Can somebody tell me where this "1200 Calorie" number came from ?

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Replies

  • chris_in_cal
    chris_in_cal Posts: 2,520 Member
    Well this thread has jumped the shark. Yeah, 1200 is a number. It is right for about 1% of the people who believe it is right. Even that changes over time. Bye.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,282 Member
    I think 1200 is right for a good percentage of people who think it is.

    On thing I have noticed is how many older women use this site, for example.

    I lost on net of 1460. I was 50 years old, 5 ft 3 and lightly active.

    Plenty of women older, shorter, less active than me - and therefore reasonably on around 250 calories less.

    I agree 1200 is not for everyone and not for everyone who thinks it is for them.

    But I don't want pendulum Swinging too far other way either whereby we think it is right for hardly anybody and dismiss all posters on that amount.
  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,268 MFP Moderator
    nk5f0wiibfld.jpg
    Koala-bear sees you and your shenanigans and would like to impart wisdom:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/welcome/guidelines

    Hey folks - do us all a favor: take a look at the community guidelines at the link above. The very first one talks about playing nice, and the third one tells you how not to troll. If you can't stay civil and on-topic, you're going to end up with warnings if your post is reported/comes to moderator attention.

    Feel free to send me (or any other moderator or staff member) a PM if you have an questions/comments/concerns.

    Happy Friday,
    Em
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,282 Member
    Koala is not a bear. ;)

  • JustSomeEm
    JustSomeEm Posts: 20,268 MFP Moderator
    edited June 2019
    Koala is not a bear. ;)

    Koala's don't actually impart wisdom either, but there ya go... :flowerforyou:
  • wmd1979
    wmd1979 Posts: 469 Member
    wmd1979 wrote: »
    try2again wrote: »
    MikePTY wrote: »
    Many years ago I capped my calories at 1200 a day on my 6ft frame dropping down to 178lbs. Didn't kill me, nor was I starving 🤷🏾‍♂️

    1200 is never a healthy recommended amount for a male. Just because it didn't kill you doesn't mean that it was good for your health. Even if it didn't cause any negative health effects, that still doesn't mean it was recommended. There are plenty of smokers who live very long lives. Doesn't mean that smoking is fine.

    How are you quantifying what is good for ones health?


    Very likely, depending on how big of a deficit this represented for you and how long you were in it, you suffered some nutritional deficits and loss of lean muscle mass.

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1

    If I stop lifting weights, taking my vitamins, I lose muscle mass and go into a nutritional deficiency compared to before. That doesn't make me "unhealthy", no different from when I lower my caloric intake to 1200 cal a day.








    What makes you think that anything you are saying is bringing value to this conversation? Just because it didn't kill you doesn't mean it was a wise or healthy decision on your part, and when you try to defend your foolish decisions, it could be encouraging others to make unhealthy decisions as well. So capping your calories at 1200 didn't kill you. Congrats for that. It still wasn't smart regardless of what you think. There is a reason that MFP has a minimum calorie threshold for both men and women, and if you are going to argue against that threshold, you should find another place to do it.

    I made a statement, not a argument. Learn to differentiate the two.

    [edited by MFP Mods]



    If that's the case, then again, I would like to know what value you are bringing to the conversation? Regardless of whether it was a statement or an argument, I think that a man capping his calories at 1200 is foolish and it makes you sound even more foolish when your rationale is that it didn't kill you.