For all the girls/guys who talking about 1200 kcal max / day

Vickilyn1

Yes..I'm new and uneducated about this so..... My calorie intake I have been given is 1560. Most days I do not eat that much. Close but not 1560. So...on the days I exercise I should eat more?

Example: Today I've eaten 1243 calories. I have burned 413 calories. So I need to eat 413 more calories at least?

If that's the case I won't be able to exercise because I can not eat that many calories.

jofjltncb6

Yes..I'm new and uneducated about this so..... My calorie intake I have been given is 1560. Most days I do not eat that much. Close but not 1560. So...on the days I exercise I should eat more?

Example: Today I've eaten 1243 calories. I have burned 413 calories. So I need to eat 413 more calories at least?

If that's the case I won't be able to exercise because I can not eat that many calories.

I mean no disrespect with this question, but how in the world did you end up overweight and needing to lose weight if you are unable to eat ~1600 calories?

dangerousdumpling

I didnt come up with my 1200 cals a day target, i entered my information and thats what this site told me to do.
I didnt lower my target or cheat the information.
There must be some logic for that being my goal intake, no?

charlie

Did you read the thread you started earlier about your calorie goals?

About the BMR and TDEE? yes i did. BUT i still dont get why this site would recommend 1200 cals for no reason if BMR is the minimum you can have to survive and that is significantly higher. And i am also trying to make the point that i didnt chose 1200 cals myself .
charlie

I guess it just isn't a factor that's considered when you choose to lose 2 lbs per week if that is in fact what you chose. I suggested in your thread that you change it to 1/2 pound or 1 pound per week. Easy fix. If you have less than 40 or so pounds to lose it's recommended that you lose at a slower rate.

Imadarkswan

I eat 1800 on days I do NOT work out.
I would be so HANGRY on 1200 a day that I would probably kill someone!

charliemarie923

Hey there,

imho I highly recommend Scoobys Calorie Calculator. The guy is awesome.. Check his website --> http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Cheers

Django1977

Still in need of cool mfp fellow guys/girls.... feel free to add me

I have looked at this website and it asks me questions i dont knw the answer too-like what % i want my macros to be ???? How on earth do i find that out? And with the information i could give it gave me a predicted loss of 3lbs a month. I want to lose 2lbs a week. and it was only 300 cals higher than MFP .
charlie

Trilby16

On the radio the other morning they had a fitness instructor on talking about recent studies and whatnot and he said women should be eating about 1100-1200 calories per day to lose weight and men 1500-1600 to lose weight.... To each their own I guess... whatever works for you!

Somewhere on the internet I saw this rule of thumb: if your goal weight is 140 then eat 1400 cals per day. If your goal is 130, eat 1300 cals per day. You get the idea. This works for me and is easy to follow. Maybe too easy for the professors and experts on these boards.

DebbieLyn63

.

charliemarie923

On the radio the other morning they had a fitness instructor on talking about recent studies and whatnot and he said women should be eating about 1100-1200 calories per day to lose weight and men 1500-1600 to lose weight.... To each their own I guess... whatever works for you!

Somewhere on the internet I saw this rule of thumb: if your goal weight is 140 then eat 1400 cals per day. If your goal is 130, eat 1300 cals per day. You get the idea. This works for me and is easy to follow. Maybe too easy for the professors and experts on these boards.

That sounds easy enough and fits in. So simple and so obvious yet completely overlooked. I may try it this way. My goal is 131 lbs and today i consumed 1310 cals. so its more than do-able. Thanks for the tip!!

StephanieCo3

Somewhere on the internet I saw this rule of thumb: if your goal weight is 140 then eat 1400 cals per day. If your goal is 130, eat 1300 cals per day. You get the idea. This works for me and is easy to follow. Maybe too easy for the professors and experts on these boards.

I've heard that too. In which case though I'd be eating less than 1200 because my goal weight is 115. But I still like the method.

redheaddee

Simple math:

Eat no less than your BMR, it is what your body requires for very basic function (i.e., what a physician would order fed to you intravenously if you were in a coma). Eat at TDEE - 20% (Google both and get a calculator). Move your butt more than you eat junk food. Find balance, live happy and strong.

squiggyflop

I dunno. I eat like every 2 hours. I eat when im hungry and I stop when I am full. Because I eat so often, I do not binge anymore. This causes me to naturally eat 1200 calories. I have a max of 1500, but I just cannot eat more while eating anything even remotely resembling healthy foods. I tried to eat more but I ended up with tummy aches like a 4 year old on halloween night. I used to eat like this all the time when I was skinny (before a series of problems made me get fat, not the least of which being multiple times breaking toes and an Achilles tendon injury that lasted 2 years) . I do not understand how listening to my body and eating when im hungry can be bad for me. Doesnt my body know when I need food? I am more energetic, healthy (I usually take weeks to get over a cold but since starting this diet it takes just days), and with every pound I lose my chronic pain gets a little bit less terrible. Of course there are side effects some may consider bad, like the resurgence of a certain comfort behavior I had when I was very skinny (pacing), but thats just because my constant eating gives me so much energy. I always wanted to pace but there were always things stopping me, like getting too tired, or you know the broken toes and the tendon pain. Guessing a lot of neurotypical folks here have no idea what I mean by comfort behaviors. Think of them as rituals. Just like my urge to sort my m&ms by color before eating and my desire to have all doors locked at all times, I have always felt the need to be in motion. Even as a baby I needed my caregivers to pace the house with mybin their arms or bring me on car rides. Some around me found my pacing bothersome. I need a treadmill and a playlist of virtual cycling videos. Thats my idea of heaven I think. Constant motion.

jellybaby84

I only let myself back on MFP the other day. I had to ban myself because I freaked out if I DIDN'T get the 'you are eating too little' red message that pops up when you are under 1200.

