Is 1200 kcals a day enough?

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ilyenacerise
ilyenacerise Posts: 7
in Food and Nutrition
According to MFP, I should be consuming 1200 calories a day net for my weight loss. I've not struggled too much to do this - I can easily come in under the total, although some days I've been allowing myself to go up to 1400/1500. I have lost weight doing this, but I've found I'm very tired and have been getting a lot of headaches.

Is 1200 calories really enough do eat a day on a long term basis and keep losing weight? What has everyone else found about MFP's suggested in take?

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  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    It depends on how big you are. MFP doesn't want anyone to go under 1200, but the taller, or fatter, you are, the more leeway you have to go up from there. As long as it is 1200 net, meaning you are eating back exercise calories, it is fine for many of us on the shorter side. I imagine a taller woman would really struggle.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
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    1200 is MFP's go-to calorie goal for 2 lbs a week, no matter how much you weigh, how active you are, or how tall you are. This is because 1200 is generally considered the safest lower calorie diet you can subsist on. So it just spits that out - it is possible that 1200 is not a good fit for you. (It sure as hell wasn't for me.)

    If you're feeling shaky and headachy, that's your body telling you it needs more fuel. Pay attention to that and you'll feel better (and consequently be more able to healthily lose the weight.) You can up your calories by a few hundred at once or, (if you're kind of a timid person like me), 100 a week for a few weeks until you are feeling at your optimal energy.
  • Cp731
    Cp731 Posts: 3,195 Member
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    I barely meet that but I do eat 5-6 meals a day to keep my motab going.
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
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    1200 is MFP's go-to calorie goal for 2 lbs a week, no matter how much you weigh, how active you are, or how tall you are. This is because 1200 is generally considered the safest lower calorie diet you can subsist on. So it just spits that out - it is possible that 1200 is not a good fit for you. (It sure as hell wasn't for me.)

    If you're feeling shaky and headachy, that's your body telling you it needs more fuel. Pay attention to that and you'll feel better (and consequently be more able to healthily lose the weight.) You can up your calories by a few hundred at once or, (if you're kind of a timid person like me), 100 a week for a few weeks until you are feeling at your optimal energy.

    ^^^^^ THIS. I had to do this too.
  • _granola
    _granola Posts: 326
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    Is 1200 calories really enough do eat a day on a long term basis and keep losing weight?

    No, it's really not for most people. Everyone's intake for weight loss will be different, mostly due to differences in body size and activity level.

    Try setting up your MFP goals to lose no more than 1 lb per week, set your activity level appropriately (many people think they are sedentary when they are actually lightly active without exercise). Get a food scale to more accurately track your calories.

    If you want to set up MFP another way, you can include exercise in your estimation of activity level, for example, setting up your goals to Active or Very Active and not count/track exercise. This works better for a lot of people.

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