Seriously ... 1200 calories or less

ladyraven68

I am still totally confused too on how many calories I should be eating. Everyone has different opinions. I tried 1200 since I wanted to lose 10 pounds - 1 per week - and that is what MFP calculated me at, but I was so hungry by bed time and have had a really hard time sticking to that. I happened to have a dr appt today and asked him about it. He recommended 1500. So I am going to try that and shoot for .5 a week. He said "the tortoise always wins this race". I've never counted calories before, so I dont really know what I had been eating before starting this. But I'll find what works for me.

If you are increasing straight to 1500, don't panic if you weigh extra afer the first week or so, you may experience an increase in water weight, but it will settle down.

BarbWhite09

As previously mentioned...There are people on here that are small...5' & under...Many of them don't need 1600-1800 calories a day...1200 is perfectly fine for them. If someone eats 1200 calories a day it isn't a death sentence...It's not going to just destroy their body in a week. People are going to eat the amount they want, we can only hope they realize eventually that they can't really maintain that, in most circumstances.

Amy_Lee_2012

My average daily calorie intake is 1167 calories and it's working fine for me. I am 5ft 2 and aside from an hour and a half workout each day, I spend most of my time sitting in front of my computer, as I work from home. So, this works well for me. I've lost 63 pounds since November 2011. I don't feel hungry and I am not sluggish or exhausted. I drink 8 or more glasses of water a day and make sure to get 8 hours of sleep each night. I am healthier now than I have ever been. I still have a long way to go before I reach my goal weight and this is working for me, so I see no reason to change things.

CalJur

Oft-posted topic. You can run a search and likely pull up 100 such forums. That said it is true that eating less than 1200 calories is generally not a good idea. Yet no two individuals are alike and there may be medical or otherwise logical reasons for doing so. Thus the MFP one size fits all advice should be frowned upon. Starving yourself to lose weight is neither a proven strategy nor a good reason though.

25sherry

I tried cutting to below 1200 and was hungry and irritable. Now I try and stay right around that number which, of course, is my MFP number. Seems to be working thus far.

missykm7

I am still totally confused too on how many calories I should be eating. Everyone has different opinions. I tried 1200 since I wanted to lose 10 pounds - 1 per week - and that is what MFP calculated me at, but I was so hungry by bed time and have had a really hard time sticking to that. I happened to have a dr appt today and asked him about it. He recommended 1500. So I am going to try that and shoot for .5 a week. He said "the tortoise always wins this race". I've never counted calories before, so I dont really know what I had been eating before starting this. But I'll find what works for me.

If you are increasing straight to 1500, don't panic if you weigh extra afer the first week or so, you may experience an increase in water weight, but it will settle down.

good point...thanks!

garyobesedeleted

some people get used to eating less than 1200, also low gi foods help with that dont they, but u need to eat at least ur maintenance dont u?!

angelic2032

Want to know the truth? It's WAY more about TIMING of calories + what type of calories you're eating than it is about the AMOUNT. If you are eating small meals every few hours, your body cannot starve because it is CONSTANTLY getting calories. Skipping meals is what does it. If your body is hungry and you don't eat, it begins consuming muscles...so even if you are loosing weight, you will lose the wrong kind! Small meals and go to a website to calculate your BMI and what calories you should be consuming to maintain your weight - then subtract about 300. For me...that actually IS 1200 calories, but I actually eat LESS than that in a day. My trainer has a machine to measure my fat/muscle body makeup. So far, only fat lost

sprite68

Interesting debates on here, but it is worth noting that MFP does give a warning at the bottom of your food input page if you are less than 1200 calories for the day. It is quite clear in saying that your body can think you are in starvation mode, but, like any other advice, it is just that - advice - which, as we all know, can either be taken or ignored. Whatever works for each individual. x

AnaVerasGettingFit

bump

pghfan

Losing 13 pounds in 4 months is totally do-able. I don't understand the attitude.

But what if you have to lose X pounds by a certain date? I don't have the time to do anything long term. I need to drop another 13 pounds in a little over 4 months.

Not to be mean, but... there's is no valid reason anyone has to lose X pounds by a certain date.
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Actually there is.... I am going on a hiking trip in August. For my height I can't be heavier than 200 lbs. I am at 203 now and can't seem to get below 200. I'd like to be 190 when I hit the trail.

If I'm not under 200, then they won't let me on the trail and I would have flushed $1000 down the drain and disappointed my son.
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It's not going to magically become healthy just because you put down a deposit. Also, going by what you just said, you only need to lose 4 pounds by August, which seems pretty reasonable...
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A_Fit_Mom

Want to know the truth? It's WAY more about TIMING of calories + what type of calories you're eating than it is about the AMOUNT. If you are eating small meals every few hours, your body cannot starve because it is CONSTANTLY getting calories. Skipping meals is what does it. If your body is hungry and you don't eat, it begins consuming muscles...so even if you are loosing weight, you will lose the wrong kind! Small meals and go to a website to calculate your BMI and what calories you should be consuming to maintain your weight - then subtract about 300. For me...that actually IS 1200 calories, but I actually eat LESS than that in a day. My trainer has a machine to measure my fat/muscle body makeup. So far, only fat lost

Thank you for this post.

jgarrisond

I'm doing the 1200 a day ( because that's what the site said for me to do ) and for me it's hard because I never ate every 3 hrs. i use to eat 2x a day and very bad choices of food. for me... not eating made me put on 70lbs. so now i eat 1200-1300 a day but i eat a lot more healthy foods and more often then I use to. I lost 5lbs this week and I was very surprised. and extremely happy motivated me to it the gym and keep eating LOL

