1200 Calories (NOT about hitting this #/starvation mode)

girlruns

I think I already know the answer, but as I look at the forums each day, I continually see responses/questions/concerns about the 1200 calorie mark for women. We've all seen people who wonder why they have to eat 1200 calories, but there is a shocking amount of people who include in their responses "I am at the 1200 calorie mark since I am a woman and.....(fill in the blank here)".

My question is--why are SOOOOO many women automatically setting their marks to 1200?? We know how MFP works, it sets up your deficit automatically based on the information entered. Here is my example: My last weight entered into MFP was 143.6. I am 5'5" and have a sendentary job. In order to lose 1 pound per week, I need to eat 1250 calories a day. Now because of that 1200 minimum, I know that even if I upped my loss to 2 pounds I wouldn't be given a number under 1200, but that isn't really the point. The point is, I am ALREADY at a healthy weight. The weight I wish to still lose is my personal choice. And because I am fueling a smaller (than before) body, and I sit at a desk all day, I need fewer calories--BUT STILL MORE THAN 1200!!!! And as an additional point, I find it really tough to stay at 1250, so I make sure to exercise so I can eat.

Basically, I worry that all those who have spent years overeating are now going to a 1200 calorie diet in an effort to lose as quickly as possible. There are hundreds of threads discussing the proper fueling of your body to lose weight. And the bigger you are, the more you have to lose, the more calories you will get at the beginning (bigger=more fuel). I really hope all of us on here continue the lifestyle, continue the journey and all end as healthy individuals. And while I know many will "fall" off, I hope it won't be because of setting up such a restrictive diet in contrast to ones former eating patterns.

blh_1010

*BUMP!!! Great post! I agree with you totally!

Alita2011

Great advice!

knittygirl52

You are absolutely right! In fact, some people shouldn't even drop down to 1200. I read a long article about how anytime you eat below your BMI (Basal Metabolic Rate--what is needed to maintain your current weight if you lay in bed and SLEEP 24 hours per day), your body can think it is in starvation mode and lower your metabolism. They claim that if your BMI is 1400 (which, because I am overweight, mine is), and you eat 1200, you can lower your metabolism and cause a plateau. There are any number of people on THIS website who have reported that they broke a plateau by eating a bit more and tricking their body into thinking they aren't starving anymore.

Seriously people! Why on earth are you depriving your body of the fuel it needs to give you energy to work out and live a good life. It is not necessary! In fact, it is counterproductive!

pixieE

Fantastic post!

I have been so confused about my calorie intake, i've read so, so many topic threads on this and all it's done is confuse me even more!!!
Your post has helped clarify a couple of things for me though, however......

The calorie intake MFP set me was 1400 but i wasn't losing weight so i manually dropped it to 1300. I never go over my calories in a day but i have been eating my calories used up with exercise.......i'm still not losing any weight and i'm now wondering if its because i'm only just hitting the 1200 calorie intake marker .

Hmmmmmm can you tell i'm still bloody confused?!?!?!?! :laugh:

HeatherCanDoIt

Thanks for posting this!!!

vanessa_wilson

Thanks for all the information. I needed all the information I need to be successful on my very first journey to weightloss

naturebaby

ditto:happy: with all of the above

gracefullyjenn

a lot of these same people also burn over 500 calories a day or more and wont eat any of their exercise calories. Its a shame.

LotusF1ower

I think I already know the answer, but as I look at the forums each day, I continually see responses/questions/concerns about the 1200 calorie mark for women. We've all seen people who wonder why they have to eat 1200 calories, but there is a shocking amount of people who include in their responses "I am at the 1200 calorie mark since I am a woman and.....(fill in the blank here)".

My question is--why are SOOOOO many women automatically setting their marks to 1200?? We know how MFP works, it sets up your deficit automatically based on the information entered. Here is my example: My last weight entered into MFP was 143.6. I am 5'5" and have a sendentary job. In order to lose 1 pound per week, I need to eat 1250 calories a day. Now because of that 1200 minimum, I know that even if I upped my loss to 2 pounds I wouldn't be given a number under 1200, but that isn't really the point. The point is, I am ALREADY at a healthy weight. The weight I wish to still lose is my personal choice. And because I am fueling a smaller (than before) body, and I sit at a desk all day, I need fewer calories--BUT STILL MORE THAN 1200!!!! And as an additional point, I find it really tough to stay at 1250, so I make sure to exercise so I can eat.

Basically, I worry that all those who have spent years overeating are now going to a 1200 calorie diet in an effort to lose as quickly as possible. There are hundreds of threads discussing the proper fueling of your body to lose weight. And the bigger you are, the more you have to lose, the more calories you will get at the beginning (bigger=more fuel). I really hope all of us on here continue the lifestyle, continue the journey and all end as healthy individuals. And while I know many will "fall" off, I hope it won't be because of setting up such a restrictive diet in contrast to ones former eating patterns.

There is nothing wrong with eating 1200 calories per day, MFP sets it that way for a lot of people, it is not the person who is putting the figure there.

Personally, I am losing weight on 1200 and have no intention of upping that figure as there is no need.

It really does depend on what you eat, protein fills me up so I make sure I include protein in both breakfast, lunch and dinner otherwise I would get hungry. As it turns out, I am rarely hungry unless it is getting close to a mealtime and that, I consider, is healthy.

