why should not I eat less than 1,200 calories a day?

Great question!!!! I eat well below 1200 as well!! i try to eat more, but then i feel like i am forcing myself....hope to hear some good feedback! :-)

Thanks LaurenAOK --very wise advise! I have had a hard time convincing myself of the reality that eating 1200 or less calories is not good for my body. While you may lose some weight on this amount, you will eventually plateau because your body is in survival mode!
Popular diet culture has brainwashed our society to think that the less one eats, the more weight loss. While this is true to some extent, many people end up eating too little and incur unhealthy weight loss and eventual gain. One should definitely calculate their BMR and then base his or her diet calorie intake from that.
My BMR is around 1500. Since I am fairly active, I try not to intake under my BMR calorie amount, while still intaking a few hundred calories less than I burn in a day.

Good Morning,
I did some research and found this info for you! I couldn't have said it better.
"

Knowing what your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is a key component to losing weight. There are so many weight loss programs out there. Some focus on the exercise, some on the diet and others on supplements. Many work. Many still just want you to write them a check.

Regardless of their benefit, they all have a common goal. No program ever escapes this. You need to burn more calories than you take it. There are lots of ways to burn more calories. Without question some are more efficient than others. You still have to do it.

When trying to lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories. We can change what we eat, when we eat it, combinations of what we eat and how much.

BMR becomes important in any program. Your body needs a minimum number of calories every day just to function. Your heart must pump, your kidneys must filter and so on. The energy requirement to do this is known as your BMR.

Does this mean your need to attempt to take in the calories needed to support those functions? Not exactly. You need to burn 3500 calories to lose a pound. Know what your BMR is gives you a baseline to figure out a starting point.

Real sustainable weight loss means a change in your lifestyle. Eating meat, cheese and bacon is a temporary way to lose weight. It is not a good lifestyle choice. Exercising regularly, eating healthy and fresh foods is a much better lifestyle choice. Knowing ones BMR gives you and idea about how to judge your intake for the activity level you maintain."

I hope this helps!
Good luck and remember burn more than you take in, but don't starve yourself either.


Jeff
independent beachbody coach

It is a decent calculator as well as the BMI and body fat calculator on the same site.
I hope it helps.
Where are you at with your goals? How much do you want to lose still?
How's your results coming at this point?

~Jeff

Good question. Usually eating less than 1,200 (for women) can cause the body to go into hibernation mode, where the body fat is stored to store energy. Most people would advise against this. There are ways around it, however, like eating a lot of low calorie foods (like celery) to keep your body from entering into hibernation mode, but there are other reasons you shouldn't do this. Your body is complex and needs a certain amount of calories to function. Low calories can cause a lack of mental energy and affect your thought process. Many people become cranky on low calories. Your immune system can also be affected by low calories as well. Many people report high rate of sickness and fatigue while taking in less than 1,200 calories.

Low calories of that magnitude is also ill-advised if you work out on a constant basis.

I hope this helped, at least in part.

Great synopsis Lauren. Makes me think twice about the calorie thing. My endocrynolgist has me on a 1200 calorie diet due to my illness(it is not diabetes). The medication I take makes it really hard to loose weight. So she is hoping this will kick my metabolism in. So I will keep right at that 1200 goal daily to keep myself on track and keep my body burning the fat. Thanks again.:flowerforyou:

OK , I'm 61, female, 5'2
TDEE 2170, RMR - 1792
BMR - 1720
to lose a pound a week, means 500 less calories a day/

Do I subtract that from what figure?

Great synopsis Lauren. Makes me think twice about the calorie thing. My endocrynolgist has me on a 1200 calorie diet due to my illness(it is not diabetes). The medication I take makes it really hard to loose weight. So she is hoping this will kick my metabolism in. So I will keep right at that 1200 goal daily to keep myself on track and keep my body burning the fat. Thanks again.:flowerforyou:

Oh yes, definitely listen to what your endocrinologist says! Doctors advice always trumps advice from internet forums, haha. What I posted is a good "standard" rule, but there are definitely exceptions.

if u r able to get all ur macro and micro nutrient needs at 1200kcal go for it. if u r not always hungry and feel energized go for it. there is no magic Domesday number thats the same for everybody. everyone metabolism is different.

Hasn't this question been asked too many times already?