Minimum of 1200

Bridgetc140

I'm starting to wonder if 1200 should actually be my minimum. I know for most people it's a great minimum, but I am a very little person. I'm 4'11" and 115lbs striving for 108. My BMR is only 1137. I haven't lost weight in a while..all while tracking everything I ate and exercising. I have been sick this last week and didn't work out and was only eating around 1000 cals/day. I lost .5lbs. I'm not extra tired besides the sick icky tired feeling. I have normally been eating between 1200-1300 calories with no loss. I wish there were a scale for smaller people like me. Is anyone else in my boat?

UneJolieFemme

I work out 5 times a week and usually keep it around 1200 calories, with the exception of one cheat day a week. I am losing about 0.5 pounds a week but I need to eat lean meat, keep the carbs/sugars/sodium down. Working out is a must. I am no dietitian but I'd say 1000 cals is pretty low even for a very petite woman ; you still need all your nutrients. I'd increase the intensity of your work outs before cutting on the cals, but again I may be wrong, I'm suggesting what's working for me.

skinimin

MFP has this as their minimum-nobody gets given below 1200 regardless of their size or intended loss. You'll need to do the math yourself. For example my BMR is about 1257 and my lifestyle is sedentiary meaning I burn 1600 cals in a day. This means that I get an extra 343 cals on top of my BMR. If I work at a calorie deficit of 500 calories a day (equaling 3500 cals a week, which is how much it takes to lose 1 pound a week) then my daily intake would work out to be 1100. You can customize this under settings or custom goals (I forget which one, have a tool around and it should be pretty easy to find). I hope that makes sense for you!

skinimin

I work out 5 times a week and usually keep it around 1200 calories, with the exception of one cheat day a week. I am losing about 0.5 pounds a week but I need to eat lean meat, keep the carbs/sugars/sodium down. Working out is a must. I am no dietitian but I'd say 1000 cals is pretty low even for a very petite woman ; you still need all your nutrients. I'd increase the intensity of your work outs before cutting on the cals, but again I may be wrong, I'm suggesting what's working for me.

Yes!! Agreed, you'd be better off getting your cal deficient from working out than cutting out foods.

srp2011

I'm in the exact same boat as you - I'm 5'0" and small-boned. It makes no sense to me that the same calorie minimum should apply to a woman who is 5'0, 5'5, or 5'9, or a 6'2 man. My BMR is about 1260, and I've found that I do best if I keep calories between 1000-1200, and exercise for 30-60 minutes a day. I wind up eating out a few times a week, which always sends me over the calorie goal (and over 1200) - if I did 1200 every other day, I would never lose weight. I think it averages out over time, and I make sure the foods I do eat are healthy and nutrient rich. If I am truly hungry one day (like feeling weak or shaky), I'll add in some health extras, like nuts or cheese, which seems to do the trick.. I also don't eat my exercise calories like some on here recommend, because that would again keep my weight loss at a snail's pace (the MFP weekly goal the system set is 0.3 pounds per week - I'm all for slow and healthy, but that's a little too slow...).

curtcamp23

I think UneJolieFemme said it best with " work out 5 times a week and usually keep it around 1200 calories, with the exception of one cheat day a week" ...your body is constantly working to achieve homeostasis (or balance) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_homeostasis). There is a body of literature (most recently popularized by Tim Ferris) that says this applies to metabolism as well. Eventually your body gets used to a calorie intake (I.E. 1200) and your metabolism "down regulates" to account for the low intake. However if you were to spike you intake once a week (say about 1800 calories in your case but I would say one day a week don't even count calories) your metabolism will follow suit and spike for the rest of the week. The result is you lose more fat at 1200 calories a day than you are now. I'm currently eat this way and it really does work. Over the past two months I've gotten down to my lowest body fat percentage eating about 1900 net calories a day (usually about 2500 real calories after working out) for most of the week and 3000-5000 calories on Saturday (I'm 192 lbs, about 11% body fat). If you want to read more check out Tim's blog http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/06/how-to-lose-20-lbs-of-fat-in-30-days-without-doing-any-exercise/ .

Bridgetc140

I normally work out at least 6 days a week. As stated in my original post, I didn't work out this past week, because I am sick. With intense working out 1-2.5 hours almost daily, eating between 1200-1300 calories daily (eating my exercise calories)....I lost nothing. Four days of not quite eating 1200 and I lost half a pound. I eat clean...super healthy, so it's not what I am eating.

UneJolieFemme

I know many people will disagree but I don't eat my exercise calories. In the end, you should do what's right for you. If you feel you get better results eating a bit less than 1200 cal, and you are not hungry or tired, then that's what works for you. After all we are all different... so not the same thing works for everyone. I hope you get better soon :flowerforyou:

ablueskier

Have you considered this may be your body's way of telling you it is at a healthy weight and happy? With so little to lose you really could already be in your weight range. No person stays at a single weight day after day. Usually anywhere from a 10-20 lb goal range is healthy. With how intense your workouts are it probably means you have a lot of muscle which weighs more and that your body needs every Calorie it is getting.

jumpnj

most of the time I have no issue eating 1200 cal but today was the first day that I had to make an effort to get close to it. I've eaten 1,086 cal today and my net cal is sitting at 967 and I am full. I've eaten 3 meals and a snack today. I purposely ate an egg and bacon after work and still I need more. I went over my fat by 1 gram and over my protein by 10 everything else I am tracking, I'm under and except for calories and fiber its a good thing.

Bridgetc140

Well, I don't know if my body is happy here, but I'm not. I want a six pack and as hard as I bust my butt exercising...nothing will stop me from getting it. I'm already starting to see some cuts...but there's still some fat covering up these muscles.....I want to see them! I'm not trying to go anorexic...I only want to lose 6.5 more pounds. I'm going to Florida in May, so I'd like to lose at least 3 more pounds by then.

ablueskier

Do you use a gym? May be worth it to talk to a personal trainer that can give you strength training exercises designed for a six pack. Also be aware that six packs take a lot of maintenance. I went on a trip in college with a bunch of friends. At the start one guy had a six pack he had been working on with his trainer for a month. Having fun on the trip and not maintaining his exercises and eating habits and the is pack was almost non existent by the end of the trip.

curtcamp23

Have you considered this may be your body's way of telling you it is at a healthy weight and happy? With so little to lose you really could already be in your weight range. No person stays at a single weight day after day. Usually anywhere from a 10-20 lb goal range is healthy. With how intense your workouts are it probably means you have a lot of muscle which weighs more and that your body needs every Calorie it is getting.

good point