Is 1200 calories a good amount?

snowrose

Or will it slow down my metab so when I start eating normal (responsibly and healthily but still some treats, not counting cals )

Will end up gaining weigh?

MFPfriend

It depends. If you are 6 feet tall, I personally wouldn't recommend 1200 cals (though I'm not a medical professional... just someone with experience). I'm 5'6", female, weigh 180 pounds, and I eat 1330 calories a day to lose 1.5 pounds a week.
If you're only trying to lose 10 pounds or so, I wouldn't do anything near 1200 calories.

Also, when you do hit your goal weight and begin to eat normally, you need to build up. If you are eating 1200 cals to lose weight, then hit maintenance, slowly add in 100 calories a week. So 1200, 1300, 1400, etc- all the way up to your maintenance calories.

stevemcknight

MFPfriend is exactly right - email me your stats (weight/age/height and daily activity level not including exercise - AND what daily exercise you're doing) and I'll get back to you with your numbers. Unless you're tiny - 1200 is mighty low!

Steve
knightfit.com

snowrose

I am about 170cm (I think)
F 21 yrs old
57.5 kg

Not very active - Work in office in front of a computer all day with 1hr train trips each way so tired when I get home cook dinner shower tv bed.

Only exercise - Walking around looking at the shops for my lunch break for just under an hr plus walking from trainstation to work takes about 5 mins both ways so about an hour of walking a day but I wouldnt call it fast walking.

So far I have lost 3kg but hit a stand still but I also havent been very strict with the 1200 cals like I was before!

I wouldnt consider myself over weight but I have a lot of fat around my thighs and bum that needs to go.

barbiecat

Keep in mind that what you eat is important......you should be eating nutrition dense foods and not empty calories

1200 might be a good starting point but the more you exercise, the more calories you need to consume to nourish and energize your body.

ChristieisReady

What did the website give you? How fast are you trying to lose weight? Do you *need* to lose weight that quickly?

The website basically gives you your caloric intake minus several hundred calories for weight loss. You have to eat those calories, plus the subtracted weight-loss calories, plus an extra couple of hundred calories to gain weight back.

Generally speaking, your metabolism doesn't respond to a couple hundred calories either way: it's interested in what you're doing more than what you're eating.

If you decide, all of a sudden, just to jump back up to 2200 calories per day (more than just one or 2 days of "oops"), and you've been on your diet for more than about 10 days, yes, you will gain weight. So, if you've go time, go down slowly and go back up slowly.

ChristieisReady

Re: your trouble spots

Ballet pleas (plee-ays). Busts your thighs and butt. Inner thighs are trickier. Try this exercise:

http://pilates.about.com/od/pilatesmat/ht/ThighLift.htm

10- 15 minutes every night and you WILL see a difference.

snowrose

MFP said 1200 cals..

MFP pal also says: Your estimated BMR is: 1,372 calories/day*

So to lose weight it seems as though I really need to be on the 1200 or im going to be at maintenance weight?

MFPfriend

MFP said 1200 cals..

MFP pal also says: Your estimated BMR is: 1,372 calories/day*

So to lose weight it seems as though I really need to be on the 1200 or im going to be at maintenance weight?

Your BMR is only the amount of calories needed to sustain life (meaning being in bed all day just breathing- even sleeping burns more calories than just laying there). Maintenance calories include basic functions, like walking to the car, digesting food, breathing, talking, brushing your teeth, etc. That's why most people maintain at around 1800-2200, unless they are very small or very big.

snowrose

Well that makes me feel better I thought going over 1,372 would mean weight gain. Thanks

LotusF1ower

Or will it slow down my metab so when I start eating normal (responsibly and healthily but still some treats, not counting cals )

Will end up gaining weigh?

That's what the maintenance plan is for.

It all depends what the "eating normally" entails, it won't be able to be what you were eating before as that was what got you here in the first place.