1200 cals a day

Cirsium

Hi all, this is my first post. I'm limited to 1200 calories a day (I'm short) and I'm nearly getting it right, but going over by 100 or so calories quite frequently. I think I could win these back by either drinking less coffee, not having milk in my coffee, or not drinking coffee. I don't think I can do it!
That is all.

skinnyminnie1988

I use to limit myself to 1,200 calls a day as well (I'm 5'2) and had a lot of success with weight loss during that time however I found it not practical to maintain. I suggest upping your intake if this is something you want to maintain and make more of a lifestyle change. I currently eat around 1,300-1,500 calories a day and still am successful in losing weight as I have about 15 more lbs to go. Just be smart with the foods that you eat and include all of your proteins, veggies and fruits. It's ok to have milk in your coffee so instead of cutting out things you enjoy just make room for it I'm your daily diet because restricting is not the way to go. Everything in moderation!

Cirsium

thank you both. that really rings true, i can do 1300 no problem, but 1200 is not a realistic way of life for me. of course, i could and should exercise, but i don't. i haven't found anything that fits into my life and i enjoy therefore never keep it up.

Lynn_babcock

Hello fellow coffee addict.. my coffee takes a large portion of my calories a day too.. I dream of getting back to enjoying it with milk instead of my CoffeeMate creamer. The creamer has nothing good for you in it.. and the milk has calcium and protein.

I've been doing my recumbent exercise bike.. about a half hour burns 240 calories... can do that while watching a show in the evening. Huge plus is then my legs don't bug me at night... if I don't do it I feel ancie and can't fall asleep very easy. Possibly coffee related as well

Stage14

I'm 5'3 and lose eating 1750 a day. The extra 100 calories each day isn't going to make a major impact on your weight loss because you're (likely) in such a large deficit to begin with.

Think about it this way: food in the US is allowed up to 20% error in nutrition labeling so you're already eating a range of calories between 960 calories and 1440 calories if you're on a 1200 calorie diet and obsessively exact with your weighing/measuring. So, is 100 extra calories really going to blow everything? It might slow down your weight loss a little bit, but it will probably be pretty imperceptible, so why suffer for it?

Cirsium

Not just me then, oh good! I've been using skimmed milk for years, but it still racks up the calories at the rate I drink it. I really do need to exercise but have perfected every excuse in the book to not get on the exercise bike - I just don't do it

Sabby888

I used to go by 1200 cals a day, and I found it extremely hard to keep at that, so I just ended up binging all the time. Then I kept reading out about TDEE, got curious and did some research a bit. I found out that all you need to do is extract about 500 cals from your daily maintenance cals in order to create a big enough deficit in your diet to lose weight.

My TDEE/maintenance cals a day was 2000, so I decided to put my goal at 1500 cals a day.

I've been doing it for quite a while now, and it's absolutely amazing! I don't feel starved or hungry, I still have space for my favourite foods like chocolate and other crap like that, and I can afford to have bigger portions. AND I'm losing the weight!!! Sometimes I even forget that I'm counting cals! I love it. And I would highly recommend the method I'm doing instead of sticking to the stupid weird 1200 cal a day that MFP automatically sets you.

Here, I've even found the link for you to check out (coz I'm nice like that :drinker: )

http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

This is quoted from a TDEE website:

"If we eat more calories than our body requires, we will gain weight.
If we eat less calories than our body needs, we will lose weight.
Unless we know exactly what our TDEE is, we have no way of knowing how many calories to consume to burn body fat or gain muscle. The TDEE Calculator is perfect for this exact reason. The TDEE calculator tells us how many calories we should consume to accomplish our goals in an effective and efficient manor. In other words, the TDEE calculator allows us to get the best results, in the least amount of time, safely.
Use the TDEE Calculator to figure out how many calories your body needs to function at your current activity rate. From there, subtract 15-20% from that number the TDEE Calculator provides in order to see how many calories you should eat daily to burn fat and lose weight at a steady pace. It is not recommended that you subtract more than 25% from your TDEE calculation. The TDEE Calculator will help you stay clear of dropping calories too low."

