1300 calories???

janesmith1

I can't do 1200 cals but that is the minimum amt for women. Men get 1800 cals a day but we only get 1200. Staying around 1300 is pretty much fine. I don't exercise all the time but I try to.

Figure it like this 300, 300, 600, and a 100 cal snack of popcorn. You should be good to go with that.

Cardiobunny1313

I seem to be one of the slimmer people posting so here's my take. It's very sustainable but truthfully after time it can be an obsession. Also why are there men on here eating 1300 calories? My husband is 6'1 190 pounds and about 9% body fat when he's cutting and for the most part he eats like a pig..

geekyjock76

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geekyjock76

Low calorie diets are suitable for some populations - particularly those with a large amount of fat mass. People who have yo-yo dieted much of their adult lives will also require less calories to lose weight due to their lower daily energy expenditure.

Yet, most people who diet tend not to know how many calories they need to eat to maintain their highest weight. When guestimating, they also underestimate by a significant margin (statistically, women provide lower estimates compared to actual TDEE than men despite having lower energy needs). Furthermore, people do not realize deficits should be established based on total fat mass and how much fat mass to lose. One common misconception is that a 2 lb weekly weight loss is suitable for everyone, which it is not.

funkim55

I take in 1200 calories a day; exercising means you can add back another 200-300 calories for 30 minutes of burn.

Don't worry you can do this. Check out WebMD to see how many calories you should have for your age, height and weight!!

Good Luck!!!

Cardiobunny1313

Also how are some people here saying they eat 1200 calories a day and exercise but aren't extremely thin? Normally I eat around 1600 and maintained 5'6 125 but I have decided to reduce that and add more cardio to my normal lifting... At 1300 calories a day I've already dropped weight quickly... I can't imagine how some of you aren't extremely slim by now.

bingefreeaubree

I'm definitely a 'eat more to weigh less' person! It's true and it works. I 'starved' myself for years thinking I had to stick to 1100 to 1300 calories. In fact my body was so used to getting too few calories that I never really felt hungry. My metabolism eventually screeched to a halt and I hit the big plateau. Starting upping my calories a little bit at a time and I'm now at 1600 and still seeing results!!! Seriously.....being healthy (key word is healthy here) does NOT mean starvation, deprivation and HOURS at the gym. Eat above your BMR and below TDEE, get enough protein, lift weights and do a sensible amount of cardio and you will get fit!

QFT
I can easily lose weight on 1600-1700 calories per day, even without exercising too much. People are fearful to up their calories if they're seeing results at 1200, but it's much easier to make 1600 calories part of your lifestyle for the long term vs 1200. And much healthier.

colortheworld

Seems low to me, but I suppose it depends on her goals. Most people should set their activity level to lightly active, and aim to lose no more than a pound a week.

I honestly think women (or men, I suppose) who eat less than 1200 calories per week are kidding themselves if they think it's going to be sustainable.

I'm assuming you meant 1200 calories per day. I think it's important to enter an activity level that realistically represents your activity level. Mine is sedentary. You only need to sustain a deficit as long as you are above your goal weight. Once there, you rework your numbers to reflect maintenance which will likely add about 3500 calories per week (500/day). Now, an 1800 calorie day is certainly within reason and sustainable.

Equally important is adding the right amount of exercise to your plan. I've seen some here go from doing absolutely nothing to a very high level of exercise while trying to lose weight. To me, that seems to be the unsustainable part. Say my caloric goal is 1310 and I add 1000 calories a day in exercise and eat 2300 calories. I'm going to lose weight. But I'm not so certain I'm going to be able to sustain that 1000 calories/day in exercise. The problem is I'm training myself to eat 2300 calories/day. The minute my exercise level drops to a more realistic amount, I'm probably going to have a problem reducing from an intake of 2300 calories. I think this is why professional athletes seem to balloon up right after retirement or during the off season. I've raised my exercise level to an easily maintained level. I will up the level only after proving that I can maintain this one.

Yes, per day. Sorry - corrected that.

