1200 calories too low?

I've just been skim reading through some other posts on here and noticed that a lot of people are saying that 1200 calories is too low.

I am on day 3 and have found that it's made me eat healthier (the calorie counting) most importantly I'm not at all hungry and if I were to bulk up my calories it would mean eating more than I feel I need to.

Does this mean that 1200 is ok for me? I have no idea what a non-dieter needs calorie wise

almost always the answer is going to be that it's too low. unless you're a very petite woman, it is going to be too low. without knowing your height, weight, age, BF%, etc. it's hard to know for sure. basically you need to figure out your TDEE (this is BMR + your daily activity + your daily exercise) and then deduct a healthy weight loss deficit from that. if you do those calculations and the result is 1200, then you're ok. if you just pulled the 1200 number out of thin air, then you're going to get alot of suggestions to actually sit down and figure out with math what the right number is for you.

It might be fine for you! Try it for a couple of weeks and see how you go. And remember that if you are exercising and burning a lot of calories make sure you eat a good proportion of them back!

The main thing is to just make sure you are getting enough nutrients on 1200 cal.

Personally, I've never tried 1200 calories, I'm on 1400 and it is working out great for me! Still losing at about 2 pounds a week because exercise gets me down to a net of about 1200 a day.

I find it works for me, if i want to actually lose weight while getting fit then staying under 1200 is important but if i feel super hungry after I've done plenty of exercise I listen to my body and eat. I think you should just do what works for you. Everyone is differend

"everybody" is not different. the basic math and BMR/TDEE concepts are easy to grasp. don't just pick a number at random. actually calculate it or let MFP calculate it for you. unless you have an unusual medical condition, following the numbers will work for everybody.

Unless you are very petite or you have a lot of weight to lose - 1200 is too low. I learned that from experience. I thought the less I ate the more I'd lose...WRONG!!

You need to find your TDEE (www.fitnessfrog.com) and minus 20% no more than 25% from that number and that should be what you should eat daily. If you exercise you should try to eat at least 1/2 of your exercise calories back. Think of your body as a car - it needs fuel to move. 1200 barely sustains life/ body organ function....your body NEEDS more to LOSE more. Weird but true.

1200 calories is also the baseline lowest number that MFP gives out. I don't think it takes into account height or current weight or anything. I'm very short (barely 5'1) and pretty sedentary, so I've gone with the 1200, but if you are taller or more active (or want to become more active), 1200 might not be such a good fit. Other posters have great formulas and stuff for calculating specific calorie needs.

Wow! Math was never my strong point. 1200 is what MFP suggested and having never actually calorie counted before I thought it was ok.

I really need some help with this, unless there is a calculator somewhere on here??

Age: 35
Height: 164cm / 5'4"
Current weight: 80kg
Goal weight: 60kg (by July 2013 if that makes any difference?)
I have a desk job, so I come under "sedentary"
I'm only light exercising at the moment and will be fore at least another 2 weeks due to planned surgery this coming Monday. I do plan to change that once I have fully recovered

Your help is really appreciated xx

1867 is your daily BMR, which has already been adjusted with the sedentary multiplier.

this is not 100% accurate because BF% is not taken into account, but statistically it should be a good starting point for most of the women your age, height, and weight.

on days with no extra cardio/strength exercise, your TDEE = your daily BMR
on days with extra cardio/strength exercise, your TDEE = your daily BMR + the exercise calories you burned

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

you want to lose 44lbs over the next 30 weeks, so let's call that 1.5lbs per week.

to do that, you need a 750 calorie deficit from your TDEE each day between now and then.

since you're not exercising now, that works out to about 1120 calories per day that you should eat. so long as you are taking a multivitamin with food and meeting your macro goals and not hungry, then this should be ok for you. it's a bit aggressive since your goal is aggressive, but if you can do this for a couple of weeks until you can add exercise, then you're ok. once you add exercise, then your daily calorie goal goes up on the days you exercise by the amount of calories you burn exercising. that's what they mean when they say "eat back your exercise calories". the goal is to keep your deficit consistent from day-to-day, even as your TDEE changes each day.

however, if you find yourself hungry each day, whether you exercise or not, then you should consider scaling back your timeframe for accomplishing your goal. instead of 30 weeks, you could try 45 weeks and then your deficit is only 500 calories per day (i.e., you get to eat an extra 250 calories every day).

Unless you are very petite or you have a lot of weight to lose - 1200 is too low. I learned that from experience. I thought the less I ate the more I'd lose...WRONG!!

You need to find your TDEE (www.fitnessfrog.com) and minus 20% no more than 25% from that number and that should be what you should eat daily. If you exercise you should try to eat at least 1/2 of your exercise calories back. Think of your body as a car - it needs fuel to move. 1200 barely sustains life/ body organ function....your body NEEDS more to LOSE more. Weird but true.

Thanks for the fitnessfrog link! Calculators were helpful

Oh...this again? *facepalm*

My doc said not to go below 1200 for proper nutrition. I find if I keep my cals between 1200-1400 I lose weight whether I'm at 1400 or down to 1200. So, I just swing around in there depending on how hungry I am.