STOP with the 1200 calorie posts ~ rant

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Replies

  • workingoutforpeanutbutter
    workingoutforpeanutbutter Posts: 32
    I'd also like to point out that someone who eats healthy, clean foods will struggle to meet a higher calorie amount anyway. There are hardly any calories in fruits and vegetables, but a very high amount of essential nutrients.

    Since when is the calorie content of the food more important than the nutrient density?

    Isn't a 1,200 calorie diet of clean, nutritious foods more efficient than eating 1,800+ and including rubbish like pop tarts and ice cream?

    A lot of you have the definition of "starving" all wrong.

    I'd just like to point out that I am in recovery from anorexia where I was eating -500 calories a day for a year and 3 months, I think I know what the definition of starving is, thanks.
  • sexymuffintop
    sexymuffintop Posts: 636
    But MFP has given me 1200 based on my current weight and losing 1 lb a week.

    Also, Weight Watchers, which is pretty healthy and supports a conservative rate of weight loss, is also about 1200 for my weight and height.

    Wouldn't a net 1200 calories be adequate and healthy, especially if I also eat exercise calories?
    yes it is....as long as you are making healthy choices with your food 1200 can work very well for lots of people and not everyone wants to become a gym bunny now or for the rest if their lives. Each to their own say I :-)

    But if you maybe did decide to try using the gym you wouldn't have to try and live on 1200 cals? Just a thought. I was a little chubbster this time last year. Hated the gym, tried to lose on 1200, couldn't live on it at all. I changed from an unfit lazy lump to how I am now. I know I am younger than you before you say it...but I have a lady on my FL, similar age to you. She eats around 1500 a day and weight lifts. She is a fantastic example that age doesn't have to be a factor. Any factor in your life can be changed, its just a mental game.

    lots of ways of becoming fit or maintaining fitness without the use of a gym and probably far more sustainable over a life than using a gym, such as walking, jogging, cycling, gardening, housework, playing tennis, hockey, netball, basketball, skipping...heck anything that gets you moving, plus you are outside getting fresh air, stoking up on sunlight and much needed vitamin d :-) Anyway, as I said, each to their own and mine is DEFINETLY not gym orientated, but is health orientated :-)

    I love how patronising this post is, trying to tell me what other ways there are to exercise without the use of the gym. Just because you dislike going inside a gym doesn't mean I dislike exercising outside of the gym. I am fully aware of the benefits of exercise without using machines thank you (housework not included though, I did it as a fatty, I still do it now, it's nothing new!) Just because I chose to use a gym to achieve my goals it certainly doesn't mean I am not health orientated, anything but I'd say...but hey ho....like you said....each to their own :laugh:
  • ellaloveslove
    ellaloveslove Posts: 166 Member
    But of course, the 1200 calorie myth will always remain. The diet industry thrives on failure.

    Well said. Also, congrats on your weight loss :)
  • Paganrosemama
    Paganrosemama Posts: 86 Member
    use this site, which is the one my doctor used with me in his office. my height is 5'6" my weight is 5'6" my age is 36. Subtract 1000 calories for 2 pounds of weight loss per week. You get 951.25

    file:///C:/Users/Heather's%20Computer/Desktop/TDEE.htm

    and im genuinely interested as well, because i get shiz for this.. and shiz for 120 calories.. so what am i suppose to do? how am i suppose to lose weight with support, if i have no where to start? or .... anything?

    Are you sure that the 1951 is your TDEE instead of your BMR? BMR is the amount of calories you burn if sleeping the total day. TDEE is the total amount of calories you would need to stay at the same weight.

    I am shorter and younger than you- not sure what weight you are because of the typo but at 5'2 and 140 my TDEE is almost 1900 for days I am sedentary, my BMR is around 1450. I eat 1600 cals, and eat back most of my exercise cals and have lost 10 lbs in the last 6 weeks...

    It would be very hard to get all the nutrients your body needs to function healthily with so little cals, maybe you should try for a slower weight loss, or eat at a 20% deficient and add some exercises.

    I would bring it up to your doctor who recomendend this site weather or not the calories you are eating is calculated right and healthy.
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
    I ate 1200 cals a day plus exercise cals to lose weight and I didn`t find it so hard?

    I lost weight?

    Am not sure what the problem is with it?

    I have maintained for around 3 months increasing to around 1500 cals a day plus exercise.

    I eat a healthy balanced diet and do not feel hungry.

    Am not wasting away and function just great :smile:
  • sexymuffintop
    sexymuffintop Posts: 636
    I ate 1200 cals a day plus exercise cals to lose weight and I didn`t find it so hard?

    I lost weight?

    Am not sure what the problem is with it?

