This 1200 calorie thing is driving me up a wall

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  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    Jess,

    what does the guide on this site say? I know this one is pretty close to correct. I have compared it to doing it with manual calculations and it comes out to within 100 calories of manual. If this site gives you similar numbers then it is probably right.

    Thanks Banks, This site says my BMR is a little over 1600, which is actually what I found out on my own through experimenting. I'm pretty clear on how many calories I should be eating.

    My comments on the website noted was not due to any confusion on my part as to how many calories I should eat, but more due to a concern that someone who may not have previous experience with managing their caloric intake may refer to the site and get what appeared to be faulty numbers.


    I feel goofy. . .that calculation works for me, and I've seen it in several published sources (Prevention, Self and Real Simple) so I took it for granted that it would work for everyone. But, if I counted myself as "very active", I'd probably be overeating.

    mea culpa.:flowerforyou:
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
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    I have a friend (well, she is my wife's friend but...)that is a certified nutritionist and physical therapist, as well as a certified trainer. One of these days, I'm gonna write down all these questions and ask her. I'll post the answers on here when I do. There is so much info out there, there is bound to be differences, I'm gonna grill her hardcore. I'll try to get really detailed facts covering everything I can think of. Maybe I could even get her on here for a question and answer. If we could get a chat room on this site, that would be perfect. Otherwise, maybe I'll find a free chat room (or use AIM or something) for it.

    Would anyone be up for that?
  • shane1977
    shane1977 Posts: 4
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    just to no for a woman its 1500 cals min and a man 2000cals as if u eat less it comes off your muscle and not yur prob areas.also the first meal of next day goes straight to your prob areas.also if u always eat 1200 cals thats all you will lose
  • littlespoon
    littlespoon Posts: 165
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    I was watching Biggest Loser (Australia) on Wednesday and the contestants are allowed 1200 calories per day, regardless of the exercise they do.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,030 Member
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    I have a friend (well, she is my wife's friend but...)that is a certified nutritionist and physical therapist, as well as a certified trainer. One of these days, I'm gonna write down all these questions and ask her. I'll post the answers on here when I do. There is so much info out there, there is bound to be differences, I'm gonna grill her hardcore. I'll try to get really detailed facts covering everything I can think of. Maybe I could even get her on here for a question and answer. If we could get a chat room on this site, that would be perfect. Otherwise, maybe I'll find a free chat room (or use AIM or something) for it.

    Would anyone be up for that?

    ......or you could start a magazine! :tongue:


    For those of you going "HUH?" -- This is in reference to a very old post banks started --long story, not educational....just ignore my "off-subject" reply.

    ~Cheryl
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
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    I was watching Biggest Loser (Australia) on Wednesday and the contestants are allowed 1200 calories per day, regardless of the exercise they do.

    Are you sure, that they weren't talking about 1200 calories, not counting exercise calories? Because if they work out the same way the BL in the US does, they are burning somewhere in the neighborhood of 2000 to 3200 calories a day just by exercising. I imagine they aren't counting the exercise calories. That's one of the issues I have with the biggest looser, they don't give details, they just give random information that, not given the proper context, can be dangerous.

    Stan Lee said it best: "With great power comes great responsibility!" (OK, OK, so I'm a dork)
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    Does that mean we can call you "Spiderbanks"?

    :wink:
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
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    Does that mean we can call you "Spiderbanks"?

    :wink:

    Lol, when I hang upside down, I pass out. And I'm not particularly fond of heights.
    Also, I want to live in the NY that he lives in, ever notice that no matter how many people
    there are in the scene, none of them are overweight?
  • megan0313
    megan0313 Posts: 394
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    http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/weight/calsburned.htm

    I use the "easy way" here for maintenance. Works great.

    Also, her healthy body calculator (she's a dietician) is great. There's a link to it on the link I posted.

    I calculated calories for my current weight and target weight, and both seemed very logical to me. For my target weight, may calorie intake came out to about 1700 cals, which is about what if feel I need to keep my energy level up throughout the day. Thanks for the link, I'm definitely going to use these values!
    :flowerforyou:
    Megan
  • Catherinex
    Catherinex Posts: 90
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    Hi all, just joined yesterday and have been skimming through the posts to get a better idea of what I should be doing. I checked out the thread megan posted a link to and it says my intake for maintenance would be approx 1790cals. (calculation is weight x 10). The BMR calculator on Tools section on this site says1527. On my goals I set it to lose 2lbs per week. On my food diary it looks as though I have been averaging 700 - 800 cals a day.

    I definately do not want to go into the starvation mode or lose muscle instead of fat as I do virtually no excerise atm (will be trying over the comming weeks to rectify this). Does anyone have any idea what amount of calories I should be aiming for? On food diary it's set to 1200 cals, I am 5ft 6. Also, if i need to hit 1200 cals a day is it ok to eat something later at night?
  • jessneill
    jessneill Posts: 380 Member
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    Jess,

    what does the guide on this site say? I know this one is pretty close to correct. I have compared it to doing it with manual calculations and it comes out to within 100 calories of manual. If this site gives you similar numbers then it is probably right.

