1200 calories = more likely to have problems?

jofjltncb6
jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Has anyone else noticed that most of the "I have a problem..." threads are started by those with a 1200 calorie daily limit? Especially the "I can't stop snacking" and "I'm so hungry!" threads.

Coincidence? Something to consider if you're currently struggling at 1200 calories?

Or am I just imagining this?
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Replies

  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    You don't understand how hard it is to eat 1,200 calories. I do it all the time* and I'm sooooooo full.






    *for lunch
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Grehlin...

    but I really don't have to tell you that, do I?
  • Love_flowers
    Love_flowers Posts: 365 Member
    No coincidence. :wink:
  • ohheyy125
    ohheyy125 Posts: 295 Member
    yeeeeah.......F my life =/

    I'm 1200 calories and I always have a problem. and I'm always starving. and I'm not losing weight. Because I can't eat only 1200 friggen calories! WAHHHH
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
    I think you're probably right.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Probably. Considering most people jump right into things trying to lose 25lbs a week and starving themselves, they're inevitably going to be the people wondering how an entire roll of pillsbury cookies entered their mouth.
  • Cranktastic
    Cranktastic Posts: 1,517 Member
    Interesting.
  • AmyP619
    AmyP619 Posts: 1,137 Member
    1200 cals worked for me for the first few months, but instead of crabbing about my plateau I upped my calories and started losing again. Woohoo! Imagine that! ;)
  • Cerebrus189
    Cerebrus189 Posts: 315 Member
    You don't understand how hard it is to eat 1,200 calories. I do it all the time* and I'm sooooooo full.






    *for lunch

    What he said...
  • Skinny_minny_mo
    Skinny_minny_mo Posts: 1,272 Member
    it's elementary my dear watson!
  • _skittybang
    _skittybang Posts: 970 Member
    good-point-g1.gif?w=245&h=190
  • 10manda86
    10manda86 Posts: 229 Member
    MFP has set me at 1200 calories... and yeh i eat over... but I also exercise... I generally cant eat back all my exercise calories and I have a small deficit... I think those who are complaining are trying to eat just 1200... not taking into account exercising in order to give yourself a few hundred more calories to play with!!
  • andreamelo1
    andreamelo1 Posts: 161 Member
    i eat less than that and it has worked i give it my all and dont think about it
  • christineak2012
    christineak2012 Posts: 2 Member
    uh oh! something to look forward to? I just started and that is what my calories are. :0
  • ohheyy125
    ohheyy125 Posts: 295 Member
    BTW- in order for me to lose 1lb/week, I have to eat 1200. When I work out I get some back.

    to lose .5lb/week I get around 1400. I try to eat between 1200-1400 depending on the day..

    Weight loss isn't easy when you don't have much to lose... =/
  • dorianaldyn
    dorianaldyn Posts: 611 Member
    I haven't noticed that, but I'll keep a lookout.

    I'm on 1200 & I'm not finding it too bad. The trick for me is finding lower calorie / high volume things to eat to keep me feeling full, especially on days like today where my work brought in food for lunch which I ate, so now I have to figure out how to eat dinner without blowing it for the day!
  • _Wits_
    _Wits_ Posts: 1,286 Member
    Word.
  • JustANumber85
    JustANumber85 Posts: 644 Member
    For me I know i posted my question about being hungry at about that many cals because im NEW to this. Im not use to eating 3 meals + snacks. Im not use to drinking water. My body is use to eating dinner and drinking mt dew and thats it. So when i shifted into this, of course I wasnt expecting instant results but i wondered what i was maybe missing. Now i know to eat more protein to stay full and maybe play around with meal times or try smaller, more frequent meals.

    Its not always that we lower cal people stuff ding dongs in our mouths and whine, some of us just dont know what to do. :happy:
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    It's not necessarily the calorie count's problem specifically; it's that the majority of the people who are having problems those same repeat problems haven't done much research -- they just think MFP is a magic formula. They type in the numbers and follow it and see what they want. It is connected to a number of problems: people who are already quite trim trying to lose very fast, people who are still fairly overweight but don't know how to read their fluctuations, people who don't understand how to build their calories in a healthy way but only know how to cut, cut, cut.

    It's a bit of a case of "didn't read the fine print."

    Plenty of people use the 1200 calorie as a base line and do quite well. But the majority of "I have a problem" threads come down to lack of research, IMO.
  • yogsvr4
    yogsvr4 Posts: 149 Member
    I learned long ago to not get tied to calories per day. I do much better with a calorie count for three days. I do fine if I have less then 1K for a day or two if I have 3K another. Doesn't happen often, but it works for me. Anything thats to regimented is going to fail (for me) - another truth that it took me decades to understand.
  • AmyP619
    AmyP619 Posts: 1,137 Member
    BTW- in order for me to lose 1lb/week, I have to eat 1200. When I work out I get some back.

    to lose .5lb/week I get around 1400. I try to eat between 1200-1400 depending on the day..

