did I miss something?
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I don't think males should have any need to drop below 1800 calories and females shouldn't have to drop below 1500, and with regularly exercise even these numbers are too low.
Kursten stuart, and medical science disagrees.
A clue is something you do not possess.
There can be a lot of negative effects of dropping calories too much too quickly, but none from dropping calories as little as possible. If maintenance for women is on average 1900-2000 calories, and for men around 2400-2500, then dropping 500 calories a day to lose a pound per week leaves a decent amount of calories and should allow the individual to be healthy mentally and physically. Plus, most people should be fairly active if they can, meaning that they will be consuming more calories than this anyway.0 -
1200 is ok as long as you are exercising. x0
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MFP does not set a TOTAL calorie number. It sets a NET calorie number. MFP targets 1200 net calories for me, but if I exercise 400 calories, then I can eat 1600 and still hit MFP's target of 1200 net. So I am on an MFP 1200 plan, but I eat more than that every day and still hit my target.0
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Whether one uses MFP + exercise calories, or the online IIFYM calculators, the allowable calories are often pretty much the same.
This. But that's assuming people are using both calculators correctly. Many don't, and that's where discrepancies happen.
For myself, I'm a work-at-home artist/housewife. I'm not as active as I was when I was a full-time vet tech and spent the entire day on my feet and lifting animals and bags of food and cleaning and everything else the job requires. But I'm a lot more active than when I had a desk job. If I'm set between lightly active or active and eat my exercise calories, that's the right amount for me. Or use a TDEE calculator that goes by my lean mass and use the "exercises 6x a week" setting. Deducting either .5 pounds a week off the MFP numbers, or 10-15% off the TDEE numbers, I get about the same average amount.
But when I first joined here, I listed myself as sedentary to lose 2# a week... and that was completely wrong for my situation. If I hadn't been eating exercise calories, it would have been even worse. I lasted about 4 weeks before I realized, "The only time I lose more than 1 pound a week is when I have a stomach flu, so why don't I just set it to 1 pound a week and see what happens?" I did, and everything worked much better.
Plus, I felt a lot more positive when I lost one pound a week when I was expecting to lose one pound a week, than when I was trying to lose two and only lost one.0 -
1200 is ok as long as you are exercising. x
What? No, if you are exercising most likely you need much more cals than 12000 -
I guess I don't have a question, per se, but how are so many people set to 1200 calories a day to lose weight...and how do they survive?
Shrug. Dunno. But I have a feeling it has to do with the amount of their daily activity.
I'm pretty active, I get upwards of 10k steps per day & along with a keto diet, I've been able to melt the fat effortlessly.
I think if you find what works for you, keep at it and be happy.
If you haven't found what works for you as yet, keep at it until you find it.
Re-balancing yourself to where it's easy breezy to maintain a healthy weight is definitely achievable for most people, and often, health issues notwithstanding.0 -
People don't understand how MFP works, and they don't understand how weight loss works. This "I'm short and sedentary" nonsense is invalid. I am short (5'0) and have a desk job. I lift three times a week. Other than that, walking is the only exercise I get. I eat 1600 calories per day with a once-a-week refeed of 2200 calories. This is to lose about half a pound per week.
If you tell MFP you want to lose 2 lbs per week and you don't really need to be losing weight that quickly, it is going to give you a 1200 calorie goal because that is the lowest number it will give anyone. And keep in mind that MFP's number is NET of exercise, so if your goal is 1200 (which it shouldn't be, but if you put garbage in, you get garbage out), and you burn 400 calories from exercise, MFP is really telling you to eat 1600 calories. People get all sanctimonious about not eating back their exercise calories because they think it's pointless, but MFP assumes that is what you are doing. So that's why it tells you 1200 calories; it assumes that you will burn 400, eat 1600, and NET 1200.0 -
I wouldn't say stupid either, but some certainly don't bother to read instructions and/or stickies very well.MFP assumes a 7000 calorie deficit weekly when set to 2 pounds lost a week... It bottoms out at 1200.... If it thinks you need 2200 to amintain it will set you at 1200.. Essentially a 55% deifict when you should probably not cut at more than ~20%
people, in general, are stupid... people dont self advocate... people say things like TL;DR... did I mention people are stupid?
