Has anyone upped their calories from 1200 cals?

SlinkyNewMe

Hi I have been on MFP since the beginning of January and have lost only 1lb in weight! Prior to that I had been on Weight Watchers for 3 months and lost 16lbs!!

I left WW because I wanted to know how many calories I was eating rather than following their mysterious points system.

MFP put me on 1200 cals - I am 172lbs currently and want to get down to 133lbs. I am 5feet 2inches tall, age 46, and mainly sedentary. I am a vegetarian on a strict plant based diet. I never struggled 1200 cals anda lot of the time did not use all that allowance. I have also now started going to the gym a couple of times a week and do not always eat back my exercise calories.

Anyway for the longest time, I have been on this plateau of not losing weight, which was bad enough. But now I find I have hardly any energy, I have dark circles round my eyes, and basically feel really lethargic and de-motivated. So I have upped my intake to 1500 cals starting today.

I was just wondering whether anyone else has had similar experiences on 1200 cals, what did you do and what results have you had? Did it get you off your plateau?

cgrout78

i couldn't eat that few calories. I eat like 16-1700 and work out 5 days a week and i'm still losing. You should be at least eating back your exercise calories

cruisintolose

A week ago I was feeling the same way! Tired with no energy. I had been exercising, so I was not understanding as I usually feel great when I do that. I decided to up my calories. Changed MFP from losing 2lbs to 1lb a week. I increased my calorie intake by 300. (1200 to 1500) I feel so much better and the scale moved more. Not much, but more than before. I highly recommend it!

NeverGivesUp

you should at least eat your BMR and some exercise calories. I am seeing more and more threads about this. The ones that eat too little have a tendency to stagnate with weight loss. The ones that exercise and eat more, lose every week and lose faster. It may take your body a little bit of time to adjust to the new calorie intake, so be patient, but I really do think you are doing the right thing.

wahmx3

I suggest having your BMR done and eating enough calories. 1200 is not enough unless you are super small and since you are exercising, you need to eat more. I aim for about 1500 and I am 5'4" and weigh 147 but I also eat more if I have a good exercise day.

NicolaNash

you are eating too few calories and making your body go into starvation mode and hence cling onto all food/fat that you put in. Eating below 1,200 calories is bad for you. I upped my calorie target to 1,220 - not much but its a buffer, I ensure that I am above 1,200 calories so its not unhealthy but don't want to exceed my daily target either.

tbloor

I was down to 1210 calories a day,, but since I started an intense workout program I have been feeling very fatigued. I set MFP to "lose 0.5 pounds per week" and increased my calories. I feel better, and I am still losing weight!

undsoc

I definitely agree with the other ladies. I was originally at 1250 calories a day and my weight loss was pretty much non-existent (even with eating back my exercise calories). So I changed my set up from losing 2 pounds a week to the 1 and upped my calories to 1470. I feel so much better now. Not so tired, sluggish, and hungry. Plus, the scale is actually starting to move! I'm not so sure 1200 calories is enough. Everything I've read has said that 1200 calories is too low for women and we should stick to 1400-1600 depending on the person. So, I say up the calories and see what happens. My guess is it will work better for you. Good luck and congrats on losing 17 lbs!

_Ren

I tried 1200 for a good bit of the month. I was feeling tired and my eye was twitching. I wasn't eating enough calories on top of the exercise. I switched it to only lose 1 lb a week instead of 1.5 lbs a week. I am glad I switched and have more calories, I am starting to feel better.

ladyraven68

Hi Slinky - I am upping mine too, as I think my BMR is higher than 1200, and I was feeling lightheaded sometimes on 1200, so I don't think I was eating enough.

This is why I am upping - here's my post from yesterday

"Question for all you BMR experts.

Today I was curious about BMR calculations, so looked at quite a few different sites.

Most of them them threw out the same figure, give or take 10 cals, of 1510, which would put my sedentary TDEE at about 1800.

I am 44,
5ft 0
and 179 lbs

MFP has my TDEE at 1730 and has set my "llb per week" calorie goal as 1230.

I increased it to 1400 as I thought 1200 was too low, appreciating that the loss would be slower.

However, what is concerning me is that both the 1400, and the 1200 is below the BMR of 1510, and all the warnings on here are about making sure you never drop below your BMR.