    Thanks Banks, This site says my BMR is a little over 1600, which is actually what I found out on my own through experimenting. I'm pretty clear on how many calories I should be eating.

    My comments on the website noted was not due to any confusion on my part as to how many calories I should eat, but more due to a concern that someone who may not have previous experience with managing their caloric intake may refer to the site and get what appeared to be faulty numbers.


    I feel goofy. . .that calculation works for me, and I've seen it in several published sources (Prevention, Self and Real Simple) so I took it for granted that it would work for everyone. But, if I counted myself as "very active", I'd probably be overeating.

    mea culpa.:flowerforyou:

    No worries, I don't think anyone puts up information to cause harm to anyone else. That's why I love this place because we can have open disucssion about all the different information and resources we all use.

    :flowerforyou: Jessica
  • littlespoon
    littlespoon Posts: 165
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    Yes I am sure it is 1200 calories. It was perfectly clear.
  • elizabeth11
    elizabeth11 Posts: 2
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    i am 5'8" and currently 150lbs.
    i really want to get down to 125-130 lbs.
    on this site they told me i should eat aroudn 1200 calories a day.
    i put my excercise level as light, because i only get to really work out twice a week when i have dance for four hours. the other days i might run for 20 minutes, but that's it.
    on dance days i eat more calories, probably around 1600.
    but, i'm not frustrated.
    before i started counting calories i was hungry all the time! even though i was eating upwards of 2300 calories a day!!!!
    but now that i see what i am eating, i'm not hungry. i'm fine with my 1200 calories.
    it can be done is what i'm saying.
    you just have to monitor what you're eating and plan your meals.

    EXERCISE IS KEYY!!

    good luck :]
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    i am 5'8" and currently 150lbs.
    i really want to get down to 125-130 lbs.
    on this site they told me i should eat aroudn 1200 calories a day.
    i put my excercise level as light, because i only get to really work out twice a week when i have dance for four hours. the other days i might run for 20 minutes, but that's it.
    on dance days i eat more calories, probably around 1600.
    but, i'm not frustrated.
    before i started counting calories i was hungry all the time! even though i was eating upwards of 2300 calories a day!!!!
    but now that i see what i am eating, i'm not hungry. i'm fine with my 1200 calories.
    it can be done is what i'm saying.
    you just have to monitor what you're eating and plan your meals.

    EXERCISE IS KEYY!!

    good luck :]

    Wow is this post OOOOOOLLLLLDDDDD

    Anyway, if you're 5'8" and 150 lbs there's NO WAY you should be eating 1200 calories. Just because you can set a 2 lb a week goal, doesn't mean you should. Your BMR is somewhere around 1500 calories a day, that means that you are eating 300 less then that on most days (less if you don't factor in your exercise). Try for 1/2 a pound per week. You just don't have the fat stores to support a 2 lb a week weight loss plan. You gotta be patient, take it slow, exercise, and eat enough to keep your body healthy.
  • Love_Conquers_All
    Love_Conquers_All Posts: 211
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    OMG...I need to start getting more sleep.....I saw this, my tummy jumped and I immmediately clicked on your username (the banks one) and thought OMG..he left again.

    I tell ya these old posts are freakin some of us out that you've left again:brokenheart: :laugh: :blushing: I find I don't automatically look at the date when I first open the thread....guess I best start doing that:wink::blushing: for my sanity:tongue:

    But I do love when your threads pop up that I'd never read before I always learn something important from each of THEM.

    Thanks for that....for all the time you took on your rants, explaining info, etc etc.:drinker: :bigsmile:
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    LOL, course technically I was wrong about the 1200 thing being a myth.

    The World Health Organization came up with that number for WOMEN only, back in the 80s. BUT here's the thing.

    The number was published as the ABSOLUTE MINIMUM a female needs to eat a day in order to sustain herself and be able to meet a reasonable macronutrient level.

    And that was an AVERAGE of all the women polled, so you may or may not be able to survive on 1200, but that doesn't mean it's healthy. Notice the word sustain. That means NOT DIE OF MALNUTRITION. That doesn't mean you can work out, it doesn't mean you'll have healthy skin, nails, and hair, it doesn't mean you'll be vibrant and lively all day. It just means you probably won't starve to death.
  • ChubbyBunny
    ChubbyBunny Posts: 3,523 Member
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    I love these old rant threads.
    :laugh:
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
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    me too, lol, we all had such a hard time setting people straight without ya, Banks. I love how mad your posts can get, lol it's funny :laugh:
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Ha! I'm an angry person in general. :explode:

    :tongue:
  • Shannon023
    Shannon023 Posts: 14,529 Member
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    Ha! I'm an angry person in general. :explode:

    :tongue:

    Why do you keep bumping your old threads???? I thought you left??? :noway:


    j/k :bigsmile:

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