I don't think it's that people are stupid... I think the software algorithms need rewriting. If you're not knowledgeable about weight loss, then you're going to take MFP's calculations on trust and ask for the maximum weekly gain. Who wouldn't? There's not enough information for the new user to make a reasonable judgment. Just my opinion....0 -
1200 is ok as long as you are exercising. x
Ummmmmmm :huh:0 -
I don't think males should have any need to drop below 1800 calories and females shouldn't have to drop below 1500, and with regularly exercise even these numbers are too low.
Kursten stuart, and medical science disagrees.
A clue is something you do not possess.
Of course the medical world disagrees! When we get ill, they earn!0 -
People don't understand how MFP works, and they don't understand how weight loss works. This "I'm short and sedentary" nonsense is invalid. I am short (5'0) and have a desk job. I lift three times a week. Other than that, walking is the only exercise I get. I eat 1600 calories per day with a once-a-week refeed of 2200 calories. This is to lose about half a pound per week.
If you tell MFP you want to lose 2 lbs per week and you don't really need to be losing weight that quickly, it is going to give you a 1200 calorie goal because that is the lowest number it will give anyone. And keep in mind that MFP's number is NET of exercise, so if your goal is 1200 (which it shouldn't be, but if you put garbage in, you get garbage out), and you burn 400 calories from exercise, MFP is really telling you to eat 1600 calories. People get all sanctimonious about not eating back their exercise calories because they think it's pointless, but MFP assumes that is what you are doing. So that's why it tells you 1200 calories; it assumes that you will burn 400, eat 1600, and NET 1200.
^^^Great post!0 -
I eat 1200 because I am short and I am sedentary. I also have an underactive thyroid. I tried eating at least half of my exercise calories (I use my heart rate monitor for an estimate) back for 3 months, but I gained a significant amount of weight back. I have to stick with 1200 to lose, otherwise I just maintain or gain depending how many of my exercise calories I eat back. I have been doing this for 4 years now and I am just fine with it.
You should get on meds for your thyroid. It will stop affecting your weight loss, plus there's complications of having untreated thyroid problems long term.
I was on medication for my hypothyroidism for two years, and they even upped the dosage on me at one point. It did absolutely nothing to improve my health. Not just in weight loss, but everything else that it causes. No change.
Even my doctor couldn't understand it. 0 -
1200 is ok as long as you are exercising. x
Ummmmmmm :huh:
I don't know for sure, but I think perhaps that user meant that 1200 is okay if you are exercising and logging it, because MFP will give you more than 1200 calories if you log exercise.0 -
I eat 1200 because I am short and I am sedentary. I also have an underactive thyroid. I tried eating at least half of my exercise calories (I use my heart rate monitor for an estimate) back for 3 months, but I gained a significant amount of weight back. I have to stick with 1200 to lose, otherwise I just maintain or gain depending how many of my exercise calories I eat back. I have been doing this for 4 years now and I am just fine with it.
You should get on meds for your thyroid. It will stop affecting your weight loss, plus there's complications of having untreated thyroid problems long term.
I was on medication for my hypothyroidism for two years, and they even upped the dosage on me at one point. It did absolutely nothing to improve my health. Not just in weight loss, but everything else that it causes. No change. Even my doctor couldn't understand it.
Just to pipe up: did your endo ever change your pill? If your endo wasn't sure what was up, time to find a second opinion. Some people don't do well on certain thyroid drugs versus others (Synthroid vs. Armour, for example, or even Synthroid vs. Levoxyl, though they are remarkably similar). If you're hypo, you should be on something to treat it--the stress on the rest of your body with untreated thyroid issues cannot be overstated. It's bad.
