1200 Calorie diet, SO TIRED ALL THE TIME! HELP!

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  • Scarlett_Belle
    Scarlett_Belle Posts: 145 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

    excellent post explains it all
  • victoria090
    victoria090 Posts: 82 Member
    I was in the same boat and upped my calories to 1400 and it has made a huuuuuuuge difference
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
    By the way, I started on the MFP '1200 plan' too. I ate vege heavy, so didn't really suffer much hunger. Then I started reading more and more, and one day actually sat down and figured out my calorie expenditure. When I was honest with myself, I'm actually burning 2,500 to 3,000 calories a day. So even with a 1,000 calorie deficit (2 pounds a week) I should have been eating 1,500 to 2,000 calories a day.

    I now float around the 2000 to 2500 calorie mark, and I'm still losing fat. I say fat because I'm not just interested in losing weight. It's the fat that's hurting me, not my muscles.

    So I'll add an item 4 to my list -

    1. Eat back your calories, and unless you weigh over 200 pounds, don't use the 2 pound a week weight loss goal. 1% of total body mass per week should be your max.

    2. Better still, figure out your TDEE including all your workouts and everyday activity (being honest), and then eat 80% of this. Read this and follow it closely for a plan tailored to your body and your lifestyle -

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    If you lose weight too quickly, you'll drop muscle as well as fat. And guess what? Muscle burns calories, and fat doesn't. So every time you lose muscle instead of fat, it gets harder to lose the fat that's left. Bringing us to...

    3. Lift some weights. You don't have to go power-lifting crazy, but do some form of resistance training. You want to burn fat, not muscle. So you need to tell your body you still need those muscles.

    4. Get off the scale, and get out the tape measure. Track your body fat percentage. A 150 pound person with 33% body fat is less healthy than a 200 pound person with 25% body fat. So be sure you are losing fat, not lean mass.
  • calibriintx
    calibriintx Posts: 1,741 Member
    Been there, found this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    1200 isn't enough for most people, and likely well below your BMR.

    ^^^THIS. I was at 1300 calories based on what MFP calculated. I had put in light activity and goal of losing 2 lb/week. I was tired and felt yucky and like I was going to fail. Then I found the link above and I figured out that I should be closer to 1900 calories. 1700 keeps me pretty full and I'm losing weight, but I'm trying to get to 1900 as I'm working out more. GL!

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