if eating under 1200cals is so bad.......

You have the possibility of your body going into starvation mode if you break under 1200 calories. Generally speaking, there isn't anything else bad about it, unless you're getting bad nutrition, or feel like you're starving yourself. You don't have to ride your calorie number all the time. You can eat less if you want to.

IMO the concept of "eating back exercise calories" sounds more like an excuse to eat more than a plan to lose weight. I'm sure it works, it just sounds odd to me.

With all due honesty, I dont associate with people who eat well below the 1200 or net below 1200.. it is not a healthy management of weight loss or health. Yes, there are people who willingly do that, but I personally find it to be self-destructive... Id rather lose the weight gradually and do it the right way...

i agree it just really annoys me when i try to give good advice but its as though im just talking rubbish as they lose easy anyway and they arent big at all! average weight!

If the advice is asked, then the receiver really should take it to heart. When its unprompted, that is when all hell breaks loose to be honest.

I simply wont associate with anyone who does this. I dont comment on anyone's intake but I wont keep them around if they willingly make those bad choices... I dont want to be associated with that.

Hello my name is Michelle and i was reading everybody's post, i didn't even know they were here, i am new to this site, and i was wondering why your thoughts on eating your exercise calories are so bad ? Just wondering your opinion on this. i eat them all the time because i struggle with such hunger, and im always looking for ways to eat more, eating less at certain meals eating things with little calories you name it, iv talked to trainers at the gym and they said if that's what i need to do that is was just simple math burn more than you take in. so if im burning more than im taking in after eating the excersise calories why is that bad?? Please let me know your opinion, im just trying to get all the input i can on so many questions iv been having. Been there, done it all, just curious on peoples opinions. I know everyone's body is different, so im seeking different stories. Thanks for sharing. Michelle

I know I eat poorly but that is why I came to this site. I have my diary open because I want the advice and the guidance. Also I want to be honest so I can see where my weaknesses are and be inspired by people like you to make better choices. Thanks for being an inspiration.

They might be taking the weight off, but it's not all fat. They're loosing muscle, too, and that's not good. Eating 800 calories of rubbish is not nourishing your body. They might get skinny, even if their metabolism fights them, but they've actually harmed their bodies and they're not a healthy, sexy thin.

While you're doing insanity, you're putting on muscle. I didn't loose for the better part of a month myself while I was building muscle, too. Now it's coming off well and I'm sure having this extra muscle is part of the reason. Keep doing some exercising and maybe cut back on your calories a tad....leave some of your exercise calories not eaten each day and see if that doesn't work for you. That is what I have to do. I have friends loosing weight while eating enough calories that would put weight on me. I joke that I'm famine resistant, but honestly, I am.....it's genetic and it's from having done ultra low calorie diets in the past. I damaged my own metabolism.

I try to eat at least 1200, and normally do about 1300.
However, i don't eat my exercise bonus calories.

MFP site will warn you about going into starvation mode if you eat less than 1200. However if you eat exactly 1200 and burn off 500 running, it won't warn you.

I'd worry about someone just eating the 1200 without exercising, as @LisaLouisiana points out, they'll be losing weight through muscle loss. However if you're hitting the weights and have a good protein intake then i can't see you losing muscle mass.

I'm only dropping about 2-3lb a week, and i'm gyming it every single day. I'm sure if i cut out the gym, and just ate lightly i could lose much faster.... There's the right way and the wrong way...

MFP has me at eating 1200, thats my goal. I usually get between 1200 and 1300, but I work out alot, so I try to eat more on those days.

I don't understand how in the hell people can eat -below- 1200. I have problems staying AT 1200. I always tend to go slightly above.

Don't be too disheartened. When you start an intense exercise program like insanity you will often see a weight gain initially because you will retain a lot more water until your body adjusts. Keep at it and you will see the pounds start dropping.

1200 calories is a number that has been demonised as the number not to cross below. This is on the basis that people have somehow deemed this number to be the minimum requirements your body needs on a day to day basis, however people have entirely different basal metabolic rates

For example based on the BMR calculator on this site:
My BMR is 1259
My boyfriend's BMR is 1734
My mum's BMR is 1372

Clearly for me to eat 1200 calories a day would be OK but at 1200 calories my boyfriend would be eating nearly 600 calories less than his body needs for its basic functions. For him 1800 calories would be the number not to drop under. Work with your own BMR. If you occasionally drop below this your body will not shut down and 'starve' as some people will have you believe but you should not consistently aim below this number as your metabolism will eventually start to slow down and then it will become much harder to lose weight. This is due to the fact that if you feed your body only 800 calories and your metabolism adapts to this low number when you do eat more your body will work to conserve it i.e store it as fat in preparation for when calories drop back down. This is what is really meant by starvation mode.

Ideally you want to aim for your daily calories to be somewhere in between your BMR and Total Daily Energy Expenditure. This is calculated by multiplying your BMR calories by your activity level (Multiply by 1.2 for sedentary, 1.375 lightly active, 1.55 moderately active, 1.725 very active or 1.9 extremely active)

My TDEE is 2072. I therefore work on an 1800 calorie intake. This factors in a 250 calorie deficit which equates to about 0.5lbs per week.

It is difficult to consistently eat less than 1200 cals and provided your body with the nutrients it needs. The people doing this may lose weight but they will likely feel like crap most of the time.

