The 1200 Calorie Myth
Replies
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My TDEE is 1,700 or so, so I do not lose weight eating 2,000, I maintain and slowly start to gain
My TDEE minus 20% is 1037 calories. Under this I loose weight. Over this I gain. I am never hungry.
Then your TDEE is wrong. TDEE is the number where you do not gain or lose. And unless you are a midget, or a small child, or you have a suppressed metabolism, your TDEE is not 1037.
She said TDEE MINUS 20% is 1037 which is entirely possible for a small, sedentary older woman (I know, I am one). My TDEE without exercise is about 1400, if I take off the recommended 20% I'm at about 1120 as a 55 yr old, 5'2" 115 lb woman. I maintain my weight on 1300 to 1350 per day without eating any exercise back. Have done so for 2 years now. It is possible to need those few calories.0 -
My TDEE is 1,700 or so, so I do not lose weight eating 2,000, I maintain and slowly start to gain
My TDEE minus 20% is 1037 calories. Under this I loose weight. Over this I gain. I am never hungry.
Then your TDEE is wrong. TDEE is the number where you do not gain or lose. And unless you are a midget, or a small child, or you have a suppressed metabolism, your TDEE is not 1037.
She said TDEE MINUS 20% is 1037 which is entirely possible for a small, sedentary older woman (I know, I am one). My TDEE without exercise is about 1400, if I take off the recommended 20% I'm at about 1120 as a 55 yr old, 5'2" 115 lb woman. I maintain my weight on 1300 to 1350 per day without eating any exercise back. Have done so for 2 years now. It is possible to need those few calories.
She said if she eats LESS than 1037 then she loses but if she eats over she gains. ie she is saying her TDEE or maintenance is 1037.0 -
I'm definitely not going to claim I'm an expert on losing weight but I found this calorie calculator, so now if I eat more than 1200 but still less than 1600 calories I dont particularly freak out lol
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm0 -
Pandora's box is all I am gonna say :glasses:
Hmmm, Adrian Mole fan huh?
(Very obscure reference for non-British readers not of a certain age)
Heeheehee, instantly brought airfix to mind.0 -
lol, keep em coming people, keep em coming...0
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Pandora's box is all I am gonna say :glasses:
Hmmm, Adrian Mole fan huh?
(Very obscure reference for non-British readers not of a certain age)
Heeheehee, instantly brought airfix to mind.
I thought you would be too young to know! did you make the Spitfire? It was always the number one first choice way back, yep in the 1950s0 -
My TDEE minus 20% is 1037 calories. Under this I loose weight. Over this I gain. I am never hungry.
The original post. Just saying from my experience with a BMR of 1094 and a TDEE of 1400 that her numbers don't sound wonky to me.ie she is saying her TDEE or maintenance is 1037.0 -
And round and round in circles we go! How many times a month does this come up?0
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This site does a good job if you use it honestly and don't try to be too aggressive when setting your weight-loss Goal here. Keep this in mind when using the tools to set up your goals:
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.
The problem is most people have no idea what a healthy rate of weight loss is.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits
THIS ^^
And the fact that this site is set up so you ate those base calories PLUS more to fuel your exercise. So an average person eating 1,200 and doing a reasonable amount of exercise of perhaps 200-300 a day is eating 1,400-1,500. If they are using the tool properly.
Very good observation. 1200 calories here is what a person would eat if they were a complete couch potato (mmmm potatoes). If they exercise or are active at all, their calories would go up if they used this site the way it was designed.0 -
My TDEE minus 20% is 1037 calories. Under this I loose weight. Over this I gain. I am never hungry.
The original post. Just saying from my experience with a BMR of 1094 and a TDEE of 1400 that her numbers don't sound wonky to me.ie she is saying her TDEE or maintenance is 1037.
It sounds like she is saying if she eats more than 1037 she gains. In which case her true TDEE is not what the calculators estimated.0 -
I am 5ft 1, therefore several inches below average. I cannot therefore eat an average calorie intake without gaining weight. I must eat proportionately to my height, to lose, gain or maintain. When I exercise, I burn fewer calories for the same time, speed, distance as someone taller than me.
