Am I eating enough?? 1200 cals

likewhoa712

I am going to up my calories from 1200, cause I am losing too fast. 4 pounds each week and I don't feel good, feel tired all the time and sometimes dizzy. I think you have to go with what your body responds to. I don't want to lose that much that fast. I started two weeks ago at 244 and now I am 236. I am 5'5 and 50 yrs old.

Congrats on the good start! I feel okay physically, just hungry most nights but I realize that I haven't let myself FEEL hungry in a very long time due to eating while bored etc, so I'm letting myself adjust to that too.

likewhoa712

I'm the same height as you, bit older (ahem) and had less to lose to start with (I was around 190 lbs).

I did 1200 calories a day for the first couple of months while I figured stuff out. I found it motivating to lose quite quickly to start with, and I had a lot to go so I wasn't worried about damaging myself. I found I could live with it, but only for a while, and honestly, it taught me how to juggle macros to achieve a calorie and macro target. Other than the first week or so, I learned to choose foods so I didn't feel hungry apart from the odd day. Since then, I've progressively increased (I'm at 1400 now) and will continue to progressively increase as I move away from weight loss towards improving fitness and other goals.

Bottom line for me, it did me no harm, was motivating and I learned a lot about healthy habits and my body.

Bottom line for you may well be different, but you need to decide for yourself.

Thanks for the info! I guess I just need to give it some time and see how I adjust

SamLD88

Coke is / was a huge addiction for me. there's no easy way to leave it. And no, I don't mean cocaine. Something about Coca Cola hits all of my buttons in such a nice way. Good luck. I've found moderation through not buying soda for the house, and basically only drinking it when we go out to eat.

As for weight loss, I agree with other posters: play with the numbers. Up it to 1 lb a week and see if it helps. Consider weighing daily -- I know my weight spikes every few days, so if you started on a low day and ended on a spike day, you might not see a difference, even though there is one.

tag624

Nope, I eat about 1800 calories a day, sometimes more, yesterday I ate 4000 haha, I am 218 lbs 5'7, and do about 5 hours of cardio and strength training a week.

brocej

No.

tag624

No, you are not eating enough.

MFP is quite notorious for setting calorie goals FAR too low, regardless of height and weight. For example, it told me to eat 1200, and my BMR (the bare amount of calories I need to LIVE) is 1280. And I am extremely tiny, only 5 feet. So unless you are smaller than me, or bedridden, it is almost a CERTAINTY that you are eating too little. (This can result in lean muscle loss, chronic fatigue, metabolism damage, and bingeing due to over-restriction.)

Go to

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

and enter your height/weight/activity level.

Subtract 10-20% from the number it calculates for you, and that is the number of calories you should be eating a day in order to lose weight. With this method you do not eat back your exercise calories, as they are already figured into your daily goal.

Agreed!

Censor76

Sometimes it's not the fats that keep you from loosing, it also can be the sugar

This is false. All that is required to lose weight is a calorie deficit. I eat candy every day. It has not stopped my weight loss in the slightest, as you can see.
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In a non sexual way I love you. Candy and still muscular? Amazing.

AliceDark

It seems like your settings are off somewhere. At your current stats, you should be able to eat more than 1200 and still lose. Keep in mind that you're going to have to drop your calories again (maybe more than once) as you get smaller. If you start off at 1200, what are you going to do when you've lost your first 50 pounds? You can't live on air, lettuce and skinless chicken breasts while you lose the next 50.

likewhoa712

Coke is / was a huge addiction for me. there's no easy way to leave it. And no, I don't mean cocaine. Something about Coca Cola hits all of my buttons in such a nice way. Good luck. I've found moderation through not buying soda for the house, and basically only drinking it when we go out to eat.

As for weight loss, I agree with other posters: play with the numbers. Up it to 1 lb a week and see if it helps. Consider weighing daily -- I know my weight spikes every few days, so if you started on a low day and ended on a spike day, you might not see a difference, even though there is one.

Lol it's almost like cocaine! Yes that is def the hardest thing to give up... I'm down to 1 a day, seeing the impact it makes on my whole day is very motivational since 1 alone is almost the daily allotment for sugar, tho water with a meal is not satisfactory in the least.

likewhoa712

It seems like your settings are off somewhere. At your current stats, you should be able to eat more than 1200 and still lose. Keep in mind that you're going to have to drop your calories again (maybe more than once) as you get smaller. If you start off at 1200, what are you going to do when you've lost your first 50 pounds? You can't live on air, lettuce and skinless chicken breasts while you lose the next 50.

