1200 calories??
shelbywilkerson14
Posts: 7
I just signed up recently and setup my profile. I'm 5'8", 48 years old and weigh 218 (217 now) and selected sedentary since I have a desk job. It gave me a daily allowance of 1200 calories. I was just surprised by this a little bit, I thought 1200 was the lowest a person was to do? With my being 217 won't it then drop down to a lower amount as I lose weight?
Should it be starting me out at 1200??
Should it be starting me out at 1200??
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Replies
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1200 is minimum recommendation for sedentary person.
But don't worry, log your workouts that you do, and correctly eat back your exercise calories, you'll get to eat more as it's appropriate to.
You might view it as that is indeed a tad low, but eating back all your exercise calories will help balance the rest days out - if you can at least exercise every other day.
Because with exercise you aren't sedentary anymore.
Now - you sure you are sedentary with that baby?
Many using the FitBit's and such discover they are actually Lightly Active level even with sedentary desk job.
When you get down to 40 lbs left to lose, switch to 1.5 weekly, 20 lbs, 1 lb, 10 lbs left 1/2 weekly.0 -
The formula for calculating your basal metabolic rate (how many calories you burn per day just to stay alive) is as follows and based on the Harris-Benedict method:
Woman's BMR = 655 + (9.6 X weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) – (4.7 x age in yrs)
You then multiply that by "activity factor" to come up with your TDEE, or total daily energy expenditure (the amount of calories you need to consume to maintain current weight). Sedentary lifestyle is worth a multiplier of 1.2.
Your BMR should be about 1665 calories per day, so your TDEE should be at right about 2000 calories per day. As stated above, this is to maintain your current weight. If you are trying to lose weight, you should reduce your calorie consumption by about 20% of your TDEE, which would put you at 1600 calories/day. That should be a good place to start.
Obviously the body does not work like a perfect calorimeter, but this formula is widely used throughout the fitness industry to aid in establishing a baseline from which you can adjust and tweak as needed.
References:
"Basal Energy Expenditure: Harris-Benedict Equation." 2000. Cornell University. Retrieved from http://www-users.med.cornell.edu/~spon/picu/calc/beecalc.htm0 -
YOU CAN DO THIS! ONCE YOU FIGURE OUT HOW TO ADJUST YOUR FOOD AND RUN WITH YOUR SHOPPING CART FROM THE CAR TO THE SUPERMARKET YOU WILL BURN. RUN UP AT STAIRS, PARK THE CAR FAR AWAY. THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO BURN. GOOD LUCK!
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Why does it tell her 1200 calories, if your saying 1600 is the correct one?
I'm curious because I'm given 1680 calories @ weight loss of 2lbs. per week. I'm always been listed at 5"11, but wonder if I should double check just in case at 5"10 I'm told to eat less calories… hmm0 -
1200 is a ridiculous MFP number that comes from somewhat legitimate sources but works for very few people/lift styles because it is the bare minimum. Batmans post is dead on. I am 5'3 and 122 pounds, I am a teacher + waitress part time so I am on my feet but only consider myself "lightly active" I've been maintaining this weight eating between 1800-2000 calories a day (meaning that's around my TDEE) and I've been losing weight averaging 1400 calories a day but I have also added in exercise. A lot of times people will say 1200 is for short/petite people but it really doesn't work for the vast majority of those people either, it ends up being too much of a deficit. So you'll lose weight but also platue quickly/be hungry all the time or end up "yo yoing". I lost weight at 1200 several times and have ALWAYS gained it back0
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Ok, so are you stating I should adjust to 1600? I know before when I lost weight (I went from 252 to 201 and have gained a few lbs since) I used Calorie Kind and it had me at 1800 when I was 250 and then adjusted as I lost down.0
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If you feel 1200 is too low for you, I suggest setting your calorie goal to 1 lb/week weight loss (assuming you need to lose 50 pounds per your weight loss ticker) for a higher calorie allowance.
Or, go here to find an appropriate calorie goal for you: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
Some people can do a 1200 cal diet. I, however cannot :laugh:0 -
I agree with most of the other posters here. My estimated for losing 2 lbs per week is 1300, but I find that I actually lose more weight when I eat 1500 calories per week. I feel like my body goes into a sort of weird 'starvation' mode if I eat at 1300 every single day, and I'm lucky to lose half a pound over a week. If I eat 1500 I will lose anywhere between 1.5 - 2.5 lbs per week basically guaranteed. I definitely recommended eating at the very least 1400, you'll have more energy and be a lot happier. Do not eat 1200 - I really don't think MFP should even be telling people it's alright to eat that low of calorie numbers in a day.0
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FYI, I agree with the 1600 calorie goal for sedentary. I plugged your numbers into scooby and thats what it came up with for a 20% deficit. Of course if you exercise, you should eat more.0
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Yes you should adjust to 1600. MFP is wonky with their 1200, I've never trusted it and never will. My TDEE is around 1800. With 20% taken away, my intake each day without exercise should be around 1400. There are a lot of arguments for/against eating back exercise calories, my personal opinion is that you should, but do your research to see what will work the best for you. If you're really stuck, go to a doctor and ask about it, I've yet to do that but I don't always believe what I read on the internet so my intake will be around 1400 until my doctor tells me otherwise.
