Seeing a lot of rude comments about 1200/cal....

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  • meg7399
    meg7399 Posts: 672 Member
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    everyone starts off at 1200 calories
    I didn't. Where did you get this?
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    I have seen this info on here before and it makes a lot of sense. Worth reading again and sharing with newbies.
    What is the exact number of calories for you?

    We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal bodyweight no matter what some calculator or chart says.

    In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
    per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
    the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
    that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
    calculators and text books say otherwise.

    This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
    was just a bit off.

    -John Barban (The Body Centric Calorie Guide from the Venus Index and Adonis Index Manuals)

    The Theory of Fat Availability:
    •There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
    •The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
    •The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
    •Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
    may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

    At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
    you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
    when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
    as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
    men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

    -Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)
    [/quote]
  • Lib_B
    Lib_B Posts: 446 Member
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    punchline - do what works for you. ignore the haters. if you are a gym rat - you are going to need more calories. if you are like me and work a desk job, have two small children and a husband who travels for work and are lucky to get to the gym twice a week, 1200 will probably work for you. if you have questions, visit with a nutritionist and don't worry about what people on here have to say....myself included.
  • red_road
    red_road Posts: 761 Member
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    everyone starts off at 1200 calories

    Really? No they don't.... it depends on height, start weight, age, gender, goals, and activity level....

    the site puts everyone on 1200 to lose 2 lbs a week
  • jadelucywatson1
    jadelucywatson1 Posts: 32 Member
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    I'm 5'0 and 123lbs. If I eat much more than 1200 calories a day I feel like I'm overeating! About 1500 is a maintenance diet for me. That's because I'm a small woman and my body doesn't need as many calories as a 6'1 man. Everyone has a different needs - don't let people get you down with comments about 'starvation'! At the end of the day, even if you wanted to do a 500 calorie per day diet, no one has the right to judge. You do what feels right for you!
  • OzarkMountainMan
    OzarkMountainMan Posts: 42
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    I have found that when your body goes into "starvation mode" you will see a difference in how much energy you have, the feeling of sluggishness, tired, lethargic and in some cases you might notice a cramping in your larger muscle groups.

    The reason you need to make sure you don't deprive your body of the proper intake is that when the body burns "fuel" for energy it will use lean muscle before fat stores.

    As long as you maintain an active exercise routine and don't feel hungry, in my opinion, you're doing what you're supposed to be doing and that's losing weight.
  • ewhsweets
    ewhsweets Posts: 167 Member
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    anything under 1200 cals a day is considered starvation mode. food for thought.

    Cite, please.

    BUMP!!!

    ME TOO!!!

    Nobody here is an expert, eat what your body tells you it needs!

    I find the 1200 'starvation' preachers amusing - because there is NOTHING to support this 'theory'

    Everybody is 'different' - and you figure out what works for you.

    Unfortunately though, you leave youself open when you post

    :indifferent:
  • askeates
    askeates Posts: 1,490 Member
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    anything under 1200 cals a day is considered starvation mode. food for thought.

    People who are never hungry rarely lose weight. Also food for thought.

    I find this to be a very true statement... I am a large woman, but struggle with eating. Most of the time I am rarely hungry, so I just forget to eat (busy job/life like everyone). And I found the less I eat the more I either stay the same or gain weight! Crazy, right? But when I try to stick to 1250 calories (what MFP suggests for me) I move nowhere at all.

    If the 1200 calories work for you, then stick to it as best you can! Good luck and keep up the good work ;)
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
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    they are JERKS!, everyone is different!
  • VegKellyRN
    VegKellyRN Posts: 23 Member
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    I've been at a set "1200 calories a day" from MFP since almost the beginning. I'm down almost 30 pounds and I feel wonderful. Recently I've stopped counting calories and I'm just eating 6 CLEAN meals per day and putting ZERO junk in my body. I think this is much more important than counting calories. If you eat 1200 calories of crap food you'll probably put your body into starvation mode since it's not getting the nutrients it needs. However, 1200 calories worth of clean, non processed foods has a ton more nutrients and will not put your body into "starvation" mode. It's the quality of calories. Always.
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
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    I think it's just an issue if 1200 calories + meal timing will make you go catabolic or not for too long of the day. Starvation mode isn't real. Spiking your insulin too high and having the excess being stored as fat is real.
  • gabriellejayde
    gabriellejayde Posts: 607 Member
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    "Gradually up your calorie goals when you grow tired of being "stuffed" on asparagus spears" I always wonder how obese.overweight people could be stuffed at 1,200. How did you get so big if you can barley eat 1,200 calories? So confused. Honestly at 1,200 a day I would have to stay bed bound and i'd still be hungry.

