how do I and what happens if I reset my daily calories because 1200 seems to be too high for me.

4freedom32

I set my daily calorie count to 1200 but I'm having a hard time hitting this on a daily basis. I want to reset it to 1000/daily but 1) i don't know how to, and 2) does this change the numbers for the days I've completed so far? I started on Sept 1st and have lost 6lbs so far.
Thanks for any info/advice!
Rose

Lietchi

You've lost 6lb in one week and you want to reduce your intake even more 'because 1200 seems too high'?!

Please reassess. You are most certainly not eating too much. You don't want to lose weight too quickly. If you feel full eating 1200 calories (I'm guessing you radically changed your way of eating, more volume than before?) reintroduce some foods into your diet that don't fill you up as much, or add some extra snacks.

cmriverside

You can change your calories in, "Goals," there is an Edit button. I'm on the Free version of this site, and it doesn't change past daily numbers when I do that.

If you're "not able" to hit 1200, you probably aren't tracking your food correctly. 1200 is a tiny amount of food unless you're very short, older, sedentary. I would suggest just leaving it, and if some days you don't eat that much - believe me, the hunger will come back around the next day or in a few days unless you have an eating disorder or an illness. It will balance out.

Are you trying to limit your food to chicken and broccoli? I mean, you can eat any food you like to get you up to calories. A small handful of nuts. A small spoonful of peanut butter on bread would push you over, or an apple with cheese, or some potatoes with dinner. Eat the food you like in the portions you need to hit your goal.

Alatariel75

6lbs in 7 days is an extraordinary and unsustainable rate of loss, and you should NOT be reducing your calories any further.

Elcustardo

By your other post, you have 60lbs to lose. I would be very surprised if 1200cals is a sensible deficit for you.
What y is your current height/weight?

KareninCanada

The app will not let you, as that is a calorie level that is only for medically supervised, very low calorie diets. It's not enough for a healthy adult.

4freedom32

1 of 2
Hi Yall!
I don't know how reply to yall that replied to me individually, so I'm gonna try in this space. I have had a horrible eating pattern until I started this, eating way too much and God knows how many calories. I think I could have been hitting 1200 in a meal eating out as much as I was, and i was eating once or twice a day and hardly sleeping. I'm 53, 5'7-1/2", and weigh 214 lbs now. I was 220 when i started. I have been pretty sedentary as of late. I do alot, just alot of sitting most of the time. I started a minor exercise program through the JustFit app that burns anywhere from 175 to, so far, 264 calories (tonight was the 1st one that was that high).
Food: Now I'm having a whey shake in the morning when I wake up, a few hours later I have one or two small eggs with 1/2 a tomato and 1/2 an avocado, for lunch I have another whey shake and a high protein yogurt with an egg depending on and only if I had one for breakfast, not 2. For dinner I have a 1/3 lb very very lean beef burger (patty only but seasoned so it tastes great) with mushrooms and either 1/2 an avocado or 1/2 a tomato. I workout in the evening (it's very short) and then I have a Casein shake (long lasting protein) before I go to bed so my body never goes into starvation mode.
I have been getting in 55 to 80ozs of water a day (that's getting easier).
With all this, I'm still 100 to 400 calories short of 1200 depending on what substitutions I made for meals, although above is what a pretty normal day has been looking like this week.
I'm not used to eating like this throughout the day, and my body has always lost weight nutritionally eating higher protein and lower carbs. I'm trying to restart my metabolism because I think it's been pretty much asleep for years.
I appreciate any advice / info as I used to workout all the time when I was younger and knew how my body responded to most things then. Now over 50 seems to be an entirely new ballgame all together.
💕💕💕💕💕

4freedom32

2 of 2. I forgot to add that I also have either broccoli or asparagus with dinner, too, or peas and carrots so I'm getting veggis in. Since these are healthier calories than what I'm used to, it's just a lot more food for me to get them in I guess.
🤷🏻‍♀️💕

cmriverside

I started exactly where you are, 220, 5'7"-5'8" and 54 years old. I also started at 220 pounds and set at 1200 calories. I also posted a thread once about, "Can't hit my 1200 calories," so I'm not judging - but - eat real food. Maybe sprinkle a half scoop of whey (not three shakes,) in your yogurt or porridge/oatmeal once a day and add some fruit and walnuts.