    I have maintained for around 3 months increasing to around 1500 cals a day plus exercise.

    I eat a healthy balanced diet and do not feel hungry.

    Am not wasting away and function just great :smile:

    I'm not sure what your problem is with the problem? Your point being?
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
    I ate 1200 cals a day plus exercise cals to lose weight and I didn`t find it so hard?

    I lost weight?

    Am not sure what the problem is with it?

    I have maintained for around 3 months increasing to around 1500 cals a day plus exercise.

    I eat a healthy balanced diet and do not feel hungry.

    Am not wasting away and function just great :smile:

    I'm not sure what your problem is with the problem? Your point being?

    Hmm you are not sure with what my problem is with the problem? Which problem are you referring to?
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    This is a fitness and weight loss site, and the solution, if you are tired of those threads, is to not click on those threads.
  • swillybay
    swillybay Posts: 61 Member
    This post made me laugh. I think the solution is, if you don't like a topic, well, DON'T click on it. Easy. Simple. I personally can't stand the posts about "would you date the person above you" or "sexy or not" or whatever. They're ridiculous to me and obviously for people who are bored out of their skull. Still, if they enjoy them, have at it. I just don't click on them and problem solved. Simple. Who made me queen of everything anyway so who am I to tell them to stop it?
  • GracefulDancer4Christ
    GracefulDancer4Christ Posts: 419 Member
    this!!
    i find this sort of thing quite judgemental. The sie doesn't explain itself well when you first log in and many people don't GET this at first, myself included. A message board should be a place where you can seek information and just because some of you hang out here constantly and have seen queries before doesn't make them less relevant.

    OP the journey is about what works there is no one size fits all with calories. try compassion sometime you may find you like it.
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
    This is a fitness and weight loss site, and the solution, if you are tired of those threads, is to not click on those threads.

    I totally agree!
  • SusanleeBee
    SusanleeBee Posts: 144 Member
    My biggest pet peeve are the people who say "I'm having so much trouble eating 1200 calories! It's just too much!" I want to slap them.
  • GracefulDancer4Christ
    GracefulDancer4Christ Posts: 419 Member
    my biggest pet peeve is someone who is cold and unfeeling towards other people. thinks they know everything.
  • sexymuffintop
    sexymuffintop Posts: 636
    I ate 1200 cals a day plus exercise cals to lose weight and I didn`t find it so hard?

    I lost weight?

    Am not sure what the problem is with it?

    I have maintained for around 3 months increasing to around 1500 cals a day plus exercise.

    I eat a healthy balanced diet and do not feel hungry.

    Am not wasting away and function just great :smile:

    I'm not sure what your problem is with the problem? Your point being?

    Hmm you are not sure with what my problem is with the problem? Which problem are you referring to?

    Well I'm referring to your problem with the problem that was originally quoted in the first problem. Is that a problem?
  • sexymuffintop
    sexymuffintop Posts: 636
    my biggest pet peeve is someone who is cold and unfeeling towards other people. thinks they know everything.

    Maybe it's the way you read things? Not everyone can express their feelings expertly through the written word after all. A lot of posts can be taken in several ways. Maybe try to see the good in people, if you presume people are trying to help rather than hinder I find that helps...
  • crisanderson27
    crisanderson27 Posts: 5,343 Member
    I was once on the 1200 calorie train. Lost and gained the same 10 pounds over the course of 3 years (Ate 1200 for a few weeks, became depressed, grumpy and miserable, binge and eat everything in sight for the next few weeks. Rinse, repeat).

    I found MFP, followed IPOARM and found out that my BMR is actually ~1700. Bumped up my calories to ~1900 and have lost 23 pounds total, the most I have ever lost since actively trying to lose weight. I'm at a weight I haven't seen in about...4-5 years. All because I ate more.

    I don't even feel like I'm on a diet. I eat ice cream regularly. I stopped eating whole wheat bread (I hate the texture). I barely do any cardio, and I'm doing a pretty basic beginner weight lifting routine with some dumbbells at home until I can muster up enough courage to venture into the weight room at my school's gym.

    Pretty much, I found success when I stopped listening to conventional weight loss rules.

    But of course, the 1200 calorie myth will always remain. The diet industry thrives on failure.

    LOVE THIS POST.
  • peachfigs
    peachfigs Posts: 831 Member
    I'd also like to point out that someone who eats healthy, clean foods will struggle to meet a higher calorie amount anyway. There are hardly any calories in fruits and vegetables, but a very high amount of essential nutrients.

    Since when is the calorie content of the food more important than the nutrient density?

    Isn't a 1,200 calorie diet of clean, nutritious foods more efficient than eating 1,800+ and including rubbish like pop tarts and ice cream?

