Has anyone upped their calories from 1200 cals?

SlinkyNewMe

Since you are vegetarian, the lack of energy and dark circles could be a nutrient deficiency. Do you take a good multivitamin or supplement of any kind? Are you getting enough B12, for instance? I am vegetarian and I monitor my nutrient intake as closely as I do my food intake. I am not trying to lose, just maintain my weight, and I have my calorie goal set @ 2k (plus my exercise calories per day), but I rarely make that...usually within 100-300 though. 1200 isn't very much but IF YOU ARE EATING RIGHT, you shouldn't feel the lethargy etc. that you describe...in my opinion, anyway.

Excellent point! I upped my calories to 1250, and MOST days I feel good and--for the most part--not hungry. I think some of this is due to the high fiber content of my diet, which is typically around 50 grams. That's a lot of volume eating!

But, I take vitamin B12 and vitamin D, along with iron and calcium. I think they help.

I have a healthy diet, but I do supplement (when I remember)with a vegan mulitvitaman and some iron tablets - particularly since being on the 1200 cals. I have not felt hungry on 1200 which is why I was happy to keep it up - but for the past two weeks, after having been on it since beginning of January, I have been feeling lethargic - especially since I have upped my exercise in that time (I do Body Pump 2-3 times a week, and had been doing Pilates as well) (Body Pump is a strength training programme). So I am upping my calories, not because I am feeling hungry, but because I am feeling weak, tired, lethargic - and with losing no weight - slightly depressed too!

SlinkyNewMe

I have not had to increase my intake because I eat better foods with less calories. Actually, after each meal I am full. As a result, i may reduce my intake because i consume alot of fruits and veggies daily: a least 2 whole pink grapefruits (luv them), salad leafs and chicken (jerked), fish and turkey. i am not real fond of starches but try to consume some daily: peanut butter crackers (4 pk). I have numerous food allergies which limit my variety but I have just explored more and create numerous meals.

As I said - I AM NOT HUNGRY on 1200 cals! My diet is very healthy 99% of the time. It is not a question that I don't eat "better foods". For the record I eat a wholefood, vegan, diet (with the odd treat of course). However I am concerned about how I am FEELING on this intake - which has nothing to do with hunger, but more to do with lethargy, lack of motivation, etc. There isn't much more tweaking I can do apart from eating more - which is going to be quite difficult for me, as, I repeat I don't feel hungry on 1200.

Helloitsdan

Hmm...interesting. Still scared to eat that much...but I might try the pushups, lol. When I start trying to figure out all the extra stuff I just get confused.

PM me and i'll make it make sense.

KemaVA

So I am upping my calories, not because I am feeling hungry, but because I am feeling weak, tired, lethargic - and with losing no weight - slightly depressed too!

I would look into getting your thyroid checked. I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroid and I am now also looking into adrenal fatigue which may explain dark circles under eyes. I had the same symptoms... Weak, tired, not losing weight, depression and brain fog.

jsokolow3

Bump

melsy21

hell ya! I'd starve on 1200... but thats just me

HauteP1nk

My calories were never at 1200...that is low. I usually eat anywhere from 1310-1400 calories per day.

angraham2

double check your settings, make sure that your weight loss goal is set to only 1 lb per week, and your activity level needs to be set correctly. Mine wasn't for a long time and I had trouble losing.

beckylawrence70

I'm on 1200 a day, workout 5-6 days a week and have lost just under 12 lbs, which is my goal weight loss, been on this this Dec 31st.......

lisseth82

I'm 5.2 and also increased my calories to 1500. My body feels more sane and satified at that level. I'm still losing, it suits my body perfect.

lovetms

I'm 5'4" and 142 lbs. MFP also put me at 1200. After doing some reading, I decided to set my calorie goal to my basal metabolic rate (BMR). Using the BMR calculator here on MFP I reset my calorie minimum to 1374. Most days I eat from 1375-1400. I don't eat back my exercise calories so I don't feel bad on days I go a little over.

russellma

Yes!

At 5'1 with about 25 lbs. to lose, MFP started me at 1200 cals. After about 5 lbs, I hit a brick wall and could not move the scales. A friend of mine suggested adding calories, because that is what worked for her.

