1,200 Calories no matter what?

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davidnusse
davidnusse Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm dieting and hitting the gym every day with my fiancee. I'm in charge of cooking, making meals, MFP, and basically masterminding the diet aspect while she handles being the slavedriver at the gym. I have to run two separate MFP accounts for us. Our individual Caloric needs are different -- 1500 (mine) versus 1200 (her's). But I noticed something weird... if she eats under 1200 Calories in one day, MFP tells her she's going to go into starvation mode. It tells me the same thing. 1,200. Does it make sense that two people of different gender and height, with different Caloric goals would have the same starvation threshold?

Also, in the same vein, her daily workout consists of burning 500 calories on the stairmaster plus weight training. I've been told you can make up your bonus Calories from workouts if you want, but don't have to. But if she's burning almost half her Calories off every day, would that not more sensibly put her at risk of starvation mode? Need advice.
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Replies

  • MrRaph
    MrRaph Posts: 12
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    Your diet is very dangerous. I would eatmore. First try to find out your BMR(Basal Metabolic Rate) then add in your exercise level, after that remove 500 from that number, that is the safe deficit and the best way to loose weight without burning muscle.
  • davidnusse
    davidnusse Posts: 7
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    Um... I'm not quite sure why you're saying my diet is dangerous. I'm referring to two separate people in my post. My diet (set by MFP) is 1,500 calories per day. My fiancee's (also set by mfp) is 1,200 calories per day. Where exactly is the danger?
  • Hey__Im__Krista
    Hey__Im__Krista Posts: 124
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    the danger is your bodies arent getting enough nutrition, the calories burned are taken from the food you eat, 1200 calories is the min amount a body needs to function properly, its not the MAX, your body may need more then hers but at least 1200 will get you by, if shes burning half her calories, plus 1000 less already preset by MFP shes basically starving her body of vital nutrients
  • Shadowknight137
    Shadowknight137 Posts: 1,243 Member
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    Um... I'm not quite sure why you're saying my diet is dangerous. I'm referring to two separate people in my post. My diet (set by MFP) is 1,500 calories per day. My fiancee's (also set by mfp) is 1,200 calories per day. Where exactly is the danger?

    How tall are you, and how much do you weigh?

    Me? I'm 165cm, 53.5kgs (about 5'4' 116lb) and I'd lose weight on 1800kcal a day. That's if I set my goals to "sedentary". I'd wager you're both taller and (since you're trying to lose) heavier than me. So the danger is, well, you're starving yourself.
    Which is okay, I guess, if by a goal of "losing weight" means "losing both fat and muscle"", in which case, have fun being a smaller yu. If you want to just lose fat?... Eat more, pal.
  • MrsAnderson_GettingHealthy
    MrsAnderson_GettingHealthy Posts: 122 Member
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    All that they are saying is that 1200 is the proper calories that people need in order to survive and for their bodies to function properly... If she's eating 1200, burning all of that off and not eating it back- DANGEROUS!
    MFP told you and so are 3 other's on MFP.
  • megmay2591
    megmay2591 Posts: 621 Member
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    You should focus on your net calories. Be sure you eat at least 1200 net calories. This number can be seen on the home page of this website. It's the number furthest to the right.

    netcal_zps1e735076-1_zps05836f9a.jpg

    If the calories are under 1200 then her body could go into starvation mode. You should eat back your calories!!!

    If you have any questions let me know.
  • beekuzz
    beekuzz Posts: 428 Member
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    The under 1200 cal message really means if you sustain it under that for a long time. It's a little annoying because when I first started last June, I kept getting that message because I was 2 cals under. I've been on 1200 cals since June and have lost just around 60 lbs. I am disabled from working, so I am super super sedentary.

    You do what you need to and adjust it accordingly and not to worry about that message - as long as you're not doing 600 cals a day, you'll be fine. Although there are days for one reason or another that you'll be way low or way high. I had to unfriend someone because they thought if 1200 was good then 600-800 would be faster and she kept it up for awhile.