    Weight loss isn't easy when you don't have much to lose... =/

    It's not easy when you have a bunch to lose!!!! I thought for sure my weight would drop right off starting at 264... nope. It's taken me 6 months to lose 40, and the first 30 of that was in the first 3 months. I've slowed up A LOT, and I'm still 221... some people just have a more difficult time... but I know when you're tiny already it's very hard to lose. But just saying! It's hard for bigger people too!! Hang in there!
  • EACullop0921
    EACullop0921 Posts: 2
    1200 is actually what works for me. If I want to see results, I have to go down to 1200 calories per day. It's hard, but it's worth it!
  • isitsororo
    isitsororo Posts: 116


    Weight loss isn't easy when you don't have much to lose... =/

    This. This this this.


    I'm on 1200 and I do have some hunger, but I haven't been pushed to pig out on snacks or anything. I can control it fairly easily. I think 1200 can be hard for you if control is a problem.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    For me I know i posted my question about being hungry at about that many cals because im NEW to this. Im not use to eating 3 meals + snacks. Im not use to drinking water. My body is use to eating dinner and drinking mt dew and thats it. So when i shifted into this, of course I wasnt expecting instant results but i wondered what i was maybe missing. Now i know to eat more protein to stay full and maybe play around with meal times or try smaller, more frequent meals.

    Its not always that we lower cal people stuff ding dongs in our mouths and whine, some of us just dont know what to do. :happy:

    I think the problem he was more talking about was people who come on, cut their calories SUPER low, lose 5 lbs and then get stuck and come on the boards asking where they went wrong and why MFP won't let them eat any less. It's much more common than your "how to stay full on reduced calories" question, and something that can be quite difficult as it sets off a "to eat or not to eat exercise calories" flame war. Which derails from the original question.
  • sobriquet84
    sobriquet84 Posts: 607 Member
    i usually find that the people who are on a 1200 calorie a day diet are the ones that are wanting to lose 2 pounds a week and don't understand that mfp defaults to a minimum of 1200 a day and many of them are wondering why they're not losing 2 pounds a week.

    these folks also usually don't know that its not just how many calories you're ingesting that determines how satisfied you are, but also the SOURCES of those calories that determines your level of satiety/if you're going to be hungry.

    a diet rich in carbs and overly processed crap while low in protein and fat WILL keep you hungry if you're on a calorie reduced diet.
  • flabbyjay
    flabbyjay Posts: 95 Member
    Then they're eating the wrong shiat..
  • sobriquet84
    sobriquet84 Posts: 607 Member
    BTW- in order for me to lose 1lb/week, I have to eat 1200. When I work out I get some back.

    to lose .5lb/week I get around 1400. I try to eat between 1200-1400 depending on the day..

    Weight loss isn't easy when you don't have much to lose... =/

    It's not easy when you have a bunch to lose!!!! I thought for sure my weight would drop right off starting at 264... nope. It's taken me 6 months to lose 40, and the first 30 of that was in the first 3 months. I've slowed up A LOT, and I'm still 221... some people just have a more difficult time... but I know when you're tiny already it's very hard to lose. But just saying! It's hard for bigger people too!! Hang in there!

    its all relative.

    it has taken me almost a year to lose 9. my starting goal = 15.

    at your rate of loss, i would have lost my total goal of 15 a long time ago.
  • cyberblonde
    cyberblonde Posts: 100 Member
    I have found the 1200 per day fine, but only because I exercise 3 times per week and then eat the additional 1500 cals burned over fri to sun. Worked for me, lost my 14lbs over 3 months, so a nice 1lb per week. I count my calories over a full week instead of day by day, but I do not go under 1200. I am used to low cal diets though and I know how to make them filling.
  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
    MFP has set me at 1200 calories... and yeh i eat over... but I also exercise... I generally cant eat back all my exercise calories and I have a small deficit... I think those who are complaining are trying to eat just 1200... not taking into account exercising in order to give yourself a few hundred more calories to play with!!

    MFP doesn't "have you at 1200 calories". The information you put into MFP (which is just a calculator) says you need to eat 1200 calories to achieve your goal. It doesn't mean that the goal is healthy, or reasonable, just that 1200 calories is the amount nearest to 1000 calories under your TDEE that isn't considered disordered eating to attempt.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    I think most of you understood what I was trying to say.

    For the others that are insistent that 1200 is the *only* way to accomplish your goals...if you ultimately reach and maintain, then awesome. No, really...congrats. However, if it doesn't work out for you, don't give up entirely. Instead, reconsider your conclusion that 1200 is the *only* path. (In the words of a wise old philosopher, "There is another.")

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