    A lot of you have the definition of "starving" all wrong.

    I'd just like to point out that I am in recovery from anorexia where I was eating -500 calories a day for a year and 3 months, I think I know what the definition of starving is, thanks.

    Why have you made this into an issue about anorexia? Actually, it's more likely that your definition of starving is the same as mine, as I agree, <500 is not healthy.

    1200 calories, however, is not an eating disorder.

    If anything, I am AGAINST people trivialising the word "starving" by saying that 1200 calories is a starvation diet.
  • SusanleeBee
    SusanleeBee Posts: 144 Member
    my biggest pet peeve is someone who is cold and unfeeling towards other people. thinks they know everything.

    That wasn't my intent, at all. The thing is though, that the World Health Organization says anything below 1200 calories is malnutrition. 900 calories is what people were given in concentration camps during WWII. Anyone in a first world country should have no problem eating at least 1200 calories. (Unless they have different circumstances, such as a lap band, or gastric bypass, etc.)

    I feel like the people who complain that 1200 is too many calories are either lying for attention, anorexic, or crazy. And yeah, I know that sounds *****y, but I really cannot wrap my head around it.
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
    I ate 1200 cals a day plus exercise cals to lose weight and I didn`t find it so hard?

    I lost weight?

    Am not sure what the problem is with it?

    I have maintained for around 3 months increasing to around 1500 cals a day plus exercise.

    I eat a healthy balanced diet and do not feel hungry.

    Am not wasting away and function just great :smile:

    I'm not sure what your problem is with the problem? Your point being?

    Hmm you are not sure with what my problem is with the problem? Which problem are you referring to?

    Well I'm referring to your problem with the problem that was originally quoted in the first problem. Is that a problem?

    No problem :laugh: Hope you sort out your problems soon :laugh:

    Will leave you with it, not wanting to get into an argument or anything xx
  • peachfigs
    peachfigs Posts: 831 Member

    That wasn't my intent, at all. The thing is though, that the World Health Organization says anything below 1200 calories is malnutrition. 900 calories is what people were given in concentration camps during WWII. Anyone in a first world country should have no problem eating at least 1200 calories. (Unless they have different circumstances, such as a lap band, or gastric bypass, etc.)

    I feel like the people who complain that 1200 is too many calories are either lying for attention, anorexic, or crazy. And yeah, I know that sounds *****y, but I really cannot wrap my head around it.

    Yeah, it does sound ****ty. It's actually pretty judgemental and trivialises anorexia too. You think people that eat 1200 calories are anorexic? Think again. People with anorexia survive on next to nothing.

    Throwing around words like "anorexic" or "crazy" is really careless of you. You have no idea how much your words can hurt.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    My biggest pet peeve are the people who say "I'm having so much trouble eating 1200 calories! It's just too much!" I want to slap them.

    I want to take care of them, but all I can really do is hope that they find better ways to take care of themselves.
  • sexymuffintop
    sexymuffintop Posts: 636
    I ate 1200 cals a day plus exercise cals to lose weight and I didn`t find it so hard?

    I lost weight?

    Am not sure what the problem is with it?

    I have maintained for around 3 months increasing to around 1500 cals a day plus exercise.

    I eat a healthy balanced diet and do not feel hungry.

    Am not wasting away and function just great :smile:

    I'm not sure what your problem is with the problem? Your point being?

    Hmm you are not sure with what my problem is with the problem? Which problem are you referring to?

    Well I'm referring to your problem with the problem that was originally quoted in the first problem. Is that a problem?

    No problem :laugh: Hope you sort out your problems soon :laugh:

    Will leave you with it, not wanting to get into an argument or anything xx

    Lol you've got more chance of getting into an arguement with your dog than me tonight, I'm about as chilled out as can be. Just joshing with ya :drinker:
  • peachfigs
    peachfigs Posts: 831 Member
    My biggest pet peeve are the people who say "I'm having so much trouble eating 1200 calories! It's just too much!" I want to slap them.

    I want to take care of them, but all I can really do is hope that they find better ways to take care of themselves.

    Sigh. We don't need you to take care of us.

    Patronising as hell.
  • Nicola06041985
    Nicola06041985 Posts: 13
    Every time I click on the message board it's full of things like ''I'M GAINING ON 1200 CALORIES????'' ''NOT LOSING ON 1200???'' etc. Stop and actually READ what people are replying to these posts before making one. You aren't a special snowflake. I understand some people lose better on 1200 calories, but if you find yourself reading 2 or more posts that are relevant to you and your problem with eating 1200 calories, maybe actually TAKE IN what people are replying.

