1200 calorie minimum

lilmandy89

Is it bad to go below a 1200 everyday to reach your goal weight?? would 1100 be to low for net calories??

lilmandy89

Is it bad to go below a 1200 everyday to reach your goal weight?? would 1100 be to low for net calories??

lotusfromthemud

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/12250-1000-calorie-deficit-not-for-people-with-healthy-bmi

Here's one of many, many posts concerning why this isn't a good idea.:flowerforyou:

iluvsparkles

there are also many many other links we could give you about why it is a very bad idea to do this. Sounds too good to be true? it most certainly is. 1200 is the bare minimum!

kerrilucko

It would actually depend on your activity levels and your body. Everyone is different and if you are very petite, 1100 may not be too little. That said, I wouldn't do it unless your nutritionist approves it.

pcs0snq

It’s 2024 and I was looking for a way to lower the 1200 calorie limit. This is my first post on the web space. 71 years old. My account is set up for 2lb/ week so built in 500 deficit. What’s strange is it takes 800-900 calories per day to reach that. Easy indoor cycling on Zwift for 2-3 hrs a day is 300-500 calories. All automated added from map my ride. Active around house projects and out shopping. I log my food carefully. What’s even stranger are the weight loss estimates of weight loss in 5 weeks if I force or reach 1200 food calories. They are off by 2x. I’ve lost 61 lbs this year Jan 12th to now. I’m 6lbs from my 164 lb goal of inside normal BMI.

AnnPT77

pcs0snq wrote: »

It’s 2024 and I was looking for a way to lower the 1200 calorie limit. This is my first post on the web space. 71 years old. My account is set up for 2lb/ week so built in 500 deficit. What’s strange is it takes 800-900 calories per day to reach that. Easy indoor cycling on Zwift for 2-3 hrs a day is 300-500 calories. All automated added from map my ride. Active around house projects and out shopping. I log my food carefully. What’s even stranger are the weight loss estimates of weight loss in 5 weeks if I force or reach 1200 food calories. They are off by 2x. I’ve lost 61 lbs this year Jan 12th to now. I’m 6lbs from my 164 lb goal of inside normal BMI.

If you want to do that, it's fine. MFP doesn't stop you from eating less than 1200, it just won't recommend less than 1200 for women. It may give you warning message if you press "complete diary", sure. "Complete diary" doesn't do anything special, other than give you the prediction. I never bother to "complete diary".

If you've lost 61 pounds in 8 months, which is around 7.6 pounds a month, close to your 2 pound a week intention, and you feel you're happy and thriving, I'm not one to burst your bubble (probably). I wouldn't want to lose that fast myself, if I was under 200 pounds, but that's just me. (I averaged a pound a week, obese to healthy weight, but it was intentionally faster at first, slower at the end.)

I'm 68 now, not that much younger than you. MFP's projections are also off for me . . . but it thinks I'd lose much slower than I do, even when I have my profile values set accurately. (My good brand/model fitness tracker agrees with MFP. My body doesn't.) Individuals vary. Fast loss tends to reduce calorie needs. I like eating more, because food is tasty, so I avoided fast loss. YMMV.

I haven't lost a material amount of weight since January, because I've been in maintenance (at normal BMI) for around 8 years now, after losing from class 1 obese. At 132.2 pounds this morning at 5'5" (BMI 22.0), I'm eating a minimum of 1850 calories (non-exercise days) and up to 2200+. I row (boats) 4x a week in season (now) for an hour to an hour and a half, occasionally ride my bike out on the paved trail system here, otherwise am pretty sedentary. I feel like I'm happy and thriving, too. (If I netted 800-900 calories, I'd be in the hospital pretty quickly, I think. Again, that's just me, not you.)

If you feel good, strong, healthy, thriving and are achieving your goals, that's what matters. If that's all true, don't close your diary, and you won't see the warning message.

Best wishes!

