I got told 1200 calories is too low??????

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2

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  • misspancakes
    misspancakes Posts: 96 Member
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    MFP gave me the goal of 1200 cals. I guess I just stuck to it because I hated 'going over' I guess I will step it up to 1500
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    MFP gave me the goal of 1200 cals. I guess I just stuck to it because I hated 'going over' I guess I will step it up to 1500

    Care to share some stats with us?

    Age
    Height
    Weight
    Body Fat%
    Occupation
    Workout routine
  • misspancakes
    misspancakes Posts: 96 Member
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    MFP gave me the goal of 1200 cals. I guess I just stuck to it because I hated 'going over' I guess I will step it up to 1500

    Care to share some stats with us?

    Age
    Height
    Weight
    Body Fat%
    Occupation
    Workout routine

    For sure - I am 27, 161cm and weigh 133 pounds. I am unsure as to what my body fat % is and I am a lawyer. So I do a lot
    Of sitting down of a day - however I do ensure I get up and walking around and least once or twice an hour

    My workout routine is 5 days per week at the gym, usually 25 mins on the treadmill on a 10% incline, 10mins on the rowing machine and/or bike..

    One day a week I use the weights - but I will be stepping up the weights as of this week.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    How long have you been eating lower cals again?
    How long have you been dieting?
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
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    It's not just calories in v calories out, it's the type of calories. If you ate 1200 calories of chips and cookies you probably wouldn't lose weight or feel as well as if you had eaten 1200 calories of a healthy diet. You'd lose muscle, worsen your healthy with lots of sugar, or if it was kfc, you'd take in insane amounts of fat, and likely raise your cholestrol, possible blood pressure...
  • misspancakes
    misspancakes Posts: 96 Member
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    How long have you been eating lower cals again?
    How long have you been dieting?

    3 months I say - not religiously however.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    How long have you been eating lower cals again?
    How long have you been dieting?

    3 months I say - not religiously however.

    1600 would be a good number to hit every day.
    Even if you arent working out that day.
    Eat at an 80:20 clean to junk ratio and youll do fine.
    Best practice is to find out your body fat% and every week you measure and weigh.
    Even if the scale doesnt move sometimes youll be losing inches.
    Also get off the damn treadmill!
    Cardio is a great tool for creating a greater deficit but sometimes thats not what the body needs.
    Get involved with a gym is you can and learn to become strong.
    New rules of lifiting for women or Strong lifts 5x5 are 2 impressive programs that will make you strong while helping you lose unwanted body fat.
    Feel free to take a day every few weeks and eat whatever you want and go above and beyond your daily goal.

    Heres a couple of people who have had success on numbers like these:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/805689-oh-no-i-ve-been-eating-2-000-cals-a-day

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/787472-my-success-2-3rds-of-the-way-to-goal

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/804985-this-is-how-hard-it-is-to-reach-1200-calories

    Add me if you like and PM and questions.
    I'm heading to bed now.
  • misspancakes
    misspancakes Posts: 96 Member
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    How long have you been eating lower cals again?
    How long have you been dieting?

    3 months I say - not religiously however.

    1600 would be a good number to hit every day.
    Even if you arent working out that day.
    Eat at an 80:20 clean to junk ratio and youll do fine.
    Best practice is to find out your body fat% and every week you measure and weigh.
    Even if the scale doesnt move sometimes youll be losing inches.
    Also get off the damn treadmill!
    Cardio is a great tool for creating a greater deficit but sometimes thats not what the body needs.
    Get involved with a gym is you can and learn to become strong.
    New rules of lifiting for women or Strong lifts 5x5 are 2 impressive programs that will make you strong while helping you lose unwanted body fat.
    Feel free to take a day every few weeks and eat whatever you want and go above and beyond your daily goal.

    Heres a couple of people who have had success on numbers like these:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/805689-oh-no-i-ve-been-eating-2-000-cals-a-day

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/787472-my-success-2-3rds-of-the-way-to-goal

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/804985-this-is-how-hard-it-is-to-reach-1200-calories

    Add me if you like and PM and questions.
    I'm heading to bed now.


    Thanks so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to respond
  • puggleperson
    puggleperson Posts: 740 Member
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    bump
  • funkycamper
    funkycamper Posts: 998 Member
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    There is also a thing called zig zagging calories. That's where you consume a different amount of calories a day. But I wouldn't really suggest that. As long as you keep your net calories at 1200 you should be fine!

    Like RoadsterGirl, I've lost most of my weight zig-zagging. Love it. I have a weekly calorie target rather than a daily one. I have days where my intake is low as intense exercise actually depresses my appetite. I make up those calories on days where my appetite is greater or for social events when I want to be able to enjoy some splurges without going over my weekly target. It works quite well for me. I absolutely abhor having to try to hit close to the same number on a daily basis. It frustrates me and throws me off my plan as it makes me eat when I'm truly not hungry just to meet an arbitrary target and then deny myself extra at times I do want it.

    I disagree with you about being fine netting 1200 calories each day. Unless someone's BMR, their average intake should never be that low. I strive at the end of each week to have netted my BMRx7. Eating below BMR can suppress your metabolism and who wants that? I want my revved up which, incidentally, zig-zagging can help with because of how it effects your body's hormonal response to food.
  • amberlykay1014
    amberlykay1014 Posts: 608 Member
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    Pancakes, you and I have almost the exact same stats..

    I started MFP at 1200 calories too and nearly had a breakdown because I was feeling so sluggish and hungry.. jumped up to 1350 and felt slightly better.

