1200 Calorie

prattiger65

Here is the problem a lot of us have with the 1200 calorie goal. For the vast majority of people it just isn't accurate. If you are very short/small/sedentary, it may be right for you. Those of us who have been here for a while, we have seen these threads over and over again, and we have seen these people fail and quit over and over again. If you are around here still in October, you will not see much in the way of 1200 calorie threads, those who start there either, quit or raise their calories. The ones who do succeed at 1200 are the very few that it actually is accurate for. All of you new people, do yourselves a favor, don't take advice from people who haven't had any success themselves. Take advice from those who have actually accomplished something. Everyone, please read this post......http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants. It explains everything you need to know to find your true numbers. If after doing this, the calculations give you 1200, then most on here will support you. If you just blindly follow a 1200 calorie diet because "MFP said so", you won't get much support except from others who blindly follow it too. Read, read and read some more. Learn your true numbers. If you don't know your BMR and TDEE, or don't even know what that means, you need to know that before you can even set an accurate goal. And lastly, losing 2 pounds per week is pretty tough unless you are very obese. Good luck to you all. And just in case you missed the link earlier......http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

rileysowner

Why do people always tell people doing 1200 calories to "eat more food" before they ask them their height?

The MFP website puts shorties like me at 1200, in case people didn't know that; and scooby puts people of my height and lower at LESS than 1200.

MFP seems to put almost everyone at 1200. I am a 5' 10" male, and if I went by MFP's numbers I would be at 1200 which is considered generally insufficient to provide minimal nutritional needs for a male. At that level of calories men will lose a bunch of muscle with the fat. Since MFP almost seems to default to 1200 for pretty much everyone, including males of average and even above average height people tend to say eat more. Add to that many of the people on 1200 don't eat back even a portion of their exercise calories, and that means most, albeit not all, people on 1200 are not eating enough.

wonderiss

Egg Whites, grilled chicken breast, spinach, light and fit greek yogurt, Fiber One 80 calorie Chocolate Cereal, Fiber One 90 calorie snacks, Nature Valley granola thins, tuna fish, non-sweetened apple sauce, turkey pepperoni, Morning star Veggie Crumbles, blueberries, cucumbers, and lots of water have been my go-tos.

Sabine_Stroehm

Fwiw. I put in my sibling's statistics. I said ONE POUND A WEEK. And, based on her height, her weight and her age, and her disability (arthritis prevents her from "lifting heavy", running etc.).

MFP assigned her 1200 calories. Again, this was at 1LB a week, with a lot to lose, based on her AGE, height, weight etc.
IIFYM assigned her 1356 (which it also said was her BMR and her TDEE ha). IIFYM told her to eat 1153 calories a day (below the magical 1200 that seems to be so pervasive these days). Yes, IIFYM told her to eat BELOW her BMR for their "suggested" 15%

My sibling is 5'1", aged 55, and 180LBS. Lots of folks older, shorter, with less to lose etc...

Is it any wonder folks ask about 1200 diets? It's NOT simply a matter of wanting to lose 2LBS a week. For someone who's 180, setting it to 1LB a week is reasonable. And yet, MFP told her 1200 and IFFYM told her even less.

I don't disagree with the folks who say eat more (I say it 5-10 times a day on here). Most of the time. My point is simply that context is important. My own BMR is less than my sibling's simply because I weigh so much less.
Context is important.

Yelling "eat more" without explaining why, or asking questions, may not be the best advice. For a small, usually older, usually shorter, usually female group of folks, 1200 may not be out of line, and certainly isn't something they just made up.

Sabine_Stroehm

Why do people always tell people doing 1200 calories to "eat more food" before they ask them their height?

The MFP website puts shorties like me at 1200, in case people didn't know that; and scooby puts people of my height and lower at LESS than 1200.

