Confused about the 1200 base. Too little!

Missy0104

Here's a good site to compute your TDEE:

http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

It factors in how many hours of that day is spent sleeping, doing light/moderate or intense exercise.....

Eating 500 below your TDEE will yield you 1 lb/wk loss.
Eating 1,000 below your TDEE will yield you 2 lb/wk loss (for those with a good amount of weight to lose)

Turns out that on days when I DON'T exercise.....just over 1,200 calories a day is a 1,000 deficit to my TDEE. BUt days when I do exercise I need to eat between 1600-1800. So MFP actually has been pretty accurate in what it's telling me to eat on a day to day basis (taking into consideration the exercise calories I earn)

rachelleahsmom

"Hello Folks,

So often people personal message me asking me if I think their calories are correct. It seems that people think there is some magical formula that only a very few can figure out. I see so many people on here just popping in numbers and following them heedless of what the numbers mean. I feel it's ULTRA important to know why MFP (and me, and a few others) gives you certain numbers. To that end I will try to empower YOU to be able to understand the basics about calories, calorie deficits, and why we recommend eating exercise calories. With this knowledge you should be able to easily figure out what your calories should be at for reasonable, healthy weight loss. So without further ado, lets get started.

1st things first, a few givens must be stated:

-Everyone's body is slightly different. ALWAYS keep in mind your numbers may not be exactly what MFP thinks simply because everyone's bodies all burn energy at a different rate. Tweaking may be needed.

- MFP's goals wizard is a "dumb" tool. That means it doesn't care whether a specific goal is healthy and/or right for you, it just subtracts the goal deficit from projected maintenance calories. This means that even if you shouldn't be trying for a 2 lb a week loss, MFP won't care, it will still try to help you get there.

-1200 calories is a generic number. It's not right for everyone. It's a baseline minimum given out as a floor by MFP based on prior research by the medical community. NOT everyone will need a minimum of 1200, very small people can go under, and bigger people need more.


OK with those facts firmly set in your mind (please go back and re-read the givens until you have them firmly planted in your skull!), we can continue. Figuring out your perfect deficit isn't magic, it's a few simple formula's base on some basic, worldwide standards, and generally with slight modefication, will work for just about anyone who (besides weight) is generally healthy.

Here's what you need:
Height, weight, age, activity level, sex

NOTE: activity level isn't as mysterious as it sounds. If you have a desk job, and do very little walking throughout the day and don't really perform any sports or physical activities, then you are sedentary, if you do some walking every day (or at least 4 days a week) or other light activity for at least 30 minutes cumulative at least 4 times a week, you are lightly active. If you do 60 minutes of light activity 5 days a week or do some kind of sport that requires walking or light jogging (say swimming or mailman or warehouse employee) then you are active, If you do a physically demanding activity (one that makes you sweat) for 4 days a week or more and for more than 1 hour a day, you are very active (like a coach that runs drills or you play volleyball). When in doubt, go down 1 level, you'd rather burn more than you think than less.

With all these numbers you can generate your BMI. Now I realize BMI is flawed, but for what we're doing it's good enough. After years on here, and doing lots and lots of research, I've been able to associate general BMI ranges with approximate goal levels. This works for about 80 to 85% of people out there (there's always a few that are outside the curve).

So now we can figure out where your goal should be.
Go to the tools section and figure out your BMI:

Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle building, and reducing fat. This means it is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode).

With this quick guide you can figure out your goal rather easily. I know many people will say "I can't eat my exercise calories, I gain weight when I do". Well I have news for you, that's not correct. I submit this, if you eat your exercise calories and gain weight 1 of 3 things happened:
1 you were previously in starvation mode, and you upped your calories, and had an immediate weight gain, that's normal, to be expected, and necessary to get your body on track. Give it a month, that will stop, and you, once again, will begin to lose, but this time, in a healthy manner.
2 you incorrectly calculated something, either your exercise calories, your calorie intake, or you put in to large of a goal. Go back and check all your numbers.
3 you haven't given it enough time to work. This site promotes HEALTHY weight loss people. Healthy weight loss doesn't happen in days or weeks, it takes months and years. Each change you make in how you eat needs a month or more to work, be patient, give it time. It will happen.

And to everyone who has a trainer that doesn't agree with eating your exercise calories. I also submit this: In 90% of the cases (and I have talked to a LOT of trainers about this exact topic) they actually DO agree with this method, you just explained it wrong.
Just saying to a trainer "should I eat my exercise calories?" isn't enough, you have to explain to them that MFP already generates a deficit prior to any exercise, therefore the deficit will remain whether you exercise or not. Once you give them that idea, and you are relatively sure they understand the concept then I'll bet they change their tune.