    I just discovered Helloitsdan's Road Map last week and changed my calories to 20% below TDEE. I'm currently eating around 1700ish. It's too early to say if it's successful for me yet, but I feel awesome! SO much more energy and I just feel healthier.

    Good luck to you and feel free to add me if you'd like!
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
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    It's not just calories in v calories out, it's the type of calories. If you ate 1200 calories of chips and cookies you probably wouldn't lose weight or feel as well as if you had eaten 1200 calories of a healthy diet. You'd lose muscle, worsen your healthy with lots of sugar, or if it was kfc, you'd take in insane amounts of fat, and likely raise your cholestrol, possible blood pressure...
    Can you PLEASE point me to something scientific to back this up? Have you read about the Twinkie diet? Not only did the guy lose weight, his body fat % went down as well as his BMI, etc etc.
    The ONLY truth i that if you eat less than you burn, you will lose weight. Don't believe me? Have a look at my diet. I eat a lot of junk or BAD foods or whatever paranoid people want to call it.
    But in the last three months I have lost 29 pounds of fat, gained 10 pounds of lean body mass and am stronger and healthier than I have been in a long time.

    To the original poster, what is your TDEE? I don't mean the TDEE told to you by a calculator, but the TDEE that you know to be 100% accurate for you because you figured it out through trial and error, through loggin your calories over a long period of time and comparing them to weight lost or gained?

    If you don't know. You need to back this train up and find out what your TDEE is. It is going to take at least 4 to 6 weeks of you eating at higher calories to do that. If you don't want to do that out of fear of gaining weight, then no one here can help you anyway.

    There is no consistent way to lose weight without knowing this. You may lose good for a while, but eventually things will change. If you don't know your own body well enough to know your TDEE when this happens you are left guessing, confused and asking a bunch of knuckle heads like us for help.....
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
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    There is also a thing called zig zagging calories. That's where you consume a different amount of calories a day. But I wouldn't really suggest that. As long as you keep your net calories at 1200 you should be fine!

    Like RoadsterGirl, I've lost most of my weight zig-zagging. Love it. I have a weekly calorie target rather than a daily one. I have days where my intake is low as intense exercise actually depresses my appetite. I make up those calories on days where my appetite is greater or for social events when I want to be able to enjoy some splurges without going over my weekly target. It works quite well for me. I absolutely abhor having to try to hit close to the same number on a daily basis. It frustrates me and throws me off my plan as it makes me eat when I'm truly not hungry just to meet an arbitrary target and then deny myself extra at times I do want it.

    I disagree with you about being fine netting 1200 calories each day. Unless someone's BMR, their average intake should never be that low. I strive at the end of each week to have netted my BMRx7. Eating below BMR can suppress your metabolism and who wants that? I want my revved up which, incidentally, zig-zagging can help with because of how it effects your body's hormonal response to food.

    Exactly! I'm in maintenance, but I still zig-zag. In fact, I follow the same rules I did in weight loss as in maintenance. I just add more calories.

    Zig-zagging has so many benefits, including helping you stay on plan. Intense exercise also supresses my appetite as well.
  • Ronamission
    Ronamission Posts: 13 Member
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    I did the same thing... Ate much less, worked out more and lost 2 lbs. I talked with my trainer, ate closer to my recommended calories, worked out a little less and lost 4 lbs...

    I can only speak for myself, but I was trying to go "Super Turbo" and lose the weight really quickly and it just doesn't work that way. I'm working on being more patient. It's a marathon not a sprint. Don't give up. (I've lost 65 lbs since May)
  • misspancakes
    misspancakes Posts: 96 Member
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    its a total jungle this weight loss stuff, it seems there is no one way to do it obviously....- so annoying haha.
  • rfsatar
    rfsatar Posts: 599 Member
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    its a total jungle this weight loss stuff, it seems there is no one way to do it obviously....- so annoying haha.

    Quoted for truth :-)
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    It's not just calories in v calories out, it's the type of calories. If you ate 1200 calories of chips and cookies you probably wouldn't lose weight or feel as well as if you had eaten 1200 calories of a healthy diet. You'd lose muscle, worsen your healthy with lots of sugar, or if it was kfc, you'd take in insane amounts of fat, and likely raise your cholestrol, possible blood pressure...

    This is not true BTW......

    A deficit is a deficit is a deficit.
    If you lift at least twice a week in the heavy 5-8 range youll most likely maintain LBM while eating hohos and McDonalds.
  • Crayvn
    Crayvn Posts: 390 Member
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    I am so confused, I really thought the less amount of calories you ate, the more weight you would lose? If I am eating 'too low' calories, why shouldnt I just go and eat KFC every week like I used to?

    Please explain :)

    Thanks


    you can eat KFC every week... just choose grilled chicken(leg and thing)...minus the biscuit..and have 2 green beans as your sides. I have this once every other week usually.
  • Countryboy_
    Countryboy_ Posts: 618
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    1200 calories is a good breakfast.

    EAT MOAR SUGAR!
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
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    Depends on several factors like your age, size, goals, gender etc. For many it's a good number to stick around to lose weight and for others it's not enough. I suggest you try to get advice from a knowledgeable professional if possible and start there. Weight loss is a process and takes time and stick to itiveness. It is not constant or linear. Also we are not perfect but if you have goals which you set out to achieve and you don't derail when you make a mistake or go off track then you can achieve what you set out to accomplish! Good luck!

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