If 1,200 Calories is too low- Then What's Just Right?

RebeccaBecca26

I did a post on the controversy of eating 1,200 calories. People for the most part disagreed with this number- Saying it was too low, bone would be lost, it's dangerous, and some even said "Good Luck Not Loosing Weight" OUCH.

But almost NO ONE mentioned what they thought WAS a good number to eat. People also mentioned it's based on age,weight,and lots of factors-

Here are the Factors:

Age: 26
Weight: 260
Height: 5'2
Activity Level: Work out 1 hour 5 days a week (Circuit Training)
Rest of the day: Mostly sedentary
No health issues

I hope as many people who were against me eating 1,200 calories will suggest what they believe is correct

Thanks All

Escape_Artist

Type your numbers in Scooby..

Sedentary WITHOUT exercise gives this :

BMR : 1951
TDEE : 2342
-20% : 1873

That is without an activity factor.
So yeah 1200 is very low considering this

KateK8LoseW8

According to this website (http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/), which is what I use for my calorie calculations, your TDEE is 2742 with exercise. So not eating any "earned" calories back, you could eat 1742 for rapid weight loss.

fivethreeone

Type your numbers in Scooby..

Sedentary WITHOUT exercise gives this :

BMR : 1951
TDEE : 2342
-20% : 1873

That is without an activity factor

Yup. OP, eat about 1850-1950 calories per day and you will lose weight and be more healthy.

Also eat back exercise calories, especially if you are doing cardio workouts that burn over 200 calories.

soehlerking

^^^ What they said.

Mr_Knight

But almost NO ONE mentioned what they thought WAS a good number to eat.

I've done that a number of times. You can figure out the minimum possible calories based on macro requirements:

1g protein per pound of LBM -> 4 calories/pound of LBM
0.3g fat per pound of LBM -> 2.7 calories/pound of LBM

Let's say it's 140 pounds of LBM -> 938 calories

Now figure out your fat oxidization potential. Use 25 calories/day/pound of fat stores. For 40 pounds of fat stores, that's 1000 calories.

Now figure out your non-exercise TDEE - let's assume 2000.

Now put it all together to figure out your required carb intake:

2000 - 938 (protein+fat) - 1000 (fat stores) -> 62 calories -> 15g of carbs.

So your minimum net caloric intake, for the hypothetical person described above, if you do everything perfectly, is 1000 calories/day, consisting of 140g of protein, 15g of carbs, and 40g of fat.

Adjust numbers as necessary for your situation. Continue to recalculate over time as fat stores deplete.

cwolfman13

I also think the biggest thing you continue to miss day after day is that it's 1200 calories NET...which means you estimate your calorie burn, log it, and eat back exercise calories with MFP. The problem isn't 1200 in and of itself...the problem is that people do not understand how MFP works and the fact that MfP gives you your calorie goal WITHOUT taking into account any exercise whatsoever.

My guess would be that you also selected the most aggressive 2 Lbs per week approach...this can be appropriate for individuals who are obese and need to lose 100 Lbs + but isn't really appropriate as you lean out...yet lady after lady after lady here on MFP just continues to eat that low of calories regardless of what they have remaining to lose...many of them actually think 1200 is their maintenance level of calories and they have to stay well under that number or exercise everything off...

When you start to look at it from a health, fitness, and nutrition standpoint it makes a lot more sense than when you just want to drop weight as fast as possible...

Also, the TDEE - 20% goal calories noted above are GROSS and usually represent roughly 1 Lb per week loss goal.

Koldnomore

I did a post on the controversy of eating 1,200 calories. People for the most part disagreed with this number- Saying it was too low, bone would be lost, it's dangerous, and some even said "Good Luck Not Loosing Weight" OUCH.