I changed my weekly goal from 1 lb/week to 0.5 lb/week, effectively raising my calorie limit by about 180 cals per day. I also started eating back all but 100-200 exercise calories, giving me between 1500-1700 calories on most days.

I have lost almost every week since then!! Not only do I get to eat like a normal person in moderation, but I have passed the 25 lb. mark and I'm still losing.

My mom has been unable to move the scales and just raised her calories in the past couple weeks and happily reported losing a pound yesterday!

For anyone who is eating 1200-1300 calories and not able to lose, I would definitely recommend trying it for 2 or 3 weeks to see what it does for you.

stephabef

Yes! I upped to 1400 and it's been amazing for me.

anj911

I've just put mine up from 1200 to 1450 per day. I was starting to feel really hungry all the time.

MJ7910

absolutely! 1200 is too little and it ended up killing my metabolism. i was gaining on 1400 calories until i got my metabolism straightened out. i eat 1600 now. i suggest eating 1400 to start with just so that you don't lower your metabolism too much. if you do a search on here for starvation mode, you'll find people explaining why 1200 isn't good for you. you might see great results at first but the problem is that it kills most people's lean mass and you lose fat plus some of your muscle that you're working so hard to keep

MJ7910

A friend of mine is a biochemist.. she is a book of knowledge and I pick her brain all the time. I was on 1200 cals for a long time and lost nothing. She recommended a good rule of thumb.. eat your weight + 0 (so for me, I'm in the 160's weight wise, so I eat 160+0 = 1,600 calories a day. So if you're 170... 1,700 calories would be good, and yes, this is to LOSE weight. Also, she recommended eating 60-80% calories if you do strenous workouts like lifting weights, running, Spin class, etc... in turn, don't document every little thing you do throughout the day like cleaning the kitchen, making dinner, grocery shopping LOL (lots of people log this as exercise but it's just daily living activities).. only gym time should be factored into those calories you "eat back"

Since I've made this switch I've lost almost 10 pounds since 1/1/12.

Really? I'm 230lbs....2300 cals seems like a lot to me. Hmm...

i also kind of disagree with this. i am 123 lb and taht means 1230 calories... that is way too few for me! of course i'm not trying to lose weight either.

kyunda

I was at 1200 for the first 5 months or so and i did great. Lost about 25-30lbs. but after my metabolism increased i had to increase my cals. Now I eat 1200-1600 a day and i never eat my workout cals back.

nitepagan

My BMR is at 2194, MFP has my calories set at 2190, I try to stay below that limit. I exercise daily burning 300 to 500 calories daily, so that is where my weight loss is coming from, the exercise.

If you don't take in enough calories, your body goes in starvation mode and takes nutrition from your muscle, bones, organs and wherever else your body can find it. Raise your calories to your BMR and see the pounds fly off.

russellma

Yes, and I'm so frustrated! I upped my calories to 1340 cals./day and I've gained 1.2 in a week! I exercise every day, and I've been burning an average of 2000 cals./week. I'm about to throw in the towel, but I'm going to keep on keepin' on. I typically can't eat my exercise calories, so I believe that's the problem. I try, but I'm truly not hungry. Help!

If you're burning an extra 300 cals per day, I would definitely advise eating at least 1500 cals per day to be sure that your NET (calories eaten minus exercise calories burned) is at least 1200 calories.

If you're not able to eat a large amount of food, maybe you could try changing some of what you do eat to a little more calorie dense foods... nuts, peanut butter, etc.

You can always try it for 2-3 weeks and see what it does for you. You'll never know unless you try.

becky2967

i was on the 1,200 when i joined fand had no more than 1,200 for 13weeks (upto nov 2011). i also was doing 140min training a day and not eating back anything. as yopu can imagine i became poorly, tierd ! my GP then told me to stop it eat around 1500-1700 each day with only 60min daily exercise. since then i have lost 33lbs. if you eat little your body gets scared and hold onto as much as the food as possible, you feel weak and its really not a long term fix. today ive done near 300mins exercise. i could not cope on 1,200. its not even enough for basic body functions mostly. i am however taller tham you (5'9). upping it has been the best thing i could have done. i didnt even have energy for when my son finished nursery. Good luck!!