General advice on 1200cal

95Tashey95

Hi All

I have dieted over the years and on that stage where I need to loose the last little bit. I used to weigh nearly 12stone and have gradually lost. I have been under 10 stone for the last year and have basically bobbed between 9.8-9.10 quite happily with no longer recording.

But, (I think with stress in my life for a number of things) this number has started increasing a little and is sitting around the 9.12 mark and I would prefer to be closer to 9.7ish maybe lower if I was doing less exercise (I look better but weigh heavier when I am doing a lot of exercise but with a lot of stress in life at the moment its getting harder to exercise although I am trying)

So I have decided to start logging again and MFP has advised 1200 cal a day.

is this advisable long term? Basically I don't want to do anything that will work very very short term and see me being heavier as a result - a trap that I have fallen into in the past where I have given up very quickly and given up in style lol

I am 5ft 4inches and quite curvy.

Thanks all for your help

xx

SezxyStef

it's not something I would do period. At 1200 calories you increase your chance of losing muscle mass, being tired, lethargic etc and because it's such a low calorie goal you are more proned to stray and then because you didn't come in on goal it's a mental thing of "I am bad why do I bother" then go off the rails...

Perhaps you should look at your goals and change to something like BF%

scale weight is fickle...up with water retention, up with stress etc...

BF% stays pretty constant...

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
This woman for example is a great indicator of what you can do and have the scale slap you silly mentally...

95Tashey95

That is not a bad idea to monitor something else although I have no idea what BF% I would be aiming for!

also presumably to loose fat I need to loose weight and MFP says I need to eat 1200cal a day just to loose 1lb. so much more than 1200cal and surely I would be not loosing anything at all?

this is what is confusing me I think, I don't know what I should be aiming for

juleszephyr

1200 is really low, I have played around with MFP settings and in the end decided I would trail a few levels. I am also 5'4" and have dieted on and off forever.
My maintenance cals according to MFP are only 1590 and if I want to lose even half a pound a week it gives me a daily amount of 1350 anything more and I get the obligatory 1200 a day...

Sticking to this is hard. I now don't get so caught up on the scales, I weigh once a week on Friday mornings first thing, naked. If it's up I usually know whether it's because I have overdone it or it's water weight TOM etc.

Anyway to sum up maybe you should set your cals at maintenance, create a deficit with exercise and diet, but I would aim for no more than 500 cals a day deficit and get out your measuring tape...

Body Fat is also a good indicator but not so easy to measure / monitor.

In essence you are not overweight so just keep calm and make good choices and you will be back at 9:08 in no time I'm sure...

95Tashey95

Thank you, that is a good idea to set as maintenance and aim for under. That will make me feel better as well than the big angry red line telling me I have eaten too much because I had an extra cup of tea pushing my cals to 1209 a day lol

I know I need to relax about it all - as a former bigger girl I am so proud that I have managed to maintain and keep my weight down for so long, I just feel some old habits sneaking back again

Just trying not to panic which can then make me gain stones in weeks lol

xx

psuLemon

1200 calories can be fine for someone who doesn't exercise. But honestly, if you are exercising, you would require more calories. So if you want to let us know if you exercise and if so, what type, then we can give you a better understanding. Based on your stats, even at sedentary, I would suggest around 1300 and play with macros around 35% carbs, 35% protein and 30% fats. This will help with satiety and the extra protein will help with muscle retention.

95Tashey95

Exercise can really vary to be honest - with stuff in life it ranges from 0-3 times a week (last 6weeks probably around 2 times I think) What I do varies to
Each of these would be one session (so one days exercise) and can be any one of the following
4.5mile outooor run at 10min mile
gym session (20min treadmill at 11km/h, 20min cross trainer, 20min weights (sometimes 20mins on exercise bike as well)
yesterday I did level 3 and 2 of 30 day shred back to back (can can barely move today lol)
occasionally do 40mins of yoga

depends on time and what mood I am in as to what I do basically

I think the last few weeks I have tried to get back into exercise and my thighs feel huge and wobbly and weight has crept up but I am wondering if it is because I have laxed in exercise and got a bit more flabby, now upped the exercise and have some muscle layer under the flab making things look bigger?

with what I eat I am a mindless picker at times - this is one of the things that I have vowed this week to put a stop to and one of the reasons why I have started doing MFP to monitor everything

But my diet tends to be more protein than carb - I am not carb free but for a treat I would much rather snack on cheese and meats than crisps and cakes

95Tashey95

so from this the consensus seems to be to eat more although that would suggest I would not lose weight...?

sarahkelly98

In hospitals they give the coma patients 1500 calories a day just to survive. Coma patients don't walk, run, or do anything besides lay there and they need 1500 just to LIVE. You can not live off of 1200 calories. It's very unhealthy!