I have a bodymedia FIT, which measures my activity level throughout the day. I have a desk job, work 8 hours a day, go home and sit on my butt or exercise and then sit on my butt. When comparing MFP to my bodymedia fit, "sedentary" is too low. I think it is for most people. And for most people 1200 calories per day is below their BMR. Not healthy to eat so little every day. Yes, if you exercise, you eat more, but for a lot of women here, they are not eating those exercise calories. They claim they aren't hungry, or they are "short," or have some other excuse that makes them a unique and special snowflake. I think most women can eat 1700 calories or more and still lose weight, retain their lean body mass, have energy, and maintain their sanity. This is sustainable to me.

The fact that we continue to perpetuate the idea that women need to eat so little and torture themselves for several months to weigh some magic number that will supposedly bring them all the happiness in the world really bothers me. It's not reality.

My BMR is between 1700-1800. I'm sedentary and not able to exercise regularly. Even if this number is a little low, if I ate 1700 calories a day, I would either not lose or lose very slowly.

geekyjock76

Also how are some people here saying they eat 1200 calories a day and exercise but aren't extremely thin? Normally I eat around 1600 and maintained 5'6 125 but I have decided to reduce that and add more cardio to my normal lifting... At 1300 calories a day I've already dropped weight quickly... I can't imagine how some of you aren't extremely slim by now.

A few reasons. Probably because they started restricting not long ago. Also, consider that many may not be weighing or accounting for all food intake and therefore eating a bit more. Lastly, their TDEE may be either naturally low or adjusted after previous weight loss attempts.

MuseofSong

Old Post Is Old!

Also creepy! A BF creeps his GF's food diary and asks strangers about it instead of his GF?

2012 . . . they probably broke up by now.

tigerblue

They claim they aren't hungry, or they are "short," or have some other excuse that makes them a unique and special snowflake.

first of all, we ARE all special snowflakes

some women, depending on age and height, and a dozen other factors, really truly can not lose weight without restricting to 1200-1400 calories a day. It's ok that you don't believe it, you don't have to, you do what works for you, and we'll do what works for us.

and it's also true that one can eat at around 1200 calories and not be hungry. Do i get the munchies? sure. That's not the same as hungry.

Agree with every single word!

Same here!

Agree also. Thank you for posting! I am so tired of being shamed on the formus for eating 1200-1400 cals a day to lose. I obsessed over it for a year or more, tried upping my calories for months (because I listened to so many who said I needed to reset my metabolism, etc), and ended up gaining 10 lbs. The fact is that when you are nearing 50, petite, and slim, you just can`t eat as much as a young, tall person. Especially if that person is overweight. I find that most people who "jump on" me for undereating are under the age of 30 and at least 5`6". That is not my reality.

The numbers don`t lie. If I eat more than 1650, I gain. If I eat less than 1400, I lose. So I am finally back to MY reality and losing my re-gained 10 lbs.

And yes, if you choose healthy foods you can be satisfied on 1300 calories. But it takes a lot of discipline and good healthy choices. Veggies and lean meats. Not much sugar, not many carbs, and watch the drinks! For me, a drink is a luxury for celebration only right now. Same for high cal desserts. Sometimes it sucks, but that is life.

srcardinal10

1200 is just too low for me and I'm short!!! I'm all about eating the best foods possible to fuel my body and my workouts. I'm training for a marathon and lift weights as part of my training. If I only ate 1200 calories, I doubt I'd be able to run for hours on end.

BenjaminMFP88

Word of advise, do not go by what MFP recommends for caloric intake. It is horrible at guestimating this information. Google a macro for diet and go from there, then adjust what MFP recommends. 1300 calories is incredibly unhealthy and unnecessary for weight loss.

tigerblue

Word of advise, do not go by what MFP recommends for caloric intake. It is horrible at guestimating this information. Google a macro for diet and go from there, then adjust what MFP recommends. 1300 calories is incredibly unhealthy and unnecessary for weight loss.