Good luck on finding proper treatment! I definitely suggest talking to another doc--your issue might have been less of a dosage issue and more of a chemical issue (pill). Lots of people even use compounded T3 and T4 from pharmacies that'll make it fresh and very precisely to individual dosages.0 -
I eat 1200 because I am short and I am sedentary. I also have an underactive thyroid. I tried eating at least half of my exercise calories (I use my heart rate monitor for an estimate) back for 3 months, but I gained a significant amount of weight back. I have to stick with 1200 to lose, otherwise I just maintain or gain depending how many of my exercise calories I eat back. I have been doing this for 4 years now and I am just fine with it.
You should get on meds for your thyroid. It will stop affecting your weight loss, plus there's complications of having untreated thyroid problems long term.
I am currently on meds. We are still trying to find a dose that works. My last test 2 weeks ago showed I was overactive. With my luck I didn't lose any weight being overactive :grumble: LOL. I do feel better but my weight loss hasn't been affected. It still takes me a month to lose one lb.0 -
People don't understand how MFP works, and they don't understand how weight loss works. This "I'm short and sedentary" nonsense is invalid. I am short (5'0) and have a desk job. I lift three times a week. Other than that, walking is the only exercise I get. I eat 1600 calories per day with a once-a-week refeed of 2200 calories. This is to lose about half a pound per week.
If you tell MFP you want to lose 2 lbs per week and you don't really need to be losing weight that quickly, it is going to give you a 1200 calorie goal because that is the lowest number it will give anyone. And keep in mind that MFP's number is NET of exercise, so if your goal is 1200 (which it shouldn't be, but if you put garbage in, you get garbage out), and you burn 400 calories from exercise, MFP is really telling you to eat 1600 calories. People get all sanctimonious about not eating back their exercise calories because they think it's pointless, but MFP assumes that is what you are doing. So that's why it tells you 1200 calories; it assumes that you will burn 400, eat 1600, and NET 1200.
AMEN0 -
I've been a MFP member for quite a while now, but have been really getting into it that last month (really want to get myself back on track). I log everyday, and I come on the message boards...and mostly lurk. But one thing I notice is it seems that a lot of people have been given only 1200 calories for the day to lose weight. I have about 20lbs to lose and MFP gave me almost 1400 calories for each day, and I put in sedentary as I have an office job and my setting was to lose 1lbs a week. I've since gone and changed my calories to use IIFFYM as I do exercise at least three times a week and since reading the posts it seemed like a good idea to go by TDEE.
I guess I don't have a question, per se, but how are so many people set to 1200 calories a day to lose weight...and how do they survive?
1200 is the most aggressive approach...most woman I know have zero patience when it comes to losing their weight...it took them years to put it on but they want it all off in a month.
1200 NET is acceptable for some, especially if significantly overweight...but I do worry about those girls with 5 vanity Lbs to lose netting 500 calorie per day or whatever because they only gross 1200 and then go workout...scary stuff IMHO.0 -
People don't understand how MFP works, and they don't understand how weight loss works. This "I'm short and sedentary" nonsense is invalid. I am short (5'0) and have a desk job. I lift three times a week. Other than that, walking is the only exercise I get. I eat 1600 calories per day with a once-a-week refeed of 2200 calories. This is to lose about half a pound per week.
If you tell MFP you want to lose 2 lbs per week and you don't really need to be losing weight that quickly, it is going to give you a 1200 calorie goal because that is the lowest number it will give anyone. And keep in mind that MFP's number is NET of exercise, so if your goal is 1200 (which it shouldn't be, but if you put garbage in, you get garbage out), and you burn 400 calories from exercise, MFP is really telling you to eat 1600 calories. People get all sanctimonious about not eating back their exercise calories because they think it's pointless, but MFP assumes that is what you are doing. So that's why it tells you 1200 calories; it assumes that you will burn 400, eat 1600, and NET 1200.
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1200 is ok as long as you are exercising. x
Ummmmmmm :huh:
I don't know for sure, but I think perhaps that user meant that 1200 is okay if you are exercising and logging it, because MFP will give you more than 1200 calories if you log exercise.