MFP seems to put almost everyone at 1200. I am a 5' 10" male, and if I went by MFP's numbers I would be at 1200 which is considered generally insufficient to provide minimal nutritional needs for a male. At that level of calories men will lose a bunch of muscle with the fat. Since MFP almost seems to default to 1200 for pretty much everyone, including males of average and even above average height people tend to say eat more. Add to that many of the people on 1200 don't eat back even a portion of their exercise calories, and that means most, albeit not all, people on 1200 are not eating enough.

In your case, you probably told it 2LBS a week loss?

otter090812

Sorry if it's on here somewhere else, but can someone explain to me why MFP sets calorie targets lower than some of the other methods you guys have included links to? I have set to lose 2lb a week, but have also set that I have a pretty active lifestyle (job to be precise), and it's come up with 1340. I know it's not 1200, but it's not far off. Having seen higher numbers on the other links, I'm worried I might do myself some damage. SW 215 CW 195 GW 157 Height 1.69m Age 38. Thanks!

Different sites use different formulas for calculations like BMR. Also, if you aim to lose 2 lbs a week, that's an automatic calorie deduction of about 1000 calories per day. So if your TDEE is 2300 calories, trying to lose 2 lbs a week means that you're down to 1300. Sites that use 10-20% TDEE base it off your body's total needs but amount lost per week will vary from person to person. (TDEE 2300 - 20% = 2300-460 calories = 1840 calories, which is more like 1 lb a week.)

Thanks, that's really helpful. I think as a first step I'll adjust my weight loss rate from 2lb to 1lb per week (more akin to the TDEE-20% if I've understood correctly) and see how it goes. I want to do this right.

Sabine_Stroehm

Eat more food. :flowerforyou:

OHHHHH Yes.....MANGA!!!!!!

really is this called for?

No. It's not.

Linda09189

the first thing you need to change is.....it's NOT a diet, it's a new life style

mammamaurer

Before jumping on the eat more food bandwagon, I see you're 46 and female. How tall are you, and if you don't mind, what's your weight? Or, conversely, calculate your TDEE/BMR at one of the online sites and then folks will suggest foods. if you use iifym.com they'll tell you how much of each macro to eat based on what you tell them (standard, low carb etc...) and from there we can better advise you.

Please do know your BMR. You may find you have better long term success if you eat above it. Given your age, it's possible your BMR is less than 1200.

Also, how much do you want to lose, and how aggressively did you tell MFP you want to lose it?

Sorry, just felt given the "eat more" posts, it would be best to have more info about you.

signed: 48 5'6", 136 and bmr is 1333.

^^this^^ all of it:flowerforyou:

cizzawizza

Chicken shish and brown rice is a favourite of mine. :-)

Sabine_Stroehm

You will go through some hunger pains, but that's expected when you're trying to lose weight. Drink lots of water and chew gum.

I disagree. Hunger pains (pangs?) are not expected when you are trying to lose weight. MENTALLY you may want to eat more, but actual hunger pains? Means you probably aren't eating enough. (Ok, I'll admit that in the first couple of weeks, as your belly is getting used to less food you may feel that hunger, but once you get used to it...nope, shouldn't feel actual hunger if you are eating enough)

The original phrase was, indeed, hunger pangs. As in: a strong desire or need. Weird eh?

QuietBloom

Before jumping on the eat more food bandwagon, I see you're 46 and female. How tall are you, and if you don't mind, what's your weight? Or, conversely, calculate your TDEE/BMR at one of the online sites and then folks will suggest foods. if you use iifym.com they'll tell you how much of each macro to eat based on what you tell them (standard, low carb etc...) and from there we can better advise you.

Please do know your BMR. You may find you have better long term success if you eat above it. Given your age, it's possible your BMR is less than 1200.

Also, how much do you want to lose, and how aggressively did you tell MFP you want to lose it?

Sorry, just felt given the "eat more" posts, it would be best to have more info about you.

signed: 48 5'6", 136 and bmr is 1333.

Sabine, we are twins (almost)!

QuietBloom

Before jumping on the eat more food bandwagon, I see you're 46 and female. How tall are you, and if you don't mind, what's your weight? Or, conversely, calculate your TDEE/BMR at one of the online sites and then folks will suggest foods. if you use iifym.com they'll tell you how much of each macro to eat based on what you tell them (standard, low carb etc...) and from there we can better advise you.