But almost NO ONE mentioned what they thought WAS a good number to eat. People also mentioned it's based on age,weight,and lots of factors-

Here are the Factors:

Age: 26
Weight: 260
Height: 5'2
Activity Level: Work out 1 hour 5 days a week (Circuit Training)
Rest of the day: Mostly sedentary
No health issues

I hope as many people who were against me eating 1,200 calories will suggest what they believe is correct

Thanks All

How much do you eat to maintain your 260 lbs right now? Why not just track your normal diet for a few weeks and then take a cut from that? Doing this you will know for a fact that 1200 calories for YOU is not right. There are some people who can/should start at 1200 but you are not one of them. Seriously, enjoy being able to actually have treats because once you get down to a more normal weight you won't be able to have as many anymore (man I miss being able to eat 2300 calories a day sometimes!)

I'm also in the camp that says you can easily eat 1800 PLUS half of what you burn in exercise and you will still lose weight unless you have some medical condition we don't know about. If you start at 1200 where will you cut once your body adapts? 1000? 800? You need to leave yourself somewhere to go - trust me. Eat the food you are allowed to eat and enjoy losing weight while still being able to have a good amount of 'junk food' if you want it

justal313

Type your numbers in Scooby..

Sedentary WITHOUT exercise gives this :

BMR : 1951
TDEE : 2342
-20% : 1873

That is without an activity factor.
So yeah 1200 is very low considering this

and by Scooby we mean
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Francl27

Type your numbers in Scooby..

Sedentary WITHOUT exercise gives this :

BMR : 1951
TDEE : 2342
-20% : 1873

That is without an activity factor.
So yeah 1200 is very low considering this

and by Scooby we mean
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Pretty much this.

cwolfman13

If you start at 1200 where will you cut once your body adapts? 1000? 800? You need to leave yourself somewhere to go - trust me.

This is a good point. when you start off with the most aggressive possible approach, you don't have anywhere to go when you hit a plateau other than VLC...and while 1200 NET seems pretty miserable to me, I couldn't imagine how incredibly un-enjoyable my life would be having to drop it further than that. Hell, I get hangry with my 2200 calories to cut.

You have to realize OP that this is all a long process...you're not going to just linearly drop a couple Lbs per week...you need to leave yourself options for the very long haul that is in front of you.

Siansonea

Ugh, I wish people would get over "1200 calories". There isn't a one-size-fits-all calorie threshold for every person who wants to lose weight. And it especially cracks me up when young males start ranting about it. Males in general have higher calorie thresholds than women, and the younger they are, the more calories their bodies use up.

Your magic number is something you have to find through good old fashioned trial and error, unless you want to go to the trouble of doing a simple calculation: Find out your TDEE. Subtract 20% of that total. Eat that number of calories per day, as accurately as possible. Lose weight. That's it.

1200 calories is a perfectly adequate calorie limit for people who are short, female, or "mature", and if you fit in more than one of those categories, 1200 might even be too many calories for reasonably quick weight loss, but fine for maintenance/slow weight loss.

Siansonea

If you start at 1200 where will you cut once your body adapts? 1000? 800? You need to leave yourself somewhere to go - trust me.

This is a good point. when you start off with the most aggressive possible approach, you don't have anywhere to go when you hit a plateau other than VLC...and while 1200 NET seems pretty miserable to me, I couldn't imagine how incredibly un-enjoyable my life would be having to drop it further than that. Hell, I get hangry with my 2200 calories to cut.

You have to realize OP that this is all a long process...you're not going to just linearly drop a couple Lbs per week...you need to leave yourself options for the very long haul that is in front of you.

This is just Chicken Little "slowed metabolism/starvation mode" fearmongering. If you can't lose weight by eating 1200 calories a day "net", then you're either very short, very female, or old, or some combination of the three. Or you're a medical marvel, and you should see a doctor.

maybeazure

Many of the people on here who fear monger about 1200 calorie diets are neither female, nor morbidly obese. Losing 100+ pounds is very different from losing 10 vanity pounds and trying to build muscle at the same time. The TDEE calculator assumes an average percentage of lean muscle tissue, which you likely do not have. The thing about being very obese is that you have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of losing weight relatively quickly. The advantage is that your health will improve drastically. The disadvantage is that you might have some loose skin.