When people say things like 1200 is the bare minimum the body can survive on, just what kind of body are they referring to?
If I were tall, I'd be told that 1200 wasn't meant to be taken literally and my base line number would be higher than that. Does it not make sense that 1200 is also too high a baseline for very short people? Why is everyone so fixated on the magic 1200 number?
This!! I'm 5'1" and 42, no matter what weight goals I put in, I'm told 1200 calories. Maintenance is 1280. I think that for people at our height, we need to go below 1200 to achieve weight loss.0 -
So question: why do smaller people need fewer calories? and am I odd for losing weight and eating 1600-1900 calories (net wise) and being only 5'2"?
The smaller you are, the less energy you need. But everyone has different metabolic rates affected by MANY different factors (hormones, brown fat -- and some are more active than others, too). It is entirely possible for someone your height to lose weight at that amount of calories. But not everyone who is 5'2"(or taller even) will be able to do that,0 -
Thank you for posting this!! :drinker: So many people believe that 1200 calories of ANY food will make them lose weight. 1200 is NOT a magic number, and shame on MFP for making it seem like it is. :grumble: Some people really don't know how to eat healthy and what is good and bad to eat, and this myth just complicates it for everybody!!0
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everyone's different I eat healthy generally maintain a steady weight and constantly feel full on 1200 calories
if I'm exercising hard that day I'll eat more to make sure my body can cope with it but generally I find it hard to reach 2000 calories unless I start snacking on ridiculously high calorie fatty things0 -
OP thanks for the laugh, I have consulted with my doctor and everything is good and fine here. I eat 1200 and have lost 61 pounds. I have PCOS (Google search it) and I have to maintain a calorie limit. I have to watch my carbs and sugars. For people that workout 5-6 days a week you are right 1200 is too low, but if you don't exercise much then 1200 is just fine. But to say that 1200 in general is bad for everyone, I am sorry you are wrong. Please do some more research. I consult with a doctor and nutrition specialist and I have never starved myself.0
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1200 is JUST A NUMBER.
It's fine for SOME people. It all depends on your age, height, weight, activity level, how much you have to lose.. so many things,....What is ok for one person is NOT always going to be ok for someone else - even someone of the same weight.
You can't arbitrarily say OMG 1200 you will dieeeee. Figure out your TDEE and go from there.. read, learn, be responsible for your own journey:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717858-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-and-deficit-calcs-macros-hrm
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/510406-tdee-is-everything
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/477666-eating-for-future-you-method0 -
Put it into any search bar
Did I happen to mention I'm a French model?
Bonjourno
Maybe you are a Fench model, but I'm a French teacher and bonjour not is not French!0 -
Put it into any search bar
Did I happen to mention I'm a French model?
Bonjourno
Maybe you are a Fench model, but I'm a French teacher and bonjour not is not French!
yes it is, with a space bon jour = good day
However, given the typo, you are correct, Bonjourno I believe is Italian but stand to be corrected0 -
inb4 CaliforniaGirl
BWAH!0 -
Your body can go into starvation mode if you don't consume fat... I'm here because I need to make some changes in my diet. I know that isn't going to make great, rapid progress. What's going to get me results is when I get off my butt and exercise. I gained weight, not because I was consuming too many calories, and not because I consumed too few calories and my body went all starvation and stored all the fats. (insert meme here) I gained weight because I went from an active lifestyle to a very sedentary one. That's why most of my weight is where it is on my body.
No one thing is gonna work for everyone, you have to find your own plan. But starving yourself is obviously not going to give you the results you want in the long run. The key here is not to eat 2000 calories and only veggies... Get active.0 -
Buon giorno = Italian0
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I would like to comment but it's all so pointless....0
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bump0
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I know what I'm going to say is controversial since this site seems to think that 1200 calories is a healthy way to live.
It's not. Put it into any search bar and you will find some kind of scientific statement saying that this kind of diet is the BARE MINIMUM the body can handle in order to survive. Sure, this kind of deficit in calories will cause weight loss. But calories are not a bad thing -- calories are just units to measure energy. The bad thing is fat. The bad thing is excessive carbs. Consequently, they all have a significant amount of energy to them, or calories.
