1200 calorie diet question?

Lleldiranne

Yes, eat those calories! The 1200 calorie goal INCLUDES a deficit to reach your goal (how many pounds per week) before exercise. If you don't eat back those calories, you're at an even bigger deficit. While this may not be bad in some cases, if you're already at 1200 limit, you really do want to eat those calories. Just make sure that you're getting lots of nutrition with them. On this restricted of a calorie diet, it's a lot harder to get all the vitamins, minerals, etc that your body needs to function. Exercise increases those needs, so don't short-change yourself.

GaiaGirl1992

Many people have to work out what is best for them--for example, I have to eat my exercise cals back, or I get low blood sugar and just feel crappy for the rest of the day. others find they don't need to, and just make sure they eat at least 1200 a day.

to add my 2 cents: 30 lbs by december is a crazy goal!! try setting an exercise goal instead: run for 10 minutes straight without slowing down, do 100 push ups without stopping, etc.

emilyclairebatty

to put it simply how ever many calories u burn when exercising add it on 2 ur 1200 calories u are allowed a day so back 2 the original question if u burn 300 cals then yes u wud eat 1500 cals and it works by ur body staying out of starvation mode and in turn storing the fat that u eat so eat as close 2 ur goal as possible and trust me this does work i joined 2 weeks ago and have lost 6lbs so far... good luck xx

pattyg1821

Ok let me try to help some I just recently got a body media armband. I didn't realize how many calories I burnt when sleeping or while I was at work. But I knew how many calories I burned when I went to gym. So when I plugged in my device to computer and opened up the activity manager and realised that in a 24 hour period I typically burn 2400-2800 and thats what I notice the last few days since I got it which includes sleeping,sitting,walking around the house whether doing house chores or getting ready to go to work then going to work. Then going to gym.

Now when that said, In order to loose weight you have to take the calories burned a day - calories eaten a day= ??????? deficit.
in order too loose 1 lb per week you deficit needs to be 500 calories in day. In order to loose 2 lbs per week you need to have 1000 calorie deficit.

I am eating 1200-1500 calories a day since about July 22 but since I now really know how many calories I burn I could actually increase some if I wanted. Some days is going to be more temping or more hard depending on whats going on etc.

I try to plan ahead if I am working because I know how many calories I am going to be eating prior to work.


But unlike the eat back calories thing. I work 2p-10pm then go to gym after I get off work. Thats really the only time I can commit to exercise. That means I don't eat anything afterwards. Unless I feel hungry.

So for me I have to eat as much as I can prior to getting off work then I know I will work that off.

Lately with the body media I have been burning about 1000-1100 cals at work for 8 hrs.
Exercsing about 45-60 mins /6 nights a week burning 300-400 most time.

As previous poster put think about it as bank account. If you generally keep $1200 in savings account and haven't touched it in months and you don't add to it or take out if it , you will maintain that balance. Just like if you don't exercise or eat less or more you will maintain your weight. But take that same $1200 in savings and add $500 too it =$1700. Well you can look it 2 ways either you know that $500 is like a safey net. If you eat 1700 calories compared to 1200 then thats an additonal amount of cals your body is not use to so you will gain weight which so how happens to be 1 lb a week. But if you continue to eat 1200 cals a week and add 500 cals of exercise a day then you will loose 1 pound.

just make sure you are trying to stay above that 1200. Fat people in general can for a while loose few more pounds a week or be on lower cal for a while but eventually that will plateau.

Try to aim if you can to keep cals 1200-1500 so if you do feel hungry you still have a safety net.

Most people without exercise is going to burn more then they realize. But the added bonus is the exercise for weight loss.


I struggle more with making sure to get enough cals in trying to stay above 1200 but now going over that but I still have not had a significant weightloss since I started. 44 days in and Ive lost about 10 pounds. But I have lost inches.

Just exercise. more eat less and unless your really doing lots of weight training -just mainly cardio I wouldn't worry to much about the specific numbers just try to stay about 1200.

U might have to play around with the numbers for a while. If your use to eating 1200 and not having any success then try increasing too 1300-1700cals.

pattyg1821

some other things to consideer is how active are you
*small children?
*children that play sports etc?
*how active are you at work, physical job compared to desk job ?
*how many hours sleep do you get?

the more active you are you need more cals to fuel your body.

journeytofitxx

Just an update - my BMR is 1600-ish so I updated my daily intake to 1530 :-)
Thanks for all the replies!

dymphnah

I am confused too! I am supposed to eat 1200 calories per day, but if I swim for an hour, that burns of around 850 cals! So what should I be eating?? I want to do it the healthiest way possible, I will be trying for a baby as soon as I feel fitter and lighter! I don't understand how my body can possibly go into starvation mode on days like today when i have had egg, bacon and sausage for breakfast and lasange for dinner! Please help...:-)

hadiolar

Thanks for breaking this down....

OK here it goes. Imagine your calories as if they are savings in a bank. Your goal is to always keep it at, for instance, 1400 calories a day. So if you exercise you burn a certain amount of calories, lets say 300. So if you start with 1400, eat breakfast = -400 you are left with 1000. You eat lunch = -500 then you are left with 500 calories left. Now here is the really cool bit. 500 doesn't sound like alot for your evening meal but if you throw in a work out = +300, you have 800 to consume.

1400 start
Breakfast (consume) -400 = 1000
Lunch (consume) -500 = 500
Exercise (burn) +300 = 800
Dinner (consume) = Eat what you want so long as it is within 800 calories

This programme encourages you to exercise so you can earn those extra calories, which means you can eat more. what you want to try to do is keep that savings account topped up to 1400. If you don't eat back your calories your body can go into starvation mode and produce more fat than you want. The penny only dropped for me yesterday so I am now able to adjust how I eat and earn my calories because I love eating.

I hope this provides some clarity for you and feel free to add me a friend if you want that extra bit of encouragement or motivation.

All the best.

mellyboobear

hadiolar wrote: »

Thanks for breaking this down....

OK here it goes. Imagine your calories as if they are savings in a bank. Your goal is to always keep it at, for instance, 1400 calories a day. So if you exercise you burn a certain amount of calories, lets say 300. So if you start with 1400, eat breakfast = -400 you are left with 1000. You eat lunch = -500 then you are left with 500 calories left. Now here is the really cool bit. 500 doesn't sound like alot for your evening meal but if you throw in a work out = +300, you have 800 to consume.

1400 start
Breakfast (consume) -400 = 1000
Lunch (consume) -500 = 500
Exercise (burn) +300 = 800
Dinner (consume) = Eat what you want so long as it is within 800 calories

This programme encourages you to exercise so you can earn those extra calories, which means you can eat more. what you want to try to do is keep that savings account topped up to 1400. If you don't eat back your calories your body can go into starvation mode and produce more fat than you want. The penny only dropped for me yesterday so I am now able to adjust how I eat and earn my calories because I love eating.

I hope this provides some clarity for you and feel free to add me a friend if you want that extra bit of encouragement or motivation.

All the best.

this helps OH SO MUCH!

SLLRunner

dbmata