Daily Calories only 1200-Seems low to me?

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LookN2Lose15
LookN2Lose15 Posts: 21
in Health and Weight Loss
I was just looking at my daily calorie allowance and saw 1200 vs higher calorie counts for others that have posted diaries, can someone fill me in on why mine might be so low?

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  • registers
    registers Posts: 782 Member
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    The standard formula for calculating your caloric intake is based on your weight and activity level. Which is highly unaccurate. For example, if someone weighs 300lbs of pure muscle, and someone weighs 300lbs of mostly fat. Who burns more calories? The person with the most muscle obviously.
  • Avalonis
    Avalonis Posts: 1,540 Member
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    I was just looking at my daily calorie allowance and saw 1200 vs higher calorie counts for others that have posted diaries, can someone fill me in on why mine might be so low?

    Its based on your current body size and weight. If you are a petite person as your picture seems to show, your body needs LESS calories to maintain. It makes sense that a 300lb guy who is 6'5'' and solid muscle would need more calories than a 5'0'' woman who is very trim, right?
  • Avalonis
    Avalonis Posts: 1,540 Member
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    The standard formula for calculating your caloric intake is based on your weight and activity level. Which is highly unaccurate. For example, if someone weighs 300lbs of pure muscle, and someone weighs 300lbs of mostly fat. Who burns more calories? The person with the most muscle obviously.

    It's a best guess, true, but it's a stretch to say it's "Highly inaccurate". Most people fall within the generalized limits on it. Someone who is in tip top shape, obviously would need more, but they would probably already know that, since they are in great shape and know their body.
  • Aetarac
    Aetarac Posts: 135 Member
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    You may want to look into what your goals are set at. If set to lose 2lbs a week that is a bit steep for someone with as little as you have to lose. .5 -1lbs a week wpuld up your allowance and likely be lost at healthier rate.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I am 5'4" and weigh 150lbs. I do have some fat on me still, but I can definitely tell that I am gaining muscle rapidly since I've started to do more strength training.

    That being said, I can't go below 2000 calories or I will actually gain weight. Yeah. I was shocked too. MFP had it set at 1750 (or something like that) and I was gaining like a pound a week. I upp'ed my calories and the weight dropped off. I was holding steady at 150lbs until I had a few days where I went OVER my 2000 calories -- then I started to see a weight loss. So, next week I am going to up my calories and see what happens.

    Why I told you this is.. the numbers any calculator (including MFP) gives you is an estimate. A starting point. We are all different. Take the numbers it gives you and tweak it until it seems to fit your body. :)

    BTW, I would be in starvation mode if I only ate 1200 calories a day. But, I work on my feet and workout too. So, 1200 is just WAY too low.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I was just looking at my daily calorie allowance and saw 1200 vs higher calorie counts for others that have posted diaries, can someone fill me in on why mine might be so low?

    Its based on your current body size and weight. If you are a petite person as your picture seems to show, your body needs LESS calories to maintain. It makes sense that a 300lb guy who is 6'5'' and solid muscle would need more calories than a 5'0'' woman who is very trim, right?

    I'm petite and my body needs MORE calories -- perhaps because of how active I am? I work on my feet 5 days a week (anywhere between 5-9 hours -- my schedules vary) and then I workout 3 days a week. I don't know, but I consider myself in decent shape and I would starve to death with only 1200 calories. Heck, my body was ticked off when I was down around 1700. lol
  • LookN2Lose15
    LookN2Lose15 Posts: 21
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    According to the projected weight loss, I would lose 1 pound a week. 1200 calories is significantly less than I eat now and I do not excercise. I think that if I limit myself to 1200 calories and start the exercise program at the gym (starts tomorrow) I will actually lose too much weight. I am 5'4, 137 pounds with a goal of 120-125 "Toned" weight. I should probably add that I do not sleep a lot and burn calories because my body just does not know when to shut down LOL!
  • LookN2Lose15
    LookN2Lose15 Posts: 21
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    Avalonis, I understand about frame calculation. I was actually comparing myself to women of same frame and close to my age group. I will try it this way and if it doesn't work "tweek" it a little. :smile:
  • jojonesnz
    jojonesnz Posts: 107 Member
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    ive wondered the same, mine is also set at 1200 and i am a hairdresser working on my feet all week aswell as doing a minimum of 30mins excercise per day! im always hungry and end up blowing it in the weekends cos i constantly eat lol
    i am also finding that i am not losing a lot of weight........
    i suppose thats why its good to get advice from a nutritionist, as these sites are just a basis and everyone is different.
    i went through a stage where i ate as much as i wanted but only fresh food and i lost loads of weight without upping my fitness, so im thinking of going back to that rather than calorie counting as i just doesnt seem to work for me:)
  • Aetarac
    Aetarac Posts: 135 Member
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    What is your BMR and maintenance allowance? To tone I would not cut more then 500kcal/day of maintenance with exercise. Slower process but as you tone the muscles especially if you are not already working out you will lean out pretty fast and the extra muscle can take care of the little fat you have to lose.
  • LookN2Lose15
    LookN2Lose15 Posts: 21
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    I'm glad that I am not the only one that wondered about the calorie restriction. I'll try it and see how it goes I suppose.
  • skinnyjeanzbound
    skinnyjeanzbound Posts: 3,932 Member
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    According to the projected weight loss, I would lose 1 pound a week. 1200 calories is significantly less than I eat now and I do not excercise. I think that if I limit myself to 1200 calories and start the exercise program at the gym (starts tomorrow) I will actually lose too much weight. I am 5'4, 137 pounds with a goal of 120-125 "Toned" weight. I should probably add that I do not sleep a lot and burn calories because my body just does not know when to shut down LOL!