    Good luck.
  • Elliehmltn
    Elliehmltn Posts: 254 Member
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    I think MFP already factors in a safe deficit, with your BMR + calorie needs for basic activities of living (whether you're sedentary, lightly active, moderately active, whatever you filled out when figuring your calorie needs), then gives you a calorie goal enough below that to give you a loss of about half a pound a week, which is safe, in fact quite conservative. If you eat back the calories you burn through exercise, you are still taking in "net" calories at the set level. For example, 1500 calories, you exercise 500 worth. If you didn't eat that back you'd have 1000 net calories, too low. Eat it back and you have 1500. That's the way I understand their math. You can change your calorie allowances via the "settings" button if you think you need more than they're giving you.
  • Elliehmltn
    Elliehmltn Posts: 254 Member
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    P.S. It sure doesn't take much food to add up to 1200 calories. Three very conservative meals and you're there. Breakfast 300, lunch 400, dinner 500, but if you want snacks you have to take the calories away from the meals. 1200 calories is really not very much food, especially when we have become used to overeating, maybe twice that.
  • davidnusse
    davidnusse Posts: 7
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    Thank you for the responses. The first post merely said "you're doing it wrong" without addressing my questions. Everyone else has touched on them in a roundabout way. What I'm understanding is that whatever I lose in working out should be regained by eating up to the new goal. I asked because when I started mfp I was told it didn't matter if I did or not. So i take it that was misinformation. Am I correct so far?

    I'm 6'2" and 200 lbs. Mfp set my numbers for me. It also set hers. I did adjust the carb/protein/fat split though.
  • fatneene
    fatneene Posts: 2 Member
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    How did you adjust the carb/protein/fat split. Is it possible to do it in the program or just in your own records?
    My trainer stated 1200 calories a day and 45 g of protien is way too Low for someone that works out 3 plus days a week.
    Can I adjust my protein number so when I key in what I eat it reads my intake from minus 90 vs from minus 45? I love this app but it needs tweeking. Thanks.
  • mistesh
    mistesh Posts: 243 Member
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    Exercise won't make you thin. More and more research is emerging to show that exercise has a negligible impact on weight loss. The kind of calories you eat will lose the pounds, during which the purpose of exercise is to promote fat loss rather than muscle loss.

    Which has more protein: broccoli or steak? The answer may surprise you. It's broccoli. Yes, you shouldn't starve yourself significantly below the 1200 calories, which stops a desirable type of weight loss, but I could eat complex (slow) carbs all day and not bother counting the calories.
  • blu_meanie_ca
    blu_meanie_ca Posts: 352 Member
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    Thank you for the responses. The first post merely said "you're doing it wrong" without addressing my questions. Everyone else has touched on them in a roundabout way. What I'm understanding is that whatever I lose in working out should be regained by eating up to the new goal. I asked because when I started mfp I was told it didn't matter if I did or not. So i take it that was misinformation. Am I correct so far?

    I'm 6'2" and 200 lbs. Mfp set my numbers for me. It also set hers. I did adjust the carb/protein/fat split though.

    I'm a good 5 inches shorter than you, and also a female. My default calories are near what yours are. I'd reconfigure in your goal page. I'd suspect there was a typographical error there. (at 6'2 I don't image you have much weight to loose.... you don't need to be super low cal).
  • bombedpop
    bombedpop Posts: 2,180 Member
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    Which has more protein: broccoli or steak? The answer may surprise you. It's broccoli.

    El-Oh-El

    No.
  • Cytherea
    Cytherea Posts: 515 Member
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    Thank you for the responses. The first post merely said "you're doing it wrong" without addressing my questions. Everyone else has touched on them in a roundabout way. What I'm understanding is that whatever I lose in working out should be regained by eating up to the new goal. I asked because when I started mfp I was told it didn't matter if I did or not. So i take it that was misinformation. Am I correct so far?

    I'm 6'2" and 200 lbs. Mfp set my numbers for me. It also set hers. I did adjust the carb/protein/fat split though.

    Yes, that was misinformation. How can it not matter? MFP is set up for you to lose weight without any additional exercise, so eating back your exercise calories is essential. Otherwise, yes, you will be starving your body. Your body needs 1200 minimum (for a woman) to run on just in order to survive, not anything additional. So anything additional (exercising) requires more calories to sustain your body, since you've already worked off the food you ate. Do you see what I mean?
  • Retiredmom72
    Retiredmom72 Posts: 538 Member
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    I think that the first responder was a little surprised as the rest of us that you are in charge of the food aspect including logging both accounts. Usually each person has his/her account and figures out for themselves what work for their bodies. The net number of calories is what you should look at. I am not sure but I don't think the moderators or site developers probably never really thought about a guy eating less than 1200 calories. So I really think this is a question should ask in tech support.