In my case the low calories really affected me negatively and I started losing hair, being irritable, tired, cracked skin on my fingers and heels, dry skin, lack of concentration, I could go on. I couldn't get through any kind of exercise at all on low calories and exercise is important to me. That took a few months of 1200, and even 1200 + Exercise calories.

I raised my base calories to 1500-1600 and I felt so much better, was able to hit my nutrition goals, and I lost all the rest of my weight down to 140 pounds at that calorie level. When I exercise I always eat my additional calories "earned" by exercise so on 4-5 days a week I was eating 1800-2000 calories.

I logged everything, still do. I use a food scale. I even weigh my vegetables. Logging food accurately has taught me so much, and now in Maintenance I'm able to eat every calorie I've worked so hard to earn. At your height, 1200 is low. I doubt you'll be sticking at that for long.

Why have you substituted actual food with whey shakes? Just for the protein? They are meant to be supplements, not meals. Supplements aren't regulated and I wouldn't trust them to be two meals. Also, I take it the eggs don't bother you? I would try to get some other proteins.

Nothing wrong with whey or casein, but in your case they are keeping you from eating enough and steering you away from a varied multi-food plan.

cmriverside

2 of 2

Something that is often repeated here in these forums is: Learn to eat now how you'll eat at your Goal weight.

Will you continue to eat 3-4 eggs and three supplemental shakes once you get to your goal?

If you set your Goals at 1500-1600 PLUS Exercise calories that will just be a preview to your goal calories. I think it was really important for me to feed that gut microbiome a wide variety of foods and as I logged them I learned about the various nutrients in each of them. We need fiber, fat, protein, carbs, potassium, calcium, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, all the B vitamins, Vitamin K, Iron, sodium, and probably some I haven't mentioned. Whey shakes are bypassing most of those.

The bonus in all this is that I can now eat out and guesstimate calories. I can count in my head how much fiber and protein I've had. I know that I need 5-8 servings of whole fruit and/or vegetables daily. I know olive oil is important, so are certain nuts and seeds. I know I need leafy greens and fibrous plants.

AnnPT77

cmriverside wrote: »

I started exactly where you are, 220, 5'7"-5'8" and 54 years old. I also started at 220 pounds and set at 1200 calories. I also posted a thread once about, "Can't hit my 1200 calories," so I'm not judging - but - eat real food. Maybe sprinkle a half scoop of whey (not three shakes,) in your yogurt or porridge/oatmeal once a day and add some fruit and walnuts.

(snip rest of truly excellent advice in this post, for length)

@4freedom32, I started out shorter than you (5'5"), older than you (59) and lighter than you (183). I started out at 1200 calories plus all exercise calories, too. I felt great, energetic, not hungry . . . then suddenly I hit a wall. I was weak and fatigued, and it took multiple weeks to recover back to normal, even though I increased my eating as soon as I realized. I had lost too fast. After, I had some of the same problems Riverside reported above, too. And that all happened when I was eating a generally well-rounded diet of actual food, i.e., getting a bunch of the nutrients that your current eating routine seems to be missing.

Be careful. Please be careful.

Don't try to lose fast.

Eat foods, not mostly supplements. Supplements are to help tide you over if you can't hit reasonable nutrition goals, until you can figure out how to get the nutrition from food. They're not a food substitute, and not "healthier" - very much not healthier.

If you're getting too full on "healthier calories", then eat some less filling "healthy calories" like nuts, seeds, peanut butter, more avocados, olive oil, etc. (Calories aren't really healthy or unhealthy. Overall ways of eating are healthy/unhealthy, individual foods contribute to that. Calories are just energy, nothing more.) Heck, it's even OK to eat a less nutrient-dense treat food now and then, once your nutrition is in place, as long as you can eat that type of treat in moderation.