    Alas, have a good weekend everyone! haha :-)

    If you don't like it, don't read it!!! NOBODY FORCING YOU TO READ THREAD!!!! Not rocket science just common sense!!!!
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    I was once on the 1200 calorie train. Lost and gained the same 10 pounds over the course of 3 years (Ate 1200 for a few weeks, became depressed, grumpy and miserable, binge and eat everything in sight for the next few weeks. Rinse, repeat).

    I found MFP, followed IPOARM and found out that my BMR is actually ~1700. Bumped up my calories to ~1900 and have lost 23 pounds total, the most I have ever lost since actively trying to lose weight. I'm at a weight I haven't seen in about...4-5 years. All because I ate more.

    I don't even feel like I'm on a diet. I eat ice cream regularly. I stopped eating whole wheat bread (I hate the texture). I barely do any cardio, and I'm doing a pretty basic beginner weight lifting routine with some dumbbells at home until I can muster up enough courage to venture into the weight room at my school's gym.

    Pretty much, I found success when I stopped listening to conventional weight loss rules.

    But of course, the 1200 calorie myth will always remain. The diet industry thrives on failure.

    LOVE THIS POST.

    It would be lovely if 1200 calories were a myth, and everyone could lose weight eating 1900 calories. Unfortunately a lot of women are more like me. My BMR is 1130, maintenance is between 1400 and 1500 calories a day, and I exercise every day so that I can eat a few hundred more calories. Different people have very different caloric needs and MFP would be a nicer place if more people understood that, instead of deriding other people.
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
    my biggest pet peeve is someone who is cold and unfeeling towards other people. thinks they know everything.

    That wasn't my intent, at all. The thing is though, that the World Health Organization says anything below 1200 calories is malnutrition. 900 calories is what people were given in concentration camps during WWII. Anyone in a first world country should have no problem eating at least 1200 calories. (Unless they have different circumstances, such as a lap band, or gastric bypass, etc.)

    I feel like the people who complain that 1200 is too many calories are either lying for attention, anorexic, or crazy. And yeah, I know that sounds *****y, but I really cannot wrap my head around it.

    I've never seen anything that defines nutrition status (malnutrition) by calorie level. According to the WHO, "Malnutrition is the condition that develops when the body does not get the right amount of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients it needs to maintain healthy tissues and organ function." [Note that there is no mention of caloric intake level required to define malnutrition.]

    Malnutrition can be found at any intake level. One of the more detrimental forms of malnutrition is inadequate protein intake.

    1200 calories is generally regarded as a safe caloric level to provide adequate nutrients but there is no reason that malnutrition cannot be prevented at lower caloric intakes under medical supervision.
  • TheWiseCat
    TheWiseCat Posts: 297
    I think about informational forums as being like an online dictionary.
    Once a question is asked and suitable accurate answers are given, it's done. That information is now there and searchable for anyone to find. If someone else has that same question, they should search for the the "word" and read what's there. That way there isn't a lot of repetition with 500 threads addressing the exact same thing. Do you call Webster and ask them to email you the definition of a word because you refuse to use the search function on their site?
    "well I'm new to websters.com and I think that they should be willing to just email me the definition because I'm new and well as a new person it's the only respectful thing to do. It's not a new person's responsibility to use the search function. "
  • aimforhealthy
    aimforhealthy Posts: 449 Member
    Anyone in a first world country should have no problem eating at least 1200 calories.
    If you are a vegan and don't eat a ton of nuts and oils and you are even lightly active, you can very easily be full all day long, eat huge quantities of food, and not hit 1200 net calories a day. Please inform yourself.
  • peachfigs
    peachfigs Posts: 831 Member


    I've never seen anything that defines nutrition status (malnutrition) by calorie level. According to the WHO, "Malnutrition is the condition that develops when the body does not get the right amount of the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients it needs to maintain healthy tissues and organ function." [Note that there is no mention of caloric intake level required to define malnutrition.]

    Malnutrition can be found at any intake level. One of the more detrimental forms of malnutrition is inadequate protein intake.

    "Malnutrition can be found at any intake level. One of the more detrimental forms of malnutrition is inadequate protein intake."

    This absolutely hits the nail on the head, and was exactly what I meant by "some people don't know the definition of starving."
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
    This post made me laugh. I think the solution is, if you don't like a topic, well, DON'T click on it. Easy. Simple. I personally can't stand the posts about "would you date the person above you" or "sexy or not" or whatever. They're ridiculous to me and obviously for people who are bored out of their skull. Still, if they enjoy them, have at it. I just don't click on them and problem solved. Simple. Who made me queen of everything anyway so who am I to tell them to stop it?

    OMG so true, what a load of rubbish those threads are. Some have little to do obviously.

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