I double checked them, all my info is correct... I chose "sedentary" because I work a desk job, and even "lightly active" says you spend a whole day on your feet which I def don't. I put 0 for exercise because I had no fitness plan set. I started the gym yesterday but it was only for about 45 mins yesterday and today. Maybe If I go all next week I should change that?

FatFreeFrolicking

Do you use a food scale?

likewhoa712

Nope, I eat about 1800 calories a day, sometimes more, yesterday I ate 4000 haha, I am 218 lbs 5'7, and do about 5 hours of cardio and strength training a week.

Lol. Do you eat back the calories you burn? Just curious. I've read so many different opinions about this

RUNNING_AMOK_1958

You probably can eat quite a bit more and lose. I'm 5'1" and at 130 pounds was losing a half pound a week eating 1550. At your weight, I'd say 1200 is way not enough, even without exercise.

rawremzilly

Heya, did you add in how much exercise you do a week and what your job's like in terms of movement? If you go into your goals you can change these about i.e. on the days I work I'm on my feet all day with no opportunities to sit down so I've set mine to waitress. I also exercise a few times a week so I've added roughly the amount of time I'll spend on that too. This then allows for additional calories and will increase your daily calorie goal.

Additionally, if you're worrying maybe go see your GP and tell them you're wanting to change your diet and asking how they recommend you go about doing it. Sometimes, there's nothing better than honest, professional help when it comes to your body.

AmyLRed

Nope, I eat about 1800 calories a day, sometimes more, yesterday I ate 4000 haha, I am 218 lbs 5'7, and do about 5 hours of cardio and strength training a week.

Lol. Do you eat back the calories you burn? Just curious. I've read so many different opinions about this

YES! MFP is set up so that you eat back what you burn. Keep in mind though, that the MFP calorie burn amounts are an estimate, and are often higher than actual cals burned, but you do need to eat some (or most) of them back.
Also, you may actually see better results with higher calorie intake, even though it sounds the opposite. I am 5'1" and started just shy of 200lbs (this round) and I eat 1400 ish on most non exercise days. I am also sedentary. You can customize your goals/stats in MFP, so you don't have to have it set at 1200cals. And yes, you can still lose weight!
Also, you mentioned "feeling hungry" and that can get old after awhile. Find some low cal ways to fill your goals that will keep you feeling more full. foods higher in protein help you feel full longer.

likewhoa712

Do you use a food scale?

I just bought one but I have yet to use it... That could be a problem too, the ounces of meat I'm eating since I have just been eyeballing it, I measure everything else I can with cups tho

likewhoa712

Heya, did you add in how much exercise you do a week and what your job's like in terms of movement? If you go into your goals you can change these about i.e. on the days I work I'm on my feet all day with no opportunities to sit down so I've set mine to waitress. I also exercise a few times a week so I've added roughly the amount of time I'll spend on that too. This then allows for additional calories and will increase your daily calorie goal.

Additionally, if you're worrying maybe go see your GP and tell them you're wanting to change your diet and asking how they recommend you go about doing it. Sometimes, there's nothing better than honest, professional help when it comes to your body.

I chose Sedentary since I am at a desk all day, I put 0 for exercise since I did not have a fitness plan yet. But I went to the gym the past 2 days, this morning I put in the calories I burned from the machines estimate, not MFP's and it adjusted for those calories burned. I just don't want to be ambitious making my goals and then not actually burn those calories in the gym that they are already accounting for, if that makes sense lol

emilyGPK

I suggest sticking with what MFP recommends to see how that goes. I am on 1200 but I do give myself one "anything you want" meal per week. I am finding it easy to stick with with good weight loss results.

FatFreeFrolicking

Do you use a food scale?

I just bought one but I have yet to use it... That could be a problem too, the ounces of meat I'm eating since I have just been eyeballing it, I measure everything else I can with cups tho

Cups/spoons aren't accurate. Make sure you start weighing everything in ounces and grams!

tag624

Nope, I eat about 1800 calories a day, sometimes more, yesterday I ate 4000 haha, I am 218 lbs 5'7, and do about 5 hours of cardio and strength training a week.

Lol. Do you eat back the calories you burn? Just curious. I've read so many different opinions about this

No, I would go to iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ and key in all your information, but when you key in how often you workout, you only use strength training not cardio. And this will give you how many calories you should be eating a day without eating back the calories you burn. So I eat about the same calories each day, whether or not I have worked out that day, unless I have a cheat day (and I usually do at least once a week). There is a facebook group called IIFYM women, that gives a lot of advice, I used to just eat 1200 calories a day, it can work at first but it's not maintainable.