1200 calories

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  • mulderpf
    mulderpf Posts: 209 Member
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    Are you doing 1200 calories because you want fast results?

    Work out your BMR and your TDEE using the links the tryclyn posted. You should be eating at least your BMR, but below your TDEE to safely and sustainably lose weight.

    Your body needs BMR calories just to be alive, this isn't affected whether you are busy or not, because this is just to keep your organs and muscles going. Your TDEE is for things like sitting around, walking, cooking, moving your head, typing on a keyboard and then possibly exercise if you set your activity level a bit higher. If you eat considerably below your TDEE, the deficit needs to be made up somehow.

    Usually this deficit is made up from your fat stores, but here's the catch: your fat stores can only release so much fat at any point in time. If you cut your food intake so much and your body got as much fat it could from it's fat stores, what does it do then? It starts using muscle. This is great for the number on the scale, but devastating for your metabolism. Your body has to burn calories to keep muscle going, less muscle means less calories to burn. And before you know it, your body has adjusted to your excessively low calorie intake. And then you have a problem.

    Then you have to choose whether to cut calories even more and continue doing the damage or to pause your weight loss for a month or two to get your metabolism fired up again, therefore reversing all the great weight (mostly muscle) loss you've achieved.

    We've all been there - you want the fast results, because the sooner you can lose the weight, the sooner you can eat "normally" again. Whatever it was that was "normal" was what caused the weight gain in the first place, so it's just setting yourself up for failure.
  • Amanda0926
    Amanda0926 Posts: 108 Member
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    I'm doing 1200 calories because that's what MFP told me to do. And honestly I'm really confused!
    I have lost weight and I don't want to gain it back! But, I do want to make sure I'm healthy. I'm not looking for super fast results. Iyknow it takes time. Honestly, I don't have that much to lose. I want to tone more than anything. So, no I'm not looking for a quick fix.
    I really don't have a ton of time to research and make everything from scratch either. I'm a single mom of 2. I work full time and I go to school. I try to cook on the weekends and freeze things for meals. That is usually what the kids eat. I would rather have a salad that anything, so that's what I usually have.
    I don't eat gluten and I because I have celiacs disease, but I also just try to stay away from any breads whether they are gluten free or not.
    So, that's where I'm at. Completely lost and confused about how much I should really be eating. The site I looked at said 1700 calories. 1700 calories is how I gained weight in the first place, so I'm not sure why it says I should eat that much.

    Are you doing 1200 calories because you want fast results?

    Work out your BMR and your TDEE using the links the tryclyn posted. You should be eating at least your BMR, but below your TDEE to safely and sustainably lose weight.

    Your body needs BMR calories just to be alive, this isn't affected whether you are busy or not, because this is just to keep your organs and muscles going. Your TDEE is for things like sitting around, walking, cooking, moving your head, typing on a keyboard and then possibly exercise if you set your activity level a bit higher. If you eat considerably below your TDEE, the deficit needs to be made up somehow.

    Usually this deficit is made up from your fat stores, but here's the catch: your fat stores can only release so much fat at any point in time. If you cut your food intake so much and your body got as much fat it could from it's fat stores, what does it do then? It starts using muscle. This is great for the number on the scale, but devastating for your metabolism. Your body has to burn calories to keep muscle going, less muscle means less calories to burn. And before you know it, your body has adjusted to your excessively low calorie intake. And then you have a problem.

    Then you have to choose whether to cut calories even more and continue doing the damage or to pause your weight loss for a month or two to get your metabolism fired up again, therefore reversing all the great weight (mostly muscle) loss you've achieved.

    We've all been there - you want the fast results, because the sooner you can lose the weight, the sooner you can eat "normally" again. Whatever it was that was "normal" was what caused the weight gain in the first place, so it's just setting yourself up for failure.
  • Amanda0926
    Amanda0926 Posts: 108 Member
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    I don't know how much more to eat though. I don't want to gain anything back. But, I do want to be healthy.

    BECAUSE you workout regularly, 1200 is not enough fuel, and won't help weight loss very much in the long-term!! Your body needs more :)
  • holylucy
    holylucy Posts: 38
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    I do this too! Yolks are good for their coats and I love the egg whites
  • HeatherPH
    HeatherPH Posts: 125 Member
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    I would start here.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717565-in-place-of-a-road-map
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717858-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-and-deficit-calcs-macros-hrm


