1200 calories = more likely to have problems?

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Replies

  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
    The default settings assume a lot more knowledge than is typical and should be changed to something reasonable (that accommodates starting weights). There's so much lousy information, not everyone's inclined to do their research, people usually want to lose weight at funny times in their lives, sometimes for funny reasons.. MFP should err on the side of caution. I even feel it's an obligation.

    That 1200 is like a Florida chad.
  • katz22
    katz22 Posts: 116 Member
    1200 calories - always more problems. I know loads of people in my workplace who are always on a diet, and taking up endless cardio etc, but I eat more and still weigh less than them. So yes, trying to eat an unrealistic amount will set yourself up for failure. To me the crash diets seem like the dieters are trying to punish their bodies for whatever flaws they think they have.

    In my opinion, it's better to log your consumption of food for a few weeks and totally ignore setting any goal, then look at your average calorie consumption, and reduce it by a small percentage. You can't plan a route, unless you know your starting place.
  • PeteTheRef
    PeteTheRef Posts: 6
    Remember, weight loss is not linear; it tends to go in cycles. If you start at 264lbs then you are already carrying a lot of muscle just to stand up. Muscle is heavier than fat. As you exercise you tend to add more muscle. so you may be losing fat but staying the same weight. It's OK! Try not to do a crash diet; that will make you unwell and in worst cases can be dangerous. The process is gradual and meaningful. Your weight alone is not the issue. Your weight and your fat percentage are the two key elements. Athletes, especially rugby players and American football players, have a BMI that is off the scale; no-one is saying the are overweight or unhealthy. So, be concerned to get your fat percentage within range for normal (18% to 24.9%), and be concerned to get your waist down to 50% of your height if you are muscular.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    I think most of you understood what I was trying to say.

    For the others that are insistent that 1200 is the *only* way to accomplish your goals...if you ultimately reach and maintain, then awesome. No, really...congrats. However, if it doesn't work out for you, don't give up entirely. Instead, reconsider your conclusion that 1200 is the *only* path. (In the words of a wise old philosopher, "There is another.")

    I don't have much to add because for me due to size and weight 1700 a day is 2lbs a week and I've been losing it faster, and lots of inches......................

    I just got excited by the Star Wars reference there. That is all.

    Hello, I am a bit sick of 1300 calories when I'm not completely sure its enough for my body. How did you work out the amount you need?

    Thanks and well done x
    Your weight x 9-12 = total calories
    You can start with 1g/lb of body weight or realistic goal weight.
    Fat .25-50 g/lb

    Fill the rest of your calories in with carbs.
  • dolphinblu63
    dolphinblu63 Posts: 7
    im on 1200 an feel great not over full just comfy, but i also drink heaps of water, all day an i have my 2 redbak protein shakes a day to, 2 fruit, for dinna 120g chicken with 5green vegie, an gym 5days aweek
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    im on 1200 an feel great not over full just comfy, but i also drink heaps of water, all day an i have my 2 redbak protein shakes a day to, 2 fruit, for dinna 120g chicken with 5green vegie, an gym 5days aweek
    Where is your room to make changes, when you reach that plateau?
  • stubbseyt
    stubbseyt Posts: 84 Member
    i think that Dr Atkins had a point when he said that when something stops working for you - change it! He obviously was plugging the low carb way but in his book he said if you plateau then go onto low fat for a while just to change it up, and then when that stops working for yu go back to low carb..

    i quite liked that honesty, not like companies like weight watchers, slimming world and the like who only have a vested interest in selling you their diet and their products.

    i plateaued on weight watchers, switched back to atkins and been doing great, when i plateaued a bit on atkins i introduced intermittent fasting... not for everyone i know, but i only do it 2 days a week so its easy. I think we all get in ruts and get comfortable eating the same old things that worked for us before, if your hungry on 1200 calories do some low carb the hunger will go away!
  • dolphinblu63
    dolphinblu63 Posts: 7
    im on that so i have added 15mins on the cross trainer, an machine weights, an when it happens again i will change my food agaain an swim 1klm aday at the gym with 20mins on bike ive worked it out ahead of time so i can just keep going to my goal weight
  • likepepsicola
    likepepsicola Posts: 117 Member
    Some of us are Hobbits and are just fine eating a low (but healthy?) amount of calories.

