1200 calorie diets?

jlynnm70

Thank you for the link to that website.

It does calculate my BMR to 1204 (5 ft nothin' and 138# and 43 yrs old) The TDEE obviously changes with the amount of work out - so if I set it for sedentary it actually says for "Fat loss 1228" at a 15% reduction.

I knew I wasn't crazy to leave MFP set at 1200 and eat back most exercise calories.

Honestly, no one wants to starve themselves, but to tell people they should never be at 1200 isn't fair either. I see people get nailed to the board all the time in here for it - and all it does, especially for a newbie - is make you feel even worse about what you are trying to do.

tigersword

I really wish the "don't eat below BMR" myth would die, because that's what it is, a myth. There is no scientific evidence anywhere that says anything about eating above or below BMR to lose weight.

deksgrl

I'm kind of glad I came across this topic as I am still fairly new here and still trying to understand some things....I entered my age, height, weight & activity level (sedentary-desk job, little or no exercise) into MFP and said I want to lose 1lb a week. It gave me 1380 for a calorie goal, which I have been following since mid-February.

I went to the IIFYM site and entered the same data and got a BMR of 1505 and a TDEE of 1806.......So what should my calorie goal be to lose 1lb a week?? Am I eating too little?

Here is how MFP works:

It figures out what you need just for daily life (not including exercise) based on how active you say you are. So this covers normal daily activities, job, school, running after kids, whatever. A person with a waitress job would be more active than someone who sits at a desk all day.

Now you tell it how many pounds per week you want to lose. If you choose 2 pounds, it deducts 1,000 calories per day, 1 pound it deducts 500 calories per day. But it will not go below 1200. This often sets people BELOW their BMR, sometimes dangerously below their BMR, but people are allowed to choose whatever they want, there isn't information there for people to make an informed decision. Everybody wants to lose 2 pounds per week, right? But unless you have 75+ pounds to lose, that level of taking a 1,000 calorie deficit isn't reasonable.

Okay, remember now that number doesn't include exercise, you need to eat more now when you work out.

deksgrl

I really wish the "don't eat below BMR" myth would die, because that's what it is, a myth. There is no scientific evidence anywhere that says anything about eating above or below BMR to lose weight.

For people who are obese, it is okay to eat below BMR. For people who are closer to goal weight, there are consequences. No, you won't "die", but you will probably experience undesirable effects.

3laine75

Thank you for the link to that website.

It does calculate my BMR to 1204 (5 ft nothin' and 138# and 43 yrs old) The TDEE obviously changes with the amount of work out - so if I set it for sedentary it actually says for "Fat loss 1228" at a 15% reduction.

I knew I wasn't crazy to leave MFP set at 1200 and eat back most exercise calories.

Honestly, no one wants to starve themselves, but to tell people they should never be at 1200 isn't fair either. I see people get nailed to the board all the time in here for it - and all it does, especially for a newbie - is make you feel even worse about what you are trying to do.

Yes to this - there are new people all the time, who are set at 1200 and not losing and they are advised to eat more when in reality they are logging inaccurately, which will not change when they up their settings.

deksgrl

Thank you for the link to that website.

It does calculate my BMR to 1204 (5 ft nothin' and 138# and 43 yrs old) The TDEE obviously changes with the amount of work out - so if I set it for sedentary it actually says for "Fat loss 1228" at a 15% reduction.

I knew I wasn't crazy to leave MFP set at 1200 and eat back most exercise calories.

Honestly, no one wants to starve themselves, but to tell people they should never be at 1200 isn't fair either. I see people get nailed to the board all the time in here for it - and all it does, especially for a newbie - is make you feel even worse about what you are trying to do.

Yes to this - there are new people all the time, who are set at 1200 and not losing and they are advised to eat more when in reality they are logging inaccurately, which will not change when they up their settings.

This is true also, but I do see these people advised to get a food scale ALL THE TIME. I also see where they are asked what their stats are, and to open their diary so people can better advise them.

1200 *IS* appropriate for some, I didn't say it wasn't. But it is not appropriate for the person who started this thread.

tigersword

I really wish the "don't eat below BMR" myth would die, because that's what it is, a myth. There is no scientific evidence anywhere that says anything about eating above or below BMR to lose weight.

