is 1200 calories enough for me?

lyoill
lyoill Posts: 59
in Getting Started
Hi,
I have been going along for 3 weeks now and feeling good and loosing weight. I have read on here a lot that 1200 calorie is is setting you up for failure etc...........................

I'm 42 in a couple of months I'm 5'4 or 164 cm and weight 67.9 kg or 149.6 pounds. I do interval running/jogging with fast paced walking most days of the week for 30 min.

I eat really well now, small amounts of meat chicken, beefs etc some fish, eggs, lots and lots of veggies, some fruit every day, low fat milk, good fats such as avocado and bread.

I stick to around 300 calories each meal. Sometimes I may eat a bit over 1200 say 50-90 calories a day. I weigh eveyrthing!

I'm satisfied and with all of the veggies and well balanced meals. So do you think 1200 is fine for me? I work in a studio 5 days a week so i'm sitting a lot during the day. My goal is 58 kg or 127 pounds. I know a lot of you eat a lot more but I only ever intend to do 30 min of exercise a day. I will increase the intensity and what I do for excercise but 30 min is doable for me.

thoughts?

Replies

  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
    At 5'4 and 149, you should set your goal to lose about a half pound to a pound (AT MOST) a week. Especially with exercise, you want to ensure you have enough energy for your body.

    Read these threads for more help:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here?hl=so+you're+new+here

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13
  • lyoill
    lyoill Posts: 59
    Ok, I was looking at Jillian Michael s 12 week plan and she suggests 1200 and a whole lot of exercise! If I were quiet over weight I would think that this is not enough calories... to aim loose 200grams a week would be ridiculous wouldn't you agree? yes slow and steady but 200 grams!
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
    Ok, I was looking at Jillian Michael s 12 week plan and she suggests 1200 and a whole lot of exercise! If I were quiet over weight I would think that this is not enough calories... to aim loose 200grams a week would be ridiculous wouldn't you agree? yes slow and steady but 200 grams!

    Honestly, I wouldn't take much advice from Jillian. Yeah, I like some of her workouts but I wouldn't follow her diet plan. The only thing you need to lose weight is a calorie deficit, which is already worked into your numbers on MFP when you tell the computer that you want to lose xlb/week (probably .5 or 1). I would say to go with the calories MFP gives you per day and add in the exercise you get from the plan and eat back your exercise calories

    Read this on exercise calories: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • Jenny8511
    Jenny8511 Posts: 141 Member
    I was doing 1200 in the beginning, but I noticed after a month or so that I was tired, weak, and I couldn't workout for long. I checked out the site if it fits your macros and used the calculator and found out I should be eating 1600 a day. I slowly upped to that and now I feel great, and I'm still losing at a steady amount.

    Check out the site. Use the calculator and go from there!
  • lyoill
    lyoill Posts: 59
    I was doing 1200 in the beginning, but I noticed after a month or so that I was tired, weak, and I couldn't workout for long. I checked out the site if it fits your macros and used the calculator and found out I should be eating 1600 a day. I slowly upped to that and now I feel great, and I'm still losing at a steady amount.

    Check out the site. Use the calculator and go from there!

    thanks do you mean MFP calculator that gives you your calorie amount depending on your activity? It always suggests 1200 or 1300 depending on how many days work out I
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
    I was doing 1200 in the beginning, but I noticed after a month or so that I was tired, weak, and I couldn't workout for long. I checked out the site if it fits your macros and used the calculator and found out I should be eating 1600 a day. I slowly upped to that and now I feel great, and I'm still losing at a steady amount.

    Check out the site. Use the calculator and go from there!

    thanks do you mean MFP calculator that gives you your calorie amount depending on your activity? It always suggests 1200 or 1300 depending on how many days work out I

    It depends on how you set your activity level and how much you say you want to lose per week. If you say that you want to lose a reasonable amount (half pound to one pound) it will give you a reasonable calorie goal.
  • gelar93
    gelar93 Posts: 160
    It depends on how you feel, and what your body is used to. 1200 is healthy, if you feel full and happy why would you want to add to it?
    I'm not used to big calorie numbers either and have been eating 650 calories a day for a few months now. Not that I recommend it, but I'm an active college student and never felt like I'm running out of energy and whatnot. Your body is unique and you know the best.
  • 10manda86
    10manda86 Posts: 229 Member
    I use to eat 1200... then i was eating 1600... now i eat 1800-2200 depending on how active I am that day... I'm not losing as quickly as I was at 1600, but my lifestyle has changed since then too... I feel great and that's important to me as a mum... i feel im looking good, I see shape I didn't have before life is good
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
    It depends on how you feel, and what your body is used to. 1200 is healthy, if you feel full and happy why would you want to add to it?
    I'm not used to big calorie numbers either and have been eating 650 calories a day for a few months now. Not that I recommend it, but I'm an active college student and never felt like I'm running out of energy and whatnot. Your body is unique and you know the best.

    That's not healthy at all and your body is not as unique as you would like to think it is. The laws of thermodynamics apply to me just as much as they apply to you, just as they apply to the OP, just as they apply to Oprah.
  • Rainboy24
    Rainboy24 Posts: 1
    great job!!!!!
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
    It depends on how you feel, and what your body is used to. 1200 is healthy, if you feel full and happy why would you want to add to it?
    I'm not used to big calorie numbers either and have been eating 650 calories a day for a few months now. Not that I recommend it, but I'm an active college student and never felt like I'm running out of energy and whatnot. Your body is unique and you know the best.

    That's not healthy at all and your body is not as unique as you would like to think it is. The laws of thermodynamics apply to me just as much as they apply to you, just as they apply to the OP, just as they apply to Oprah.

    650 a day? Please get help.
  • lyoill
    lyoill Posts: 59
    It depends on how you feel, and what your body is used to. 1200 is healthy, if you feel full and happy why would you want to add to it?
    I'm not used to big calorie numbers either and have been eating 650 calories a day for a few months now. Not that I recommend it, but I'm an active college student and never felt like I'm running out of energy and whatnot. Your body is unique and you know the best.

    I agree 650 sounds like an issue to me....
    I know I could eat more and loose weight more slowly and I could eat a lot more and excercise more but I'm really happy eating whole and plant based foods. It's the everyday eating of biscuits and cakes, muffins and chocolate that have kept me at 70-75 kg for years and years. I have been 58 kg in the past and I feel that this would be a good weight for me. I carry all of my weight on my stomach very little of it lands on my thighs and I have no *kitten* at all:( just my body type. a lot of people assume that I'm pregnant because of it.

    I'm happy eating 1200 as I know that this is safe and doable for me I eat a lot of good unprocessed food and this not only makes me loose weight but makes me feel awesome as well:) We all know that as a society that we are eating far too much food, I'm just wondering if the people that are eating 1600 + calories are they excercising a lot, lifting heavy or are they a lot heavier, taller or younger?

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