1200 Is Not For Everyone?

asianmonkie

I've consulted a lot of non-professionals about this and I'm hoping that maybe they're right.

I am 5 feet 1 inch and 131 pounds. I have been told that people my size should actually be eating LESS THAN 1200 calories a day. Specifically, I was told that 1050 calories a day is my minimum for losing weight without going into starvation mode. What's your take?

rainbowbow

Sounds about right for your height and weight.

I know when i first started losing weight (at 5'3 and 130 pounds) i MAINTAINED at 1600 a day. That means i needed 1100 cals to lose 1 pound per week.

Good luck!

redheaddee

I've consulted a lot of non-professionals about this and I'm hoping that maybe they're right.

I am 5 feet 1 inch and 131 pounds. I have been told that people my size should actually be eating LESS THAN 1200 calories a day. Specifically, I was told that 1050 calories a day is my minimum for losing weight without going into starvation mode. What's your take?

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

This calorie calculator calculates the optimal calorie intake and macro-nutrient values to lose fat or gain muscle. It also generates a perfect customized meal for you with proper portion size to help you achieve your goal. The calculator is based on the Harris-Benedict equation.


1319 is what I got for your age, sedentary job, and 20% deficit for weight loss.

asianmonkie

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

This calorie calculator calculates the optimal calorie intake and macro-nutrient values to lose fat or gain muscle. It also generates a perfect customized meal for you with proper portion size to help you achieve your goal. The calculator is based on the Harris-Benedict equation.


1319 is what I got for your age, sedentary job, and 20% deficit for weight loss.

That seems really high especially because I'm not losing much weight as is on a 1200 calorie diet.

fruttibiscotti

I think there are other variables you need to consider apart from gender and height, like build of your body, type of job (active or sedentary), workout type and duration, medical issues, etc.

Lynn_babcock

1200 just seems to be their golden number. My husband, who is 6' tall, has the same minimum.. 1200 calories. Personally I think his should be a higher minimum if 1200 is my minimum to get adequate nutrition. So at 5'.. my thought is that you would require less calories than my husband who is a foot taller than you. Just my opinion.

mammamaurer

I've consulted a lot of non-professionals about this and I'm hoping that maybe they're right.

I am 5 feet 1 inch and 131 pounds. I have been told that people my size should actually be eating LESS THAN 1200 calories a day. Specifically, I was told that 1050 calories a day is my minimum for losing weight without going into starvation mode. What's your take?

depends on your goals and activity, if your "laying" around the house all day then yeah, sure, but if your actualy oh i dont know doing some physical activity then no you need more.... unless your doctor says other wise

Joji_Bean

You might not be loosing much weight at 1200 cals per day because your body has already gone into starvation mode. Try 1300 cals per day and watch your fat and carb intake--I've always been told that no woman ought to be eating under 1200 cals per day if she is trying to loose weight in a healthy and sustainable way. No one can last long eating only 1000 cals per day!

I_Will_End_You

Or you aren't losing at 1200 because you aren't weighing and measuring your food, and are actually eating more than 1200 calories.

Serah87

I'm 5'2, 128 pounds and eat around 1900 calories a day, see ticker below. JS

Achrya

Or you aren't losing at 1200 because you aren't weighing and measuring your food, and are actually eating more than 1200 calories.

This.


I'm 5'3" and 142 pounds and lose a pound a week at 1800 calories. So. Something to consider.

rainbowbow

1200 just seems to be their golden number. My husband, who is 6' tall, has the same minimum.. 1200 calories. Personally I think his should be a higher minimum if 1200 is my minimum to get adequate nutrition. So at 5'.. my thought is that you would require less calories than my husband who is a foot taller than you. Just my opinion.

He SHOULDN'T have a minimum of 1200 calories for men. That's like asking to screw up your test levels. =/

The way MFP works is it will NEVER recommend someone eat less than 1200 calories. Why? Because there was a study that came out where physician recommended for the average WOMAN to not eat less than 1200 calories to combat nutritional deficiencies.

Average woman being 5'6 and 160 pounds.

They recommended the average MAN not eat less than 1400 calories (although i can't remember off the top of my head what they consider "average" for male).

