Why 1200?

ninamaxine
ninamaxine Posts: 19
edited September 20 in Food and Nutrition
Hi, I just joined and don't entirely understand my allowed calories. As a 5-foot-tall female office-worker, why would my minimum calories not be proportional to my height? 1200 is just about all I need (not counting exercise) to maintain my weight, and I just don't understand why there would be a floor on the number of calories that applies to everyone, apparently just for being human.

I'm not saying 1200 is easy or that I'd especially like to eat less than that, but I guess I just don't understand how the same number could apply to everyone no matter how small. If it takes fewer calories for me to gain weight than an average sized woman, then why would it not take proportionally fewer calories to put me in the dreaded starvation mode? Just curious.

Replies

  • Oompa_Loompa
    Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
    I am 5' and im set at 1200 too.
  • mrsbeck
    mrsbeck Posts: 234 Member
    The short answer is, one number doesn't apply to all. Everyone is different, and therefore has different caloric needs.

    The longer answer is that as an average, the population of females as a whole will need a minimum of 1200 calories to support healthy life.

    Figuring out what your personal minimum needs are requires finding your BMR. There's a tool for it on this site. I'm a five foot tall office worker, and my BMR comes out to 1900ish calories a day. That is, just lying still for 24 hours, my body will burn 1900ish calories per day, just supporting respiration, cardiac activity and brain function. I eat about 1400 calories before exercise to create a 500 calorie deficit. I would be very surprised to find that you aren't in a fairly significant calorie deficit at 1200/day. You really shouldn't go below that, and if you're active at all, you should be eating a bit more.
  • jjleonard
    jjleonard Posts: 1
    I'm not an expert - but the 1200 cal comes from the fact that for whatever reason - it is not recommended for any person to eat less than 1200 calories per day, so the number will never go lower - Now i seem to have the same problem as you...I dont eat more than that on a regular basis - so thats what my body is used to - so if I am trying to lose weight and eat the same colories as always - then I am not going to lose weight right? Hmm, We'll see what happens I guess.
  • ninamaxine
    ninamaxine Posts: 19
    Thanks, everyone! MrsBeck, I'm jealous - I get 1223 for BMR (and thank you for the pointer to that tool). You must be much younger!
  • bbblue92
    bbblue92 Posts: 108 Member
    My daughter just signed up she's 5'4" and 185 lbs. and she got 1500 calories . . . I guess it all depends on the numbers that you plug in, based on height and current weight??
  • mrsbeck
    mrsbeck Posts: 234 Member
    Whoops!! Sorry, 1900ish is my TDEE...that's total daily energy expenditure. My BMR comes out to about 1400. So, BMR is if you were just laying there. Not thinking, not moving, just being. Think coma. TDEE takes into account that you think, that you get up and walk to the bathroom, that you eat food and digest it, etc...

    Google TDEE...then subtract 500 from that number, and set your calories to that for a healthy deficit. There are a couple of exceptions to that, however. If you have only a small amount to lose-like 10-20 pounds-you may need to work with a lesser deficit, because your body is going to fight you on those last pounds. It's better to lose slowly, so if you're near your goal weight, you might want to work with only a 250 calorie deficit per day. Look at the sticky threads at the top of the General forum. Look for stuff written by Banks or SHBoss...he has a degree of some kind in this stuff, and he explains it beautifully.

    Also, I'm 34...so can't really draw any benefits from youth!! :laugh:
  • ninamaxine
    ninamaxine Posts: 19
    That's really helpful, thank you. I think I'll stick with the 1200 before exercise since I have 14 lbs. to lose in no particular rush. Thanks!
  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
    Whoops!! Sorry, 1900ish is my TDEE...that's total daily energy expenditure. My BMR comes out to about 1400. So, BMR is if you were just laying there. Not thinking, not moving, just being. Think coma. TDEE takes into account that you think, that you get up and walk to the bathroom, that you eat food and digest it, etc...

    Google TDEE...then subtract 500 from that number, and set your calories to that for a healthy deficit. There are a couple of exceptions to that, however. If you have only a small amount to lose-like 10-20 pounds-you may need to work with a lesser deficit, because your body is going to fight you on those last pounds. It's better to lose slowly, so if you're near your goal weight, you might want to work with only a 250 calorie deficit per day. Look at the sticky threads at the top of the General forum. Look for stuff written by Banks or SHBoss...he has a degree of some kind in this stuff, and he explains it beautifully.

    Also, I'm 34...so can't really draw any benefits from youth!! :laugh:

    That about sums it up! A lot of people get BMR and TDEE confused, lol. I'm 5'7", work in an office. My BMR is 1485 and my TDEE is 2042. I'm looking to lose 1.3 pounds per week (that's what I have to lose per week to hit my goal of 125 by July 1/10) so I need a daily deficit of 650 calories before exercise. That takes me to about 1392 calories per day. I usually eat about 1400-1500 (because I'm still nursing a few times per day). Some days I wind up eating less but most days I'm right where I'm supposed to be.

    The 1200, like mrsbeck mentioned, is just an average. If you're only 5 feet tall and you work in an office all day, chances are you could eat as few as 1000 calories per day and not go into starvation mode (of course, I'm not recommending that! I'm just saying, based on your height and activity level it's POSSIBLE). Or you could have a super-hyper metabolism and NEED more than 1400 calories per day. MFP automatically will set you at 1200. Often, it will take a little 'tweaking' to find your 'magic number'. And often, that 'magic number' will change as you build more muscle, lose more weight, etc.
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