1200 calories????

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michelelee127
michelelee127 Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I recently read a post on here (can't find it now) that said MPG recommends 1200 calories a day. Is that accurate? It confuses me only because when I put in my weight and height and goal, I was given a calorie limit that isn't close to 1200. Should I be aiming for 1200 instead of my personal limit?

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  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
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    I'd stick with what MFP recommended for you - your specific weight, height, how much you want to lose per week and your activity level are all taken into consideration in the amount given. See how you go on that for a few weeks and then tweak the numbers to change the outcomes if you're not getting what you want
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    I recently read a post on here (can't find it now) that said MPG recommends 1200 calories a day. Is that accurate? It confuses me only because when I put in my weight and height and goal, I was given a calorie limit that isn't close to 1200. Should I be aiming for 1200 instead of my personal limit?
    MPG? Assuming you mean MFP? :tongue:

    A lot of people end up with the "standard" 1200 goal (considered the bare minimum intake for women) because they enter their weekly loss goal at 2 lbs a week no matter how much or little they are trying to lose. Someone who is wanting to lose 100 lbs should set that weekly goal. Someone with only 20 lbs to lose should not - it's too aggressive, will land them with a 1200 cal goal, which is too little fuel.

    MFP is a great tool, but it's only as accurate as the info and goals entered by the user. If you put all your info and goals in accurately and realistically, you're good to go with the goal it spit out for ya.
  • dannatona
    dannatona Posts: 101 Member
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    When I change my goals to wanting to lose 2 calories a week it recommends 1200 calories, eating 1200 calories a day isn't the healthiest way to live. You'll end up messing up your metabolism and as soon as you start eating normal you'll gain all the weight (and sometimes more) back. I'm not sure why MFP even has that as a recommendation... In my opinion, they should recommend calories you need to burn to lose the weight while eating the proper amount of calories.
  • Dnarules
    Dnarules Posts: 2,081 Member
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    I think what you may have seen is that MFP won't recommend any lower than 1200 a day. Many people get 1200 because they set their goal to 2 pounds a week.
  • lanakat
    lanakat Posts: 22 Member
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    I feel deprived at 1200, I like to go for 1500 at the minimum. :o)
  • tiffanimarie
    tiffanimarie Posts: 1 Member
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    How long did it take you to lose 24lbs Amyruhbarb
  • TommyJensen1987
    TommyJensen1987 Posts: 95
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    I am at 1200 but eat back most of the fitbit calories I get. It isn't a lot - you have very little room to avoid a screw up - but it is totally doable. A multivitamin ensures I don't end up missing something important and, to the extend I watch my macros, I just focus on getting enough protein.

    It also helps that I am 5.3, otherwise it might not have been enough.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    How long did it take you to lose 24lbs Amyruhbarb
    With all my stopping and starting at the beginning, probably about 3 years. :tongue:

    But in the last 2+ years I've stayed consistent with eating right and regular exercise, and it probably took me a year to go from 145-ish lbs to reach goal weight of 134 lbs. During that time I lost a lot of inches and fat. I'm still lowering body fat percentage, and although my weight has gone back up and bounces between 137-140 lbs, I'm still wearing the same sizes. Logged my 900th straight day at MFP yesterday. :drinker:

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