Corina1143

pcs0snq wrote: »

It’s 2024 and I was looking for a way to lower the 1200 calorie limit. This is my first post on the web space. 71 years old. My account is set up for 2lb/ week so built in 500 deficit. What’s strange is it takes 800-900 calories per day to reach that. Easy indoor cycling on Zwift for 2-3 hrs a day is 300-500 calories. All automated added from map my ride. Active around house projects and out shopping. I log my food carefully. What’s even stranger are the weight loss estimates of weight loss in 5 weeks if I force or reach 1200 food calories. They are off by 2x. I’ve lost 61 lbs this year Jan 12th to now. I’m 6lbs from my 164 lb goal of inside normal BMI.

I'm now 74, 5'8". I lost about 50 lbs, 220 to 170 from February thru April 2023. I also lost a lot of hair, skin, energy and muscle. I never made it to 164 = healthy bmi. I now weigh 180. My hair is just a little thicker, still much thinner than before, skin is much better(all over, not just face). I'm regaining some muscle, but it's not as easy as it used to be. Im seeing a physical therapist for help. I'm glad I lost it, not glad I lost it fast. I'd still like to get to 150 someday, just not in a big hurry.
As for MFP in 5 weeks, mine ranges wildly, as do my daily calories. I never pay attention. Just maintaining for now.

neanderthin

There's no magic with 1200 calories or 1500 for males. The basic point is that when in a calorie deficit the possibility of nutrient deficiencies creeping into someones life over the course of a particular time frame, and of course the longer a person stays in a deficit the more opportunity for deficiencies to happen. As well, the possibility for the loss of lean mass is real, which we really want to avoid and I would say is paramount and of course the sustainability of very low calorie diets can blow up in a persons face, especially when the diet is just a smaller version of the one that created the problem in the first place, generally speaking, and rebound weight gain from sustained semi starvation is basic to our survival mechanisms and most will have very little resistance against that. Basically the difference between 1200 and 1100 for example is with 1200 there's an opportunity to consume more food but both will result in similar outcomes. Getting the right advice is paramount and I would recommend someone that specializes as opposed to just your average PCP or dietitian. Personally I would probably alternate consuming maintenance calories every 3 weeks or so as a minimum and of course the foods we consume are very important for sustainability reasons. Also 5:2 intermittent fasting is showing some interesting outcomes with a few health benefits but you need to do the legwork and educate yourself before you just wing it and believe very low calorie is a sustainable proposition, it's not, imo

springlering62

Weight loss estimates are just that: weight loss estimates.

You don’t know til you really start. I’m “fortunate” that I’ve built a lot of muscle which imho gives me a larger than normal calorie range- but also a larger than normal appetite.

Good job on losing the weight, but would also caution you about losing muscle with it. That’s what happened to me- even though I was lifting weights several times a week. I couldn’t maintain the muscle without fueling the activity and I lost a lot.

Muscle is massively important for older women.

Are you going to be able to maintain the 2-3 hours a day on the bike indefinitely? Plan ahead if you plan to slow that down. Either adjust calories, or perhaps find alternative exercise- walking, aquafit, yoga, etc. My gym is part of a large rehab program that was ultimately opened to the public. As a result, we have a plethora of classes geared towards all ages and all levels. I am blown away by the 80 and even 90 year olds who come to aquafit. We’ve got a lot of 70’s females who swim laps daily, or do the Muscle Madness classes- a challenging cardio/hand weight class series. My daughter’s gym on the west coast is a big box gym, and they still draw a lot of older participants to their similar classes.