Not necessarily true. This depends on the age, current weight, height, body composition, and daily non exercise activity/lifestyle. See my above comment. 1300 may be too low for the OP's GF, but you cannot just say it is too low in general.

__Di__

I see my GF and her projected calories for the day and it boggles my mind. How does someone limit their calorie intake to 1300 calories a day? That pretty much means you HAVE to exercise for a decent amount of time every day. And then you still can barely eat. Let alone if you want to go out for a few drinks?

Am I missing something? Is that crazy or no?

In a word, no it is not crazy and no, you don't have to exercise for a decent amount of time every day, you quite simply have to consume less than you use up daily.

Edited to say, I didn't realize this thread was so old.

RGv2

Hardly. Once I reach my goal weight, even as a man, to keep losing from there, I have to have 1300 or less. And that's for a goal of 190lbs.

This is nuts! You need way more than 1300 cals a day as a man. The recommended absolute minimum for a male is 1500, and that's if you are morbidly obese.

A man 5'10" 35 years old, 190 lbs, has a BMR of 1897 (using an online calculator). You would then add your activity ( you know, brushing your teeth, getting dressed, walking to your car, going to ANY type of job)...so , say another 600 on top of that...that would make your TDEE about 2400 - if all you do is sit on your rear all day at work. Subtract a 15%- deficit for weight loss (because that's really all you can subtract at that weight), and you get ....wait for it....2040 - that would be the absolute lowest you should be going.

Where did you get this notion of a male eating 1300 at his healthy weight? You can do it for a while at 311 lbs, but you're asking for trouble at 190.

I'm 40, 5'8", 189-190ish (16.7% BF and a goal weight of 175) and MFP has me at 1360. That's a 1000 (2lb per week) calorie deficit. If I cut my deficit in half I'm still only at 1860. You're saying that's still too low.


In a coma they feed you your BMR to keep your body from atrophy....like when your body starts eating it's fat reserves....and loses weight. I'm combatting atrophy by working my *kitten* off in the gym but guess what, I still want my body to eat itself for energy.

How is this wrong? Why not try and lose my 15 remaining in 7.5 weeks?

My diary is open. Take a look I'm actually putting more food in my mouth now than I was when I ate like sh1t.

Comments/advice/thoughts all welcomed.

You've logged one meal in the past two weeks (that's as far back as I went) and show a caloric goal of 2000 calories per day.

darkangel45422

It's not at all difficult to eat at that calories goal, so long as you're not eating crap. I find that a normal day's worth of food for me will come in somewhere between 1000-1300 calories (obviously there are some days I'm hungrier and then I eat more because I'd rather go by my body's signals than what some site tells me lol).

It'll be hard to make that goal if you're eating a lot of processed foods and junk, etc. but healthy clean food won't be too hard. I eat eggs, bacon, chicken, salads, cheese, etc. and have no trouble.

montesdeoca_michelle123

They claim they aren't hungry, or they are "short," or have some other excuse that makes them a unique and special snowflake.

first of all, we ARE all special snowflakes

some women, depending on age and height, and a dozen other factors, really truly can not lose weight without restricting to 1200-1400 calories a day. It's ok that you don't believe it, you don't have to, you do what works for you, and we'll do what works for us.

and it's also true that one can eat at around 1200 calories and not be hungry. Do i get the munchies? sure. That's not the same as hungry.

I am just looking at your weight loss ticker, 110lbs lost is AMAZING!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS

TammyGearl

I eat 1500 calories with no exercize and I have lost 8 pounds in a week!

rexroars

I normally eat 1300-1500 and exercise back down to 1200 But sometimes I actually really am full at 1200! Especially if I'm eating almost all lean meats, veggies and fruit. I've been replacing one of my meals daily with a fruit smoothie (with hemp fiber protein). Every once in a while I'll do a week where I go vegan and I actually find it hard to get enough calories, eating a lot of veggie plates.

Also women really don't need as many calories a day as men, in general. A lot of it I think has to do with muscle mass and stuff...