    Yep, I second this! The In Place of a Roadmap thread is amazing! This is the revised thread (though not sure of the differences between the old and new versions):
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • mulderpf
    mulderpf Posts: 209 Member
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    I'm doing 1200 calories because that's what MFP told me to do. And honestly I'm really confused!
    MFP is simply going by the inputs you give it. You asked for help on here two weeks ago also and people told you to up your calories, but you didn't do this. You don't have much to lose, so you are doing more harm than good. The last thing you would want is for the weight that's coming off to be muscle. Don't let your body use the wrong thing for fuel because you aren't giving it enough.
    I have lost weight and I don't want to gain it back! But, I do want to make sure I'm healthy. I'm not looking for super fast results. Iyknow it takes time. Honestly, I don't have that much to lose. I want to tone more than anything. So, no I'm not looking for a quick fix.
    I really don't have a ton of time to research and make everything from scratch either. I'm a single mom of 2. I work full time and I go to school. I try to cook on the weekends and freeze things for meals. That is usually what the kids eat. I would rather have a salad that anything, so that's what I usually have.
    I don't eat gluten and I because I have celiacs disease, but I also just try to stay away from any breads whether they are gluten free or not.
    So, that's where I'm at. Completely lost and confused about how much I should really be eating. The site I looked at said 1700 calories. 1700 calories is how I gained weight in the first place, so I'm not sure why it says I should eat that much.
    Can't say, if you are 5'3 then probably, any taller, then probably not unless you have a metabolic disorder.
  • pmza77
    pmza77 Posts: 1
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    I found 1200 cals not enough even if i ate back my exercise cals. Try 1500 for a month. You must give your body time to sort itself out. If that does not help eat even more. What have you to lose except the hunger pains.
  • Amanda0926
    Amanda0926 Posts: 108 Member
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    Yes, you are right. I did ask for help two weeks ago with the calories. And you are right that I did not up them. I didn't because like I said, I don't understand how eating more will help you lose weight.
    What I asked this time is about the protein/fat/carbs and how to get them where they should be. That is whre I am struggling the most right now. I think 1200 calories would be fine if I was eating the right things, and that is mostly what I am asking for help with.
    I am slowly upping my calories because I don't know how much to eat. I will get to that at a slow pace.

    I'm doing 1200 calories because that's what MFP told me to do. And honestly I'm really confused!
    MFP is simply going by the inputs you give it. You asked for help on here two weeks ago also and people told you to up your calories, but you didn't do this. You don't have much to lose, so you are doing more harm than good. The last thing you would want is for the weight that's coming off to be muscle. Don't let your body use the wrong thing for fuel because you aren't giving it enough.
    I have lost weight and I don't want to gain it back! But, I do want to make sure I'm healthy. I'm not looking for super fast results. Iyknow it takes time. Honestly, I don't have that much to lose. I want to tone more than anything. So, no I'm not looking for a quick fix.
    I really don't have a ton of time to research and make everything from scratch either. I'm a single mom of 2. I work full time and I go to school. I try to cook on the weekends and freeze things for meals. That is usually what the kids eat. I would rather have a salad that anything, so that's what I usually have.
    I don't eat gluten and I because I have celiacs disease, but I also just try to stay away from any breads whether they are gluten free or not.
    So, that's where I'm at. Completely lost and confused about how much I should really be eating. The site I looked at said 1700 calories. 1700 calories is how I gained weight in the first place, so I'm not sure why it says I should eat that much.
    Can't say, if you are 5'3 then probably, any taller, then probably not unless you have a metabolic disorder.
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
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    Yes, you are right. I did ask for help two weeks ago with the calories. And you are right that I did not up them. I didn't because like I said, I don't understand how eating more will help you lose weight.
    What I asked this time is about the protein/fat/carbs and how to get them where they should be. That is whre I am struggling the most right now. I think 1200 calories would be fine if I was eating the right things, and that is mostly what I am asking for help with.
    I am slowly upping my calories because I don't know how much to eat. I will get to that at a slow pace.

    I'm doing 1200 calories because that's what MFP told me to do. And honestly I'm really confused!
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
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    I'm learning, too. I think we started about the same time. I've picked up a couple of concepts that might help the question of how many calories to eat.

    1. If you don't eat enough your body thinks it is starving and hordes calories as fat. The less you eat, the more it thinks it is starving and the more fat it stores. You do lose weight, but it is the good weight of muscle that is lost.

    2. In order to keep your muscle and lose weight at a healthy speed, you have to eat enough to keep your muscles happy. You're looking for a sweet spot, where you feel good, have lots of energy, and lose fat but not muscle. I'm using the calorie goals they assigned me and adding exercise to the mix. I eat back some of the exercise calories but not all of them. I have plenty of energy and am making better progress than I expected.

    3. I'm also using the program to look at nutrition, where I am no expert at all. I'm trying to learn by watching the pie graph found at "home". There is a bar graph of total calories with a red line at the goal. I keep mine under the red line nearly all of the time but I've gone over a few times. Up in the colored band there is a pie graph symbol. I go there and look at how my carbohydrates, fat, and protein are balancing. I'm usually above the line in protein and fat, and below it in carbs. I'm not a full on paleo dieter, but I feel best when I'm eating a high protein diet.

    I hope this newbie to newbie advice is at least a little helpful.
  • krickeyuu
    krickeyuu Posts: 344 Member
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    I don't know, I started my weight loss on another site and switched to this one only because of the large database of foods. I think there is a very confusing problem with how MFP calculates your calories and that is why so many people have this issue in the beginning. I eat at TDEE for my goal weight. For me that is 1500 calories. That is more than enough food (most days). The thing that I like about this approach is that it teaches me to eat for the weight that I want to maintain. I used "sedentary" for my lifestyle as I have a desk job. I eat my exercise calories. I also basically use the IIFYM. So...I set my macros at .5 grams of fats, .8 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. Then carbs make up the rest. I love wine so I exercise to help mitigate my alcohol calories.
  • soonerman4life
    soonerman4life Posts: 8 Member
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    Are you weighing and measuring your food? Until I started doing so, I was grossly over or under estimating how many calories I was actually consuming. You can pick up a food scale for </= $30/
  • Amanda0926
    Amanda0926 Posts: 108 Member
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    Yes I am. I didn't at first, but I quickly learned that I was doing it all wrong. lol
    Are you weighing and measuring your food? Until I started doing so, I was grossly over or under estimating how many calories I was actually consuming. You can pick up a food scale for </= $30/

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