Good luck hun! I was exactly in your position and this saved me in every possible way. That's why I feel like I need to tell you about it. Hope I helped

retirehappy

Read this http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read

See what your TDEE is and setup your MFP goals to reflect TDEE - 15%.
That should do it, slow and steady wins the race. You can lose more quickly but you will continue to lose the same weight over and over, been there done that, got the tee shirt, and not going down that path ever again.

Women tend to underestimate their physical activity. If you have a desk job but chase a kid around the house or push a stroller around or do housework, and walk more than 20 mins. for 4-5 days a week etc. You are not sedentary. Do not choose sedentary for your activity level.

If you can get a heart rate monitor because MFP's estimates of calories burned is not good. See what your body burns with an inexpensive HRM. Amazon has some good ones for under $50. I am using a bluetooth HRM strap setup to work with my iphone currently with a free app that integrates with MFP. Amaze yourself by finding out what you really do and wear the HRM through out your day to see what you are really burning all day long. A couple of days will be an eye opener. Then just go back to using during your workouts.

All the best on your journey.

Cirsium

thank you so much for this - i will read that. i have an HRM somewhere i will dig it out. i'm prepared for slow and steady, as long as i can find realistic and achievable along with that

kamyers1289

Yeah, I tried 1200 for a while. I lost weight, but I was too tired to exercise and was a crabby ***** all the time because I was hungry. THEN I FOUND OUT ABOUT TDEE. My TDEE is about 2200 - 2300 depending on the calculator, so I eat around 1700-1800 and I feel great. Since I started eating that amount, I've lost 10 pounds, 4% body fat, and inches all over.



Oh, and coffee = life. Don't give up on coffee.

13131414

I love coffee! My goal is 1,180 cal. a day (I'm 5'1") and once you cut out the coffee it's so easy. I eat three meals and two snacks a every day, and today I only ate 700 calories and still feel full! It helps to drink just milk, no coffee, in the mornings:)!Good Luck!

CrankyOldCow

This has been really helpful. Yet another confirmation that what I've been doing the past few weeks is right. :-)

pinkraynedropjacki

Even when I was on 1200 I still had my many coffees a day.

Vex3521

Love my coffee here too! I was on creamer then switched to the fat free version or light or whatever they call it... then to whole milk and now I'm back to skim or light vanilla soy milk. I used to not use any so I don't know if I will get to that again or if this works for me. I'm ok with the "drinking the calories" aspect so right now it's not effecting me too much but with the frigid cold in winter it could. Leaving my water room temp vs in the fridge is helping but when I'm cold I just have to have a cup!

But like others are saying if 1200 is too little then do 1300. or 1500 or whatever feels right. As long as you're logging honestly and eating at a deficit you'll lose

Harrisonsauntie

I love coffee! My goal is 1,180 cal. a day (I'm 5'1") and once you cut out the coffee it's so easy. I eat three meals and two snacks a every day, and today I only ate 700 calories and still feel full! It helps to drink just milk, no coffee, in the mornings:)!Good Luck!

Lol why?!?!?!?!

I'm 5'1 and eat 1800 calories

Cirsium

thank you so much, i'm really excited about this now!!

Mitzigan94

I'm 4'11-5'0(not sure)

and I admit that during the first time Ijoined mfpall I did was 1200 kcals. But I only do it for likke 3 daiys in a week. But mostly I combine it with exercise until now so that I can eat more.

So I suggest to you to eat at maintenance kcals(I did the maintenance kcals originally to beat my weight loss plateau)

But if u have a super low bmr kcal.. then you will really have to exercise to eat more.

YouHadMyCuriosity

PPs are wise. Seriously, 1300 calories will still give you enough of a deficit for weightloss, and you are getting to that number while having something you enjoy (coffee). Cutting out that 100 calories could, at best, give you about .8lbs extra lost in a month. Yes, less than 1 pound. And you will be a lot more likely to quit on the whole darn thing if you feel deprived.

YouHadMyCuriosity

Also wanted to add, I just glanced at your profile, and you don't have very much to lose to be at your goal weight, so your deficit definitely does not need to be that huge. I say keep your coffee, stay motivated, and just chalk that milk in your coffee up to extra protein for your muscles, and extra calcium for your bones.