Try to learn new habits you can follow long enough to lose the amount you want to lose, without causing bouts of deprivation-triggered over-eating, breaks in the action, giving up altogether, or truly serious health consequences. Eating too little, not getting well-rounded nutrition: Those are things that can depress immune system, cause gallbladder problems, trigger loss of hard-to-replace muscle tissue, and more.

The real prize in all of this is finding new habits that can continue almost on autopilot to first reach a healthy weight, then stay there long term, ideally permanently. Riverside has accomplished meaningful loss, and long-term maintenance, I know. So have I (so far, 8 years).

Please give this some thought. Others of us here want to see you succeed, but are concerned. I for sure want you to succeed: Reaching a healthy weight and staying there has been a huge quality of life improvement for me. I want that for everyone, you included.

Best wishes!

cmriverside

LOL @AnnPT77
I was kinda counting on you to go into the "sleeping metabolism" and "starvation mode" parts...

To @4freedom32

Here's a great thread from the "Most Helpful Posts" about Adaptive Thermogenesis (starvation mode - which is a misnomer...)
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1077746/starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss/p1


..and as far as your metabolism being shut down/slowed down/asleep or whatever? That's not really a thing either. Too much food over a period of time and too little movement is the problem that led to weight gain.

The solution is NOT 1200 calories. It's eating a reasonable amount of food that will allow you to hit your nutrition goals while losing at a safe rate. Under-eating with lots of nutrients completely missing will just cause other bigger problems.

AnnPT77

4freedom32 wrote: »

1 of 2
Hi Yall!
I don't know how reply to yall that replied to me individually,
(snip for reply length)

On the post you want to reply to, click "quote" underneath that post. That will copy the post into the reply box, with some funny-looking stuff in square brackets surrounding the quoted post. Type your reply before the first square bracket, or after the last one. (You can do fancier stuff, but leave that for later.)

I'm not used to eating like this throughout the day, and my body has always lost weight nutritionally eating higher protein and lower carbs. I'm trying to restart my metabolism because I think it's been pretty much asleep for years.

It's mostly not that our metabolism that goes to sleep, it's that our lifestyle slows down, and we lose muscle mass. I'm saying that not as a blythe and perky 20-something, but as a woman way over 50 (68) who lost weight at 59-60, already menopausal, already severely hypothyroid.

We can increase our daily life activity:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

We can add exercise, with strength-challenging exercise having potential extra benefits. Over-exercising, though, is counterproductive - can make us drag through the day and burn fewer daily life calories. (As we get fitter, we can gradually do more, if we wish.)

We can get adequate protein, which quite a few people later in life don't do, especially women who may head for salads and veggies during weight loss. As we age, it also becomes more important to spread the protein through the day, as we metabolize it less efficiently. You're obviously pursuing protein, though I think it would be better to get it from food, such as ideas here:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10247171/carbs-and-fats-are-cheap-heres-a-guide-to-getting-your-proteins-worth-fiber-also

I'd suggest trying to think about all of this is terms of things you can actually DO, not about things that are vague (like "slow metabolism") or un-changeable (like menopause).

Riverside's right: Under-eating is more likely to cause so-called "slow metabolism" than cure it. Something called "high calorie flux" is a better bet: Moving more (in non-exhausting, non-fatigue-triggering ways), getting stronger, and eating as much as possible alongside losing weight at a sensibly moderate pace (not as fast as possible).

