When is 1200 calories appropriate? (hint: almost never)

MrsK20141004

Yawns. *eye roll*

I'm always amazed at the amount of people so focused on what other people are doing and eating....

^^ this + how many times are we going to do this topic???

I know, right? How dare anyone post helpful advice in a forum called "General Diet and Weight Loss Help." :indifferent:

Personally, I'm grateful for topics like this and the frequency at which they occur. If no one had ever posted things that went against my preconceived notions of what weight loss was supposed to be like, I wouldn't have had the success I had. What I was doing before didn't work.

THANK YOU! :flowerforyou:

tryinghard71

I say this is the nicest way. If you don't like the way the site is designed then don't use it. Why try to change it when it is working for so many others. Find a site that is set up how you want it to be. I like MFP. Understand how it is supposed to work. And it works for me.

otiris81

Totally agree with you. When I made my profile it suggested1240-something calories per day. I am 5'2" and weigh a healthy 136, do cross fit and running 4 to 5 times a week. I am more doing this out of curiosity and to analyze what I eat but 1200 anything is too low.

Duck_Puddle

Still hoping we can clarify if this is about consuming 1200 or "netting" 1200. There is an enormous difference. Mfp does not set people up to eat 1200-it tells them to net 1200. Just do that an you're fine. I net 1200-and have lost 75 lbs. consistently over 15 months doing so. I eat 1500-2300/day (probably average around 1700-1800). Netting 1200 is a-ok, and that is what mfp sets people up to do. 1200 is not inherently evil and plague-ish. Just seriously use mfp like it's intended (eat your d@mn exercise calories if you are consuming the bare minimum).

quirkytizzy

I started out on 1200 and never would have thought to fix the constant hunger with upping my goals if it weren't for threads like this. I'm glad these threads come up.

sofielein

I believe if someone successfully switches up from a temporary 1200 cal diet with completely sedentary lifestyle to an 1500 and then 1500+ gradually introducing then raising exercise, they can get to a normal maintenance 1800 calories with intense exercise no problem. If you then maintain the second and third phase long enough that will teach you what lifestyle you need. The mistake mostly is the sudden switch back to previous lifestyle. That is doomed.

ashley8229

I asked my doctor why I wasn't losing weight and she said because my BMI was in the normal range and the only way I would lose was if she sent me to a dietician to be put on a 1200 calorie diet. It had nothing to do with "medical reasons", it was simply I want to lost 10 more lbs. I would say doctors are willing to venture towards a 1200 calorie diet even with no medical grounds to do so.

tryinghard71

Still hoping we can clarify if this is about consuming 1200 or "netting" 1200. There is an enormous difference. Mfp does not set people up to eat 1200-it tells them to net 1200. Just do that an you're fine. I net 1200-and have lost 75 lbs. consistently over 15 months doing so. I eat 1500-2300/day (probably average around 1700-1800). Netting 1200 is a-ok, and that is what mfp sets people up to do. 1200 is not inherently evil and plague-ish. Just seriously use mfp like it's intended (eat your d@mn exercise calories if you are consuming the bare minimum).

^^^^^
This!!!! When people talk about this subject on MFP this is never discussed. There is a big difference between grossing 1200 calories or netting 1200 calories. I netted 1200 calories yesterday but I ate 1675. Big difference.

da_bears10089

I say this is the nicest way. If you don't like the way the site is designed then don't use it. Why try to change it when it is working for so many others. Find a site that is set up how you want it to be. I like MFP. Understand how it is supposed to work. And it works for me.

the problem is when people don't actually use the site the way it was designed. if you want to stick with the 1200 and eat back exercise calories, then by all means, do it, but so many people eat the 1200, and the go to the gym and burn off 500 afterwards. Then they get praised for staying under their calorie goal. NO, 700 net calories is not good.

SRH7

:flowerforyou:

We need to do our utmost to keep this thread at the top of the forums for as long as possible!

And when is MFP going to listen to common sense and stop advising everyone to eat 1200?!!

I lost and gained the same 7lbs for 12 months eating 1200. Now, in a fraction of that time, I have lost 9lbs following the Roadmap (eating around 1600 calories a day plus exercise calories). And the weight is continuining to drop off. I'm not as grouchy, I drink alcohol, I have the energy to run and lift weights, my skin is better, I'm less hungry and far happier.

'Nough said!

What road map did you use?

i believe they are referring to Dan's Roadmap. it's linked in the first post on this thread.

I was. Thanks

redheaddee

you represent the 1%.

Yawns. *eye roll*

I'm always amazed at the amount of people so focused on what other people are doing and eating....

One formula doesnt fit all...

not that I eat 1200 or anything but lets not put people down for eating less than we believe they should. its their body not ours. and if they are losing and not malnourished who cares

these members are certainly entitled to express their opinions on these public forums (above), but i would suggest that all those new here or confused about how to set their own goals or who are currently miserable on a 1200 calorie per day diet, to check out the link and the group in the top post on this thread... there is another way.

if you still decide to stick with a low daily calorie goal, then that's up to you. all i ask is that you make an informed choice.

i stand by my statement that for almost everyone here, 1200 calories per day for a lengthy period of time is an unnecessarily hard way to do this that will likely have undesired consequences.

THIS>>> if you still decide to stick with a low daily calorie goal, then that's up to you. all i ask is that you make an informed choice.

