1200 calories day??

binnyblonde

Hi,

I was just wondering... does anyone go by the 1200 calories that MFP suggests?? It seems a little low to me. Just wondering if any of you adjusted your daily calorie goal or went by the 1200?

Thanks for any input :0)

AmyRhubarb

It was way too low for me. But it depends on what we enter into MFP when we set it up - anyone who puts in that they want to lose 2lbs a week will get the magic 1200 cal goal. But 2lbs a week is too aggressive unless you've got more than 100lbs to lose.

Make sure you entered all your stuff properly and with realistic goals, and you should get a higher daily goal.

Also remember that MFP adds any exercise cals burned back into your daily goal (because your daily deficit is already built into the goal cals) - so if your goal is 1500 calories, you burn 300 through exercise, it will add those back in - you eat them back, you'd be consuming 1800 calories, leaving you with a net of 1500 cals for the day, and right on target.

audierae

I stick to 1200 net calories a day. There are definitely days that I go over, but I try to keep those days to a minimum. I try not to deprive myself. If I'm truly hungry and not just bored, then I will go over, but it took a long time to learn the difference. Good luck!

husseycd

I eat way over 1200. More like 1800-2000. I have very little left to lose though. I'm 130 lbs and 20% body fat. I'd like to be 18% BF, which should put me around 127 lbs if I maintain the same muscle mass.

Depending on how much you need to lose, I personally like TDEE-20% or eating at your goal TDEE as suggested by Fat2fitradio. IMO, trying to eat at 1200 just sets people up to fail. It's really hard to eat that little and eventually people give up.

berriboobear

I stick to 1200 net calories a day. There are definitely days that I go over, but I try to keep those days to a minimum. I try not to deprive myself. If I'm truly hungry and not just bored, then I will go over, but it took a long time to learn the difference. Good luck!

This, because I stick to the 1200, but have learned not to get over obsessive about going over by a bit... especially if I'm TRULY hungry.

ukredhead19

I tried to do the 1200 calories per day, but that seemed too low for me personally...and I kept falling off the wagon because I was starving. I lowered my desired weight loss to 1.5 lbs a week and its now at 1450 or something like that. I think eating a little bit more helps my metabolism and keeps me from starving. It took me 10 years to gain the 65lbs I need to lose....if I only lose it 1lb a week, I'm okay with that! slow and steady wins the race

learninmama

I eat my BMR + 50 to 100 cals to make sure I hit my BMR daily....I spent my first 3 months eating 1300-1400 calories...hit a plateau & had to get it through my head that I have to eat my BMR....lost over 2 pounds this week eating 1800-1900 cals/day.

You can calculate your BMR here=
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

twinkiemon

I took the 1200 times 7 which gave me 8400, then took my average of 500 exercise calories x6 (6 exercise days, 1 day of rest) to get 3000 - added them together for 11400 then divided again by 7 which gives me a daily total of about 1600 calories to enjoy, so on my "1200 calorie day" I actually eat slightly over and all other days slightly under - because, no, I CAN'T do 1200 calories - I would be starving all day and when I'm hungry I'm cranky.

(forgive the math if it's a little off - I was doing this in my head and from memory)

bigobelly

i have adjusted to the 1200 cal's a day and have lost a lot of weight. now that i am used to the calories i sometimes go over but not by much. You will find that you have to cut out all the fast food, junk food, sodas and such. But you will feel lots better. Its more of a lifestyle change not a diet.

flinchyny

I have my goal set for .5 lbs/wk, so it doesn't tell me 1200. I absolutely would be starving eating only that much per day, and I see my nutrition goals as ongoing/permanent, not a "diet." I think it would be very difficult for most people to eat 1200 calories/day forever.

KatieBee8

I stuck to 1200 calories a day at the beginning of my diet but I stopped losing and I was so hungry. I upped it to 1400-1500 (ignoring mfp) and have found that not only easier to maintain but I have been losing every week since :bigsmile:

Annxoj

I try to stick to the 1200 or under I am trying new things and finding out what has exactly how many calories to try my best to make better decisions and stay under but 1200. Hands down it can be a really harsh calorie mark.. So I try my best and if I would happen to go over I just work out a bit more than usual not push myself too much but enough to help burn off excess calories.