The reason it is selecting 1200 calories is probably because you are selecting "lose 2 pounds per week" when that is not an actually feasible goal. For example, for a man OR a woman.... let's just say they maintain at 2,000 calories per day. As you know the calculation MFP uses is -500 calories per 1 pound loss per week. So when you select "lose 2 pounds per week" it tries to subtract 1000 calories from your maintenance to come up with your goal.

If it is defaulting to 1,200 that usually means you're weight loss goal of "2 lb per week" is BELOW 1200. So let's say you maintain at 2,000. You select lose 2 pounds per week. That would be 1,000 calories- BUT WAIT MFP cannot recommend ANYONE eat below 1,200! So it defaults to 1,200. So in reality you have 2 pounds per week, but it's suggesting 200 calories more. So you're expected weight loss is around 1.75 pounds.

It's important to select the proper amount of pounds per week to lose based on your current weight. If you only have 10-20 to lose you shouldn't be expecting such aggressive results. 2 pounds per week is probably safe for someone in the obese or morbidly obese category.

As for OP who is short... as you can see this is the way MFP is set up. It's based on an average. It will NEVER suggest less than 1,200 even if that is what is actually needed to lose 1 pound or 1.5 pounds per week.

asianmonkie

I have a desk job but my excises are like so:

An hour walk on my lunch break
5k run four days a week
Lift weights twice a week (not very vigorous) for 15 minutes

I do take into account that I may be building muscles hence the lack of weight loss but I was hoping that by decreasing my caloric intake, I could lose weight faster, but safely. All of your responses were really helpful, thank you.

Serah87

Or you aren't losing at 1200 because you aren't weighing and measuring your food, and are actually eating more than 1200 calories.

+1

Serah87

I have a desk job but my excises are like so:

An hour walk on my lunch break
5k run four days a week
Lift weights twice a week (not very vigorous) for 15 minutes

I do take into account that I may be building muscles hence the lack of weight loss but I was hoping that by decreasing my caloric intake, I could lose weight faster, but safely. All of your responses were really helpful, thank you.

I'm sure you are not building muscle.

Achrya

I have a desk job but my excises are like so:

An hour walk on my lunch break
5k run four days a week
Lift weights twice a week (not very vigorous) for 15 minutes

I do take into account that I may be building muscles hence the lack of weight loss but I was hoping that by decreasing my caloric intake, I could lose weight faster, but safely. All of your responses were really helpful, thank you.

I'm afraid that isn't the case.

amosmoses88

I weight more than you but I am 5'1" and weigh ....*sigh* 227lbs. BUT, I started this last year weighing in at 246lbs! So I lose 31lbs last year and like you, I started out at 1200 cals. I got ill with eating so little. I personally think 1200 is too low and really, everyone IS different, but the point is, your body is going to go in starvation mode if you don't up your cals. Trust me, do your TDEE and eat at that level. You'll see the weight to start to fall off and if you're exercising, don't be afraid to see that scale go UP because you're GAINING MUSCLE WEIGHT. But yeah, me personally I wouldn't do 1200. 1200 is just...way too low in my opinion.

Hornsby

You aren't building muscle if you are actually eating 1200 or less calories per day.

You need to eat more food, or you need to measure your food you are currently eating.

FWIW, I lose more weight on 1900 calories than I do on 1500 calories.

FlaxMilk

It's not at all true that you should be eating less than 1200 calories a day. I say this as a fellow petite person. Even while pretty sedentary, I easily lose weight at 1200 calories. If you are short and on the lighter side, your weight loss will probably be a little slower just because of TDEE. But it's hard to get your nutrients met at less than 1200 calories. Plus, it's an unhappy way to live, and with no medical reason to to take it off as fast as possible, consider your quality of life.

A 5'0 100 lb person has a BMR of around 1216 calories. That's without any type of real movement, exercise or otherwise. That means even just laying in bed, 1200 is a (teeny) deficit. Getting out of bed and living a normal day makes 1200 calories a reasonable weight loss deficit.

asianmonkie

Thank you everyone for your responses. I will leave my calories at 1200 then and try to be patient. God knows that's the hardest thing for me to do.

pmur

I'm 5'3 and at 130 lbs ate 1300-1400 and still lost weight. I was on a standstill for a few months then I started actually measuring my food and now I know my measuring was the culprit. These days my goal is to hit 1400 a day no matter what MFP says. I'm losing well if I measure everything.

