1200, and why it won't work

I applaud your post and the time and thought that went into it. I only wish that I could believe EVERYBODY would listen. I also wish that I knew of MFP and these types of blogs before I became an example of a "self destructive dieter".

This time last year I started the old fashioned way with pen and paper and the thought (I dont remember how I came upon the decision) that 1200 was my new number. To shorten my story a little, I was exactly the person you described. At 5'5 I weighed 212.5 on a good day, had an active job and AMAZING WILLPOWER (in the form of anger at my body) to which I stuck like glue to my diet. Especially when I started seeing results. It was working, I was losing weight, I wasnt about to give up my strict counting practices no matter how hungry I got. I wanted to be thin more than I wanted food. Roughly 18 lbs later I was stuck and started killing myself with workout after workout. Lost a bit more taking me to around 185 and at some point or another my body quit asking me for food all together. I quit getting my menstral cycle and I was dead tired and cranky...BUT STILL FAT!

Fast forward...I got schooled and did the whole EM2WL thing which was painfully difficult and have been gradually increasing my calories ever since while exercising still of course. I still havent gotten my period back (roughly 7 month strike so far) and am still trying to repair all of the damage I did. Now eating about 2000 cal a day and tipping the scale at 164 lbs I am still "broken" but on my way to the right path. (yes , I have been INCREASING calories to gain, maintain and lose weight at each stage as my body adjusts to each new level)

Moral of the story: Say no to 1200. Listen to this dude. Do your homework...Figure out your TDEE, -15% , take it slow and exercise and lose fat NOT mind and muscle.

End rant!

Great post!!!

Thank you for posting

bump

Thanks for sharing your wisdom and experience. I hope to get off the MFP 1200 calorie bandwagon. It's not working for me.

Read the whole thing, very informative and well written. You sound like a great trainer!

I've read a few other well-thought and explained posts about why 1200 a day won't work. I even changed my settings to only lose .5lb a week and it gave me an extra 40 calories to my day...whoo hoo, lol. Most days I am over that. I don't exercise at all right now ecept for walking during my 2 breaks at work, but am hoping to change that soon. I initially joined so I could start SEEING what I was eating and how much of it. I have lost 1lb, but am starting to think it is not going to budge much more unless I start exercising.

Anyways, thanks for the info and taking the time to write it all out!

What I don't understand is why MFP doesn't adapt to this? In reality it's us 1200 calorie people that are getting mixed signals. I mean with the vastness that is MFP, you'd think they would have used this concept if it worked. I'm not trying to knock the idea, cause I like the idea. It's just a little frustrating trying to figure out what to do.

You need to read the supplemental information, the stickied topics. It explains how MFP works. Once you understand that MFP simply subtracts a certain amount of calories depending on what you choose for a weekly weight loss goal, to a minimum of 1200, you can make more educated decisions about your plan.

I have been on MFP for 2 yrs the first yr I lost 50 lbs in about 9 months using the 1200 diet method but then platued at 180 and the scale WOULD NOT BUDGE no matter what I did! so I kinda gave up and have gained back 20lbs. as of yesterday I figured my BMR and TDEE and just started today eating a 1640 calorie diet. I won't lie..........Im scared to death Im going to gain back even more but am willing to give it a go for a month or so to see how I do. any advice will be helpfull. thanks!

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So are there any rules of thumb to guesstimate the calories to start with? I don't know what I was eating before MFP and I don't seem to be able to log and not pay any attention to portion size. While I'm still eating the same things as I was eating before (will improve this at some point, but working on increase exercise to at least 4 times a week from 3), I suspect that some days I was having a few hundred more calories while other days I was eating even less. At 1300-1400, I get a little bit of the "want" munchies, but not "need more food."

Pinging to read later.

Though I don't doubt it a bit, still hard for me to wrap my head around this concept.

Thanks for posting this. I have no idea how people eat 1200 calories. I can *net* 1200 if i workout & burn 300-600 calories. On days when I'm supposed to be eating only 1200 and can't workout, I always go over.

I wish I knew how much to eat. I literally have no idea how much I should be eating. Every website calculates it differently. Do you know a good site to go to to figure it out?

I'm losing 1/2 to 1 pound a week right now. I usually eat 1200-1700 calories a day and workout 5x a week burning 300-600 calories each time. I'm actually starting to get used to eating less but am worried my metabolism is going to slow down. I want to build muscle so I feel that extreme dieting would get in the way of this. It is so frustrating!

I wish that when I started this diet, I would have just eaten regulary for a week or two to see what my starting point was, then went down slowly to see how much less I needed to eat to lose weight.