ELVISDEAN

STARTED LOSING AND FIRMING UP WHEN I STARTED RAISING MY FOOD INTAKE...COUNTING WONT GET YOU WHERE YOU WANNA BE..JUST HAVE A RUFF IDEA AND WRITE STUFF DOWN....AWARENESS IS KEY
ELVIS DEAN

mdhummel

I bumped my calories up to 1,300 calories. Even though I'd love to lose two lbs. a week I had to give myself a more realistic goal. 1,300 calories is still low, but manageable and if I exercise I get to eat back some of my burned calories.

Bekahmardis

I eat my BMR + 50 to 100 cals to make sure I hit my BMR daily....I spent my first 3 months eating 1300-1400 calories...hit a plateau & had to get it through my head that I have to eat my BMR....lost over 2 pounds this week eating 1800-1900 cals/day.

You can calculate your BMR here=
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

This^^^ And I let my FitBit add in all the extra exercise calories. So even though my MFP says 1300, I usually eat anywhere from 1450 to 1800 calories a day.

scottaworley

i have adjusted to the 1200 cal's a day and have lost a lot of weight. now that i am used to the calories i sometimes go over but not by much. You will find that you have to cut out all the fast food, junk food, sodas and such. But you will feel lots better. Its more of a lifestyle change not a diet.

I'm at 1330 calories per day, and I still eat fast food sometimes and have an occasional soda. And I just ate 2 cookies at 8:45 in the morning. The key is exercising to make up for it and balancing it with other foods to meet your macros.

scottaworley

STARTED LOSING AND FIRMING UP WHEN I STARTED RAISING MY FOOD INTAKE...COUNTING WONT GET YOU WHERE YOU WANNA BE..JUST HAVE A RUFF IDEA AND WRITE STUFF DOWN....AWARENESS IS KEY
ELVIS DEAN

THANKS ELVIS DEAN

ylor89

I did 1200 when I first started in January and was losing a pound a week up until the last two months. I've been at a plateau and when I went to see my doctor, she said I wasn't taking in enough calories because my body was going into starvation mode. :noway:

I also have low blood pressure so I have to be careful with cutting too many calories. I've upped my calories the last few weeks though and have noticed a gain...which bums me out a bit. But I think what I'll need to do is just exercise a little more to make up for the extra calories.

You'll want to be careful with cutting too many calories... This month, my cycle was off by an entire week (which has never happened before so that freaked me out!), and my doctor says there's a good chance that's because of my diet too.

It works for others, and for some (like me), it's just not our cup of tea. Good luck with your fitness goals! I hope you figure out what you need to put together a healthy lifestyle!

jgarrett731

I stick to 1200 net calories a day. There are definitely days that I go over, but I try to keep those days to a minimum. I try not to deprive myself. If I'm truly hungry and not just bored, then I will go over, but it took a long time to learn the difference. Good luck!

This, because I stick to the 1200, but have learned not to get over obsessive about going over by a bit... especially if I'm TRULY hungry.

I started with 1200 a day and found that it helped with, like you said, not obsessing about going over and then learning portion control, etc. After a week or so I found that I was always really tired so I decided to up my calories to 1360 and it has made a lot of difference. I feel so much better. I'm not in much of a hurry to lose weight and I'm more excited about losing inches and seeing muscle definition start to form but everyone's goals and timelines are different.

binnyblonde

Wow! Thanks for all the replies.... I think I may be tweaking my calories a little :0)

Gee_24

I'm on 1200 a day too. However, as Im a maid and walk for 60 mins to and back to work all in, I burn around 700 calories a day so it goes up to 1900, 5 days a week. ( roughly )

In order to make the 1200 on its OWN work, I've had to completely cut all sweets and sodas. I now mostly eat just savoury if possible and only drink "Zero" juices like Powerade.

If I cut out the bad drinks, then food-wise 1200 is achievable for me. I can squeeze in the odd Jaffa cake here and there, too! But knowing this is NOT sustainable for life, I'm trying to add in the odd fizzy juice and sweet because I find low sugar drinks vile and doubt that it will be a permanent life change. One must be realistic!

A lot of trial and error for me. I think " Right I'm making 1200 calories doing this and that...but will I be able to stick to this once I reach my goal for the rest of my days?? " the answer is no. So I may just decrease it from 2lbs a week to a goal of 1lbs a week...