I hope this helps, it's pretty straight forward if you've been here a while, and to you new guys, I recommend going to the message boards link, clicking on the "general diet and weight loss" area, and clicking on those first few posts that have the little mouse trap next to them, they are sticky and will always be there, and are a wealth of knowledge about this site, exercise calories, starvation mode...etc.

regards,

-Banks "

Thanks so much for this! I was/am one of the confused ones. I am losing weight at the 1200 mark and not too hungry, usually, but wasn't sure I am doing it right. I'll go back to check the BMI thing. The one questicanon I do have is about the activity. I presume that if you are lightly active (rather than sedentary) you can't count what you do in the exercise category, right? I teach aerobics but the rest of my day is sitting in front of a computer. I put my activity level at sedentary for the desk job and log my aerobics classes on the exercise log. Can you give your opinion on if this is the right way to do it? And speaking of the desk job, I better get back at it! Thanks again!

rachelleahsmom

Someone please help!
Here are my numbers:
BMI 25.9 -the calculator here says OVERWEIGHT
BMR 1194

So, basically, at 1200 calories, I am eating more than my body needs to survive. However, I do get out of bed in the morning and do regular stuff, so all those calories mean I actually burn more than 1194 in any given day. So, if the goal is to lose a pound, I need to have 3500 calories worth of movement during the time I want to lose a pound all while eating 1200 calories. Do I have this right?

No matter what numbers I put in MFP, I can't get it to let me go for losing more than 0.6 pounds per week.

Thanks for your help!

swaymyway

I was on 1200 calories for a few years throughout my weight loss journey - it's really plenty when you know what to eat that's low calories but filling, I ate a lot and often - 3 small meals per day plus 3 snacks per day - I found it fine, sustainable and it certainly did me no harm. I'm on about 1500 now and it seems like looooooooooads to me still lol

rachelleahsmom

Here's a good site to compute your TDEE:

http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

It factors in how many hours of that day is spent sleeping, doing light/moderate or intense exercise.....

Eating 500 below your TDEE will yield you 1 lb/wk loss.
Eating 1,000 below your TDEE will yield you 2 lb/wk loss (for those with a good amount of weight to lose)

Turns out that on days when I DON'T exercise.....just over 1,200 calories a day is a 1,000 deficit to my TDEE. BUt days when I do exercise I need to eat between 1600-1800. So MFP actually has been pretty accurate in what it's telling me to eat on a day to day basis (taking into consideration the exercise calories I earn)

This is a a really interesting site. Thanks for sharing.

ajbeans

Someone please help!
Here are my numbers:
BMI 25.9 -the calculator here says OVERWEIGHT
BMR 1194

So, basically, at 1200 calories, I am eating more than my body needs to survive. However, I do get out of bed in the morning and do regular stuff, so all those calories mean I actually burn more than 1194 in any given day. So, if the goal is to lose a pound, I need to have 3500 calories worth of movement during the time I want to lose a pound all while eating 1200 calories. Do I have this right?

No matter what numbers I put in MFP, I can't get it to let me go for losing more than 0.6 pounds per week.

Thanks for your help!

You can't get settings to lose more than .6 lbs because at your weight, it's really not recommended or healthy to lose much faster than that. 2 lbs a week is only for those who have a lot of weight to lose, but as you get closer to your goal weight, the loss has to slow.

daisyelaine

Someone please help!
Here are my numbers:
BMI 25.9 -the calculator here says OVERWEIGHT
BMR 1194

So, basically, at 1200 calories, I am eating more than my body needs to survive. However, I do get out of bed in the morning and do regular stuff, so all those calories mean I actually burn more than 1194 in any given day. So, if the goal is to lose a pound, I need to have 3500 calories worth of movement during the time I want to lose a pound all while eating 1200 calories. Do I have this right?

No matter what numbers I put in MFP, I can't get it to let me go for losing more than 0.6 pounds per week.

Thanks for your help!

Your BMR is your basal metabolic rate-- what your body needs to do for BASIC functions-- breathe, digest, think, etc. Essentially, what you would burn if you were just lying in bed all day. So, things like walking from your bed, making breakfast, driving in your car.. etc burn more than that. At 1200, it looks like you're only giving your body 6 calories for the whole day to do that. The magic number you're looking for is 500-250 below your maintenance number instead. And, with that small of an amount to lose, you're probably looking at the 250. Check out a few other website calculators.. it might help.

kooshajan

So what would those of you who have success on this site recommend for me? Keep my activity level as active or lightly active and should I keep my base calories at 1200? If I exercise and burn say 300 calories and eat them back am I technically only eating 1200?