    it's pretty easy actually.
    I am not a big eater and I get full quickly. I got fat because I ate fast food, fried food, and candy every day. Now I make healthy choices and eat 1200 cals a day, every day. I'm healthier than i've ever been (just had a physical) and i can't say that i'm never hungry, but i'm certainly not starving or weak and I'm not in "starvation mode"... lol.
    my diary is open.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    Lifecycle of an MFPer

    1. Start out at 1200 calories
    2. Complain about how you're "stuffed" at 1200 calories and don't understand why everyone wants you to eat more
    3. Make a post calling out the mean people
    4. Gradually up your calorie goals when you grow tired of being "stuffed" on asparagus spears
    5. Realize that you're still losing weight and feeling much better
    6. Try to help 1200 calorie people
    7. Get called an arrogant ahole one too many times
    8. Retreat to chit-chat forum more or less permanently, only occasionally emerging to lay down a burn
    "Gradually up your calorie goals when you grow tired of being "stuffed" on asparagus spears" I always wonder how obese.overweight people could be stuffed at 1,200. How did you get so big if you can barley eat 1,200 calories? So confused. Honestly at 1,200 a day I would have to stay bed bound and i'd still be hungry.

    Perhaps you should read your profile before passing judgment on others.
    Different diet habits have different effects on people. For someone who lived on fast foods, high carbs and fried foods, the calories on a small volume of food can really add up. When they change their diets to whole foods, fresh veggies, etc, they get a lot more volume of food with fewer calories, so they certainly can get stuffed on 1200 per day. The same volume of a food like fries, would have 4000 or more cals and that is how people get obese. They eat more calories than their bodies burn.
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
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    Lifecycle of an MFPer

    1. Start out at 1200 calories
    2. Complain about how you're "stuffed" at 1200 calories and don't understand why everyone wants you to eat more
    3. Make a post calling out the mean people
    4. Gradually up your calorie goals when you grow tired of being "stuffed" on asparagus spears
    5. Realize that you're still losing weight and feeling much better
    6. Try to help 1200 calorie people
    7. Get called an arrogant ahole one too many times
    8. Retreat to chit-chat forum more or less permanently, only occasionally emerging to lay down a burn
    "Gradually up your calorie goals when you grow tired of being "stuffed" on asparagus spears" I always wonder how obese.overweight people could be stuffed at 1,200. How did you get so big if you can barley eat 1,200 calories? So confused. Honestly at 1,200 a day I would have to stay bed bound and i'd still be hungry.

    For me I moved from a mostly meat based diet to a mostly plant based diet and the extra bulk really, genuinely, did fill me up. On several days, MFP berated me for eating too little. Of course, I was also only eating 1200 calories net in reality I was eating closer to 1600 or 1700, and burning 400 - 500 with exercise. I lost quite a lot of weight on that plan.

    I'm now on 2,000 cals, since I've done a much more accurate assessment of how much energy I burn in a day, and I continue to lose weight at the same rate. I've reintroduced meat into my diet, but make much better choices about the meat I eat.
  • Annaruthus
    Annaruthus Posts: 301 Member
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    Hi cj, looks like we joined in the same month. I've noticed the comments also and have wondered why ppl think that's too low a goal. Something they don't understand is when we're short (I'm 5'3") we naturally need less calories.

