Still think your 1200 or less diet is a good idea?

dakotababy

If those who eat 1200 per day, actually eat 1201 calories a day - would you all just leave it alone? These anti-1200 calorie intake individuals sound like a bunch of religion pushers to me.

move on - WITH YOUR OWN LIVES.

CoachReddy

So the latest from Expert Taso before that thread locked was "why the hostility?" He thinks he was merely advocating for people to pick their own calorie amts rather than go by "dogma." Yet all he said in his OP was the title: "Still think your 1200 or less diet is a good idea?"

Doesn't that sound a tad hostile to the idea that 1200 could be right for ANYBODY?

can I ask you: why did you choose 1200 cal?

It works for me, and gives me enough good food to eat, plus snacks. I am 61, not terribly overweight, not very active, and female. This is the amt. I need to eat in order to lose weight. I HAVE eaten more-- that's why I have a weight issue! So, is this OK with you?

i meant - how did you come to choose it in the first place? before you knew if it worked?

CoachReddy

Can I ask you: why did you choose 1200 cal?

I didn't. I measured how many calories I need in a day to sustain my LEAN body mass ONLY... and that is 1286. Therefore, I eat 1286 calories per day. If I exercise, I eat more, but I don't eat back all of my exercise calories, because that would negate all the work I'd just done.

I lose on average 1-2lbs per week, which is good for me. If I lose more than that, I tend to get dizzy spells.

By the way... when I first started on MFP & was ON the 1200/day calorie diet, I DID have dizzy spells. Regularly. I would get the shakes, & white spots in front of my vision.

1200 calories a day is NOT for everyone. It depends on what your body wants.

the flaw here (though overall it's a good idea) is that you need SOME body fat! so theoretically you should take that 1286 and add 10% to it right?

Martucha123

And now i want chocolate. And i wilk have some :bigsmile:

nokanjaijo

I'm not an expert. I'm a moderately smart person who is trying to present a very simple concept to people who, for whatever reason, are very resistant to optimize their health and fitness.

Have you considered for any length of time maybe trying to be a little bit clearer about what you are trying to say in the future?

It is a very simple concept and could easily have been stated clearly and simply instead of a rhetorical title followed by links.

The latter is pretty open to interpretation.

Sabine_Stroehm

For those who mentioned CaliforniaGirl2012. She defends people's rights to eat at a calorie deficit that is appropriate for them. Because she is older and very short, she DID have to eat at a lower calorie level to lose her weight.
The reason you no longer see her on here, is that some people were tired of her sharing her success story on here and admitting that she ate at 1200, and constantly reported her for spamming and for advocating unhealthy diet practices. She eventually 'struck out' and is permanently banned from posting on the open forums.

Too bad. Since she was the main reason that I stuck it out on here after the first couple of weeks. I kept having people say that I was wrong to eat at 1200, but I knew that I couldn't lose weight eating at the levels they said I should be. So finding Bobbi's story showed me that for some people, we do need to eat at a lower level, and that it can be done in a safe and healthy manner. She has inspired so many people on here, and she is now maxed out on her FL with a waiting list that has hundreds more.

Unfortunately, the loudest and most opinionated posters on here, seem to set the environment, and gang up on those who disagree with them, to get them banned.

I remember her. Her daily advertisements of her services and her body got kinda old.I never reported her, just put her on ignore. Although I did find her advertisements inappropriate.

taso42

So the latest from Expert Taso before that thread locked was "why the hostility?" He thinks he was merely advocating for people to pick their own calorie amts rather than go by "dogma." Yet all he said in his OP was the title: "Still think your 1200 or less diet is a good idea?"

Doesn't that sound a tad hostile to the idea that 1200 could be right for ANYBODY?

Did you peruse the threads that I linked in the OP? Was 1200 right for those people? Is 1200 right for MOST people? No. Yet a very disproportionate number of people shoot for 1200 gross calories and fail. And they post threads like what I linked in OP, frustrated and begging for help.

In an effort to dissuade MOST people from following that same path to failure, I made this post.

And I also provided a link to a handy thread for working out one's calorie targets.