I also do a 1200 calorie diet, I am 5'8 and looking to lose 2 lbs a week. I try to eat every 2-3 hours I normally have a meal replacement bar or shake for breakfast(8:30 am) then a small snack for a mid-morning snack(10:30-11:00am). then a meal replacement shake or bar for lunch which I always make sure it is 2 hours from the snack..and after noon snack around 2:30 and then Dinner around 6. I try to walk for at least 30 mins a day. And I have lost 14 lbs since the last week of January so it is working for me and very rarely am I hungry(and if I am a stick of sugar free gum seems to do the trick)

littlemili

Want to know the truth? It's WAY more about TIMING of calories + what type of calories you're eating than it is about the AMOUNT. If you are eating small meals every few hours, your body cannot starve because it is CONSTANTLY getting calories. Skipping meals is what does it. If your body is hungry and you don't eat, it begins consuming muscles...so even if you are loosing weight, you will lose the wrong kind! Small meals and go to a website to calculate your BMI and what calories you should be consuming to maintain your weight - then subtract about 300. For me...that actually IS 1200 calories, but I actually eat LESS than that in a day. My trainer has a machine to measure my fat/muscle body makeup. So far, only fat lost

Lol. Wrong. Your body is not stupid. I was eating 5 times a day, sometimes 6, with a total intake of under 800 calories. Nearly died after doing it for a few months. You'll get away with it while you're obese but it's not sustainable. When you discover this, and have to up your intake, you'll gain back some weight. How disappointed you'll be...

ladyraven68

Want to know the truth? It's WAY more about TIMING of calories + what type of calories you're eating than it is about the AMOUNT. If you are eating small meals every few hours, your body cannot starve because it is CONSTANTLY getting calories. Skipping meals is what does it. If your body is hungry and you don't eat, it begins consuming muscles...so even if you are loosing weight, you will lose the wrong kind! Small meals and go to a website to calculate your BMI and what calories you should be consuming to maintain your weight - then subtract about 300. For me...that actually IS 1200 calories, but I actually eat LESS than that in a day. My trainer has a machine to measure my fat/muscle body makeup. So far, only fat lost

It has nothing to do with timing, your body doesn't reset itself at midnight ready for the next calories intake - the Intermittent fasters will have a field day with this post.

and BMI has no relevance to your calories.

littlemili

and BMI has no relevance to your calories.

Hmm. That's not true as such. For one thing it has an effect on your BMR and therefore TDEE. For another, a 200lb person will survive a lot longer on a starvation diet than a 100lb person. Do you mean you can't justify starvation through use of BMI? Because I am with you on that.

ladyraven68

and BMI has no relevance to your calories.

Hmm. That's not true as such. For one thing it has an effect on your BMR and therefore TDEE. For another, a 200lb person will survive a lot longer on a starvation diet than a 100lb person. Do you mean you can't justify starvation through use of BMI? Because I am with you on that.

Sorry, I wasn't clear - the post I was replying to seemed to suggest you deduct 300 calories from your BMI.

They are probably getting their BMI, BMR, and TDEE all mixed up.

mbishop71

This has probably been posted many many times, but I'm sick of people posting
topics saying they can't lose any weight, and you ask how many calories they consume.
And they'll tell you less than 1200. Are you serious? are you joking? A 10 year old eats more than that.

First of all, go find out what your calorie maintenance is.
Second of all, decrease the amount of calories by 10-20%. For example, if maintenance is 2000 calories
then to lose weight, consume 1600-1800. That's it, it's that easy. Why are people under eating?
Every single athlete which competes in a sport with specific weight divisions, whether it be an MMA fighter
or a wrestler or a boxer etc, and especially body builders (when it comes to cutting weight)
will tell you exactly the same thing, if you want to cut weight, eat 10-20% under your maintenance.
If you eat under at 1200 calories:

1) metabolism will slow down
2) body will try to retain what little that you eat as fat for energy
3) when you eat high calories again, you bet that you will gain all that weight you lost back

Anyway, that's just me venting. Not picking on anyone, it's more out of me wanting to help people.
Because I've been there and I've done that, and 1200 calories or less is not the way to go. You got to
eat to lose weight, SOUNDS RIDICULOUS RIGHT? well it ain't, not even the slightest. =]

MFP set me to 1200, I never eat below this and I eat back all my exercise cals. I was losing 1lb a week but this has been slowing down recently which I thought was due to me starting a gym and now getting fit (fitter than I was anyway)!

Using the calculator ( http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/calories-to-lose-weight) it said my BMR was 1870 cals. Your suggestion of a - 20% deficit would = 1496.... Hmmmm :happy:

I checked this calculator too, as well as using another on the same site that gives you a chart for approximate date to hit target weight. Even at lowest calculations, I should be eating around 1350-1480 calories instead of the 1200 on MFP. So now, if I go over 1200 with healthy choices, I won't feel guilty! And it is possible, as someone else pointed out, that I could be eating more than 1200 anyway as I haven't gotten a food scale yet and maybe am eating larger portions than I think I am.

I am not starving on 1200 calories though. Sure, I am hungry a bit before I eat at each meal, but you're SUPPOSED to be hungry so I don't see that as a bad thing.

Thanks for all the good info in this thread!!

ETA: I tried the 2nd calculator posted in the thread and found out with little or no exercise I could only eat 1094 calories to loose weight! Of course, I AM exercising, and eating BACK my exercise calories, so 3-5 days a week am eating more than 1200, so no guilt with leaving my daily goal right where it is.

acg1305

Not sure if I agree. I am trying to lose 40 pounds and am well on my way. I maintain the 1200 cal limit with ease most days, eating three full meals as well as snacks.

I have protein with every meal and bulk them up with salad or veg. I find it no problem to reach but not exceed the 1200 limit with my diet, which I find more than sustains me for the day.

lisa28115

I tried 1200 cals and I was STARVING!

this is me:bigsmile: