Is 1200 calories/day sustainable?

serinaster
serinaster Posts: 17 Member
edited March 2019 in Health and Weight Loss
According to my smart watch, I burn on average 1500 - 1800 calories/day. I currently weigh 161 lbs at 5 ft 3. I'm female and almost 40. My ideal BMI weight is 135 but the last time I was that weight I looked malnourished so I'd settle for 145. I've been struggling with losing 15 lbs for almost 10 years now. I tried intermittent fasting and went down to 151, but thanks to PMS among other things, I end up eating like crazy for a week out of the month.

Should I shoot for 1200 calories or 1500? I do workout like 3 -5 days a week for 20-30 min and burn on average 200 calories. I also like to drink warm water but I think I may have been drinking distilled water instead since sometimes the water on my electric kettle is almost close to boiling so I add some more from my brita pitcher.

I've had folks tell me 1200 calories is basically starvation. Any advice on how to get the weight off and stay off would be appreciated!

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Replies

  • serinaster
    serinaster Posts: 17 Member
    Apullum- MFP gives me 1220, and it does add exercise calories. I track those on my watch which syncs with MFP.

    Grace42c- right now 20 min is about all I can squeeze in a day given my crazy work schedule. I work out first thing in the AM. I struggle with getting enough sleep as well which could be another culprit. I'm working on moving my bedtime up one hr so I can be able to up my workouts to 40-60 min.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    Not forever. If you are sedentary and small perhaps. That is what MFP gives me to lose 1 lb a week at lightly active but I am usually more active and earn 200 extra calories. They really help.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited March 2019
    I'd go with what MFP gives you and eat back some of your exercise calories when you exercise.

    I'm 49, 5'3, and my maintenance would be around 1550 if I were actually sedentary (I lost my weight at 44-45, and started at 1250, although I had more to lose than you do, and my goal/current weight was 125). I live in a city and so walk a bunch so in reality it's more like 1800 before exercise, and I run so it's more. But if I were mostly sedentary 1200 would be a good goal for weight loss.
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    I agree with targeting half a pound a week. That will give you 1470 instead of 1220, which seems more manageable given your goals
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    1200 is def sustainable if you exercise and eat all your exercise calories back. I am 59, 5’4” and sedentary, and that’s what MFP gave me to lose .5 a week. You just have to make sure every bite is full of good nutrition, there is no room for treats or junk unless you have a big cardio day.
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    I would recommend setting your rate of loss to 0.5 lb/week, then, since you aren't too far form the point at which you'd want to do that anyway. Lose a bit more slowly, but eat more and feel happier.

    Looking at her stats I think that even with 1/2 pound loss a week, OP won't get too much more than 1200 PLUS exercise calories. The joys of being vertically challenged .... sigh!
  • emilysusana
    emilysusana Posts: 416 Member
    I’m 5’2 and almost 40 and I have been netting 1200 daily for 12 weeks so far but I exercise more to eat more. I like to eat more and the more I exercise, the more I enjoy it. I also don’t plan to stay at 1200 the whole time I’m losing. Since it’s been working I’ve kept it up this long, but soon I plant to go to about 1450. This same pattern worked for me last time I lost weight (I lost a little more than 30 lbs a couple of years ago—all good until maintenance, which I botched by thinking I could get away with not logging).
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    grace42c wrote: »
    Maybe walk at lunch or if you get a break? You could get 20 more minutes that way.

    Exercise is optional for weight loss.

    It's good for health and fitness, so a great thing to do, but optional for weight loss.

    While you are technically correct, I'd be a hangry witch without my exercise calories ;)
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,572 Member
    edited March 2019
    serinaster wrote: »
    I've had folks tell me 1200 calories is basically starvation.

    LOL!!

    Trust me. It's no where near.

    What sort of workout are you doing to burn 200 calories in 20 min?
  • Adamtrue0
    Adamtrue0 Posts: 4 Member
    looking at your stats I've used a BMR calculator to work out your calories.

    Basal Metabolic rate : 1369 calories

    1-3 times exercise a week 1883 calories

    so if you exercise 1-3 times a week then your looking at 1883 calories... take off 500 calories a day so thats 1383 Calories a day and you should lose 1ilb a week.. as 1ilb of fat is roughly 3500 calories. Hope that helps!
  • RetiredAndLovingIt
    RetiredAndLovingIt Posts: 1,394 Member
    Ooh, yeah! I'm 5'3"..glad to hear I'm not short!
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,205 Member
    edited March 2019
    MFP always gave me 1200, even when I selected one pound a week instead of two. I ate it, and I survived, and I lost weight. I did at one point up it to 1300-1350 by choice to see if I would continue to slowly lose weight, and I did so enjoyed the extra snack. I never felt ill or dizzy or exhausted. (I feel like when I was younger I tried 1200 and I was angry and tired all the time.... but not this time. Probably because I have a desk job so need fewer anyways.)