    It is great that you are doing this together. Try to eat back many of your calories burned. You may have to adjust if it is not progressing as you want. I will tell you that if you get in starvation mode, your body will then hold on to everything it can. You don't want to lose the muscle you are trying so hard to build. Good luck.

    PS: I am sure you have figured this out, but I will remind you. You really only have to log 1 account and then go into the other account and go to your account and copy the meal (using Quick Tools). Then you can adjust the portion size.
  • erinsueburns
    erinsueburns Posts: 865 Member
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    Dang it, I'm in my phone so searching for the link isn't happening. Look for the thread titled Roadmap 2.0, then follow it back to it's very beginning.

    Basically the crux of it is the 1200 calorie thing is the bare minimum to survive-for the average of humanity (I think it is set there to prevent lawsuits), not necessarily to be healthy (it might be for very tiny people, but not many.) What you actually wasn't to do is calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate)and TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), and don't eat below YOUR BMR-or more sensibly a percentage below TDEE making sure to "net", i.e. eat back exercise calories, to at LEAST your BMR.

    The OP of the Roadmap thread explains it much better than I.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
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    to me, common sense says that a man who is taller and has a higher metabolism than a woman does not have the same "starvation mode" threshold. although, i think that the 1200 calorie threshold for starvation mode is bull**** anyway. starvation mode prior to hitting a really low body fat percentage is a myth.
  • amdahwd
    amdahwd Posts: 237 Member
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    I personally never eat my exercise calories a back intentionally and have been very satisfied with the weight I have lost and also the way my body feels and looks. I am definitely not in starvation mode and I am on 1200 calories a day.
  • davidnusse
    davidnusse Posts: 7
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    Again, thank you all. My questions have been answered. But simply for clarity, I wanna bullet point a few things. :)

    - For the sake of planning the day, number-adjusting, etc I tend to hit the finalize button on my food page multiple times throughout the day. Because of this, I saw the 1,200 calorie warning, as my day was not actually complete yet. I did not see it for only eating 1,200 calories.

    - It may be an issue on MFP's end... I'm not sure. But I promise you all the information I entered as far as my height, weight, gender, level of activity throughout the day, etc are all correct. I've entered and re-entered it multiple times just to be certain haha. The same is true for my fiancee's.

    - The reason I run her account for her is because I do the grocery shopping, the cooking, and the meal prep. Her job requires her to be away for sometimes 12 hours a day. So rather than having her eat fast food (and because I have much more free time than she does), I said I would be willing to make homecooked meals for her to take to work.
    Within that, because I was the one planning every day, it made sense for me to run her MFP account in tandem with mine. Also, she's really not one for having to stress and deal with calorie-counting (even as easy as MFP makes it), so we struck a deal. I control what she eats, and she breaks me on the stairmaster each day :P

    - Today is only day three of us actually doing this diet/excercise thing together, so for anyone concerned about our safety over my mistake of not re-eating the calories lost to excercise... it hasn't been that long, so we're ok. :) But thank you for the concern and for answering my dilemna so quickly.

    - As far as my height and weight, 245 lbs was actually my highest point. I'm now down to 200, but that's still overweight according to the BMI charts. 190 is the high point of the "healthy" range (with 150 being on the low end of healthy for my height). I would like to get down to 185.
    It's really not about the number, it's more about how I look and feel. But 185 seems like a very reasonable ballpark for me to sit at as I'm also looking to rebuild the muscle I lost during my depression/weight gain. So, no, I don't have a lot to lose per se... but that's also because I've come a ways from my starting point. I'm still out of shape though :P

    - Finally, I think the topic might have led to some confusion. My initial question was "why does mfp set the same starvation threshold for every person, wouldn't different people have different thresholds?" Therefore, my topic line was "1,200 calories no matter what?" I'm afraid a couple people might have misinterpreted that to mean "I don't want to eat what mfp says, I want to eat only 1,200" and it would appear that I'm starving myself. That's not the case. The "no matter what" was meant to address height, weight, gender, etc.

    Anyway, I'm rambling now. I've made the adjustments for safety's sake, force-fed her some healthy snacks to make up the difference for today :P , and we'll be at it again tomorrow. Thank you all again for your input and your help!

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