Cirsium

Thank you for this I've decided my first 2 cups of the day will be just as I like them, with the skimmed milk. I'll drink the rest of my coffee black and have a few cups of tea with milk in the evening. I don't want to lose the calcium.

I do need to lose a bit more than my goal, around 7lb more but I want to see what I look like at the interim goal before I commit to it, as I might look all old and wrinkly, I might well need a bit of padding now I'm 40

Regan45

When I started logging, I discovered that I was drinking 450 calories in vanilla creamer every day. UGH - that was a surprise.
I now drink my coffee with 2 artificial sweeteners. I am used to it now. The 450 just wasn't worth it for me.
I still look forward to my coffee in the morning too. Good luck!

eldamiano

Apparently exercise makes you burn calories....

jmatthews78

Download the Sworkit app. It has loads of different cardio / strength routines that range from 5 mins to 1 hour (the 7 min workout is good). You can do one in the morning and one in the evening and the app marries with myfitnesspal, so you'll gain the extra calories back. Everyone has time for some exercise

rachjenn

If you're going over just by 100 cals, have a look to see what exercise you could do to offset these. I do 3mins of squats with 6KGs (although I don't log the 6KGs) which is about 35 cals based on my weight.

Here's some more info I took from http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1777

50 Ways to Burn 100 Calories

(Values are approximate and are based on a 150-pound person.)

Workouts:
Biking: 23 minutes of casual cycling
Cardio dance class: 15 minutes
Elliptical: 8 minutes
Jumping rope: 9 minutes at a moderate intensity
Lifting weights, vigorously: 15 minutes
Pilates: 24 minutes
Rowing machine: 13 minutes
Running stairs: 6 minutes
Running: 9 minutes of running at a 6 mph pace
Swimming: 15 minutes moderate intensity
Walking stairs: 11 minutes
Walking: 20 minutes of walking at a 3 mph pace
Water aerobics: 23 minutes
Yoga: 20 minutes
Zumba: 11 minutes

Sports and Leisure Activities:
Basketball, shooting hoops: 20 minutes
Bowling: 30 minutes
Dancing around living room: 20 minutes
Darts: 35 minutes
Golfing, carrying clubs: 15 minutes
Ice skating, moderate: 18 minutes
Kickball: 13 minutes
Mini golf or driving range: 30 minutes
Playing catch with a football: 35 minutes
Playing Frisbee: 30 minutes
Playing soccer, casual: 13 minutes
Skiing,downhill: 10 minutes
Softball or baseball: 18 minutes
Tennis (doubles): 21 minutes
Tennis (singles): 15 minutes
Treading water, moderate effort: 23 minutes
Volleyball, recreational: 26 minutes
Water skiing: 15 minutes
Yard Work:
Mowing the lawn: 20 minutes
Painting house: 18 minutes
Raking leaves: 23 minutes
Shoveling snow: 15 minutes
Washing the car: 20 minutes
Weeding the garden: 18 minutes
Everyday Activities:
Carrying an infant: 24 minutes
Cleaning, moderate effort: 26 minutes
Cooking: 34 minutes
Doing dishes: 40 minutes
Mopping the floor: 20 minutes
Playing with children: 23 minutes
Pushing a stroller: 35 minutes
Rearranging furniture: 14 minutes
Shopping: 38 minutes
Sweeping: 23 minutes
Walking the dog, 26 minutes

BamaJohn3

As for exercise....you don't have to do it, but I strong recommend it for a couple of reasons - it accelerates your weight-loss, it allows you to eat MORE (more calories burned = more you can eat and still have net loss), and of course the health reasons for your body and muscle tone.

NOW with that said - it doesn't have to be anything crazy. Simple walking 30 minutes a day will work. It's how I started my first 3 months and when I dropped 30#, I had more energy and wanted to do more - then, I decided to run and join the gym but plain ole walking does the trick and you can do it almost anywhere.

Cirsium

haha yes i know. i have no objection to exercise - it is simply that i do not do it. i'm being honest. i just bought an exercise bike, and i think to myself every day 'get on that bike' and i do not. i need a breakthrough in my mind to do it - i am mentally pushing myself to get there. i know it is what i need. in the spring/summer/autumn i get 16 hours a week gardening exercise, but in the winter i'm lucky to get an hour a week.