I really need an answer to this. Every other site Ive asked have said that I should stick to 1500-1800 a day with burning 300 cals in exercise.

For those of you who didnt read my previous post in my thread here I do 5 minutes yoga, 8 mins of abs in the morning. Walk 30 mins to work. I work in receiving so I am constantly on my feet and lifting things. I walk 30 mins home and in the evening I will do an hours worth of activity be it biking, walking, swimming, badminton, etc. I have it currently set to Active with a 2lb loss per week. I have 45lbs I want to lose. I am 5ft3 and 185lbs.

daisyelaine

So what would those of you who have success on this site recommend for me? Keep my activity level as active or lightly active and should I keep my base calories at 1200? If I exercise and burn say 300 calories and eat them back am I technically only eating 1200?

I really need an answer to this. Every other site Ive asked have said that I should stick to 1500-1800 a day with burning 300 cals in exercise.

For those of you who didnt read my previous post in my thread here I do 5 minutes yoga, 8 mins of abs in the morning. Walk 30 mins to work. I work in receiving so I am constantly on my feet and lifting things. I walk 30 mins home and in the evening I will do an hours worth of activity be it biking, walking, swimming, badminton, etc. I have it currently set to Active with a 2lb loss per week. I have 45lbs I want to lose. I am 5ft3 and 185lbs.

If you exercise burning 300, and then eat those back, then yes-- you're still only at 1200. MFP has worked the deficit out for you already, and if you add another deficit in there, your body may not be getting the nutrients that it needs.

For your activity setting-- are you logging your exercise that you have listed there, aside from what you are doing at work? Working in receiving is DEFINITELY demanding.. I would say that that alone would put you somewhere between Active and Very Active, so leave that there. If you're not logging your morning stuff and evening activity, then I would even be tempted to move that to Very Active.

The best thing I can say is to read these-- they're both very well written, lay it out, and are done by people that have had lots of success and lots of education.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-question

These might also be useful to you--
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ -- to find your BMR-- what you NEED to net
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

Hope this helps!

carrie1128

I tried 1200. I ate back all of my exercise calories (between 200-300 so I actually ate around 1500 a day) and was still starving. I changed it to only lose a half a pound a week so now it's at 1350. Much more bearable. I'm small too. I never understand all of the threads saying they can't eat the 1200 calories. Not me! I need food.

Jennifernellwebb

I am losing my weight and I stay between 1000 and 1200 a day. If I inch over that any at all, I hop on my treadmill and work it off. I eat fruits and veggies ( a lot throughout the day ) so I stay pretty full and satisfied. I notice that some people on here will eat out a lot and I, personally, have done that a couple of times and shorted my food for the day because of that indulgence so I stay away from those cravings at all cost. I eat the most for the very least along with getting my nutrients. It is working for me for now so I stick with it and hope for the best.

erburton1973

When you add your exercise, you gain lots more calories that you are allowed to eat. It just means that you have to be active and increase your exercise if you want to lose weight. I was very surprised about 1200 calories at first too until I entered my exercise!
Hope this helps!

alias1001

I was on 1200 calories for a few years throughout my weight loss journey - it's really plenty when you know what to eat that's low calories but filling, I ate a lot and often - 3 small meals per day plus 3 snacks per day - I found it fine, sustainable and it certainly did me no harm. I'm on about 1500 now and it seems like looooooooooads to me still lol

I feel similar--you CAN get used to eating smaller amounts of food and making the right substitutions.

I've set my calorie goal at 1100 calories, and generally I make it to that number. Some days will be 200 under, some 200 over. (I'm 5'1" and 121 pounds now). MFP says a maintenance intake is something like 1575 for me, which sounds about right.

It's do-able, but like everyone said, it's a personal measurement.

anelahm

tagging this post, lots of good info

espinozAgal

i am at 1200 a day and it works fine for me. I'm down 47 pounds and I feel good. Some days I have a hard time eating enough to get to 1200, so I don't force it. I eat when I'm hungry, and stop when I'm satisfied.

genann

I eat between 1400 and 1500 calories a day and I'm losing weight. I really can't do the 1200 calories a day thing, I feel too deprived.

nickcoffey

The balance for a diet is calories AND EXERCISE. I am suppost to be eating 1500 calories a day and I end up eating a little over 2000 a day and it is really easy for me to gain a 500 calories back with exercise. If you did not know, everytime you do a exercise and record it, right underneath your calories for the day it will day in small print "You have earned 823 calories today through exercise!" If you just starve yourself you body is just going to hang on to all of the fat and nutrients you have and burn them off very slowly through time. But if you eat just a little bit healthyer and add exercise into your life you will see results because you body is fine burning off all of the calories that you ate just as long as you DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF! I really hope I have helped you figure out why you arn't losing weight and anyone else that is stuck on the scale!