Should I increase my calories to 1500? !

rebecca_d35

I just upped mine from 1390 to 1560. I am at a healthy weight--I just want to lose a few more. And I run a lot, so I figured I could. I just changed my goal from a pound a week to a half-pound a week, and the extra calories magically appeared in my daily allotment. I just did it yesterday--I'll let you know how it goes.

megsmom2

MFP set mine at 1600, plus exercize calories. That seems like a lot to me, and I'm usually a bit under, but its nice to have that leeway. And I'm still losing just fine. I figure I'll readjust my numbers if it ever becomes necessary, but this is a level I can easily live with.

librarygoddess2

They use a formula to decide how many calories you should eat if you want to lose weight. some that don't have to lose as much will be at a higher calorie count per day. I'm also at 1200. 5'1 194 and want to be down at around 130. So I'm in the same boat as you! However, I've stuck to the 1200 and I've lost 22 lbs since November. I don't recommend just adding an extra 300 calories to your diet. 1500 -2000 is a maintain if you are a sedentary so you likely won't lose weight Here's what I recommend.

1. Exercise. - If you exercise you earn more calories. If you burn 600 you get another 600 to eat.

2. It's what you eat - it's not actually the calories that matter as much as what you eat. If you are eating a lot of proteins and carbs you will use up your quota for the day very quickly. If you try to eat lots of veggies you can almost eat them endlessly. I've been trying to eat veggies with every single meal That way you can eat more for less calories.

3. Fiber - I can't stress this enough. The higher the fibre content the slower it digests. This means your body is getting more nutrients out of the food you eat which will give you energy. It will also keep you fuller for longer. An apple for breakfast will keep you going until your snack at coffee break. Whole Grain Toast will make you fuller longer than white bread. It actually has more calories but the fibre offsets the insulin production so you actually store less fat!

So I would stick to the 1200 calories and try to adjust what you eat.

lwoods34

I would agree with what everyone else had said so far. It seems like you are eating too few calories and that is why your energy level is so low. I would definitely increase your caloric intake...especially if you are now working out you also want to eat back some if not most of your exercise calories. I work out 6 days per week and tend to burn alot of calories so I am eating over 2,000 calories per day and am still managing to lose weight.

You need to fuel your body in order to fuel your workouts. Whats the point of working out if you cant get through your workout because you are too tired and have no energy and are hungry all the time?

StrongGwen

YES! didn't really start losing until I upped my calories to about 1600 per day. It's important (for me at least) to NEVER eat less than my BMR requires (Basic Metabolic Rate, the calories you burn if you lay in bed all day breathing, digesting, etc).

mrscdgogan

I started this a little over 2 weeks ago, and at first I was on 1200 cals. But, I didn't lose any weight and I was so discouraged! A few days ago, I readjusted my expectations to 1lb a week, and it gave me 1500 cals a day. I dropped 2.4lbs! Idk all the in's and out's of this whole thing, but I think there is such a things as eating too few calories! I'm sticking with 1500 for a while since it seems to be working a lot better for me! Good luck!

rachelwesson

You probably need some protein in your diet

NeverGivesUp

check out the Olivia method in the search feature. It is great not only because it makes you eat at least your BMR but if you exercise over a certain amount it also makes you eat back the right amount of calories. I think it is a great method!!

RockChick1984

MFP set me up for 1200 cals a day when i first joined, but obviously wasn't enough for me as was constantly feelin tired and hungry and with the excercise ontop i decided to up my cals to 1600, it has worked better, but since i'm constantly increasin workout time i am tempted to push it to 1700-1800... will see what my weigh in reveals on saturday... guess its just a case of changin things untill you find somethin that fits... good luck

dianeellen2

I have been on 1200 for a few months now (i am vegetarian too) and did not really struggle to maintain 1200 calories. However as i was doing more and more exercise i noticed that i stopped losing weight and was hungry all the time.

Last weekend i upped my calories to 1470 and it was like a new lease of life - i dont think i had noticed my energy levels slipping. Not moving off my plateau yet (early days) but still maintaining and having 270 cals more a day - so watch this space

feel free to add me if you want xxx

TraToy

Hi Ladies! My range is normally between 1200-1400. I workout regulary (strength training/cardio) and by doing so, I earn extra calories so I don't feel guilty when my total calorie intake for the day is over 1200. So far it's worked pretty good...I joined 1/9/12 and I have lost 10lbs!