For people who are obese, it is okay to eat below BMR. For people who are closer to goal weight, there are consequences. No, you won't "die", but you will probably experience undesirable effects.

Again, there is ZERO evidence of negative effects of eating below BMR. Everybody justifies it by saying "BMR is what your body needs to support you in a coma." Well, TDEE is what you need to support your body during day to day activity. When you eat below TDEE, your body draws on fat stores to make up the deficit. When you eat below BMR, your body draws from fat stores to make up the deficit. It makes no difference. BMR is just an arbitrary number used as part of the calulation to derive TDEE. It's meaningless on its own.

The key to weight loss is to ensure proper nutrition, and to maintain a reasonable deficit. As long as those two criteria are met, whether you are above or below BMR is irrelevant.

MissKim78

I'm kind of glad I came across this topic as I am still fairly new here and still trying to understand some things....I entered my age, height, weight & activity level (sedentary-desk job, little or no exercise) into MFP and said I want to lose 1lb a week. It gave me 1380 for a calorie goal, which I have been following since mid-February.

I went to the IIFYM site and entered the same data and got a BMR of 1505 and a TDEE of 1806.......So what should my calorie goal be to lose 1lb a week?? Am I eating too little?

Here is how MFP works:

It figures out what you need just for daily life (not including exercise) based on how active you say you are. So this covers normal daily activities, job, school, running after kids, whatever. A person with a waitress job would be more active than someone who sits at a desk all day.

Now you tell it how many pounds per week you want to lose. If you choose 2 pounds, it deducts 1,000 calories per day, 1 pound it deducts 500 calories per day. But it will not go below 1200. This often sets people BELOW their BMR, sometimes dangerously below their BMR, but people are allowed to choose whatever they want, there isn't information there for people to make an informed decision. Everybody wants to lose 2 pounds per week, right? But unless you have 75+ pounds to lose, that level of taking a 1,000 calorie deficit isn't reasonable.

Okay, remember now that number doesn't include exercise, you need to eat more now when you work out.

Thank you....I am currently 35 at 5"3 and weigh 185lbs. According to my BMI, I am Obese. I would like to eventually get down to 140 or even 135 if possible. I just find I'm getting confused because of all these different calculations! lol I just want to know if I am eating the right amount of calories to lose weight at a healthy rate (not looking for an overnight fix here, just a gradual loss) and I also don't want to be eating too little. What calculation should I use to figure that out? Should I just trust MFP?

tigersword

Thank you for the link to that website.

It does calculate my BMR to 1204 (5 ft nothin' and 138# and 43 yrs old) The TDEE obviously changes with the amount of work out - so if I set it for sedentary it actually says for "Fat loss 1228" at a 15% reduction.

I knew I wasn't crazy to leave MFP set at 1200 and eat back most exercise calories.

Honestly, no one wants to starve themselves, but to tell people they should never be at 1200 isn't fair either. I see people get nailed to the board all the time in here for it - and all it does, especially for a newbie - is make you feel even worse about what you are trying to do.

If you're eating back exercise calories you are not eating only 1200 calories. So your experience is not the same as the OP in this thread.

TeaBea

I really wish the "don't eat below BMR" myth would die, because that's what it is, a myth. There is no scientific evidence anywhere that says anything about eating above or below BMR to lose weight.

For people who are obese, it is okay to eat below BMR. For people who are closer to goal weight, there are consequences. No, you won't "die", but you will probably experience undesirable effects.

Yes - this!

For some reason morbidly obese people do not lose a lot of muscle mass when on very low calorie diets...........this is NOT true for people with less weight to lose.

Very low calorie diets (for "some" people that IS 1200) .....result in fat+muscle loss as opposed to mainly fat loss. I hate the term....but look up "skinny-fat." People who lose weight but are unhappy with how flabby they look.

fernwehwanderlust

Weird. When I tried "aggressive" it put me at 1300 calories. Maybe I'll just stick with the next one up and try to pick up running as a habit. Thanks:)

This actually really helped.

You are only 18 pounds from your goal weight, NOT 180 for god's sake. You should NOT be taking an aggressive 25% cut. Even 20% is probably too much for you. 15% would be appropriate.