Good luck, feel free to send a friend request, and if you're looking for more help visit reddit.com/r/loseit0 -
yep you get really hungry on 1200, im at 1800 with 20 min exercise everyday and losing weight, 1600 when i was sedentary.0
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Ok, I have adjusted mine to be 1580 per day, couldn't get it to hit the 1600 even mark. I know before when I lost weight, the program has me on something similar and I lost just fine. This is why I was surprised this program started me out at 1200. I chose not to use the other program because it costs to sign up for it.0
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makes sense. according to fat2fit (they use the same formula as scooby) these are your numbers to maintain
Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 2036
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 2333
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2630
Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2927
Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 3224
saying that you are sedentary and get no exercise, means you'd maintain at 2000. to lose 2 pounds a week you'd have to eat 1000 calories, but that's too low.
you could either change your expectations to 1 pound a week loss and stay sedentary to eat 1500 calories or get more active 1-3 days a week and eat around 1600 to lose 1.5 pounds a week.0 -
Focus on healthy foods and see how you do at 1200-1400. Are you hungry? Is your diet full of sugary, fattening foods?
It's possible to eat that amount and not be hungry. Many overweight people confuse hunger with other emotions that cause them to overeat. Differentiating between the two is the real challenge.0 -
Focus on healthy foods and see how you do at 1200-1400. Are you hungry? Is your diet full of sugary, fattening foods?
It's possible to eat that amount and not be hungry. Many overweight people confuse hunger with other emotions that cause them to overeat. Differentiating between the two is the real challenge.
lol No. Just no.0 -
MPF seem to give everyone 1200. I am eating about 1400, does anyone know how you can change this manually so I can log accurately?0
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burn more eat more simple but stay on a deficit each day0
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Im new to this whole thing.
Im being told to consume 1200 calories. But if i exercise everyday and burn around 200 calories- does that mean i can consume 1400? Or stick to 1200 and let it go into minus?
If anyone can help me figure it out it would be very much appreciated!0 -
this really surprised me im 5ft 8 female 27 yr old and 184lb, MFP put me on 1200 cals a day, (i do insanity 6 times a week and log it) did the scooby calculator and im menna be on 2053 if im doing insanity or if i just do 1/3 hours light exercise a week 1607! i cannot believe im missing 400 calories a day haha! so im adjusting mine in my preferences because 1200 isnt long term sustainable!0
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Why does it tell her 1200 calories, if your saying 1600 is the correct one?
I'm curious because I'm given 1680 calories @ weight loss of 2lbs. per week. I'm always been listed at 5"11, but wonder if I should double check just in case at 5"10 I'm told to eat less calories… hmm
she got 1200 because she chose the maximum loss rate of 2/lbs per week. that's a 1000 calorie deficit per day.
2000 - 1000 = 1000
however, MFP will NEVER go lower than 1200, so MFP "bottomed out" at 1200.
if OP wants to lose at 2lbs/week, she needs to do enough cardio every week to earn back enough calories to eat to feel satiated.
"eat less, move more" contains 2 parts to it... you eat less AND you move more.
you can lose weight just eating less or just moving more, but doing both has the maximum effect. if the OP weighs ~220lbs, then she'll get a pretty good return on her cardio investment for the first few months and 2lbs/week is an easily achievable weight loss goal so long as she adds enough cardio per week to up her calories to where she can meet her nutritional goals and satiate her hunger.0 -
I, too, thought that was a super low number! Especially because it does not take into account a person's weight. So really...it is not exact. However, if you begin to incorporate exercise...such as walking on a tread mill...it allows more calories because it subtracts it from your daily total. As you utilize myfitnesspal daily you will start to be motivated to burn some calories because it allows you to eat more.
Obviously, the choice of WHAT you eat is important. That's another aspect of the math here that bothers me. The number of calories is irrelavent if you are eating all sugar and fat. Some healthy fat is fine but try to eat mostly veggies and clean protein. I honestly think 1800 calories per day is more accurate for some people but that's likely more of a "maintaining" number rather than a "loosing pounds" number. Good luck! 0 -
Focus on healthy foods and see how you do at 1200-1400. Are you hungry? Is your diet full of sugary, fattening foods?
It's possible to eat that amount and not be hungry. Many overweight people confuse hunger with other emotions that cause them to overeat. Differentiating between the two is the real challenge.
lol No. Just no.
Many days I eat under 1200. And I walk at least 30 minutes at a fast pace each day. I am not hungry or I would eat more. I'm focusing on cutting fat and sugar.
I ate over Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day but still in moderation. I lost weight then too.