Eating 1200 calories will make you lose weight at a noticeable pace. It is important to remember that eventually, your body will realize it isn't getting enough. The metabolism starts to slow, causing a plateau. The answer is not to work yourself harder or eat even less or the combination of the two. The answer is to eat more and work harder.
It's just a little disturbing how I'm finding a lot of people who are relying on solely what the big number means. You could eat 2000 calories of veggies and proper protein a day and lose weight. Whatever the case, I urge those who think a successful diet is based on your caloric intake to eat a little more and exercise a little more. It's just healthier.
oh wow, i haven't already read this 500 million times on this website already. YOU ARE NOT ORIGINAL IN YOUR THINKING. this website pisses me off sometimes.
i'll stick to shooting for 1200 calories. it's worked for me. i lost 20 pounds over the span of 7 months. i don't think that's too fast. if i plateau right now at 120 pounds and 5'4" i'm okay with that. seems like a decent stopping point for me anyway.0 -
inb4 CaliforniaGirl
:laugh:0 -
Buon giorno = Italian
please don't contradict the french model :laugh:0 -
I know what I'm going to say is controversial since this site seems to think that 1200 calories is a healthy way to live.
It's not. Put it into any search bar and you will find some kind of scientific statement saying that this kind of diet is the BARE MINIMUM the body can handle in order to survive. Sure, this kind of deficit in calories will cause weight loss. But calories are not a bad thing -- calories are just units to measure energy. The bad thing is fat. The bad thing is excessive carbs. Consequently, they all have a significant amount of energy to them, or calories.
Eating 1200 calories will make you lose weight at a noticeable pace. It is important to remember that eventually, your body will realize it isn't getting enough. The metabolism starts to slow, causing a plateau. The answer is not to work yourself harder or eat even less or the combination of the two. The answer is to eat more and work harder.
It's just a little disturbing how I'm finding a lot of people who are relying on solely what the big number means. You could eat 2000 calories of veggies and proper protein a day and lose weight. Whatever the case, I urge those who think a successful diet is based on your caloric intake to eat a little more and exercise a little more. It's just healthier.
oh wow, i haven't already read this 500 million times on this website already. YOU ARE NOT ORIGINAL IN YOUR THINKING. this website pisses me off sometimes.
i'll stick to shooting for 1200 calories. it's worked for me. i lost 20 pounds over the span of 7 months. i don't think that's too fast. if i plateau right now at 120 pounds and 5'4" i'm okay with that. seems like a decent stopping point for me anyway.
yep,I will go for that 1200 works for me at the moment, please do not tell me it is "lifetime choice" as I am 69 years old and my life time left is not the same as yours, so I will settle for the here & now0 -
Put it into any search bar
Did I happen to mention I'm a French model?
Bonjourno
Maybe you are a Fench model, but I'm a French teacher and bonjour not is not French!
your dog is so cute! makes me smile looking at your avatar.0 -
It's just a little disturbing how I'm finding a lot of people who are relying on solely what the big number means. You could eat 2000 calories of veggies and proper protein a day and lose weight.
Weight loss is all about the big number. All about a deficit. You can eat twinkies all day and as long as you are eating less calories than you burn, you will lose weight. If a person has a TDEE of 1600, then they would gain weight eating 2000 calories, even if its of veggies.
ETA: Of course for proper nutrition, do not eat twinkies all day!
AGREED. ^ I've learned this in both my biology and nutrition classes....i'm a nursing student . It doesn't matter WHAT you eat...if you go above the calories your body requires you WILL GAIN WEIGHT... REGARDLESS of what you are eating. Someone eating 2,000 calories a day in veggies is consuming more calories than the person eating 2 twinkies (although no one should do this since there is no nutritional value in them). It truly is about a calorie deficit.
And the 1200 calorie minimum is a general rule...it really depends on the individual and their specific physiology.0 -
why is everyone so worried about what other people are doing? concentrate on yourself.0
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