Is it imperative to eat more than 1200 calories a day?

janelily7

I put my cal intake up to 1600 and now I battle to eat all this food!

sollyn23l2

It all depends on your personal information. If you're older and fairly short (say around 5 ft) then 1200 may be fine. If you're 6 feet tall.... probably not fine. What did MFP recommend for you?

csplatt

we all have different levels of maintenance calories, depending on our body make up, age, how much we are able to move throughout the day. we’re also not perfect trackers of calorie intake, so if you and your physician feel that your weight is at an appropriate place and not dipping too low, you may be doing just fine.

are you trying to maintain your weight now?

SuzanneC1l9zz

Also, 1,200 to 1,600 is a fairly big jump all at once. If you do decide you need to be eating more, why not go slower, 100 calories more for a week or few, then add another 100, etc., until you get to your target?

tomcustombuilder

Any reported calorie amount is dependent on counting and tracking accuracy

AnnPT77

Let me flip it around: It's unhealthful to lose weight too fast. It's also harder stick with long enough to lose a meaningful total amount of weight, can create long-term health issues (like loss of bone strength or depleted muscle), may trigger hair loss and be bad for appearance in other ways, and more bad stuff.

How fast were you losing at 1200? If it was faster than 1% of current body weight per week, then you should eat more than 1200. If it was faster than 0.5% per week, and you're not severely obese, then you should eat more than 1200.

Presumably if you have weight to lose, you used to eat more than 1200. Maybe you're eating foods that are more filling, now. If that's the case, and you need to eat more, eat some calorie-dense foods to work your way up to a more moderate loss rate. Add a little more olive oil to the veggies, use full-fat rather than non-fat dairy foods, eat fattier meat or fish, eat higher-fat healthy foods like avocados and nuts/seeds . . . or have a treat food, once you have your nutrition covered adequately.

If necessary, increase calories gradually, in order to get used to eating more. I'm not saying "take months", but maybe bump up calories by a hundred every few days until you get to a sensible target.

Best wishes!

Corina1143

I started taking a blood pressure pill that had side effects of reduced appetite and upset stomach, so I accidentally cut calories drastically. My hair fell out. My skin dried up and flaked off. I looked like an alligator. I barely had enough energy to drag myself out of bed.
My opinion? Nothing magic about 1200. But don't cut calories drastically. Find a way to lose weight in a healthier, happier way.

totameafox

You can eat more calorie dense food when you increase your calorie allowance. I can take 1200 calories and have so much food to eat that I will not be able to consume it in a day. My boyfriend says he couldn't eat like I do because my meals are too big. However when I need to pad for the calories, I will usually either use chia seeds, cheese or a meat protein. You could also use condiments like mayo. I currently use a zero calorie salad dressing so I could find calories that way. It's not difficult to add calories without bulking your food.