1200 calories - what happens when I lose weight?

flissy5

Hi lovely helpful people - This might have already been answered. MFP tells me to eat a net of 1200 calories, which is fine, and I assume that the magic 1200 calories is the lowest that MFP would advise. But what happens when I lose weight? Surely it should go lower than 1200.... I'm confused.

I'm 32, 5ft 3in and moderately active (yoga 2-3 times a week, walking 50 minutes a day, run 5k, play sport etc) and I weigh 157lb - aiming at 135 - 140lb. My diary is open. I regularly eat between 1200 and 1700 calories a day.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

It will not go lower than 1200 calories.

That is why seasoned MFP warriors will strongly advise you to eat more than that.

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, bingeing due to over-restriction, and of course a huge problem when you stall out on 1200 with nowhere to go but down.)

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.

flissy5

Thanks so much. It tells me around 1580, which seems about right from the average of what I've actually been eating since April.

WalkingAlong

You probably burn 1800-2000 calories a day so you will keep losing at 1200 without a need to go lower.

1200 isn't dangerously low, though obviously you don't need to eat that little if you choose not to. There is some links and discussion about it in my profile, if you're interested in sources.

rosebette

1200 is already eating at a deficit. When you lose, you will just be eating at less of a deficit, so you will lose more slowly. Once you're at your goal, you would eat at maintenance, which I assume is higher than 1200 calories.

VeryKatie

You would always stay at 1200 calories until you choose to stop losing weight. It's the minimum, so MFP will not have you go lower. As your weight drops, your progress may slow, but it won't stop (unless you become underweight and biologically need only 1200 calories to maintain that scary low weight).

flissy5

Thanks for all the replies. That's great.

I generally eat back my calories from exercise and tend to average at around 1500 calories a day, I was just curious at how MFP worked!

paperpudding

When MFP tells you to eat 1200 calories,( or any amount, for that matter) it means 1200 NET.
So if you are exercising at all, you are meant to eat those calories back..
So if you are doing 300 calorie exercise burns you should eat 1500 - that is how MFP works.