Is it okay for some people to go under 1200 calories?

TheFairyJester

You are my hero.

I hate these posts because it always cries for a need for a fallout shelter lol

To the OP, generally it is not a good idea. This question is best asked of a licensed nutritionist though for your individual needs. If you cannot afford one, then I wouldn't recommend eating below it for health reasons.

If you are having trouble getting calories, up your protein and healthy fats. Generally these foods will be a little higher in calories and still good to eat. Good luck!

oh why bother with a licensed nutritionist when you have all these internet experts.

Heather_Rider

Really shocked at the comments and lack of knowledge about nutrition and the body on here................


ANd those trying to lose weight by eating under 1200 my money is you gain back at some point.

THIS is coming from someone who just said they binge ate yesterday and hasnt lost a single pound? You have a LOT of room here to talk.

rydersgrammy1

I'm 5'4 1/2"....I vary between 1100 & 1200.... I will eat at 1200 to maintain, but if I start gaining, I just go back to 1100....My Doctor approves of this...

Contrarian

Well, I'm glad that's cleared up!

tamba01

I posted earlier about this...but I did want all the people that responded that were upset about her coming her to get advice, she is 18 yrs old and trying to figure this out. At 18 I didnt know much about nutrition., so let's help her and not criticize her for asking. Just my opinion.

Verity1111

Are you HONESTLY not hungry for more or are you just telling yourself you're not?

If you truly don't believe you're setting yourself up for failure then I think it's fine to continue. I aim for a 1200 NET per day (which means I can eat up to 1500 on days I workout, which is almost every day), but some days I only hit 800. I feel fine but then again, I'm only 5'2 and 120.

I am a lot bigger, 5'4" and 165lbs and even I don't get hungry at all some days

Freidon

~OP asks about 1200 calories on a MFP forum~

~World War III commences.~

LorinaLynn

A friend of mine is 5' tall, 39 years old, currently about 115 pounds, is hyper-vigilant about nutrition, and has had weight loss surgery a few years ago, so her stomach is about the size of a walnut.. and she eats over 1200 a day.

She can't eat too much in one sitting without food literally coming out her NOSE, and she still manages to eat a decent amount of food. So I'm not quite buying the "I can't possibly eat more than 1200 calories" mentality.

tamba01

A friend of mine is 5' tall, 39 years old, currently about 115 pounds, is hyper-vigilant about nutrition, and has had weight loss surgery a few years ago, so her stomach is about the size of a walnut.. and she eats over 1200 a day. She can't eat too much in one sitting without food literally coming out her NOSE,

But after awhile doesn't the stomach stretch back out ?

LorinaLynn

A friend of mine is 5' tall, 39 years old, currently about 115 pounds, is hyper-vigilant about nutrition, and has had weight loss surgery a few years ago, so her stomach is about the size of a walnut.. and she eats over 1200 a day. She can't eat too much in one sitting without food literally coming out her NOSE,

But after awhile doesn't the stomach stretch back out ?

Can't have stretched out that much if she gets food coming out her nose when she eats too much at once.

tamba01

Can't have stretched out that much if she gets food coming out her nose when she eats too much at once.

lol, that's true...I guess if she is still eating really small amounts at a time that it will not stretch out, but if she eats like me, it would, lol

lmiedema

Well thanks everyone for their opinion on this. I'm sorry I don't know much on nutrition. In school we never learned anything on this and I'm trying to learn all of this now.

For those of you asking, I am quite full and satisfied by the end of the day. There is the one or two days a week that I eat over 1200, but not always. I don't know what's with me, I stop eating when I don't feel hungry anymore. So yeah, is that wrong?

obsidianwings

No, I am smaller than you, and still eat more than that.

tamba01

The one thing you have to remember is to make good picks on the food you do have. Since you're not eating 1200 every day, you need to make sure you get good nutrition (vitamins and minerals, etc) from your food. So just make sure and pick nutritional items, vegetable, fruits, good fats (nuts, olive oil, avacados). The good fats are important, I think they are called mono unsaturated fats, so even though you want to lose weight, you still need these. You are young, this is the time to learn as much as you can about nutrition that way you live a long happy life. BMR is important..it is the minimum amount of calories you should have, even if you were in a coma You can find out what that is some where on here (sorry I don't remember) Anyway, keep asking questions and ignore the people that don't like the subject. If you make sure and have the good fats, you will probably up to 1200 or more.