I'm not an expert. I'm a moderately smart person who is trying to present a very simple concept to people who, for whatever reason, are very resistant to optimize their health and fitness.

If 1200 calories is working for me in terms of consistent healthy weight loss, maintenance of LBM, steady, healthy blood work, enough energy for the activities of the day, a feeling of satiety when I eat, and hitting all my macros, then how am I not optimizing my health and fitness?

IMO, I am. I don't go around telling people they should all be eating 1200 calories but I'm sure thriving on it.

This thread has nothing to do with you then. It's about people with daily energy expenditure in the 2000's, who are eating 1200 calorie or less and failing.

I'm not just inventing this problem. I didn't write those "help me" threads. I merely bookmarked them. It's obviously very common problem here.

Since posting the thread yesterday, I've received 7 PM's asking for help. I replied patiently to each one. Pardon me for trying my best to nip the problem in the bud and try to reach a wider audience so I don't have to keep repeating myself in thread after thread and PM after PM.

taso42

I'm not an expert. I'm a moderately smart person who is trying to present a very simple concept to people who, for whatever reason, are very resistant to optimize their health and fitness.

Have you considered for any length of time maybe trying to be a little bit clearer about what you are trying to say in the future?

It is a very simple concept and could easily have been stated clearly and simply instead of a rhetorical title followed by links.

The latter is pretty open to interpretation.

You've got 150 posts here. I've got nearly 8500.

Believe me. I have tried a variety of different approaches. This was but one approach. It won't be my last.

I've helped lots of people on this site find their way and I continue to do so. It almost makes it worth it in the face of being called a judgmental *kitten*, etc.

sleepytexan

Dear Taso,

If I burn 1700 calories a day cleaning my house, but never eat them back bc I haven't had time to wash my hands first and I'm full from the McDonald's drive through anyway, can I lose 38 lbs. by Thursday?

Sincerely,

Confused

PS - I don't want to get bulky.

LorinaLynn

Oh, what the hell. Tagging because I can't resist a train wreck.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I'm not an expert. I'm a moderately smart person who is trying to present a very simple concept to people who, for whatever reason, are very resistant to optimize their health and fitness.

Have you considered for any length of time maybe trying to be a little bit clearer about what you are trying to say in the future?

It is a very simple concept and could easily have been stated clearly and simply instead of a rhetorical title followed by links.

The latter is pretty open to interpretation.

I apologize if you've already answered this because I haven't read the thread in its entirety. But I am curious what you think the minimum safe number of calories is for a person to eat?

MsPudding

It seems to me that, ultimately, one has to do what works for yourself. The threads the Op linked to were people who made a choice and it clearly didn't work. By the same token I'm sure there are people who are eating more calories and doing less exercise than they think they are and things also not working.

For myself; well I've done the ultra-low calorie thing (500 a day VLCD) and the low calorie thing (1,000-1,200). In both cases I simply couldn't keep it up until I hit goal - I got ill on the VLCD and just felt grumpy, lethargic and preoccupied by food on the low calorie. In both cases I lost large amounts of weight in a short time. In both cases I put all the weight back on.

As soon as I use the word 'diet' I become obsessed and start chasing extremes - whether that extreme be ultra-low calories, sub 20g carb intake, bloody stupid liquid diets...yes, even amphetamines and other 'substances' of the illegal persuasion. So this time I'm not dieting. Instead I'm making small changes - change #1 was not putting away an entire bottle of wine with my dinner. I'm now going to increase exercise...but as I find exercise (other than dog walking) spectacularly boring, I've decided to do it my way....which I am calling 'The Prison Break Road to Fit'. In short I've never seen Prison Break, got bought the full box set so I figured that rather than sit on my rump watching it I'd buy a treadmill and each night watch an episode whilst walking as far and as fast as I can.

If 1,200 works for you and you don't stall go for it. If 4,000 works for you and you don't stall, go for it. Everyone is different. The one thing that does stand true IMO is that when something *stops* working, or when it works but you feel like a pile of shyte...then it's time to look around and do something different.

gmove

1200 plan and MFP have really helped with portion size/control. As recently as two weekes ago, I believed a chicken breast was a serving of protein (4oz). Seriously!? Guess my size perception needed a bit of tweeking and it got it. lol.