Faye_Anderson

so from this the consensus seems to be to eat more although that would suggest I would not lose weight...?

If you ate at maintenance and concentrated all your exercise on lifting heavy your shape would change, you would lose fat and inches and the number on the scale wouldn't be as much of an issue

TavistockToad

you want to lose 5lbs, set MFP to lose 0.5lb per week... this'll give you more than 1200 cals.

95Tashey95

If you ate at maintenance and concentrated all your exercise on lifting heavy your shape would change, you would lose fat and inches and the number on the scale wouldn't be as much of an issue
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this was one of my problems at the moment - I am not reliably able to get exercise in for a number of reasons. I am trying as best as I can but things are not set to change for a while so wanted to see if I could try to do it without exercise so that any I do get is more of a bonus rather than necessary. - that's where MFP recommended 1200cal

95Tashey95

In hospitals they give the coma patients 1500 calories a day just to survive. Coma patients don't walk, run, or do anything besides lay there and they need 1500 just to LIVE. You can not live off of 1200 calories. It's very unhealthy!

that was my gut reaction about 1200 cals to be honest - hence the post. very interesting to read but also why does it then suggest it.

It does seem any weight loss for me will be quite slow then since 1200 cals is to only lose 1lb/wk

Annoying when it can go on very quickly!

Maybe just cutting back a little then and really really really trying to get my butt in gear and moving

GauchoMark

First, let me start off by saying 1200 calories is not some magical number that your body totally shuts down and bad things happen. The origin of that number is that FOR MOST MEN, if you go below around 1200 calories it makes it very difficult to get enough of the essential nutrients that your body needs to be healthy. You can go below that number and still manage to get the essential nutrients (proteins and some fats) but you have to be VERY selective in your food choices. So, for someone that is just eating a balanced diet, the 1200 calories number is where you can usually be in the range of getting those nutrients.

How much essential nutrients you need is based largely on your lean muscle mass. If you are a small framed female with low muscle mass, you probably don't even need 1200 calories as long as you are making proper food selections. Once you get the essential nutrients into your system, your body will use the fat stores for energy and to make the other non-essential nutrients.

OK, now that I got that rant out of my system, let me just say that MFP determines your calorie deficit based on your weight loss goal. If you tell the goals wizard thing that you want to lose weight at 2 lbs per week, you are likely to get capped at 1200 calories because that is what MFP does unless you set up the goals manually. That is not to say that you won't lose weight if you eat more than 1200 - it means that you will lose weight at a slower rate.

TavistockToad

In hospitals they give the coma patients 1500 calories a day just to survive. Coma patients don't walk, run, or do anything besides lay there and they need 1500 just to LIVE. You can not live off of 1200 calories. It's very unhealthy!

that was my gut reaction about 1200 cals to be honest - hence the post. very interesting to read but also why does it then suggest it.

It does seem any weight loss for me will be quite slow then since 1200 cals is to only lose 1lb/wk

Annoying when it can go on very quickly!

Maybe just cutting back a little then and really really really trying to get my butt in gear and moving

you only have a little to lose, set mfp to lose 0.5lb per week!!!!!! losing vanity pounds is slow going!

95Tashey95

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you only have a little to lose, set mfp to lose 0.5lb per week!!!!!! losing vanity pounds is slow going!
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Haha, I wish it was vanity pounds. To be honest I am not normally bothered by numbers especially while I am doing exercise as my weight normally goes up a bit anyway. its more that it is going up without exercises and my thighs have gained a inch or 2 around the top in the last few months (visually and clothes tighter and been pointed out by a couple of people). its just easier to discuss weight.

so I want to get rid of it!