^Exactly. At least that's what I assumed too, and the poster probably assumed we knew what they meant.0 -
Me too, I am 4'9" - which is always my petpeeve about weight s=charts
What happened to figuring your range on the basis of your frame0 -
I've been a MFP member for quite a while now, but have been really getting into it that last month (really want to get myself back on track). I log everyday, and I come on the message boards...and mostly lurk. But one thing I notice is it seems that a lot of people have been given only 1200 calories for the day to lose weight. I have about 20lbs to lose and MFP gave me almost 1400 calories for each day, and I put in sedentary as I have an office job and my setting was to lose 1lbs a week. I've since gone and changed my calories to use IIFFYM as I do exercise at least three times a week and since reading the posts it seemed like a good idea to go by TDEE.
I guess I don't have a question, per se, but how are so many people set to 1200 calories a day to lose weight...and how do they survive?
People generally put into MFP that they want to lose 2 pounds a week, thus they come up with 1,200 calories a day. I was at this for about the first 15 pounds of my 33 pounds, but I exercised which gave me the extra calories. When I adjusted my goals to 1 pounds a week, I was increased up to 1,400 (maybe? I don't recall), but I felt so much better. Now, I am set to lose .5 pounds a week, 1,530 calories plus my exercise calories. I eat around 1,900 a day and I am losing weight as I should.0 -
Its odd because on caloriecounter.com if you talk about eating 1200 calories a day you would get eaten alive NOT supported for unhealthy choices.
People here generally do not support 1,200 calories a day unless they themselves are eating that. Such few calories is not healthy. If you do a search of topics, you will find plenty of conversations on 1,200 calories.0 -
I'm at 1200 and I can eat within that range most days and I eat back about half my exercise calories. I find if I go to an event like a wedding or banquet I go over, but I don't have big events like that every week.0
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1200 is ok as long as you are exercising. x
Do you mean if you're NOT exercising? If you exercise you need to eat those calories back to fuel your body.
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MFP does not set a TOTAL calorie number. It sets a NET calorie number. MFP targets 1200 net calories for me, but if I exercise 400 calories, then I can eat 1600 and still hit MFP's target of 1200 net. So I am on an MFP 1200 plan, but I eat more than that every day and still hit my target.
^^yup^^0 -
Mine is at 1200 calories. Because I am short. :-(
I'm short and eat 1600-1900 calories.
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Ah, another thread pearl-clutching over "1200 calories". I'll tell you why people really get in a tizzy about it, because it makes their calorie totals seem higher by comparison. There are a lot of reasons why people eat in the 1200 range, but to hear the fearmongers around here tell it, we're all about to drop dead from starvation. :grumble:0
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Why doesn't MFP use BMR/TDEE to calculate our calorie intake for us, instead of using whatever wacky calculation they use now which puts everyone at 1200? I mean, it doesn't seem that hard for a website to do.0
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Why doesn't MFP use BMR/TDEE to calculate our calorie intake for us, instead of using whatever wacky calculation they use now which puts everyone at 1200? I mean, it doesn't seem that hard for a website to do.
The one they use in Theory is "better" as with TDEE calculators you estimate the amount of exercise you do, MFP ignores exercise until you actually perform and enter it. If you set the appropriate weekly weight loss goal you should end the week with pretty much the same caloric intake. What MFP does is keeps your daily deficit constant whereas TDEE keeps your daily calories constant (averages out planned exercise for the week) so in theory on MFP you eat more on days you workout and less on days you don't vs. TDEE method
The reason I would say MFP method is better is not everyone actually exercises the same amount each week or as much as planned. MFP will have you lose your goal amount of weight on average each week with or without or with changing exercise amounts.0 -
Mine is at 1200 calories. Because I am short. :-(
I'm short and eat 1600-1900 calories.
I'm short too - 5'1 & I'm at 1800 cal & I don't eat back my exercise calories.. Height has very little to do with it. It is more about weight & activity level. MFP set me at 1200 & with eating back my exercise calories would've put me at 1600 - 1700.0
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