k8blujay2

I think if it works for you, then go for it. I am 5' 1.5" and I cannot lose at that level... because I end up binging, I am so ravenous by the time dinner comes around... I am grouchy, moody, and have headaches... I much prefer the 1600 level even though I have quite a few pounds to lose.

justinproulx1

1200 is way too low!! wooooooooooow this is amazing me how many people on here thinks this is good to do. You will lose weight at first then stop after ya metabolic rate has been killed. Good luck with the 1200 cal diets smh . Where all you all calculating you cals? And why is everyone on here so obbessed with cals and noone metnions macros at all? the macro amount you eat are whats important not total cals

randomtai

Or you aren't losing at 1200 because you aren't weighing and measuring your food, and are actually eating more than 1200 calories.

+1

+2

neandermagnon

I've consulted a lot of non-professionals about this and I'm hoping that maybe they're right.

I am 5 feet 1 inch and 131 pounds. I have been told that people my size should actually be eating LESS THAN 1200 calories a day. Specifically, I was told that 1050 calories a day is my minimum for losing weight without going into starvation mode. What's your take?

I'm 5'1" and lose weight at 1800 cals/day.

neandermagnon

Or you aren't losing at 1200 because you aren't weighing and measuring your food, and are actually eating more than 1200 calories.

+1

+2

plus another one

Brandolin11

First, the cold, hard Truth: This is not a guessing game and it's absolutely fruitless to ask what "other people" are doing. Your specifications will apply ONLY to you, no one else, and you need to figure that out using math and science, not opinion.

I used a basic BMR calculator to figure out your stats (based on exercising just 3x a week, which I'm assuming you're doing since you mention exercise in your profile). If you're exercising more let me know because that will affect this number.

According to the calculator, in order to lose 1 lb a week on average, you should eat 1,635 a day. To lose 1.5 lbs a week, 1,385. To lose 2 lbs a week you'd have to drop below 1,200 and that's not safe so skip it. Stick with the 1 - 1.5 a week. You don't have far to go anyway so you'll get there in no time.

So! Bottom line: You need to eat MORE to lose MORE. It's counter intuitive, but you should listen to what we're saying.

Also, listen closely to the gal who suggested you're probably not tracking accurately either. In order for this to work, you have to be ACCURATE. You CANNOT cheat.

It's science and biology. Not opinion and not a game.

QuietBloom

You might not be loosing much weight at 1200 cals per day because your body has already gone into starvation mode. Try 1300 cals per day and watch your fat and carb intake--I've always been told that no woman ought to be eating under 1200 cals per day if she is trying to loose weight in a healthy and sustainable way. No one can last long eating only 1000 cals per day!

No one goes into starvation mode at 1200 calories a day.

QuietBloom

1200 is way too low!! wooooooooooow this is amazing me how many people on here thinks this is good to do. You will lose weight at first then stop after ya metabolic rate has been killed. Good luck with the 1200 cal diets smh . Where all you all calculating you cals? And why is everyone on here so obbessed with cals and noone metnions macros at all? the macro amount you eat are whats important not total cals

NO.

FlaxMilk

And why is everyone on here so obbessed with cals and noone metnions macros at all? the macro amount you eat are whats important not total cals

It's because we hate macros. Everyone on this site practices FYM instead of IIFYM.

That came out really snarky. I was amused because probably the most popular approach on this site is IIFYM. Sorry for the rude.

twixlepennie

First, the cold, hard Truth: This is not a guessing game and it's absolutely fruitless to ask what "other people" are doing. Your specifications will apply ONLY to you, no one else, and you need to figure that out using math and science, not opinion.

I used a basic BMR calculator to figure out your stats (based on exercising just 3x a week, which I'm assuming you're doing since you mention exercise in your profile). If you're exercising more let me know because that will affect this number.

According to the calculator, in order to lose 1 lb a week on average, you should eat 1,635 a day. To lose 1.5 lbs a week, 1,385. To lose 2 lbs a week you'd have to drop below 1,200 and that's not safe so skip it. Stick with the 1 - 1.5 a week. You don't have far to go anyway so you'll get there in no time.

So! Bottom line: You need to eat MORE to lose MORE. It's counter intuitive, but you should listen to what we're saying.

Also, listen closely to the gal who suggested you're probably not tracking accurately either. In order for this to work, you have to be ACCURATE. You CANNOT cheat.

It's science and biology. Not opinion and not a game.

+1