Don't knock something without fully considering. Cheap therapy for all. When you meet people who have kept off hundreds of pounds for decades, you want to listen.0 -
Yes @photozoe. As you enter your calories burned you will see an "added" amount of calories. But if you want to loose weight...do not add all those calories back in if you can help it. You may need to at first, but as you get used to eating less you should become less hungry. Pay attention to when you feel hungry and think about if it's really a craving...or an emotional trigger...that's making you want to eat. If you can evenly spread your eating throughout the day (every few hours) your blood sugar should not spike as much, making you more suseptible to cravings and going off track. Good luck!0
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I know there's no "one size fits all" for calories in weight loss but just to put it into perspective. I'm 5'3.5" and I eat 1700 on non exercise days and more when I do. I lose about a pound a week like this. My daily activity is cleaning the house and taking care of two kids. The first time I tried MFP, I lost 40 lbs doing 1200, found myself miserable in the long run with little energy and relapsed. Now, I've found a sustainable calorie deficit that has me motivated for the long haul. I've gone from 170 lbs at 6 months post partum end of June 2013, to 123 lbs and in the best shape of my life. Here's some helpful links for those who are finding 1200 miserable or for those who need clarification that you can eat MORE and still lose at a decent pace.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants0 -
I know there's no "one size fits all" for calories in weight loss but just to put it into perspective. I'm 5'3.5" and I eat 1700 on non exercise days and more when I do. I lose about a pound a week like this. My daily activity is cleaning the house and taking care of two kids. The first time I tried MFP, I lost 40 lbs doing 1200, found myself miserable in the long run with little energy and relapsed. Now, I've found a sustainable calorie deficit that has me motivated for the long haul. I've gone from 170 lbs at 6 months post partum end of June 2013, to 123 lbs and in the best shape of my life. Here's some helpful links for those who are finding 1200 miserable or for those who need clarification that you can eat MORE and still lose at a decent pace.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
this is so true
I can also now eat 1700 and lose weight, and my bmi is 21.. so you could deffo eat more than 1200!0 -
The formula for calculating your basal metabolic rate (how many calories you burn per day just to stay alive) is as follows and based on the Harris-Benedict method:
Woman's BMR = 655 + (9.6 X weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) – (4.7 x age in yrs)
You then multiply that by "activity factor" to come up with your TDEE, or total daily energy expenditure (the amount of calories you need to consume to maintain current weight). Sedentary lifestyle is worth a multiplier of 1.2.
Your BMR should be about 1665 calories per day, so your TDEE should be at right about 2000 calories per day. As stated above, this is to maintain your current weight. If you are trying to lose weight, you should reduce your calorie consumption by about 20% of your TDEE, which would put you at 1600 calories/day. That should be a good place to start.
Obviously the body does not work like a perfect calorimeter, but this formula is widely used throughout the fitness industry to aid in establishing a baseline from which you can adjust and tweak as needed.
References:
"Basal Energy Expenditure: Harris-Benedict Equation." 2000. Cornell University. Retrieved from http://www-users.med.cornell.edu/~spon/picu/calc/beecalc.htm
Agree, but check out this site to help calculate that
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/0 -
A couple of points:
1st, that is "net calories", when you do exercise, you can log the activities and you are then allowed more calories. For example, my net calorie goal is set at 1200, but I usually eat between 1500-1800 calories without going over my net calories because I exercise a lot.
2nd, MFP asks you how fast you want to lose weight and bases its calorie determination on that. If you tell it you want to lose 2 pounds a week it is going to get you as close to a 1000 calorie deficit as it can without going below 1200. In other words, it figures 2200 as your total requirement to maintain your weight, subtracts 1000 from that to allow for a 2 pound a week loss, and ends up with 1200. If 1200 is too hard to stick to (it would be for me if I wasn't earning extra calories from exercise), then change your settings to lose 1 pound or even 1/2 pound a week.0 -
according to my calculations - i put your info into the TDEE calculator at http://thefitgirls.com/home, you should customize your settings to 1620 calories a day.0
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You probably have set to lose 2 lbs per week. Plus sedentary means you do hardly nothing through the day, which means less calories you burn.
Change your goal to one lb, and eat back your exercise calories and you should be nearer to 2,000, which is a lot easier to do.
1,200 is probably not going to be enough for you, if you want to try it, go ahead, but if you feel sick, weak, dizzy tired or just not healthy, then you really should do as suggested above. Eating too little for too long can be very hazardous, and can actually make you gain weight.
So in the end, remember the turtle wins the race0 -
The number of calories is irrelevant? :noway: And what you eat is important, but only macro and micronutrient wise. I eat plenty of sugar, fat, processed foods, fast food, ice cream, pizza and do on and it does not affect my weight loss. I am getting fit and healthy because I exercise and meet my macro/micro and fiber goals. I lose on 1800, would maintain on 2500ish.I, too, thought that was a super low number! Especially because it does not take into account a person's weight. So really...it is not exact. However, if you begin to incorporate exercise...such as walking on a tread mill...it allows more calories because it subtracts it from your daily total. As you utilize myfitnesspal daily you will start to be motivated to burn some calories because it allows you to eat more.
Obviously, the choice of WHAT you eat is important. That's another aspect of the math here that bothers me. The number of calories is irrelavent if you are eating all sugar and fat. Some healthy fat is fine but try to eat mostly veggies and clean protein. I honestly think 1800 calories per day is more accurate for some people but that's likely more of a "maintaining" number rather than a "loosing pounds" number. Good luck!0
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