1200 calorie limit- too high for short people???

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Hyperspace
Hyperspace Posts: 78
in Health and Weight Loss
For me, a 1200 calorie diet means only a 310 calorie deficit per day. I am not losing at any perceptible rate on it. In the past I've had to go about 1000 calories to see significant results.

Shouldn't the lower limit of calorie intake be lower for people who are short and older and therefore require fewer calories to maintain??
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Replies

  • Jovialation
    Jovialation Posts: 7,632 Member
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    gonna go with nope
  • Hyperspace
    Hyperspace Posts: 78
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    ]Why not?
  • SavCal71
    SavCal71 Posts: 350 Member
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    height is irrelevant to metabolic rate and calorie consumption/burn. Weight is already figured in.
  • Zodiacsmom
    Zodiacsmom Posts: 105 Member
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    Yeah I would say 100o cals is not going to give you the nutrients you need???
  • Jovialation
    Jovialation Posts: 7,632 Member
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    How about dont question science? The site has this all figured out for reasons.
    It's just a lot harder for short people to lose weight and tone up ...kinda just something you have to deal with
  • sirabe
    sirabe Posts: 294 Member
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    Sometimes I think it is? I'm only 5'2" and my deficit is incredibly small miniscule at 1200.
    And when I eat intuitively, I only eat around 1000 and feel engorged.

    I have to force myself to eat the 1200 and then I go overboard becasue I tried to do with with junk food
  • dirtbikegirl5
    dirtbikegirl5 Posts: 391 Member
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    I find it hard to reach 1200, so I rarely do, but I don't think that it helps me lose weight if I don't eat the 1200. I have tried to eat more because I know that it will help my weight loss, but I simply can't. I am short but I don't think that the height is figured in when calculating how many calories we are supposed to have.
  • talzybob
    talzybob Posts: 80
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    it doesnt matter what size or age you are we all have the same amount of calories to eat. the only difference is gender related. if you exercise you should eat the aount of calories to compensate for it, so you dont starve your body. the less you eat the slower your metabolism will be and the less weight you wil lose. in fact you are more likely to gain.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    Relax, this isn't a race.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    I am sort and I've been eating between 1300 and 1500 calories per day for almost a year. I've lost 42 pounds in that time and only have 10 or so to go. I tried going down to 1200 for about a month and I felt stupid, cranky and hungry all of the time! Of course I would have liked to lose a little bit faster, but now that I am getting closer to the end, I am thankful that I didn't spend this whole time starving myself!
  • HarrietSabre
    HarrietSabre Posts: 186 Member
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    At the end of the day, it's what works for you. 1200 is a pretty arbritrary number (coming from a Biologist here) and yeah it's too low for some people and too high for others. I think a good guideline is to never try and lose more than 1lb a week (unless you're very heavy, then more is OK), so create a deficit of 3500 a week. In your case, that's around 1000 calories per day.

    If you start feeling ill or lethargic, by all means up it. It's not going to cause long term damage going under for a little while!
  • dcdickerson2
    dcdickerson2 Posts: 65 Member
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    I'm short and older, but still stick with the 1200 calories - plus a little exercise which a sometimes eat off, and sometimes just let it add to my deficit. It is hard to get good, well rounded nutrition on less than 1200 calories. I would caution against doing less than 1200 in the long run.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    Relax, this isn't a race.

    Yes, this too!
  • Lauren_Whitney
    Lauren_Whitney Posts: 26 Member
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    1200 calories is arbitrary. To lose, I have to eat about 1000 as well. As long as you make good choices you will get the nutrients you need at 1000 calories.
  • MrsKunz
    MrsKunz Posts: 151 Member
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    height is irrelevant to metabolic rate and calorie consumption/burn. Weight is already figured in.

    perfectly said!
  • tam120
    tam120 Posts: 444 Member
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    I'm 5', I'm at 1230 a day but I workout a lot because if I didn't I'd feel like I was starving. So, in the end I eat about 1500 -1800 a day and burn about 300 - 900 calories a day with exercise. I've lost 55 lb. I don't think height has any bearing on it except I have more fat at 180 lb than someone who's 6' tall... lol
  • mogadad
    mogadad Posts: 41 Member
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    1200 is the limit, not a goal. Mine is 1400 and I never go over it. I also attempt to keep the carbs, protein, cholesterol, and fats under the limits. Take vitamins and exercise and let it work. There is a shock method where you put it up and down daily so your body doesn't adjust and you plateau.

    I am also working towards zero processed sugar.
  • zenchild
    zenchild Posts: 680 Member
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    There is actually some research suggesting that it is (I'm at work so I can't look it up right now). I'm 5'1" and was on 1200 calories (and eating most of my exercise calories) for several months. I lost a few pounds, and then started creeping back up. I went to 1000 calories (still eating most of my exercise calories), and I'm slowly going down again. I'm very short, with a petite build, and a desk job. I talked to my doctor before reducing my calories and he said that with my build and my activity level, I could go down to 800. I get hungry on only 800 but 1000 is working well.
    I will probably get crucified for saying this but I think that a smaller adult has smaller calorie needs. I don't think 1200 calories is a magic number. And some people will say to eat more but I did eat more. I was on about 1500 calories a day and that's what got me here in the first place.
    Talk to your doctor or a nutritionist. Then decide for yourself.
  • Hyperspace
    Hyperspace Posts: 78
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    height is irrelevant to metabolic rate and calorie consumption/burn. Weight is already figured in.
    OK, I should have said "small framed people who have a lower ideal weight.

    What if a person is 60 years old, 4'9" and their ideal weight is 85 lbs? If they currently weigh 100 lbs, it will be hard for them to run any kind of calorie deficit on a 1200 cal per day diet.

    Conversely, a 20 year old 6'6" man who needs to lose 15 lbs to get to an ideal weight would practically starve to death on 1200 cal.

    Makes no sense to me. I would think the lower limit should not be one size fits all.
  • thelovelyLIZ
    thelovelyLIZ Posts: 1,227 Member
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    How tall are you? I'm 5'4" and I eat about 1300 net a day, not to mention there are women much shorter than me who eat at least 1200 and lose weight just fine. The reason for 1200 is that it's hard to get the nutrients you need eating that little.

    You may not be losing weight as fast because there are calories sneaking in places. Are you factoring in any oil you might use for cooking? Are your portion sizes correct? (A cup is smaller than we think, sometimes.) Are you counting things like butter or mayo on your toast and sandwiches? Also, i cannot emphasize how important exercise is. I had been stuck at my weight, regardless of how healthy I ate (I've always been a pretty healthy eater anyway) but as soon as I started really hitting the gym, I started dropping the pounds. Strength training makes a huge difference too. As soon as I stopped lifting, my weight loss slower to a crawl. Also, if you workout, you generally get to eat more food!

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