    Not everyone is a Hobbit. If you're hungry eat. Easy, right?

    Yup. I'm 4'11". I do just fine on 1200 calories.
  • MayonnaiseJane
    MayonnaiseJane Posts: 12 Member
    Are the folks who are having problems going to 1200 manually, or is that what they're being recommended? If manually, there's the problem. The recommendations are there to make sure you don't go into starvation mode....
  • toriaenator
    toriaenator Posts: 423 Member
    yep. its cuz its the lowest MFP can set goals too when people are impatient and set this 2lb loss a week... and dont eat back excercise cals... no one is meant to eat that low especially if working out!
  • MayonnaiseJane
    MayonnaiseJane Posts: 12 Member
    Where are people setting this "per week" thing? I just told it how much I weigh now, and how much I want to, and the thingy decided I'm going to loose 0.8lbs a week.... I didn't decide that. It's an awfully strange number to pick, but I'll suppose it defaults to 1lb per week, but got stopped by the 1200 limit... *shrugs.*

    But really is it so hard to believe that some people are just small in build and that's enough for them?
  • MayonnaiseJane
    MayonnaiseJane Posts: 12 Member
    Some of us are Hobbits and are just fine eating a low (but healthy?) amount of calories.

    Not everyone is a Hobbit. If you're hungry eat. Easy, right?

    Yup. I'm 4'11". I do just fine on 1200 calories.

    ^^^ This.
  • Brunner26_2
    Brunner26_2 Posts: 1,152
    1200 is actually what works for me. If I want to see results, I have to go down to 1200 calories per day. It's hard, but it's worth it!

    You're too young to be eating so little. Even IF you are really 18, you're still growing.
  • 2rnip
    2rnip Posts: 49 Member
    I've set my limit to 1800, but I've been on or close to 1200 for the last 90 days. I don't snack. I've started weighting over 320lbs and am now down by 40. I have the motivation and I have the strength, these are two most important factors. If a fat man like me can do it, anyone can do it.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    I've set my limit to 1800, but I've been on or close to 1200 for the last 90 days. I don't snack. I've started weighting over 320lbs and am now down by 40. I have the motivation and I have the strength, these are two most important factors. If a fat man like me can do it, anyone can do it.

    did MFP set you at 1200?

    With so many people set at 1200, and seemingly of all weights and heights. how can this be?
  • xSakura
    xSakura Posts: 288 Member
    Some of us are Hobbits and are just fine eating a low (but healthy?) amount of calories.

    Not everyone is a Hobbit. If you're hungry eat. Easy, right?

    Yup. I'm 4'11". I do just fine on 1200 calories.

    I'm also 4'11" and I have no problem with 1200. I have no trouble with snacking, and I do get to 1300 on the rare occasion, but yeah.. I'm still losing weight, PLUS I have thyroid issues, which makes it a little harder.

    Each to their own, I suppose :smile:
  • rvicini
    rvicini Posts: 252 Member
    MFP did set me up at 1250 cal from 1350 cals and I put it back. Even if I exercise most days, I like to go under everyday, so in days when I am traveling or have meetings, or it's raining -like yesterday-, I must stick to my cal budget. With pleasant surprises. I had fried eggs plus fruit at breakfast, a wrap of pork loin at lunch and a 30 cm diameter pizza made out of a large pitta bread with chicken and that was 1191 cals the whole day!
    The answer: yesterday I didn't have time for snacking...
  • 2rnip
    2rnip Posts: 49 Member
    I've set my limit to 1800, but I've been on or close to 1200 for the last 90 days. I don't snack. I've started weighting over 320lbs and am now down by 40. I have the motivation and I have the strength, these are two most important factors. If a fat man like me can do it, anyone can do it.

    did MFP set you at 1200?

