Confused about the 1200 base. Too little!

lkb1025

1200 calories is the minimum calories your body needs based on a sedentary lifestyle and still lose weight. If you go below 1200 calories/day your body can go into starvation mode and begin to hold onto every single calorie you take in. If you burn 500 calories working out then you should eat 1700 calories/day. If you're used to eating a 2000+ calorie diet, it might take awhile for your body to readjust to a lower daily calorie intake. The easiest way to eat less calories but not feel hungry all the time is to really increase your fruit and vegetable intake. If you eat an apple instead of a bag of chips, you'll eat the same amount of calories but the apple will give you energy and keep you feeling full much, much longer than the chips. It really does take some time for your body to adjust to the decrease in calories, though. It's not easy to change the way you eat! I went through the same thing when I first started cutting calories. If 1200 calories is too low right now, maybe try lowering your intake slowly. Working out helps also. Burning calories releases fat into the blood stream which the body will the use for fuel.

Pangui

I have my daily calorie goal set between 1700-1800. Now that I have switched over to eating nutrient-dense foods (whole and plant-based), I find that I often get full at around 1200 calories and some days, I cannot even fit that many in. I eat a LOT of food, but I try to make it mostly veggies, fruits and whole grains with no added fats. It is very satisfying and my weight loss rate is much faster than it was when I was just using moderation and portion control. Now I believe that WHAT you eat is the most important factor in healthy eating and weight loss.

There are many ways to lose the weight, but I cannot imagine a more pleasant and painless way than just eating healthy foods.

caroline_g

I allow myself up to 1350 a day but I've only recently done that. I moved up to 1350 so that once more weight comes off, if I hit a plateau, I've got somewhere lower to go otherwise I'd be a bit stuck. Before I was on 1200 and lost 28lbs so it is doable, I'm now down to 25lbs lost as I had a few weeks of no counting at all. In my opinion, 1200 is perfectly fine and does work and doesn't mean that you'll put all the weight back on but you have to plan your maintenance properly. If your maintenance amount is say 1900 calories and you just straight to that from 1200, yes you'll put on weight. Same as you would if you went from 1800 to 2500. You have to slowly work up, adding 100-200 calories a week or so and then your body readjusts and you don't have a big gain. There will always be a couple of lbs as you restock your glycogen stores etc.

Each person has to find what works for them. Personally, 1200 worked just fine, I lost a steady amount each week and didn't find it too difficult to stick to 1200 a day. For others 1200 a day won't work. It's finding what works best for you and your body.

Artemis_Acorn

I only have 1200 and to be honest i have not lost a thing, like you the minute i eat a little over i gain! How can this be when that is what i should be eating to maintain. I'm 31, surely my metabolism hasn't given up already! I do have PCOS and IBS so whether these affect it i dont know.

I have 7 weeks to lose 8lb, at this rate im never going to lose it! :-(

Yes. One of the symptoms of PCOS is "unexplained weight gain". It is due to insulin resistance from the PCOS. If you haven't already adjusted your Carb/Fat/Protein ratio, that is the place to start. You might want to check with your doctor for your recommended ratio. My endocrinologist recommended reducing the carbs in general and sticking with complex carbs for the ones I do eat. The MFP defaults on the ratio are too high in carbs for someone with PCOS.

kooshajan

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?

ChelleBelle05

With the PCOS, because i have 2 children the doctors here in the UK do nothing to help me with my symptoms. I have fought hard over the years not to gain weight that i may have not eaten enough. Which i think is why the 1200 limit doesnt work for me. I do always seem to go over on the sugar part of the carbs. I do have a sweet tooth that doesn't help. The minute i do eat what my husband calls properly i gain.

I recently saw a nutritionist at the boot camp i attend and he said i wasnt eating enough on some days, so i increased my intake and hey presto! 5lb gain! now i cant shift it. What ratio do you think i should stick to?

My daily diet is usually the same for breakfast and lunch. Porridge with 100ml 1% milk and 100ml water with some drained sliced peaches. I have either a banana, apple or some strawberries mid morning. At lunch i have a homemade soup, either Butternut squash and red pepper or Tomato and Basil.

Dinner could be Jacket Potato with cottage cheese and beans / chicken, veg and a few new potatoes / bolognese with gluten free pasta.

I do have a intolerance to yeast products so i avoid bread except Rye Bread, beer etc.

Any advise your MFP friends can give would be appreciated.

emmylou32

I tend to plateau after around 8lb - every diet I have tried I hit 8lb loss and plateau. I then know its exercise time. I don't do gyms etc. I have 3 kids - no available childcare and certainly could spend the money elsewhere.
I have a Wii Fit. I do 30 mins wii fit and 30 mins Just Dance alternating every other day. But I am currently jogging (on the spot indoors) for 10 mins a day.. built up from 3mins slowly gaining extra mins. A simple jog hasn't so much altered my weight - but in 2 weeks I have lost 2 inches off my tummy and an inch off my hips.
As long as I feel toned and comfortable weight really just is a number. So measure yourself and eat healthy and try and do 15 mins a day simply stepping or jogging it will make a difference

jteammom

I have been wondering the same thing, so after reading this I did a little calculating and discovered that yes, for me 1200 is quite a bit low. A happy surprise! I have now changed my daily goals. We'll see what happens. My fingers are crossed.

stuhixxy

Maybe its just me but my TDEE is at 1500 but find that i normally find myself eating 1200-1300 think the trick to not staving is im always eating small amounts. Ive lost about 9kgs in a month so this seems to work for me, mind I tend to excercise for 2-3 hours in the evening and dont eat these cals back

kapeluza

"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 "

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.