Please do know your BMR. You may find you have better long term success if you eat above it. Given your age, it's possible your BMR is less than 1200.

Also, how much do you want to lose, and how aggressively did you tell MFP you want to lose it?

Sorry, just felt given the "eat more" posts, it would be best to have more info about you.

signed: 48 5'6", 136 and bmr is 1333.

Which means you should at least be eating 1,333. MOAR THAN 1,200.

I think you are stuck on that mantra without engaging the brain.

QuietBloom

Those who have little to lose (saw at least one in this thread), should not trying to be losing 2 lbs per week. 2 lbs is for someone with a lot of weight to lose. As you get thinner, your ability to burn that much fat a week drops off significantly, and you will end up losing a lot of lean body mass, which is a bad thing. Change your goal to 0.5 lbs a week if you have 10 or less lbs to lose. You will be much happier with your results!

topcat1952

I've just started using MFP and the calories (according too MFP) 1200 as well before exercise. I'm inly a few days in but I am finding vegetable omelettes, salads with lean protein, beans and pulses are great. Seafood like prawns and calamari are good as long as you grill them.

Good luck

I started MFP today & have been allocted 1200calories too. I need to lose about 4 stone but am only 5ft & have a sedentary job sitting down most of the day. I only get to the gym once a week & I am 62 yrs old. 1200 does seem low but even so it said I would only lose about 1 pound a month.

Taterpoof

I'm 5'2'' and lose on 1800-2000 so being short does not mean you have to restrict so much. It puts people at 1200 because everyone always sets their goals to lose 2lbs a week and put that they are sedentary.

In all seriousness, a lot of the short women who are not very overweight will be given 1200 no matter what they put in. When I first joined, the only way I got a # over 1200 was on the highest activity level setting, to lose .5 lbs a week, and I still only got 1330.

Blah, it just makes me sad because it is setting people up for failure who are new.

SierryM

Oh lordy here we go again...........

:I

Sabine_Stroehm

Before jumping on the eat more food bandwagon, I see you're 46 and female. How tall are you, and if you don't mind, what's your weight? Or, conversely, calculate your TDEE/BMR at one of the online sites and then folks will suggest foods. if you use iifym.com they'll tell you how much of each macro to eat based on what you tell them (standard, low carb etc...) and from there we can better advise you.

Please do know your BMR. You may find you have better long term success if you eat above it. Given your age, it's possible your BMR is less than 1200.

Also, how much do you want to lose, and how aggressively did you tell MFP you want to lose it?

Sorry, just felt given the "eat more" posts, it would be best to have more info about you.

signed: 48 5'6", 136 and bmr is 1333.

Sabine, we are twins (almost)!

Almost! You're a tad slimmer than I am!! But yes, we are darned close!

Albagal

Why do people have to be so hard on someone they know nothing about? You don't know anything to be doing that to her.. how rude! people come here for support. My god look at my diary you all will probably go into cardiac arrest!
I had people come at me with their daggers when I first started here too.. Don't mind them any attention. Listen to the ones that actually want to help you and ask the questions, and truly care.. The other ones that say eat more without saying anything, they are what I call TROLLS.

Btw. I am a lap band patient and am under a dr's care, and ordered to keep it 6-800 calories...

Oh, how I agree with you. I find boards on some sites are full of bullies. They want to be mouthy when not face to face and can be down-right rude and hurtful. Lots of people with a weight problem suffer from depression, including myself, and hurtful remarks can put them in a very dark place.
If you can't be nice, don't post a reply.

Albagal

Started a 1200 calorie diet January 1. Looking for food ideas. Anyone got ideas?

I don't know where you live but I love Ryvita Crackerbread at just 19 cals. a slice. I, also, use Linda McCartney's vegetarian sausage and make a hotpot with lots of veg. and that is very low on cals. Also, meat-free burgers are low too.