From my personal experience: In May I weighed 274 pounds. I'm taller than you at 5'6". I eat between 1200 and 1300 calories a day. On special occasions I let myself go up to 1500-1600 maybe. I've lost 55 pounds so far. I'm no longer considered morbidly obese...I'm just regular obese. The doctor took me off of blood pressure medication. I have reduced my anti-depressant by 50%. I've gone from a size 24 to a 16. I feel better about myself than I have ever. I still have all my hair, I'm not tired, and my bones are fine. If I am careful about the food that I choose to eat...lots of protein, fruits and vegetables then I am not hungry. If I use up a quarter of my calories on a donut, then I am hungry in an hour.

I think you have to decide for yourself what the right number of calories are. If you try 1200 calories and are able to stick to it, and aren't miserable, then that is OK. If you want to try 1500 then that's OK too. I would just suggest picking one and seeing if you are happy with your weight loss,. 2-3 pounds a week is perfectly safe for someone who is very overweight. Don't worry about what other people think...particularly if they aren't in your situation.

cwolfman13

Males in general have higher calorie thresholds than women, and the younger they are, the more calories their bodies use up.

Oh I do hope you were referring to me...nobody has referred to me as "young" in quite some time. Thanks...

also...I see quite a few women chime in as well who frankly eat almost as much as my old male *kitten*....

bcattoes

1200 net calories is rarely too low for someone of your height. It's if you are exercising and eating 1200 total calories that is too low for most people. You need to eat more if you burn more.

ETA: MFP is a GOOD tool. Just put in your stats, be honest, log all your food and all your exercise and eat what it tells you to and it will work.

kimosabe1

I'm dropping weight eating 1350-:-)

Mokey41

OMG, are we beating this horse again?

themommie

I have eaten at approx 1200 cals a day sinc3 july 2010 when I joined mfp, I have lost 115lbs , true I am old 50 and I have some medical issues fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and hypothyroid, but this works for me when I increase to 1550 cals or above I start gaining and if 7 eat foods that r filling and low in cals I am satisfied.what u eat makes a huge difference

Lives2Travel

Many of the people on here who fear monger about 1200 calorie diets are neither female, nor morbidly obese. Losing 100+ pounds is very different from losing 10 vanity pounds and trying to build muscle at the same time. The TDEE calculator assumes an average percentage of lean muscle tissue, which you likely do not have. The thing about being very obese is that you have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of losing weight relatively quickly. The advantage is that your health will improve drastically. The disadvantage is that you might have some loose skin.

From my personal experience: In May I weighed 274 pounds. I'm taller than you at 5'6". I eat between 1200 and 1300 calories a day. On special occasions I let myself go up to 1500-1600 maybe. I've lost 55 pounds so far. I'm no longer considered morbidly obese...I'm just regular obese. The doctor took me off of blood pressure medication. I have reduced my anti-depressant by 50%. I've gone from a size 24 to a 16. I feel better about myself than I have ever. I still have all my hair, I'm not tired, and my bones are fine. If I am careful about the food that I choose to eat...lots of protein, fruits and vegetables then I am not hungry. If I use up a quarter of my calories on a donut, then I am hungry in an hour.

I think you have to decide for yourself what the right number of calories are. If you try 1200 calories and are able to stick to it, and aren't miserable, then that is OK. If you want to try 1500 then that's OK too. I would just suggest picking one and seeing if you are happy with your weight loss,. 2-3 pounds a week is perfectly safe for someone who is very overweight. Don't worry about what other people think...particularly if they aren't in your situation.

Amen.

YesIAm17

Here is my 2 cents (here are my 2 cents? is? are? anyway...)... you tell me if you think it's worth a dime.... (note: once upon a time I was a 265lb male but lost over 100lbs not using MFP or any of my current knowledge, what I share here is my current strategy)

I use this http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ to get my calculations. I went ahead and entered your numbers (and set your Current and Goal weight both to 260 to force the calculator to give me the desired info). From that....

Harris-Benedict Formula BMR = 1955 calories
Sedentary TDEE (little or no exercise, desk job) = 2346 calories

Personally I do, and in your case would also do, Sedentary TDEE minus 20% (2346 - 20%) = 1876.8 calories.

I would round up to 1877 calories and set my Net Calorie goal in MFP to that.

I would then log all my food and all my exercise and aim to eat back all of my exercise calories.