WHY do people want to eat as little as possible? I just do not get it. Is it a punishment thing? Oh, I'm too fat, I must sacrifice and starve and work out 3 hours a day. This makes it harder to transition to maintenance and learning how you will manage the rest of your life.

But I feel fine. I eat when I'm hungry, and I try to pick foods that will keep me full like fruits, veggies, fibrous foods, or meat. This prevents me from eating empty calories. And it's not like I've been dieting for years, I just started 2-3 weeks ago.

deksgrl

I'm kind of glad I came across this topic as I am still fairly new here and still trying to understand some things....I entered my age, height, weight & activity level (sedentary-desk job, little or no exercise) into MFP and said I want to lose 1lb a week. It gave me 1380 for a calorie goal, which I have been following since mid-February.

I went to the IIFYM site and entered the same data and got a BMR of 1505 and a TDEE of 1806.......So what should my calorie goal be to lose 1lb a week?? Am I eating too little?

Here is how MFP works:

It figures out what you need just for daily life (not including exercise) based on how active you say you are. So this covers normal daily activities, job, school, running after kids, whatever. A person with a waitress job would be more active than someone who sits at a desk all day.

Now you tell it how many pounds per week you want to lose. If you choose 2 pounds, it deducts 1,000 calories per day, 1 pound it deducts 500 calories per day. But it will not go below 1200. This often sets people BELOW their BMR, sometimes dangerously below their BMR, but people are allowed to choose whatever they want, there isn't information there for people to make an informed decision. Everybody wants to lose 2 pounds per week, right? But unless you have 75+ pounds to lose, that level of taking a 1,000 calorie deficit isn't reasonable.

Okay, remember now that number doesn't include exercise, you need to eat more now when you work out.

Thank you....I am currently 35 at 5"3 and weigh 185lbs. According to my BMI, I am Obese. I would like to eventually get down to 140 or even 135 if possible. I just find I'm getting confused because of all these different calculations! lol I just want to know if I am eating the right amount of calories to lose weight at a healthy rate (not looking for an overnight fix here, just a gradual loss) and I also don't want to be eating too little. What calculation should I use to figure that out? Should I just trust MFP?

Set MFP to lose 1 pound per week. Weigh/measure/log your food so you know you are indeed eating the proper amount. Eat more when you exercise (Don't trust MFP's estimates for how much you burn in exercise.... some people eat half or 3/4 of what it says because it can be high... or get a heart rate monitor for better tracking).

OR use an online calculator to figure out your TDEE. Eat 20% less than TDEE. With this method you would not eat more for exercise, it would be included in that TDEE number. Some people find this less confusing.

fernwehwanderlust

Oh, I do eat back my exercise calories. I know it's not healthy to eat below 1200 calories, so its important to do so.

TeaBea

Weird. When I tried "aggressive" it put me at 1300 calories. Maybe I'll just stick with the next one up and try to pick up running as a habit. Thanks:)

This actually really helped.

You are only 18 pounds from your goal weight, NOT 180 for god's sake. You should NOT be taking an aggressive 25% cut. Even 20% is probably too much for you. 15% would be appropriate.

WHY do people want to eat as little as possible? I just do not get it. Is it a punishment thing? Oh, I'm too fat, I must sacrifice and starve and work out 3 hours a day. This makes it harder to transition to maintenance and learning how you will manage the rest of your life.

But I feel fine. I eat when I'm hungry, and I try to pick foods that will keep me full like fruits, veggies, fibrous foods, or meat. This prevents me from eating empty calories. And it's not like I've been dieting for years, I just started 2-3 weeks ago.

What does hunger have to do with it? Does your stomach really know when your body is using muscle mass as fuel? Yes, fiber keeps you full, but it doesn't support muscle tissue. I eat more because I want to lower my body fat percentage, not just the number on the scale.

deksgrl

Weird. When I tried "aggressive" it put me at 1300 calories. Maybe I'll just stick with the next one up and try to pick up running as a habit. Thanks:)

This actually really helped.

You are only 18 pounds from your goal weight, NOT 180 for god's sake. You should NOT be taking an aggressive 25% cut. Even 20% is probably too much for you. 15% would be appropriate.

