I am really starting to get freaked out...

FixIngMe13

Awww! If it works for you, and you are comfortable and not hungry, stay with it! Tunnel vision when it comes to those that are closed minded. I wish you the very best!!!! :flowerforyou:

toutmonpossible

If you've been doing well at 1250 I would continue. I'm 5'2" and have been a normal weight all my life (having had to pay much more attention as I've gotten older). I read bizarre statements on MFP that I have never encountered anywhere else.

toutmonpossible

Thank you everyone! I will keep all this in mind, I have so far up'd my calories to my bmr and will eat back my
Exercis calories, I will always net 1200 or higher

If you're unbearably hungry or weak because of exercise you should eat more, but remember that you cannot treat estimates of calories burned through exercise as gospel. You will undo your gains. Eat when you're hungry, exercise, weigh yourself.

theoriginaljayne

1200 calorie diets, here's the rub. You have to be EXTRA careful and EXTRA dedicated to getting all the nutrition that your body requires to perform at optimal health. What I'm saying is that you can't waste any of your calories on nutrient sparse foods or you risk shortchanging your body into poor performance and possibly poor health. So make sure you're ready to eat grilled/baked chicken breasts, blueberries, spinach, peppers, fish and all the other nutrient dense foods and know that you'll need to completely avoid treats such as flavored coffees, any and all deserts and food prepared beyond boiling, steaming and baking.

Many people on 1200 calorie diets, because it's so restrictive calorie wise, tend not to get a lot of protein. With this scenario, you run the risk of losing a disproportionate amount of muscle to fat. They then hit goal weight and aren't satisfied with their body's appearance. Also, since their body now has less muscle than it did before (one of the major drivers of metabolism) the rate of metabolism is lower, thus fewer calories can be consumed at maintenance. This is a major factor to many people putting their weight right back on. Maintaining existing muscle should always be a priority when losing but it is often ignored in a bid for fast results.

Most people on 1200 calorie diets allow themselves to indulge when they shouldn't. If you can lose weight at 1400, 1500, or 1600 calories, you can have those treats and you can have a better chance of keeping the muscle your body already has. People who do it a little more slowly are better prepared for when they will go on maintenance because they haven't been depriving themselves of not only the 'treat' foods they love but of food in general. People who eat a bit more than the minimum as they lose weight see their weight loss as less of an arduous task to defeat and vanquish but more as a gradual change to something they will be able to maintain for long into the future.

Can you lose safely on 1200? Yes. Is it easy to do and get all the nutrition your body needs? No. Can it be done? Of course but you have to be completely honest with yourself the entire way.

For me, I'd rather do it slowly while enjoying the foods I love, than do it quickly and gain it all back when I finally give into my dreams of eating all the food again (been there, done that and never want to do it again).

^ Great post.

CristinaAnne192

I want everyone to know I upp'd my calories to 1320,

I got out my food scale, and hoping I can loose this weight by my 21st birthday in november! BIRTHDAY GOAL

Thank you so much to everyone, if i don't lose on 1320, im going to go back down to 1250. but i am expecting my weight to go up at first

SezxyStef

Did you choose a 2lb loss? If so, change it. With less than 10lbs to go, choose 0.5lb/week loss. Also make sure you are picking the right activity level. Don't pick sedentary unless you really are sedentary. More likely, you are one step up from that at least.

Once that is set, just realize that you eat whatever MFP gives you plus exercise calories. The formula can be found on the profile page.

If you ever decide to go with the TDEE method, just remember that this method includes exercise calories so you wouldn't eat those back. but again - make sure you pick the right activity level.

Another tip - if you aren't using a food scale, get one ASAP. Also, try not to use HRMs for strength or circuit training activities. MFP's #s aren't that far off so going with them is okay.

Whatever changes you do, give it 4-6 weeks before reviewing to see if there is anything that needs tweaking.

Joy beat me to it...

Dancer_2015

1200 calorie diets, here's the rub. You have to be EXTRA careful and EXTRA dedicated to getting all the nutrition that your body requires to perform at optimal health. What I'm saying is that you can't waste any of your calories on nutrient sparse foods or you risk shortchanging your body into poor performance and possibly poor health. So make sure you're ready to eat grilled/baked chicken breasts, blueberries, spinach, peppers, fish and all the other nutrient dense foods and know that you'll need to completely avoid treats such as flavored coffees, any and all deserts and food prepared beyond boiling, steaming and baking.

Many people on 1200 calorie diets, because it's so restrictive calorie wise, tend not to get a lot of protien. With this scenario, you run the risk of losing a disproportionate amount of muscle to fat. They then hit goal weight and aren't satisfied with their body's appearance. Also, since their body now has less muscle than it did before (one of the major drivers of metabolism) the rate of metabolism is lower, thus fewer calories can be consumed at maintenance. This is a major factor to many people putting their weight right back on. Maintaining existing muscle should always be a priority when losing but it is often ignored in a bid for fast results.

Most people on 1200 calorie diets allow themselves to indulge when they shouldn't. If you can lose weight at 1400, 1500, or 1600 calories, you can have those treats and you can have a better chance of keeping the muscle your body already has. People who do it a little more slowly are better prepared for when they will go on maintenance because they haven't been depriving themselves of not only the 'treat' foods they love but of food in general. People who eat a bit more than the minimum as they lose weight see their weight loss as less of an arduous task to defeat and vanquish but more as a gradual change to something they will be able to maintain for long into the future.

Can you lose safely on 1200? Yes. Is it easy to do and get all the nutrition your body needs? No. Can it be done? Of course but you have to be completely honest with yourself the entire way.

For me, I'd rather do it slowly while enjoying the foods I love, than do it quickly and gain it all back when I finally give into my dreams of eating all the food again (been there, done that and never want to do it again).

Okay, so brower17, if I am on a 1200 calorie diet and want to slowly increase what is the best way to do it so that you don't gain weight back? I was 192 and am now about 145. My goal weight is 140. I started with eating about 1500 a day, then when I lost quite a bit, MFP backed me down to about 1200 a day. So far it is working, however, after reading your post I fear that as soon as I reach 140 and start the maintenance stage, I will gain it all back since I was on a 1200 calorie diet. I just changed my settings to "lose 1 pound per week" so now my calories have been changed to about 1400 a day. Is this a good way to gradually reach maintenance while still losing? What would you suggest? You sound very knowledgable and I'd love your advice as I didn't realize how risky 1200 calorie diets were until almost being finished with my weight loss. I'm not the best as eating back the calories that I exercise off, because I just automatically thought the less I eat the better, and if I was fine with 1200 a day, I didn't eat more just because MFP allowed me too. HELP! I don't wanna gain it all back!