I have enjoyed every single minute of this weight loss plan and I have been on a few :laugh: . This time though, there is one hell of a difference, this time it is a life-style change and the only difference between this precise minute and when I have shed my excess weight is that I will be maintaining and will be eating exactly the same food as I do now, except there will be more of it.

This site has been an absolute life-saver for me, I cannot praise it enough.

(Plus all the people here are diamonds, all the different opinions and ideas make it one hell of a lively place :laugh: )

steph_armstrong

I completely agree with you

justahorsen

Sooooo, now I CONFUSED.....I have been eating the 1200 calories that MFP recommends and am SLOWLY losing weight. I just calculated my BMR, right here on MFP, and it comes up 1,602.....so should I be eating 1.602 calories plus my exercise calories? Will that make the weight come off faster because I'm really in starvation mode now and just don't know it????

bellinachuchina

Some people can handle such a restrictive diet, as 1200 calories, and I was one of them. It lead me to have the amount of success I did in a reasonable time frame. I am now going on the 6th month of maintaing my ultimate goal weight.

Initially there were physical (hunger) & mental (habit) obstacles in the beginning of my journey. Eventually it became completely psychological, and with relentless determination, I changed my eating habits for life. There are so many ways to feel full on 1200 cals a day, you have to be creative. Eat frequent low cal meals, and drink fluids.

What I cannot stress more to people who are trying to lose a great deal of weight, is to remember how you became so overweight. Exactly, excess food. So reverse the activity of over eating and, Voila! 1200 isn't for everyone, yet the effects are undeniable. Best of luck to everyone on their journey!

flannan

As someone totally new to counting calories I am just getting more and more confused. I started with the 1200 according to MFP. Then I did another calculator on another site that gave me 1000. Then there is talk about not eating enough calories.
I am only trying to lose about 7 pounds. I lost 3 in the first 2 weeks, probably bloat, and I am drinking alot more water. But now I haven't even lost an ounce in over a week.
How do I know how many to eat?

girlruns

Just to clarify, I didn't mean to imply that NO ONE should be on a 1200 calorie diet. I only felt like too many people ate 1200 calories because they thought the most drastic move in the right direction would be the best one. MFP is such a great tool and is customized (as much as it can be) so even though it doesn't set ME at 1200 calories, doesn't mean it doesn't set others at that mark. I also happen to update my calorie allowance each time I check in, so when I started at 170 pounds, I think I was getting around 1400 calories pre-exercise.

I also know there are plenty of ways to be full on 1200 calories, and lots of fruits and veggies go a long way toward that. In my household, I am still trying to balance my desire for these foods with their expiration dates (my husband doesn't really eat them and I haven't got used to frequently shopping for them so they are always fresh & stocked). But, that is neither here nor there. My only point is that we didn't get here by eating 1200 calories a day and some caution should be exercised in going to 1200 calories straight off for the fastest results. (see any and all posts where plateaus are hit that include the phrase "I'm eating 1200 calories and working out 5 days a week and not losing any weight...")

But as LotusF1ower said, everyone here is a diamond and I hope everyone stays trucking on their personal path to happiness.

LotusF1ower

Sooooo, now I CONFUSED.....I have been eating the 1200 calories that MFP recommends and am SLOWLY losing weight. I just calculated my BMR, right here on MFP, and it comes up 1,602.....so should I be eating 1.602 calories plus my exercise calories? Will that make the weight come off faster because I'm really in starvation mode now and just don't know it????

Do you have less than 5% body fat? If you don't then you are not in true starvation mode!

You are losing weight on the calories you are eating, what is the point of upping them? No you are not in starvation mode at all. Just continue to do what you are doing, it is working a treat, why spoil it by changing it??

batty5

I think this all makes sense but unfortunately my doctor does not so has put me on LESS calories i.e. 1000 with no exercise calories!!!!

mooz

I was a member of another site - wont say the name but she's a very famous trainer on TV and just had her own show in addition to the other show she had with another trainer Back to my point - all of the women on her plan were at 1200 calories. I entered different info to see if Id get different results...nope. The suggestion was always 1200 calories.

My doctor [GP] for me recommended 1800 calories. My bariatric doctor recommends the same, but with his plan Im not counting calories. MFP recommends 1860 so it's pretty close.

I think 1200 seems to be pretty standard advice from a lot of sources. I dont know why. I know I couldnt survive on that. Id be so angry all the time and Id have migraines that would last for days.

justahorsen

Do you have less than 5% body fat? If you don't then you are not in true starvation mode!

You are losing weight on the calories you are eating, what is the point of upping them? No you are not in starvation mode at all. Just continue to do what you are doing, it is working a treat, why spoil it by changing it??
[/quote]


thanks, I guess I'll keep doing what I'm doing....slow but steady wins the race (or in this case the skinny body back :laugh: )

yolsweet

My goal is 1200 cal per day and I don't even it nearly that, but I am still losing weight and that may come from exercising and drinking lots of water. I also watch what I eat. I am a very busy person and sometimes I just have a tendency of not eating as much as I should. I've lost over 30 pounds in 4 months. Get a vitiamin to help boost your metabolism also this will help.

karissastephens

I PUT 1200 CALS. a day because I know sometimes my measuring of food is off and I never calculate the little condiments I use. SO that adds up to being over 1200 calories anyway...its just easier.