, but I ate only 3 slices, still close to 700 calories. Other favorites are Mediterranean chili, pasta with lamb, mint, and green beans, burgers on the grill, etc
If I know dinner will be a little lighter and I have the calorie room, I'll have a single serving of a "junk food." But a measured serving! So like, two Oreos or a single serving bag of baked Cheetos or whatever. Or sometimes a beer with dinner! Also, on Sundays, I go to Starbucks and get a breakfast sandwich and a coffee while I to write in my journal; this serves as brunch and I don't eat again until dinner. Both these little sets of treats, I feel, are very helpful at keeping me from craving and bingeing.
The tl;dr is that I eat small meals throughout the day and have a nice, flavorful dinner to look forward to.
I do get hungry, but usually only before breakfast (I don't eat until I get to work so sometimes my stomach is a little grumbly on my commute) and maybe occasionally while I'm cooking dinner. The only meal that's HARD is lunch--my office gets free lunch every day and I'm in charge of it (I'm an assistant in a TV writer's room, so we fancy) including picking the restaurant, collecting orders, picking up the good from the restaurant, and distributing it when I get back. So it's VERY hard to facilitate people ordering delicious food and know after I get back I have to distribute it, walk to the cafeteria all the way across the studio lot, buy my boring-*kitten* chicken, and walk back, by which point everyone else is halfway done eating. The cilantro and salsa and stuff are a relatively recent addition, they have at least made the taste much better. But I know all those free, delicious restaurant meals last year are a major reason why I gained so much weight so I have stayed strong!!
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any questions or feel free to check out my journal!0 -
Another thing I notice all the time is women trying to get to very low weights for their height which forces them into lower than usual calorie deficits. I'm 5"8 and I've seen so many women my height aiming for 120-130lbs, and 5'4 women looking to get down to 105-110lbs. Of course if they're aiming so low they aren't going to get many/enough calories to consume .4
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