P.S. LOL back atcha, @cmriverside. Sorry I missed a cue.

csplatt

4freedom32 wrote: »

1 of 2
Hi Yall!
I don't know how reply to yall that replied to me individually, so I'm gonna try in this space. I have had a horrible eating pattern until I started this, eating way too much and God knows how many calories. I think I could have been hitting 1200 in a meal eating out as much as I was, and i was eating once or twice a day and hardly sleeping. I'm 53, 5'7-1/2", and weigh 214 lbs now. I was 220 when i started. I have been pretty sedentary as of late. I do alot, just alot of sitting most of the time. I started a minor exercise program through the JustFit app that burns anywhere from 175 to, so far, 264 calories (tonight was the 1st one that was that high).
Food: Now I'm having a whey shake in the morning when I wake up, a few hours later I have one or two small eggs with 1/2 a tomato and 1/2 an avocado, for lunch I have another whey shake and a high protein yogurt with an egg depending on and only if I had one for breakfast, not 2. For dinner I have a 1/3 lb very very lean beef burger (patty only but seasoned so it tastes great) with mushrooms and either 1/2 an avocado or 1/2 a tomato. I workout in the evening (it's very short) and then I have a Casein shake (long lasting protein) before I go to bed so my body never goes into starvation mode.
I have been getting in 55 to 80ozs of water a day (that's getting easier).
With all this, I'm still 100 to 400 calories short of 1200 depending on what substitutions I made for meals, although above is what a pretty normal day has been looking like this week.
I'm not used to eating like this throughout the day, and my body has always lost weight nutritionally eating higher protein and lower carbs. I'm trying to restart my metabolism because I think it's been pretty much asleep for years.
I appreciate any advice / info as I used to workout all the time when I was younger and knew how my body responded to most things then. Now over 50 seems to be an entirely new ballgame all together.
💕💕💕💕💕

This doesn't sound sustainable to me because instead of learning how to eat a variety and become skilled at managing all your options, you're stuck in a very specific pattern and ultimately replacing meals with drinks. Why can't you change the beef to a little higher fat content for calories? Or add a bun? Why not half a serving of ice cream weighed on a food scale? Some peanut butter and banana weighed on a food scale?

You aren't going to go into any kind of "starvation mode" related to when you eat your last meal of the day. Ditch anything you know about that.

Adventurista

4freedom32 wrote: »

I set my daily calorie count to 1200 but I'm having a hard time hitting this on a daily basis. I want to reset it to 1000/daily but 1) i don't know how to, and 2) does this change the numbers for the days I've completed so far? I started on Sept 1st and have lost 6lbs so far.
Thanks for any info/advice!
Rose

bold is mine


@4freedom32 ~ Your first post says you started Sept 1st and your post was on September 7th, so this is 1st week. How is it going now?

A few thoughts.... It is not unusual to have a water weight woosh loss the first week. After that, it might have a different pattern depending on a 30 day hormone cycle - that has a good week or 2 of normal loss and a week or 10 days holding the same or even increasing...

if you use the 'guided set-up' for goals based on your personal information (height, weight, activity level) and then choose a weight loss per week from 1/2 to 2 pounds, MFP will suggest the amount to eat to make that happen...

then, if you actually experiment and try that level for a whole 30 day cycle or 2 or 3 cycles, check the same time each month about day 3 of a new cycle - and see if your actual rate matches the suggested amount to eat.

it takes patience to trust the process and actually do this, but the scale will fluctuation with water weight retention and other things that happen in the body - which are not actually real weight gain unless you are actually over-eating more than your body needs.... At the height and weight you also shared, 1200 calories is probably a crash diet and also difficult to actually do. There are so many enjoyable nourishing foods - can eat so many different things - just not too much - and that is where the food tracker will help you understand how much! Hope you find an eating approach that works well for you both physically and emotionally - it's worth exploring. Cheers

ddsb1111

Doing my own math on your meal plan you’re over 1200 calories, and this doesn’t include any oils, seasonings, etc. But I agree, at your weight, this is a recipe for disaster. With over 50lbs to lose I wouldn’t shoot for more than 2lbs a week, and would reduce that after a month or two.

Also, if this is what you want to eat indefinitely that’s fine, but if it’s a huge departure from how you normally eat you’ll likely rebound because it’s not a sustainable lifestyle. Losing weight should teach you how to eat in maintenance but a few hundred calories less, that’s pretty much it. What you do now you’ll need to do forever. When you find out what you can do forever, you’ve found your perfect weight loss plan.

Unknown

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