LorinaLynn

Believe me. I have tried a variety of different approaches. This was but one approach. It won't be my last.

Kind of reminds me of the saying how "well behaved women never make history." Except you're... uh... not a woman. As some members love pointing out. :laugh:

100% guaranteed not to offend anyone, ever, forum posts never make it past one page.

Posts like this might ruffle some feathers, but it might be the break-through someone struggling needs. I wish I was part of this forum 6 years ago when I was eating under 1000 and not knowing what I was doing wrong.

Graelwyn75

I got to page 11 of the thread before losing the will to live and eating a chunky peanut butter Kitkat.

I'm going straight to hell....

Omg, I love the new flavours of chunky Kitkat, especially the coconut one. Love them in general though, it's the thick chocolate coating.

SuperSexyDork

For those who mentioned CaliforniaGirl2012. She defends people's rights to eat at a calorie deficit that is appropriate for them. Because she is older and very short, she DID have to eat at a lower calorie level to lose her weight.
The reason you no longer see her on here, is that some people were tired of her sharing her success story on here and admitting that she ate at 1200, and constantly reported her for spamming and for advocating unhealthy diet practices. She eventually 'struck out' and is permanently banned from posting on the open forums.

Too bad. Since she was the main reason that I stuck it out on here after the first couple of weeks. I kept having people say that I was wrong to eat at 1200, but I knew that I couldn't lose weight eating at the levels they said I should be. So finding Bobbi's story showed me that for some people, we do need to eat at a lower level, and that it can be done in a safe and healthy manner. She has inspired so many people on here, and she is now maxed out on her FL with a waiting list that has hundreds more.

Unfortunately, the loudest and most opinionated posters on here, seem to set the environment, and gang up on those who disagree with them, to get them banned.

I remember her. Her daily advertisements of her services and her body got kinda old.I never reported her, just put her on ignore. Although I did find her advertisements inappropriate.

I can't believe how many times I wanted to report her. But I didn't.

MsPudding

Omg, I love the new flavours of chunky Kitkat, especially the coconut one. Love them in general though, it's the thick chocolate coating.

They are, as we'd say in this neck of the UK woods, gurt lush!

Graelwyn75

So the latest from Expert Taso before that thread locked was "why the hostility?" He thinks he was merely advocating for people to pick their own calorie amts rather than go by "dogma." Yet all he said in his OP was the title: "Still think your 1200 or less diet is a good idea?"

Doesn't that sound a tad hostile to the idea that 1200 could be right for ANYBODY?

can I ask you: why did you choose 1200 cal?

It works for me, and gives me enough good food to eat, plus snacks. I am 61, not terribly overweight, not very active, and female. This is the amt. I need to eat in order to lose weight. I HAVE eaten more-- that's why I have a weight issue! So, is this OK with you?

He only asked a question, you seem to have one hell of an attitude problem.

nokanjaijo

I'm not an expert. I'm a moderately smart person who is trying to present a very simple concept to people who, for whatever reason, are very resistant to optimize their health and fitness.

Have you considered for any length of time maybe trying to be a little bit clearer about what you are trying to say in the future?

It is a very simple concept and could easily have been stated clearly and simply instead of a rhetorical title followed by links.

The latter is pretty open to interpretation.

You've got 150 posts here. I've got nearly 8500.

Believe me. I have tried a variety of different approaches. This was but one approach. It won't be my last.

I've helped lots of people on this site find their way and I continue to do so. It almost makes it worth it in the face of being called a judgmental *kitten*, etc.

Okay. So you have many posts and have helped many users.

Do you agree that this approach was vague and unclear? You called it astonishing that people misunderstood you. It isn't astonishing. You were unclear.

CoachReddy

So I know I already asked, but in the spirit of having an actual conversation and not just an anti-taso flame war...

can any other 1200-ers tell me how they came to choose that number in the first place? I'm just curious why people choose it.