    Besides your height and weight (I'm 5'3 as well) it is important to consider your activity levels, and your amount of lean muscle mass. On days where I don't workout (my rest days are Saturday and Sunday), I'm usually between 1200-1400 calories. Still high on protein, low on carbs, and moderate on fat. On my lifting/cardio days (that's Monday-Friday *I'm a fitness competitor and trainer*) I will eat 1700-1900 calories(my fat cutting range). I eat that much for two reasons: increased activity levels, and eating for recovery. On these days, I have more moderate carbs, but still high protein and moderate fats.

    So what you are doing throughout the day, and what your goals are (I mean I want to be a super fit 6-pack havin' lady, but not everyone does) should also be factors in what your calorie goal is. Ideally, everyone would be able to speak with a personal trainer, or a nutritionist about what their nutrition plan/calorie intake should be. Alas......
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
    Options
    Lifecycle of an MFPer

    1. Start out at 1200 calories
    2. Complain about how you're "stuffed" at 1200 calories and don't understand why everyone wants you to eat more
    3. Make a post calling out the mean people
    4. Gradually up your calorie goals when you grow tired of being "stuffed" on asparagus spears
    5. Realize that you're still losing weight and feeling much better
    6. Try to help 1200 calorie people
    7. Get called an arrogant ahole one too many times
    8. Retreat to chit-chat forum more or less permanently, only occasionally emerging to lay down a burn
    "Gradually up your calorie goals when you grow tired of being "stuffed" on asparagus spears" I always wonder how obese.overweight people could be stuffed at 1,200. How did you get so big if you can barley eat 1,200 calories? So confused. Honestly at 1,200 a day I would have to stay bed bound and i'd still be hungry.

    Perhaps you should read your profile before passing judgment on others.
    Different diet habits have different effects on people. For someone who lived on fast foods, high carbs and fried foods, the calories on a small volume of food can really add up. When they change their diets to whole foods, fresh veggies, etc, they get a lot more volume of food with fewer calories, so they certainly can get stuffed on 1200 per day. The same volume of a food like fries, would have 4000 or more cals and that is how people get obese. They eat more calories than their bodies burn.

    Precisely what happened to me.
  • mketchman
    mketchman Posts: 3
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    MFP put me on a 1200 calorie diet too. I've lost almost 6 lbs in two weeks. I've been under my calorie count mores days then not. It all depends on how much and what type of exercises you do everyday. If 1200 works for you then stick with it if 1200 is too much for you then lower it. You can change your daily calorie goal to whatever you want. I've thought about dropping mine because it's difficult to reach 1200 calories a day. When I was in the military I was 40 lbs over the acceptable weight for my height and the nutritionist I was seeing wanted me on a 1000 calorie diet. It's harder for women to lose weight then it is men which is why we have to have lower calorie counts. If you can't eat 1200 calories a day then don't just make sure you're not starving yourself.
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
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    Lifecycle of an MFPer

    1. Start out at 1200 calories
    2. Complain about how you're "stuffed" at 1200 calories and don't understand why everyone wants you to eat more
    3. Make a post calling out the mean people
    4. Gradually up your calorie goals when you grow tired of being "stuffed" on asparagus spears
    5. Realize that you're still losing weight and feeling much better
    6. Try to help 1200 calorie people
    7. Get called an arrogant ahole one too many times
    8. Retreat to chit-chat forum more or less permanently, only occasionally emerging to lay down a burn

    Nailed it.

    I'm a reformed 1,200 calorie eater. I'm up to and average of 2,000 per day now and still losing.
  • tryclyn
    tryclyn Posts: 2,414 Member
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    ...but I like eating 2000 per day and still losing.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
    Options
    I have found that when your body goes into "starvation mode" you will see a difference in how much energy you have, the feeling of sluggishness, tired, lethargic and in some cases you might notice a cramping in your larger muscle groups.

    The reason you need to make sure you don't deprive your body of the proper intake is that when the body burns "fuel" for energy it will use lean muscle before fat stores.

    As long as you maintain an active exercise routine and don't feel hungry, in my opinion, you're doing what you're supposed to be doing and that's losing weight.

    Your body burns muscle before fat stores? Is there some scientific evidence to support this theory?

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