    If you start an exercise program, make sure to log it and MFP will "give back" those calories. e.g. if you burn 500 calories your daily allowance will show 1700 rather than just 1200. AND YES YOU SHOULD EAT BACK THE EXERCISE CALORIES! (at least most of them) :smile:
  • LookN2Lose15
    LookN2Lose15 Posts: 21
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    SO I just checked, my BMR for my current weight is "Your estimated BMR is: 1,271 calories/day". TY skinnyjean for letting me know that it would add it back...phew! :smile:
  • carro585
    carro585 Posts: 40 Member
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    Hey! We are EXACTLY the same! Well, at least in mfp terms :wink:. I am 5'4'', started at 137, and am now at 127....trying to lose maybe just 5 more. Like you, for me 1200 at the beginning felt WAY too low. I was hungry!! But I've found that if I work out and eat back all the calories I burn, I feel just fine. Not hungry at all, even though the deficit is the same. And the MFP prediction of 1 pound a week has been pretty spot on (minus a couple weeks where I totally fell off the wagon). And who knows why, but the last few weeks when I haven't gotten to the gym it hasn't been too difficult to stay around 1200. Bodies are weird. Hope this is helpful, and good luck!
  • DKBelle
    DKBelle Posts: 585
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    I was just looking at my daily calorie allowance and saw 1200 vs higher calorie counts for others that have posted diaries, can someone fill me in on why mine might be so low?

    Especially if you workout daily :) Check out this site: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
    I think you should eat more . Hope it helps.
  • purroxide
    purroxide Posts: 27
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    I'm on 1200 calories a day. It's easy once you work out what you should and shouldn't eat, but it was definitely difficult at first. That's what getting healthy is about though, right?
  • savvynurse
    savvynurse Posts: 292
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    The healthier you eat the better.... Green beans for exAmple are only about 20 cals a 1/2 cup. Thankfully I love greenbeans cause it allows me to fill up at dinner time and sometimes lunch!!!
  • Avalonis
    Avalonis Posts: 1,540 Member
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    I've found that 1200-1600 calories a day is perfect for me, even when I burn 600-1000 calories with exercise, I still feel fine. It really depends on how you are feeling during the day. If you are having problems staying awake, and feeling lightheaded, you probably need more food, AND more water.

    Someone mentioned that they "burn more calories because they almost never sleep and body doesn't know when to shut down"

    Thats actually WORSE for weight loss. That will slow your weightloss. Your body needs it's recovery time, I wouldn't skip on sleep. If you have troubles going to sleep, workout a lot harder during the day, by the time evening comes around you'll be dead.
  • Stephinow
    Stephinow Posts: 273
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    I was also given a calorie allowance of 1200, and that did seem rather low to me, too. I don't plan on following that exactly. My main focus will be on eating whole foods -- fresh vegetables and fruit, lean meats, and whole grains -- and of course, healthy snacks (like apple slices and natural peanut butter). I will also focus on portion control when it comes to anything other than the fruits and vegetables (lucky for me I love them both). I don't get any activity at work because I have a desk job, but I will be working out six days per week typically for 40-60 minutes. For the past month I have been doing JM 30-Day Shred 6 days per week, which is 20 minutes but supposedly is equal to 1 hour of exercise (not sure about that, but it feels like it...lol). So we'll see how this goes, but I'm sure 1200 is too little for me to lose weight.
  • registers
    registers Posts: 782 Member
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    avalonis, you're right, I over stated it.

    Ladies, if you cut down your calories too low, you will lose weight, including muscle mass. Which will slow your progress to a grinding hault, because muscle mass is what burns calories. The only options besides cutting down calories to lose weight is to lower carb intake, (that doesn't mean no carbs) or increase activity level. Don't be starving your self, if you do you'll get tempeory fix with greater weight gain than before, due to less muscle mass to burn off the calories.

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