Is 1200 Calories a day too little?

graysmom2005

Ugh. In a word...YES. I don't think it's sustainable long term, and that's the goal, right? I'm losing right now at around 1800 or more a day. Lots of working out though...but you could easily still lose on 1500. I'd do it. The scale may go up for a few days...but it will fall back off again. DO IT!!:drinker:

jocelynne21

1200 is okay what i do is just break my meals throughout the day. If i am hungry I will exercise to eat the calories i have lost

3laine75

1200 Net Calories is not too little.

yes it is

gerla_k

I was told not to go below your BMR because that is what your body needs to run your organs. My bmr is 1500 , I eat 1600 and exercise everyday .

jpbeck

My dietitian says 1200 calories is too little, but she probably was taking my individual traits into consideration. She put me on a 1600 calorie diet.

poponastick302

Whatever floats your boat! For me, 1200 is fine but I wouldn't be able to go any lower. So, go with what your body feels. If you're not feeling okay, then something certainly isn't right. As previously suggested, increase your calories gradually and see how you feel. Remember to monitor your weight as well - if you're losing it too quickly, not losing any at all or gaining weight, your eating habits are the first place to look.

Shayztar

Check out these links. They are in the group called "Eat more to weight less".

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/512956-tdee-what-is-it-and-why-you-should-not-eat-below-your-bmr
and
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/521728-upping-cals-what-to-expect-why-you-need-patience

I have lost weight consistently while eating 1800 calories a day, plus most of my exercise calories. That's close to 2200 calories some days! Just something to read about and see if it works for you. I know 1200 calories was very detrimental to me. That's when I educated myself. FYI - I lost 12 lbs on 1200. Then I upped - I gained, then I started losing like mad. I even have crazy calorie spike days once or twice a month. I have been dropping weight and inches like mad.

Good luck!

irenedemos

I agree with you 100%.

shay_younggurl

We're actually in the same position. I'm 5'7' and 178 pounds and have been instructed by MFP to consume no less than 1200 calories a day to lose two pounds a week. However, I burn about 600 (sometimes more) during a day's workout, so therefore I can consume about 1800 calories a day. I would die if I had to eat only 1200 calories a day. I need at least 1800 calories to sustain, with or without exercising!

zaithyr

My doctor, who MADE me sign up for MFP while I was in his office, would like me to eat 800 to 900 calories per day.

If I make sure that every calorie is good, nutritious, whole foods. I am pretty comfortable at that number.

His philosophy is "the faster you lose the weight, the more likely you are to keep it off".

I'm not sure if that's true, but at 1,200 calories per day (MFP's suggestion for me), I was losing about 1 lb per week. Lopping off that other 300-400 calories per day has me losing about 2 lbs a week.

Best wishes on your health and wellness journey!

I'd be looking for a new Doctor!!

Agreed! That sounds way dangerous considering most medical sites/articles I've read say never go below 1200 (at least not on a regular basis). That's just about a starvation diet! And loosing weight fast will NOT help you keep it off faster- you will be more likely to burn out and you will gain back fast once you start eating a more normal amount of calories. Best to eat more calories and work out more if you can. Better to take it slow and let your body adjust, and learn how to eat healthy and change your lifestyle- not just crash diet. And if you are really overweight, losing that fast will also cause tons of excess skin that will probably have to be surgically removed if you want it gone. Even my formerly-400lb + aunt was never told to go that low on calories!

winter34

For me personally, at 5'4 and 154 lbs, 1200 calories is WAY too little. I eat 1600 calories NET every day, and I'm very active. Depending on my exercise that day I usually eat around 2000-2600 calories a day.

I would die on 1200 calories, lol.

Sarauk2sf

My doctor, who MADE me sign up for MFP while I was in his office, would like me to eat 800 to 900 calories per day.

If I make sure that every calorie is good, nutritious, whole foods. I am pretty comfortable at that number.

His philosophy is "the faster you lose the weight, the more likely you are to keep it off".

I'm not sure if that's true, but at 1,200 calories per day (MFP's suggestion for me), I was losing about 1 lb per week. Lopping off that other 300-400 calories per day has me losing about 2 lbs a week.

Best wishes on your health and wellness journey!

I would honestly change my doctor if he suggested something like this.

Doctors are not trainined in nutrition and are notoriously bad at giving out 'diet' advice. His philospohy is totally wrong - the faster you lose weight the more likely you are to put it back on.

winter34

I just joined this site today. I am 5'3 144 pounds I am at 1200 caloires as well. I calculated everything I ate today and it added up to 1600. I did not exercise today and I am still hungry. I work out 3 times a wk. I do an athletic circuit class 2 x a wk for an hr and run 2 x a wk about 8 miles total for the wk. My goal is to loss 15 pounds. I am new to this site so can anyone tell me should I be at 1600 on the days I work out and 1200 for the days off?

psuLemon

I just joined this site today. I am 5'3 144 pounds I am at 1200 caloires as well. I calculated everything I ate today and it added up to 1600. I did not exercise today and I am still hungry. I work out 3 times a wk. I do an athletic circuit class 2 x a wk for an hr and run 2 x a wk about 8 miles total for the wk. My goal is to loss 15 pounds. I am new to this site so can anyone tell me should I be at 1600 on the days I work out and 1200 for the days off?

its probably because you are aiming for 2 lbs per week to why you are alloted 1200 calories. Unfortunately the site is only as smart as the person who is inputting the goals based on your height and weight you should aim to lose 1/2 lb per week so you reduce the chances of losing muscle. You should also eat 50-75% of your exercise calories or even better go onto fat2fit.com and use their bmr calc and then look at your activity level including exercise. Eating 1200 will jist make weight loss harder than it needs to be. And unless your bmr is below 1200 calories, which you would need a condition for that to be true, then eating below your bmr will end up slowing your metabolism.

Moral of the story - food is fuel. You dont see athletes eating 1200 calories so why would you? And idk about you but i rather have the body of an athlete as its fit and not flabby.

malins2

I would say 1200 net calories are enough if you make smart food choices. As long as I make sure to eat a lot of protein I don't have a problem loosing muscle when I lose weight. Lots of veggies and protein to keep you full and stay away from bad carbs.

malins2

I just joined this site today. I am 5'3 144 pounds I am at 1200 caloires as well. I calculated everything I ate today and it added up to 1600. I did not exercise today and I am still hungry. I work out 3 times a wk. I do an athletic circuit class 2 x a wk for an hr and run 2 x a wk about 8 miles total for the wk. My goal is to loss 15 pounds. I am new to this site so can anyone tell me should I be at 1600 on the days I work out and 1200 for the days off?

When you enter your exercise, your calories will go up with the same amount you burned working out. So for the days off it would be 1200, but on the days working out higher depending on how much you have worked out. I hear different things about whether you should eat all those calories back or not... I try to aim for eating some of them back, but not all.

rygma2010

I think that they would adjust your intake as you lose weight. I weigh 210 and they gave me 1230 calories, I am doing alright I just came back a couple days ago.

yarwell

its probably because you are aiming for 2 lbs per week to why you are alloted 1200 calories.

A 5'-3" woman with a sedentary lifestyle can easily end up at the dumb 1200 - BMR 1350 * 1.2 = 1620 so even 1 lb/week gets you the 1200.