So, I agree, 1200 is important. However, I still make sure I stay under 1300 because I am female, short and slim. It's all relative. I'm sure a large male would feel starving and ill on 1200 but it's actually plenty for me, I don't get hungry on it at all.

sounds like you should reconsider your plan.

Why?

1223345

We are not all exactly alike. Some people can eat endlessly and be skinny as a rail, others gain weight just thinking about food. I had hyperthyroidism, which, actually caused me to gain weight. Surprise! I know what you are going to say. "That's a lie! That's impossible! HYPERthyroidism causes you to LOSE weight!" Well not in my case. What happened to me was first off, I was pregnant with hyperthyroidism. Yeah, you can call that misery for sure... the thyroid only recently leveled off. It was explained to me by my endocrinologist like this, "Your thyroid is fast enough to make you hungry, but not fast enough to burn off the extra energy from the food. You are in a gray area." I find that if I eat more I do not lose weight as some suggest. I often wonder if there is some missing info in this. If it works so well for others then why does it not work for me?

CristinaL1983

I do what works for me

murphinchina

Ain't it funny how different we all are? I marvel at the people who say they cannot eat a certain number of calories a day., when it would be SO easy for me to eat those calories in one meal! lol This is not a dig at those people, more of a "Hey, guess what? We're all different!". Certain rules do apply to the human condition but every person has a different approach to things or a different reaction to certain methods, diets, etc.

Ex. My calorie goal is almost 2X this 1200 calorie line. And I'm losing weight on it. But... if you're not a 45 year old, 6'4", 265 lb., semi-sedentary lifestyle guy... maybe MY calorie goal isn't right for you! Or the way that I eat (food choices, quantities, times) and exercise are not your style... it's okay!

Just please, be careful and arm yourself with knowledge. Then find the way that works for YOU. It may require some experimenting, but remember, this is a life-long journey... not a quick-fix. If you're serious. Don't believe in gimmicks and embrace the old adage, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is".

Best of luck to everyone.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

Somewhere on the internet I saw this rule of thumb: if your goal weight is 140 then eat 1400 cals per day. If your goal is 130, eat 1300 cals per day. You get the idea. This works for me and is easy to follow. Maybe too easy for the professors and experts on these boards.

I've heard that too. In which case though I'd be eating less than 1200 because my goal weight is 115. But I still like the method.

It's one of the worst ways to arrive at a calorie target. Anyone even remotely active would be grossly UNDEREATING using that estimate.

LiftAllThePizzas

Somewhere on the internet I saw this rule of thumb: if your goal weight is 140 then eat 1400 cals per day. If your goal is 130, eat 1300 cals per day. You get the idea. This works for me and is easy to follow. Maybe too easy for the professors and experts on these boards.

I've heard that too. In which case though I'd be eating less than 1200 because my goal weight is 115. But I still like the method.

It's one of the worst ways to arrive at a calorie target. Anyone even remotely active would be grossly UNDEREATING using that estimate.

Srsly. It would have me eating only 1800 calories, when I eat 2400 + exercise to maintain.

LiftAllThePizzas

Yes..I'm new and uneducated about this so..... My calorie intake I have been given is 1560. Most days I do not eat that much. Close but not 1560. So...on the days I exercise I should eat more?

Example: Today I've eaten 1243 calories. I have burned 413 calories. So I need to eat 413 more calories at least?

If that's the case I won't be able to exercise because I can not eat that many calories.

Yes. On a day where you burn 413 extra calories you should be eating 1973 calories. If you are having trouble because you are trying to avoid "junk" foods, add in some calorie dense foods, such as peanut butter or cheese. Also, an apple can be 100 calories, same for one banana.

ahubbard134

I didnt come up with my 1200 cals a day target, i entered my information and thats what this site told me to do.
I didnt lower my target or cheat the information.
There must be some logic for that being my goal intake, no?

charlie

When you are not/slightly overweight and you tell it you want to lose 2 or 1.5 pounds per week, the program subtracts either 1000 or 750 calories from your other "information" that you entered. If 1200 is more calories than the program gets, it'll stay at 1200. If you want a more meaningful number from the program, you need to pick a smaller loss/wk and recalculate. Unless you are very overweight, losing a lot of weight in a short amount of time is not healthy, nor does it produce lasting results.

squatsandlipgloss

Agreed. 1,200kcals worked for me for a while until my body said hold up!! You're not feeding me? I'll hold on to your fatty fat and water and I hit a major plateau. Upped my calories to 1,500 next day the weight came right off.