Be careful you don’t lose too much. I surpassed my goals three times, so decided I wanted to return to my wedding day weight. Bad idea. Weight sits totally different on us 35, 40 years later. I got within a couple pounds before someone pulled me aside, and gave me a serious talking to, complete with photos she’d surreptitiously taken of me. I was shocked at my sickly appearance. Just wanted to mention this in case you were heading towards a similar goal. Success can be such a rush, we forget to stop. 🤷🏻‍♀️

AnnPT77

pcs0snq wrote: »

It’s 2024 and I was looking for a way to lower the 1200 calorie limit. This is my first post on the web space. 71 years old. My account is set up for 2lb/ week so built in 500 deficit. What’s strange is it takes 800-900 calories per day to reach that. Easy indoor cycling on Zwift for 2-3 hrs a day is 300-500 calories. All automated added from map my ride. Active around house projects and out shopping. I log my food carefully. What’s even stranger are the weight loss estimates of weight loss in 5 weeks if I force or reach 1200 food calories. They are off by 2x. I’ve lost 61 lbs this year Jan 12th to now. I’m 6lbs from my 164 lb goal of inside normal BMI.

BTW, I just happened to re-read this.

2 pounds a week is not a 500 calorie daily deficit, it's a 1000 calorie daily deficit.

1200 may or may not be a 1000 calorie daily deficit, since MFP won't give you lower than 1200. If your "in 5 weeks" estimate is not what you expected, that could be part of the reason.

Personal opinion: Unless a person is well over 200 pounds, has robust health in other respects, and doesn't have other major sources of stress in their life, then 2 pounds a week is too fast weight loss for best balance of success and health risks.

I don't know about you, but at our age (I'm 68), I'm not as physically resilient as I was at 20. To me, fast loss feels like a bigger risk now than it did when I was young. I don't need to lose hard-to-replace muscle or bone, for example. I don't need a suppressed immune system. I don't need thinning hair.

It sounds like you started at about 231. Congratulations on the big loss, sincerely. You've lost 61 pounds in about 7 months, which is about 1.5 pounds a week on average. I'm assuming it may've been a little faster at first, slower recently. As an average, that's excellent, though a little on the aggressive side. At your current weight (170?) slowing that down to a pound a week or less would be IMO a health-promoting plan. But that's just me.

I'm with Springlering62 upthread: If you only have 6 pounds to go, it's time - maybe past time - to start finding and practicing sustainable maintenance habits, habits you can keep up long term to stay at a healthy weight, almost on autopilot. I don't know what that habit set would be for you: Only you can determine that. I'd encourage you to do that.

It's your body, of course, and your life, so your decisions.

Sincere best wishes that you accomplish your weight and fitness goals, and can thrive long term!

J72FIT

It would be very difficult to get adequate nutrition on 1200 calories or less per day IMO...

stianjl

It all depends on your goal. Not sure what the goal is when you go that low. Remember you need some food for your basic health.

Fjm2

I just started eating better around 2.5 weeks ago. I am 71, 5’10” and weighed 220. I an also diabetic type 2. I was so out of control with eating that I finally woke up and brought myself back under control. It’s a long haul. One thing I realize is that I needed to change my eating patterns so it was sustainable. If my diet is not sustainable, it may work in the short term, but not for long. I am around 1200 cal a day mostly around 1100 but equally important for me is tracking sugar, protein and saturated fat. MFP is excellent for me as I can see exactly what I eat and record it. In 2.5 weeks I have lost 5 lbs. I also started chair exercises (as I can’t walk due to no balance from a major ear surgery in 2016). I aim for 20 - 30 min 5 days a week and I use Donovan Green fitness videos on YouTube. Really gets me going! I am of the opinion that it’s what you eat vs how much for the most part.

Fjm2

Note: I’m sure what I’ve lost so far is water weight. Should be interesting going forward. But cutting down on most processed food and limiting sugar is making big change at this point.

annewest9

Hi I'm Anne. I try to get as close to 1200 just to insure that I get as much nutrition as possible while I lose excess lbs. It's so important to maintain or even increase muscle mass as we lose fat. That said, about once a week I drop to down to about 700 calories to help my body break or prevent plateauing. That said, every body is different. I hope you are talking net and not gross calories. Exercise effects net calories, as I'm sure you know.