Tammy

you should also measure everything you eat for one week, you might be eating more than you think you are

etoiles_argentees

Perfect.

obsidianwings

If you are having trouble reaching your goal, maybe try eating some foods that are higher calories so you can get a good amount of calories without having to eat much more, like nuts.

v70t5m

OP,

Track your caloric intake versus body weight over several months. This will help you figure out what calorie intake helps you lose, gain, and maintain.

Everyone is different. Figure out what works for you and stick with it.

skullshank

NO.

/thread

^ that. so any response after that is moot.
including this one.

Crayvn

I know the amount of calories you need depends on your size,

sighs....

Yunnieh

If your BMR is like 2000 then no. if less, than yes. I think I need to eat less than BMR for effective weight loss. BMR feeds your fat. If you don't feed fat - it burns.

It's not quite healthy though, if you wanna be healthy, then you shouldn't go over that

DontStopB_Leakin

I know the amount of calories you need depends on your size, and it is commonly said that a person needs at least 1200 calories a day just to have their body functioning normally. But I was wondering if the person is kinda small, can they have less?

I signed up for my fitness pal a while ago, and it put me on a calorie count of 1200 calories, but I've found it kinda hard to get to 1200 calories. Instead getting from 850-1000 calories per day, I've been doing fine! I was just wondering if that's's due to my height and weight, 5ft 1.5in and 127lbs. And if it's not healthy, why exactly?

I am your height. You are very close to your goal so you don't need to eat that low (below 1200). I was able to eat under 1200 while under my doctors care because my RMR is low AND I had significant fat to lose, AND I don't have ED, AND I simply was able to reduce the stress in my life and set up an environment for success .

Your RMR will be low compared to taller people and may or may not be lower than mine. I am older so mine could be lower, but I've been lifting for over 30 years so my LBM is a couple pounds more than most females my height (mostly from bone density), but it' not really significant for weight loss until you get leaner. The only way to truly know your RMR is to go to a lab to have it tested. I had a DXA scan and I feel the RMR it gave me is fairly accurate 1380.

Here is why you don't want to eat so low now, but could have when you had significant fat to lose.

The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)

Always check with your doctor.

. What you need to eat for a deficit is relative to your RMR. If you are short you really don't have much room for up compared to the 1200. If you are taller you will have a higher RMR and can go up or down and still be in a deficit (way above 1200) so you can lose no matter what. All that matters is a calorie deficit.

To tell everyone eat more is wrong.

To tell everyone to eat less is wrong.

To find the exact amount of calories for you to be in a sustainable calorie deficit is correct. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others. Some people have emotional eating disorders and it comes into play. Even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such and everyone is different.

Since you are close to your goal your weight loss needs to be a slower shallower deficit, that is just how it is when you don't have significant fat on your body anymore. You just have a little more to lose and it needs to come of slowly, nice and easy and consistent.

tanias001

If a female goes below a certain calorie limit it can play havoc with our hormones. To just the same if we don't have enough fat in our diets the same things can happen.
Seeing our hormones control our moods and just about everything else to be even on 1200 cals a day is way to low.
I was being told off for eating 1500 cals a day and not eating the required amount of fat.
To stay fit and healthy anything over 1500 is any thing under and you also risk starving yourself so when you should happen to eat over 1200 that's when you will start to put weight on 1200 and under and your body will go into feast or famine mode. In a famine which is what 1200 is your body will rebel after awhile which isn't good the list of health issues is a long one and as i said as soon as you start to eat over 1200 you will start to pile the weight back on so it starts all over again.
If you aren't sure then the best way to go is to see your doctor or a dietician to get the right calorie levels and then work into what they may suggest.
Tania

baptiste565

of course for a period of time. pls dont buy into the 1200cal doomsday number

tamba01

I think that most people will argue about how many calories you should have. But I think everyone would agree that eating good nutritional food will be great for you and your health. So try to eat healthy foods...

nikilis

yup... ill join you once I've gone to the store. we need supplies. its gonna take while to blow over.

oh, and I got the pictures back from last time:

Tommy

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