    I just made sure to log a nice dinner first (early morning) then plan the rest of my day. I always like a decent sized dinner.
  • serinaster
    serinaster Posts: 17 Member
    fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »
    serinaster wrote: »
    I've had folks tell me 1200 calories is basically starvation.

    LOL!!

    Trust me. It's no where near.

    What sort of workout are you doing to burn 200 calories in 20 min?

    I usually rotate thru some of Jillian Michaels HIIT like 30 Day Shred, kickbox fast fix, 6 weeks 6 packs and also found some Lumowell videos on Amazon prime. I'm open to any suggestions for effective at home workouts. I usually skip lunges and any moves that are hard on my knees. If I can change up my bedtime I could possibly do her longer workouts like Banish Fat and No More Trouble zones. But I've found that the 30 Day Shred helps with muscle definition and I dont have saggy arms so theres that!
  • serinaster
    serinaster Posts: 17 Member
    emilysusana wrote: »
    I’m 5’2 and almost 40 and I have been netting 1200 daily for 12 weeks so far but I exercise more to eat more. I like to eat more and the more I exercise, the more I enjoy it. I also don’t plan to stay at 1200 the whole time I’m losing. Since it’s been working I’ve kept it up this long, but soon I plant to go to about 1450. This same pattern worked for me last time I lost weight (I lost a little more than 30 lbs a couple of years ago—all good until maintenance, which I botched by thinking I could get away with not logging).

    I think this is the approach I will go with. If I want to eat 1400 or so calories a day and net 1200 I'll have to do a high intensity workout for at least 30 min. Not counting calories is what ends up getting me. I just subscribed to MFP so I know that will push me to commit to counting calories.
  • serinaster
    serinaster Posts: 17 Member
    ceiswyn wrote: »
    82EC wrote: »
    I think more important than the calorie number is whether you are getting all the nutrition you need from your diet. If you stick to low calorie veggies, fruit, lean protein and drink only water you might find you can maintain 1200 without starving or being malnourished. I know it goes against what a lot of people here will say though, so watch me as I get flamed....

    You can maintain 1200 without being malnourished, yes - but not on this diet, which completely misses out a major macronutrient.

    I strongly recommend not taking dietary advice from someone who doesn’t realise that fat is essential to good health.

    My enemy right now is not fat but carbs... and sugar! I end up going over my daily macros for carbs and barely hitting my protein and fat macros. I did subscribe to MFP in order to figure out what the carbs culprits are so I can switch them out with more protein and fat dense alternatives. I was looking to quit dairy (I drink like 2 cups of whole milk a day and one flavored Greek yogurt) but that affected my calcium. I'm iron and vitamin D deficient so I'm taking OTC supplements. I do tend to stress eat candy and that is where I waste some of my nutrients.

    So any advise on foods I could incorporate would be appreciated! I've googled this to death and still feel a bit clueless. I have a desk job and I hate cold foods. I dont meal plan and sometimes have gone to work without packing snacks which is how I end up sabotaging my calories. I bought some vegan protein powder and am hoping to start making smoothies. Mostly with berries and a banana to avoid excess fruit sugars. I've read I shouldn't mix fruit and veggies... otherwise I was looking to add either spinanch or spring mix to the smoothies. And I also measured my last smoothie that was sans protein powder and it was 500 calories so I know I gotta watch that.
  • serinaster
    serinaster Posts: 17 Member
    rheddmobile wrote: »
    If I could make a suggestion, why not set yourself to maintenance calories for one week out of the month, since you know you crave more food then? If you eat a little more you may not be tempted to binge, and maintaining means you are not undoing your hard work the rest of the month, just slowing things down for a week.

    MFP gave me 1700 calories for maintenance. I think my problem is I mainly crave junk food that one week and not just any healthy foods. So the trick for me will be to figure out how to still eat more healthy food without going overkill on sugar. One thing that did help is I quit alcohol... the first few months were brutal with craving it that I've caved a few times. Funny thing is I never used to get PMS but the last couple of yrs its hit me with a vengeance... I'm still working out how to properly deal with it.

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