Calorie question

xx0verthestarsxx

Hi everyone, I'm pretty new to this. My goals right now are set to lose 2lbs a week (I had it at 1 but it didn't change anything when I put it to 2) so they have me on a 1200 calorie a day diet. That's all well and good, but when I get to 1200, if I decide to exericse I usually wind up working 100-500 calories off. Everyone is telling me because I'm doing that I'm too far under my calorie limit and stuff, but I'm just exercising the calories back. Is this okay? Or am I like killing my body? I feel totally fine and I'm not going hungry or anything, you can see the foods I eat on my diary. I know my goal weight is pretty low, but I'm only 5'2" and at the gym I want to be in the excellent range of weight, not the good range. I used to weigh 105 so I'm just trying to get back to it

Amo_Angelus

I think you're supposed to have 1200 net cals so if that's all you're eating and then your excercizing away thoe cals, your body will loose weight rapidly as it goes into starvation mode (Totally not a dietician so I could be wrong) but starvation mode is unhealthy. Maybe eat half those calories back?

UpEarly

I would eat those calories back with some fruits and veggies! That's the one thing I see lacking in your diary.

melaniecheeks

You're at a low weight and trying to get lower - aiming to lose 2 lb a week is very unrealistic, I'd suggested changing your goals to 0.5 lb a week.

You'll get conflicting views on eating your exercise calories back, but if you're only intaking 1200 calories a day you need to be sure that you're geting enough good nutrients in there for your body to function properly - I'd be a bit concerned at your high sugar intake, and absence of fresh fruit and veg.

And it depends how long ago you were 105 - trying to be your high school weight isn't always a wise goal!

See if you can find the thread on "relatively light people looking to get leaner", for lots of tips, advice and support on throwing away your scale, eating well, and toning up.

xx0verthestarsxx

haha I'm only 18 so the high school weight wouldn't be too far off. 105 isn't too low though, I asked my personal trainer and she said as long as I'm not going to 100 or below I should be fine because that's a little too light for me. I know I'm not high up on the fruits and veggies, but It's tough for me because of who I live with. I tried to eat some veggies in that voila stir fry stuff I had yesterday, and I'm drinking a ton of vitamin water. Thanks for the advice guys, it's just crappy because usually after I exercise the calories off I'm not hungry and I don't want to eat if I'm not hungry.

Qarol

The idea is to not go below 1200 net. If you're eating 1300 calories a day but burning 300, that's a net of 1000. Too low for your body to function in a healthy way. If anything, going too low can sabotage your efforts and slow down weight loss, as your body fights to save every last calorie. I know it sounds scary, but to lose weight, you probably need to eat a bit more.

Also, I know a "safe" weight loss is suggested as 1-2 lbs a week, but it's very difficult to sustain 2 lbs per week. Perhaps if you're really overweight, it might happen that way for a while, but it's just not sustainable. I wish. If only. Perhaps reset it back to 1 lb or even 0.5 lb, make sure you're eating enough and tracking your food accurately. And just be patient. That's the hardest thing for me. Patience.

xx0verthestarsxx

Yeah, as I said before, I had to set to 1lb a week, and then when I changed it to 2lb's a week it didn't change anything (I'm not sure why, but my calorie intake and everything stayed the same) I just wasn't sure if it was better to be a little under or a little over the 1200, it's hard to get it exact sometimes. I suppose what I'll try to do is stick at 1200 a day if I'm not working out, and then if I do work out I'll eat a little extra to burn it off. Thanks everyone, especially for being so quick with the responses.

melaniecheeks

1200 is the absolute minimum that MFP will set for anyone, and whilst it's a rough guide, consistently eating well below that can be dangerous.