WHY do people want to eat as little as possible? I just do not get it. Is it a punishment thing? Oh, I'm too fat, I must sacrifice and starve and work out 3 hours a day. This makes it harder to transition to maintenance and learning how you will manage the rest of your life.

But I feel fine. I eat when I'm hungry, and I try to pick foods that will keep me full like fruits, veggies, fibrous foods, or meat. This prevents me from eating empty calories. And it's not like I've been dieting for years, I just started 2-3 weeks ago.

18 pounds. Half a pound a week. 36 weeks to lose 18 pounds.

Or.... you can initially lose 8 pounds in 8 weeks and then be frustrated because you aren't losing any more.... continue to try to eat less and exercise more for a year. Stress your adrenals, suppress your metabolism. Then perhaps you finally lose that last 10 pounds after a year and a half, but when you try to eat normally again, you pile the weight on. Yo yo diet, and eat 1200 the rest of your life?

If you do it properly, you will lose the weight and be able to keep it off, while eating more than 1200.

ToraChan2310

I ate 1200 calories on Sunday...not on purpose...took me till Wednesday to feel better...get my energy back, stop feeling dizzy, weak and lethargic...no joke.

I am 5 ft 7, 160lbs, lift 3x a week and eat on average 1700 a day....

I don't understand how people do it to be frank...

The human body is very weird to me...

I'm 5'9, 200lb, 23 years old and lift 4x a week and run 3x a week, and 1200-1300 calories work fine for me.

I've never been a big eater, so maybe thats why it works. Different people have different appetites so I guess a calorie limit in and of itself cant be "wrong", but it just wont work for certain people.

deksgrl

I ate 1200 calories on Sunday...not on purpose...took me till Wednesday to feel better...get my energy back, stop feeling dizzy, weak and lethargic...no joke.

I am 5 ft 7, 160lbs, lift 3x a week and eat on average 1700 a day....

I don't understand how people do it to be frank...

The human body is very weird to me...

I'm 5'9, 200lb, 23 years old and lift 4x a week and run 3x a week, and 1200-1300 calories work fine for me.

I've never been a big eater, so maybe thats why it works. Different people have different appetites so I guess a calorie limit in and of itself cant be "wrong", but it just wont work for certain people.

An active young man eating 1200-1300..... *shakes head sadly*

tigersword

I really wish the "don't eat below BMR" myth would die, because that's what it is, a myth. There is no scientific evidence anywhere that says anything about eating above or below BMR to lose weight.

For people who are obese, it is okay to eat below BMR. For people who are closer to goal weight, there are consequences. No, you won't "die", but you will probably experience undesirable effects.

Yes - this!

For some reason morbidly obese people do not lose a lot of muscle mass when on very low calorie diets...........this is NOT true for people with less weight to lose.

Very low calorie diets (for "some" people that IS 1200) .....result in fat+muscle loss as opposed to mainly fat loss. I hate the term....but look up "skinny-fat." People who lose weight but are unhappy with how flabby they look.

This has nothing to do with calories or BMR, and everything to do with protein consumption and training protocol.

jlynnm70

Oh, I do eat back my exercise calories. I know it's not healthy to eat below 1200 calories, so its important to do so.

Apparently i am the same as OP - set at 1200 and eat back exercise calories..........

deksgrl

I really wish the "don't eat below BMR" myth would die, because that's what it is, a myth. There is no scientific evidence anywhere that says anything about eating above or below BMR to lose weight.

For people who are obese, it is okay to eat below BMR. For people who are closer to goal weight, there are consequences. No, you won't "die", but you will probably experience undesirable effects.

Yes - this!

For some reason morbidly obese people do not lose a lot of muscle mass when on very low calorie diets...........this is NOT true for people with less weight to lose.

Very low calorie diets (for "some" people that IS 1200) .....result in fat+muscle loss as opposed to mainly fat loss. I hate the term....but look up "skinny-fat." People who lose weight but are unhappy with how flabby they look.

This has nothing to do with calories or BMR, and everything to do with protein consumption and training protocol.

I totally agree with you, but the majority of people coming to MFP aren't training and don't get enough protein. They just want to lose 2 pounds per week, not understanding the possible consequences.