Anyone else notice 1200 calories is not enough?

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  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    Why not eat right and create a deficit BY working out...instead of having to workout to eat?!?!?
    Convoluted MFP!!!!!

    The MFP creators just want to see more "HELP i'm stuck and eating 1200 calorie!" posts!
    It's their sick game!
  • ishallnotwant
    ishallnotwant Posts: 1,210 Member
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    Thanks for the advice, right now since I switched to losing 1 lb per week I can eat about 1500 cals and of course whatever calories I burn with exercise, and that is going much better so far. 1200 calories was just too difficult, and I was afraid that having that much restriction would make junk food cravings even worse being hungry all the time.

    Woohoo! Feels great, doesn't it? *high five* lol
  • papastu
    papastu Posts: 737 Member
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    I switched to 400 cals a day. It seems to be working really well.

    and then take off your exercise cals too :tongue:
  • ishallnotwant
    ishallnotwant Posts: 1,210 Member
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    I switched to 400 cals a day. It seems to be working really well.

    and then take off your exercise cals too :tongue:

    I switched to 4000 cals a day. now i'm never hungry! Yay! :laugh:
  • healthyliving_girl
    healthyliving_girl Posts: 290 Member
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    I first started here and it gave be 1400 or something. I couldn't last on that. I upped it to 1750 to start...and was able to lose 20 lbs in 4 months. My lowest was 1570 at one point...and I was working out hard in order to eat..and that was when my scale seemed to stop moving.

    So...I moved it back up to 1750...even though the scale seems to keep going up and down, at least I'm not starving. HA.

    I figure I will need to move it down to 1600 at some point, but I don't think I'll ever go lower than that.

    I'm 5'5" - short, but I definitely need the 1600 at a minimum.
  • jlgobert
    jlgobert Posts: 41 Member
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    1200 really isnt enough. If I had to maintain that few I would truly pass out from lack of nutrition. But then again I am not rushing my weight loss. I have done that before and lost a great deal of weight, but it all came back on becasue I could not sustain that way of eating. I have enjoyed this tool and has helped me recognize where I was gaining all my weight due to the foods I was eating. Oh I still crave some of them and I oblidge some of my cravings from time to time but for the most part I stick to my target calories and I have seen a good decrease in my size, but not so much weight for some reason. Pants falling off but weight only about 5 lbs different. Oh well I feel better. But don't kill yourse;f with the 1200 bump it up a bit so you dont feel so neglected and then when you lose your weight you will be able to keep it off.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    I wouldn't even try - my experience shows me that anything under 1400 net cals leaves me hungry and grumpy so there is really no point in setting myself up to fail.
    Well done for choosing a more sensible calorie deficit, you are much more likely to find success this way.
  • islandjumper
    islandjumper Posts: 369 Member
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    I've found it fairly easy to stay within 1200, but I eat a pretty clean vegetarian diet, so it works for me. If I burn a couple hundred calories I even have enough room for some kind of treat.
  • brown_eyes
    brown_eyes Posts: 1
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    I've found it fairly easy to stay within 1200, but I eat a pretty clean vegetarian diet, so it works for me. If I burn a couple hundred calories I even have enough room for some kind of treat.