As someone else said, above 1200kcal (which is still extreamly low for someone who doesnt have more than 100lbs to loose) is not so dangerous for the now, but for the future....that point when you loose a load of weight and look really skinny, but realise you are weak and drained as you've lost 'all' your muscle and can only eat 1200kcal a day or you put on weight, compared to someone who looks lean, has a good muscle mass and can eat 2100kcal a day!.... muscle is your best friend in life and you should do everything to preserve it!....

As for the going under 1200kcal with exersize and not getting the warning (i didnt know this as i have never done it) although you have the same problem, your body will burn some lovely quick release muscel to make up the difference it needs!.

Without meaning to sound like an a'hole... i eat a NET of 1600kcal per day (MFP says to do 1400kcal but i plateued), i eat back all my exersize calories (which can quite often be 1500 extra). I dont give a cr*p about high carb, low carb i only look to get a good amount of protein and minimise on processed food (although there are a few bits in there)... and im still loosing 2lbs a week!....

Any questions feel free to message me! x

Totally agree with this. Lower your calories too far and it really becomes counter productive as your body will adjust accordingly, hold onto more fat, lower the metabolism and then, well, you either regain the weight once you even attempt to eat a healthier amount, resign yourself to the rest of your life eating 1200 or less and feeling like crap or end up having to do a reset and start again. In my opinion it is utter nonsense that anyone over 5 foot needs to eat 1200 or less to lose weight. If you feel your metabolism is so slow then what on earth is the purpose in adding to that issue or perpetuating it?

So many here are overweight because of these endless low calorie diets they have pursued for years yet they still don't get it. Check out those who started eating more, dealt with the initial gain then started losing weight perfectly well while at a decent calorie intake.

I had severe anorexia when younger and have had a fair few relapses and I am approaching 40 so sorry, if I can eat 1700 plus without exercise and not gain, I fai
To see that there is anyone who needs to restrict to 1200 and less to lose. Note I am also hypo thyroid. We might all be different heights and weights and have different lifestyles but we are not essentially so biologically different that some need to starve themselves to lose weight.

It's cals in, cals out. If you are not losing at 1200 and you are 100% honest about everything you eat...everything. Then, drop it to 1100. If still no results, drop it to 1000. It's simple math. At some point, you have to lose.

You could also go the other way with the eat more to weigh less crowd. It really depends on your activity level, I think.

Bad advice. That just sounds like a step ladder to anorexia. What happens when you get down to 500 calories and still aren't losing? Keep going?

Lol. Not really. I can't help if someone has a disease. That's not what I am talking about. If i buy you a drink in a bar, I don't assume that I am feeding an alcohol binge, I'm just simply buying you a drink. Sometimes, it's simple. Life is not that complicated, similar to weight loss. It is a simple equation. If you don't lose any weight, and you are honest, than drop, if you still don't lose, drop a little more. At some point, you will lose. I am talking about healthy loss, like 1 lb per week. If after a few weeks, this doesn't work, it will, but if it doesn't, than my advice is to go the other way and start adding cals until you lose. Just keep going up. There is an equilibrium there somewhere that every person has to find. All the formulas and MFP recommendations are just starting points. If you eat clean and healthy, those foods are more dense and will make you feel full longer. And, you will not feel hungry.

With all due honesty, I dont associate with people who eat well below the 1200 or net below 1200.. it is not a healthy management of weight loss or health. Yes, there are people who willingly do that, but I personally find it to be self-destructive... Id rather lose the weight gradually and do it the right way...

You must be younger than I am.

I'm over 50. I normally take in around 1300 calories and net well under under 1200. My goal is 1310. I am not even vaguely hungry and eat what the rest of my family eats. I walk to work and do a very brisk walk in the afternoon, but that's it.. I have't missed a weekly calorie goal ever and haven't gone over my net by more than 10 calories in several months.

When I hit my early 40's there was a noticable slowing of my metabolism so that if I ate the same as I used to, I gained weight (23 pounds, to be exact). When I hit my late 40's it became a little more noticeable.

I doubt my 30 year old self could have happily lived netting 1200. But my 50 year old self? No problem.

What I love about MFP is that it allows me to monitor my intake. But sorry, it hasn't been a deprivation and I choose my food carefully and feel healthier than I have in years. This isn't a diet. Having hit my initial weight loss goal, I dropped it down because this has been too easy and it is obvious this is a good calorie level for me.

I turned 50 last yr, I for the past 30+years have only eaten one meal a day because I just don't have an appetite , which consisted off things like sausage chips and gravy or fish and chips and a slice of bread sometimes and with about 4 cups of coffee 2 sugars full fat milk. Since joining MFP I am most likely eating slightly more calories now but a hell of a lot healthy. It's been very hard for me to adjust to eating 3 times a day and trying to meet the 1200cals which I rarely achieve, but like you I am not starving and feel this is a healthy eating plan although I am loosing weight. I certainly wasn't starving myself over the last 30yrs either, otherwise I would be in size 0 and not gained any weight!

Starvation is an excellent way to lose weight.

p.s. check with these people a year from now see if they maintained a healthy weight?

I eat really healthy organic lean meat, salmon, fresh greens, fresh vegetables and limit condiments to iodized salt and cracked pepper and only use olive oil to cook with . I do struggle eating enough calories but that's because I don't eat gluten or anything containing corn syrup and avoiding candy, ice cream and sugar soda. If this is unhealthy can I ask what is healthy? I will add , this is not a diet it's a life style due to intolerance. And I do take vitamins daily but my daily calories barely reach 700-800 if lucky. And I burn the calories I consume via excersise 6 days a week for 1 hr and half a day! Can anyone else relate at all?