Is 1200 calories enough?

MiaWallace2018

44 year old woman, 150 lbs, looking to lose 15. Active/athletic but in love with food...

So I could tell by my GarminConnect app that I've been using about 1700 calories a day. I'd like to lose some weight, so... using the "cut 500 calories a day to lose a lb. a week" formula, and I'm down to 1200 calories a day.

I have usually exceeded all of my calories/fat/carbs by lunch, so I make it a point to exercise so I can have dinner. I still end up going a little over. Mind you, I'm just getting started, but I have already lost 2 lbs even though it hasn't even been a full week yet.

Should I up my calorie goal?

SuzySunshine99

Put your info into MFP and set your goal to a half pound a week. See what calorie goal it gives you and follow that. One pound a week is too aggressive if you only have 15 to lose.

jjpptt2

Most people will probably say yes. And while I tend to agree, it's mostly up to you and your own preferences.

Yes, your body needs a minimum number of calories (energy) to function, but more importantly on low cal diets... it also needs certain, minimum nutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc) to be healthy. If you're getting enough nutrients on 1200 cals per day, then you're probably ok. Realistically speaking, nothing disastrous is going to happen in the short term... but I wouldn't recommend it for months on end.

On a side note... 1200 cals per day and "active/athletic" can be hard to maintain, so pay attention to how you're feeling and make adjustments if/when necessary.

MiaWallace2018

Oh ok, thank you. I will do that.

MiaWallace2018

Thank you, jjpptt2... yes active/athletic can be hard to maintain, but active/athletic + giant recovery meals (beer, whiskey, nachos and ribs) is hard to maintain, too. Which is what I've been doing for a few years. I need MFP to give me some limits.

re: nutrients. Sometimes I eat a banana and I've exceeded my carbs for the day. I am reluctant to give up bananas, oranges, berries, etc. for the sake of calories, but that banana will keep me from having a cookie later.

I ran and swam last night and ate properly after, but stopped shy of dessert & beer. Whenever MFP gives me a calorie allowance for exercise, I eat em back. And maybe still go over a little. I think Suzy's advice was sound - maybe I don't need to be quite so aggressive with relatively little to lose.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

If you HAVE to exercise just to have dinner, I'd say no, it isn't enough. This isn't a race. The most important thing is "Can you stick with it long enough to reach your goals?". If you are struggling with 1200 then that answer is also no. Go with a half pound a week deficit, or 250, so 1450 and see how that feels and how quickly you lose.

But 1700 sounds pretty low for an active 150 lbs woman. I know from long term tracking and deficits that I burn around 2300 without exercise and I'm 165 lbs.

toxikon

Depends on your preferred speed of loss and how you FEEL eating 1200 calories.

With only 15lbs to go, it becomes a very very slow process (that's where I'm at right now too).

I'm also aiming for 1200 calories a day, and it's working well for me. I skip breakfast, have a light lunch (400 cals) then save the majority of my calories for a nice, filling dinner in the evening. I eat a lot of soups, fruit and veg to bulk up my meals.

jjpptt2

MiaWallace2018 wrote: »

Thank you, jjpptt2... yes active/athletic can be hard to maintain, but active/athletic + giant recovery meals (beer, whiskey, nachos and ribs) is hard to maintain, too. Which is what I've been doing for a few years. I need MFP to give me some limits.

re: nutrients. Sometimes I eat a banana and I've exceeded my carbs for the day. I am reluctant to give up bananas, oranges, berries, etc. for the sake of calories, but that banana will keep me from having a cookie later.

I ran and swam last night and ate properly after, but stopped shy of dessert & beer. Whenever MFP gives me a calorie allowance for exercise, I eat em back. And maybe still go over a little. I think Suzy's advice was sound - maybe I don't need to be quite so aggressive with relatively little to lose.

Maybe you were just making a point, but there's a TON of gray area between active+1200 cals per day and active+giant recovery meals.

Maybe just logging your food and being more aware of what/how much you're eating is good place to start.

Back_2_Fit

I do 1200 calories a day, and because of what I eat every day, I tend to find myself UNDER my calorie goal each day, but never left hungry! I do 20-30 mins of cardio most mornings Monday-Friday and 1 hour of weights after work every other night and on weekends. On Jan 2nd I weighed 173 and this morning I weighed 163. It works for me! But every persons body reacts differently. I think if you choose to right foods that are filling but light on the calories you should be fine. My diary is open, feel free to take a look to get some ideas