    Same for me. I found it fairly easy. I usually have a glass of water before meals so I feel fuller and I eat every few hours. I'm also vegetarian so finding good nutritious foods while not going over 1290 (my limit) hasn't been too difficult.
  • SmashleeWpg
    SmashleeWpg Posts: 566 Member
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    Naturally it will vary person to person, but I really think it comes down to WHAT you're eating to reach your 1200 calories. I've recently cut out most starches (grains and starchy veggies), and I've been filling up on a lot of lower-sugar fruit (berries, apples, etc), leafy veggies, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy along with a couple of servings of healthy fats a day, and I'm STUFFED some days by the day I reach 1200 - 1250. My protein is always over 100 grams a day, and my carbs hover around 100, with fat coming in between 50 and 60. I take supplements in the form of vitamins, drink mostly water and tea, and I have a ton of energy! I work out 4 or 5 times a week varying strength and cardio, and I play on an indoor volleyball team. At the end of the day, I'll eat if I'm hungry, but I don't always feel the need to eat 1500 or 1800. Day by day, I say! :)
  • GamerGurl729
    GamerGurl729 Posts: 286 Member
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    I agree that I think it will vary from person to person. When I was much heavier, I could eat 1200 calories a day and it was no problem. Now that I've started dieting again, I feel like 1200 calories is nowhere near enough. I feel weak and dizzy and although I've only been doing this for a couple of days, I feel like I should be eating more. I will test that theory today and eat more for dinner than I had planned to see if that helps. I also wonder if I'm more active than I think I am. I sit at a desk for most of the day, but there's a lot of running around I do in the office. Plus I'm often busy when I get home - not a lot of time to sit and rest with all the cooking and cleaning. I'm already on track to only lose half a pound a week, and that's only eating 1200 calories. Maybe I just need to find time to exercise more and rely on that more than eating less. It's just so hard to find the time with my work schedule, my hour-long commute and all the chores that must be done at home. I also suffer from a chronic illness that leaves me constantly fatigued. Anyone have any ideas on how to fit in more exercise?
  • mommytobrayden
    mommytobrayden Posts: 28 Member
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    I absolutely noticed this with myself. Anytime I go below 1500 calories it's like my body goes haywire. I start to feel the need to binge, etc. As long as I keep it at 1500 and eat back only half to none of my exercise calories my body is good. I am losing a pound and a half a week by keeping myself at 1500.
  • DivineRED1
    DivineRED1 Posts: 134 Member
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    I switched to 400 cals a day. It seems to be working really well.

    Haaaa!! Granted you're not conscious most of the day. LOL
  • Taylor3192
    Taylor3192 Posts: 3
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    my goal is at 1200 cals. and when i exercise is it good to eat the calories back you burned, since 1200 is low? =)
  • witchy_wife
    witchy_wife Posts: 792 Member
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    It was too low for me, I changed my settings too to lose 1.5lb instead of 2lb a week. I now have 1330 a day and if I am hungry eat back exercise calories and I am still losing at same rate as I was on 1200 a day, crazy eh? lol.
  • queensturg
    queensturg Posts: 60
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    MFP gave me a goal of 1270 cals per day, and I found I kept going over it just because it was so hard to stick to, even when I eat a reasonable diet. My dinners at night alone can be between 500-1000 cals total (usually in the 600-800 range) so the only way I can make that is to be really good all day, or if I started exercising. My goal now is 1400 per day, sometimes I can make that and sometimes I go just a bit over.
  • Slimat30
    Slimat30 Posts: 142
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    I eat 2000 a day :) 1200 would make me starving!
  • amyk0705
    amyk0705 Posts: 2
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    Hi, first time on here. This is a very helpful thread. I wanted a 2lb a week loss but despite having only 1200 cals to work with and doing 2 x 45 mins spinning classes and 1 hour intensive yoga a week I have yet to lose more than 1lb a week. I normally don't eat my exercise cals. I am fine with losing 1lb a week but just wondered why it wasn't more. Am I not eating enough? Finding 1200 cals a day really hard to stick to.
  • hvza
    hvza Posts: 6 Member
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    For weeks and weeks I kept to 1200 cals and ate back all the calories I had burnt. Still not much weight lost I even put on one week what I had lost the previous week. Then I found this website http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/. It took me a while to believe it would work for me but it does. I don't do big work outs. I just walk. Anything between 3 and 5 miles about 4 times a week. When I don't walk I go for the sedentary amount when I walk I go for the light activity amount. It works for me. Good luck to you all and don't loose heart.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
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    I switched to 400 cals a day. It seems to be working really well.

    400? I hope you meant 1400. Cause with 400 you will be dead soon.

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