Is the absolute key to what WV has written here. Do the research before you make the choice, so you can make the smartest choice for your body. We have this thing until the day we die. Short cuts & very low calorie diets are temporary fixes and will not help you sustain long term health.

tryinghard71

I say this is the nicest way. If you don't like the way the site is designed then don't use it. Why try to change it when it is working for so many others. Find a site that is set up how you want it to be. I like MFP. Understand how it is supposed to work. And it works for me.

the problem is when people don't actually use the site the way it was designed. if you want to stick with the 1200 and eat back exercise calories, then by all means, do it, but so many people eat the 1200, and the go to the gym and burn off 500 afterwards. Then they get praised for staying under their calorie goal. NO, 700 net calories is not good.

Exactly!

SRH7

Yawns. *eye roll*

I'm always amazed at the amount of people so focused on what other people are doing and eating....

^^ this + how many times are we going to do this topic???

Lots of people do find it useful as is evident in this post. You are, of course, welcome to disregard. I don't see this as one of those threads moaning at what others are doing, those annoy me too. This is people offering genuine advice and I, for one, appreciate it.

:flowerforyou: I, for one, never turn down genuine advice, especially when it is free!

Juliejustsaying

make me...

Hellbent_Heidi

Yawns. *eye roll*

I'm always amazed at the amount of people so focused on what other people are doing and eating....

michele0101

My doctor advised me to eat 1000 calories or less so I am eating more than he says when I follow the MFP recommended amount. It's working for me!! I am 5' 8" by the way.

AnexRavensong

I say this is the nicest way. If you don't like the way the site is designed then don't use it. Why try to change it when it is working for so many others. Find a site that is set up how you want it to be. I like MFP. Understand how it is supposed to work. And it works for me.

Choosing to NOT eat 1200 calories isn't going against how MFP works. If that were the case people would be unable to change their numbers.

It's great that it works for you, but it doesn't work for everyone... and the reason MOST of us are overweight in the first place is because MOST of us LIKE food.

My problem with MFP is that the 1200 calories seems to be the default. It throws it at pretty much everyone, and when we join we just start doing what it says even if we feel miserable and aren't losing weight because that is what it told us to do and we assume it knows better than we do or we wouldn't be needing to lose weight in the first place.

Anyway if you want to eat 1200 calories, go right ahead.. this thread isn't condemning people who do it; it is just offering advice for those who maybe aren't having success or really struggling with the default.

It's easy to be skeptical or critical of something that goes against what we have heard all our life "eat a little and you will lose weight"... but when you see it start to work when you couldn't lose weight for years following that way of thinking, it really is mind blowing.

KD0224

I have actually been quite irritated with MFP about this. I understand that some people do only require 1200 calories, but no matter what I put in it says I only need 1200. I tried all of the activity levels just to see what it would say, 1200 calories across the board.

Last year I spent 6 months losing weight, only eating 1200 calories and exercising almost everyday, and plateaued for quite a bit of that time. At the start of my "weight loss" this time I am more educated, and decided to find other sources to calculate my TDEE and I input my daily calories into MFP every morning. I am calorie cycling at the moment, but even before starting that I manually input my calorie allowance.

While there are some people that do only need 1200 calories, a person who works out 5-7 days of the week needs more, and MFP should have the system set up to *correctly* reflect all the differences.

Did you put in .5 lb/week as your goal? You have so little to lose you really shouldn't have it set any higher than that.

^^ This

The closer you get to your goal weight, the less of a deficit you should have. :flowerforyou:

This was actually last year when I had over 30 pounds to lose.

Even now at 127, and working out 5 days a week, It is still saying I need 1200 calories, which goes against every other website I have used to calculate a healthy amount of calories (webmd, free dieting, Jillian michales, and a few others) I tried an array of different setting but the highest it goes up to is like 1274.

tryinghard71

I say this is the nicest way. If you don't like the way the site is designed then don't use it. Why try to change it when it is working for so many others. Find a site that is set up how you want it to be. I like MFP. Understand how it is supposed to work. And it works for me.

Choosing to NOT eat 1200 calories isn't going against how MFP works. If that were the case people would be unable to change their numbers.

It's great that it works for you, but it doesn't work for everyone... and the reason MOST of us are overweight in the first place is because MOST of us LIKE food.

My problem with MFP is that the 1200 calories seems to be the default. It throws it at pretty much everyone, and when we join we just start doing what it says even if we feel miserable and aren't losing weight because that is what it told us to do and we assume it knows better than we do or we wouldn't be needing to lose weight in the first place.

Anyway if you want to eat 1200 calories, go right ahead.. this thread isn't condemning people who do it; it is just offering advice for those who maybe aren't having success or really struggling with the default.

It's easy to be skeptical or critical of something that goes against what we have heard all our life "eat a little and you will lose weight"... but when you see it start to work when you couldn't lose weight for years following that way of thinking, it really is mind blowing.

^^^
Ummmm, you totally missed my point. My point was not to change MFP. Everyone can do what they want. I am not telling anyone what to do. I am simply saying the way it is designed works for me and many others. So I don't want the site to change. I am the last person to tell you how your body is and how you should lose weight. But many others on this thread and other threads say they want MFP to change. I am saying for all the others that it is working for we don't want it to change.

Falenea

Thanks for the info. Bump to read again later