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

Most people recommend having their base at 500 lower than their BMR. If I followed that accurately, I would have my baseline at around 1,000 calories per day, which I would be fine with, but I'm giving the MFP way a shot. If you followed the minus 500 rule, then your baseline would actually be around 1100 to 1200.

Also, what is a TDEE.

NO, you should not eat below your BMR. BMR is the amount of calories you burn doing nothing but lie on bed for 24 hours. I don't know what exactly a TDEE is but its like Total Daily Calorie needs. For you to know your daily calorie needs, you have to multiply your BMR by your activity level, so let's say your BMR is 1800 * 1.2 (assuming you're sedentary) = 2,160 so therefore you need 2,160 cals/day for you to maintain your current weight & if you want to lose 1 lb. a week, you should be eating 1,660 cals/day.

I find the 1200 cal/day too low either unless you're a woman 5'0 or under in a healthy weight range but its not suited for my height & my athletic body build. More so if you're overweight or obese because the heavier you are, the more BMR you have.

emsieems

I'm so glad I came across this topic. I am in the same position. I am managing 1200 okay but have not lost a bean in 3 weeks and am exercising a lot, some days I go for a really long run and burn 800-1000 calories and struggle to make up to 1200 calories with the exercise calories added in. I think I'm going to try and eat more and see where it gets me.

sugarbone

1200 is easy for me because I have almost no appetite, trying to hit 1400-1600 a day would be impossible without eating extremely cal dense food like cake and pizza. It's not too low to function if MFP has recommended it, in general, but it differs from person to person. If your TDEE is 2500 you should at the least have 1500 cals recommended, though, assuming you chose 2 lbs per week (1000 cal deficit per day)?

sugarbone

For people with large fat stores (in the obese category or the upper ranges of overweight), the target of 1200 isn't too low because there is not really the same danger of starvation mode and 1200 is sufficient to get adequate nutrients from the food you do eat. I think that it is key to listen to our bodies, and if your body is telling you that it's not enough, then it probably isn't enough.

As for your 1500 minimum, if you selected the maximum 2 pounds a week, then that is the 1000 calorie deficit that MFP should have calculated from the 2500 TDEE. Did MFP give you the 1200 number, or did you just try it out on your own?

I am considered obese. I am 5ft3 and 185lbs (thanks pregnancy!) and the 1200 gives me headaches and I get strong stomach pains. I realize this is a net and that is the amount I should be eating if I dont exercise (again, typically only on Sundays) and I really feel like it isnt enough. Perhaps 1300? MFP gave me the 1200.

If I set it to a 1.5lb loss per week I get 1490 cals. Would anyone say that I have correctly put my exercise activity as active? Or should I change it to lightly active?

What's your day like? If you spend more than 5-10 hours sitting you're probably lightly active or even sedentary. Active lifestyle by MFP is considered someone is on their feet and walking or lifting or working all day. As far as feeling hungry and ill, your body is just not used to that amount of food - you can gradually lower the income over the weeks until you are used it (which you'll have to do anyways if you're losing weight haha)

kitinboots

My BMR is apparently about 1350 - so it makes sense to me to aim for 1200 to lose a couple of pounds.

xSophia19

my calorie goal is 1300 a day. I reach this goal easily. And what ever excercise i do, i do not eat my calories back! I find that eating back excercise cals doesnt help me loose weight, infact i gained like 6lb 2 weeks ago because I was eating all of my excercise cals back, it probably didnt help that it was mainly junk food tho!

Soo id say stay at around 1300-1400 a day, and dont eat back excercise calories you should be loosing at least 1lb a week. And also drink plenty of water to help

sugarbone

my calorie goal is 1300 a day. I reach this goal easily. And what ever excercise i do, i do not eat my calories back! I find that eating back excercise cals doesnt help me loose weight, infact i gained like 6lb 2 weeks ago because I was eating all of my excercise cals back, it probably didnt help that it was mainly junk food tho!

Soo id say stay at around 1300-1400 a day, and dont eat back excercise calories you should be loosing at least 1lb a week. And also drink plenty of water to help

If you're eating back your exercise calories properly, it should be impossible to gain weight. The law of thermodynamics does not allow you to put on weight when you consumed exactly how many calories you spent - you probably overestimated your exercise or underestimated your calories. The point of eating back your calories is to keep you at the level MFP has set which should already cause weight loss.