    With so many people set at 1200, and seemingly of all weights and heights. how can this be?

    no, MFP set me to 1800 as it's their minimum I think. however I decided to take a bit more radical approach and reduced it. so far, so good, I can't say I have no energy or I'm tired of it, sometimes the cravings are strong but I am stronger :)
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    I've set my limit to 1800, but I've been on or close to 1200 for the last 90 days. I don't snack. I've started weighting over 320lbs and am now down by 40. I have the motivation and I have the strength, these are two most important factors. If a fat man like me can do it, anyone can do it.

    did MFP set you at 1200?

    With so many people set at 1200, and seemingly of all weights and heights. how can this be?

    no, MFP set me to 1800 as it's their minimum I think. however I decided to take a bit more radical approach and reduced it. so far, so good, I can't say I have no energy or I'm tired of it, sometimes the cravings are strong but I am stronger :)

    you will lose weight with a LOW calorie diet (over 20% deficit) but you will be losing muscle mass faster than you might think. Be careful dude.
  • 2rnip
    2rnip Posts: 49 Member
    thanks for the warning, but I recently run for 4kms and cycled for 25kms, first time since like 10 years
    I don't get tired after walking for 5 minutes anymore, to be honest I'm not seeing ANY negative impact of this diet. I'm talking to my GP on a regular basis and so far so good, absolutely no problems, and it's been 3 months since I started.

    now, it will not be forever, as I want to start building up muscles as I will start training to my first half-marathon which will be next year, I'm hoping to stay on 1200 for another month and revise it then
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    Those on 1200 - do you think your muscle mass is maintained on this amount?
  • dolphinblu63
    dolphinblu63 Posts: 7
    i find 1200 is enough, im 5"1 an SW 96kilo 28th august 2012, CW 79.9kilos 7th nov 2012, ive just upd my gym excerises, im full of energy dont snack i feel good, :)
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    thanks for the warning, but I recently run for 4kms and cycled for 25kms, first time since like 10 years
    I don't get tired after walking for 5 minutes anymore, to be honest I'm not seeing ANY negative impact of this diet. I'm talking to my GP on a regular basis and so far so good, absolutely no problems, and it's been 3 months since I started.

    now, it will not be forever, as I want to start building up muscles as I will start training to my first half-marathon which will be next year, I'm hoping to stay on 1200 for another month and revise it then

    I would seriously consider getting a body fat test. It will tell you the amount of fat and the amount of lean body mass you have. The bod pod is a good test and is only about $30-40.00

    This way, you can better track what is going on with your progress in a more meaningful way.
  • 2rnip
    2rnip Posts: 49 Member
    since it's 278lbs at the moment, I have still loads of fat to lose :)
  • newlyf
    newlyf Posts: 20 Member
    I'm new to this 1200 calorie thang, too! :) After doing some research, I have found that eating or drinking a high protein breakfast curbs my appetite for the entire day. Hope this might help someone out there in weight loss world! :)
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    since it's 278lbs at the moment, I have still loads of fat to lose :)

    yes...but tracking your fat and lean body mass is very motivating as well as much more informed to get a better overall.

    when you get to a good weight level, you will want your muscle mass to still be there when you start towards your next goal.

    Or not...but good luck
  • 2rnip
    2rnip Posts: 49 Member
    I will definitely look into it! many thanks for the hint :)
    since it's 278lbs at the moment, I have still loads of fat to lose :)

    yes...but tracking your fat and lean body mass is very motivating as well as much more informed to get a better overall.

    when you get to a good weight level, you will want your muscle mass to still be there when you start towards your next goal.

    Or not...but good luck
  • maryjay52
    maryjay52 Posts: 557 Member
    i dont know why everyone is so hooked on the 1200 calorie thing either. there are days i eat only 1200 calories but those are few and far between. ive lost 80lbs but not by eating six times a day on the avg of 1300-1500 calories a day and sometimes more if i exercise too much..i pretty much let my body tell me what i need. if im craving carbs i look at my food diary and see what im missing and then eat carbs if necessary,ect..
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    Those on 1200 - do you think your muscle mass is maintained on this amount?

    Anyone?

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