I feel sorry for women
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There are plenty of us who can eat more than that. I have several friends who live at maintanence on 2000+
For me, I have a hard time force feeding myself the average of 1400 -1500 I consume per day. It is a LOT of food for me to eat because my menu keeps me full. No need to feel sorry for all of us, or any of us really. We are Mars, you are Venus. Just remember not to make Mars mad
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Nah, your vision of what women need to eat to lose weight is way off, and it varies depending on their height, weight, age, and how intense their workout program is.
A 20% calorie deficit to a 4'11" woman for example, yes, might be 1200 calories or 1000 even, but to her, it will feel exactly like your calorie deficit of say, 2000,2200.
During my bulk I could easily look at your 2400 calories, while I'm eating 3500 and say "Man I feel sorry for this guy" but it's all relative.
On a higher level, take an olympic swimmer who eats upwards of 10,000 calories a day just to maintain or add some fast twitch muscle strength. He's not going to feel sorry for someone who eats 3,500, or 2400, it's all relative hehe.
If a safe deficit for a woman is 1200-1000 calories, it'll feel exactly like your 20% calorie deficit does at 2,000.
It's like saying "I feel sorry for my pet mouse, it only eats 20 calories a day! Man it must be starving!" It's not, it's all it needs! lol
QFT0 -
That would be depressing, but I average about 2000 cals per day on maintenance. I do run at least 4 times per week which gives me more calories. Around 1650-1700 without exercise. Quite happy on that!0
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I maintain between 1700-2100 and lose around 1500. I tried the whole 1200 calorie thing when I first started and it was horrible; lasted about 2 months, then started bumping the number up. I like being able to still lose, even at a slower rate, with the maximum calories possible.0
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I have never eaten that little and I have lost well over 100 pounds, I just could not live on that amount.0
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this thread is so full of arrogant... how's about we don't feel sorry for anyone and quit telling me how many calories i need to eat. i'm doing just fine. worry about your damn self.0
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DOn't feel sorry for me...I eat about 1700 cal a day and I am full. There are plenty of days I can eat 2000 and don't gain! Many women are smaller than many men and we also burn calories differently so 1700 cal for a women may easily be the equivelant to 2400 cal for a male.0
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My endocrinologist told me that even if I manage to get down to a reasonable weight, that it's likely I'll only be able to eat 1100ish calories a day to maintain it EVEN WITH 30 min/cardio a day. That's why I am having weight loss surgery... Because an eternity of eating 1100 calories a day and feeling hungry all the time just feels so harsh.
So what is going to happen after your surgery? Are you going to be miserable and continue to eat 1100 and maintain or are you going to eat more and have the surgery again in a few years?0 -
I mean this in the most genuine sense and only as it relates to weight loss. I hear all the time in these forums how women need to eat 1200 calories to lose, and 1400-1500 to maintain, etc. I am at maintanance right now, I work construction, and I lift and do cardio 3-4 times a week. Therefore, I eat about 2400 calories / day. I can't imagine looking into a future of eating only 1400 calories a day for the rst of my life in order to maintain my goal weight. Maybe I shouldn't feel so bad becasue women's bodies just don't require as much fuel, but I can eat 1400 calories after 6pm without blinking an eye. Does this depress any of you guys as much as would me, or am I overreacting?
I don't think he meant this in a bad way - just an observation. My husband also recognizes that it comes easier to him (not meant as a joke) and it is harder for women unless you are pumping iron hard. We are born with less muscle mass and have to work harder than men to get results. MFP started me at 1200 cals but that was almost impossible, since I was eating well over 2000 before. I net around 1500 cals a day. If I don't work out, I try to stick within1500. if I work out - I eat some of the calories back. I am trying to increase my metabolism at this point. Only on program for 2 months.0 -
How sweet that someone thinks and sympathizes for those of us who do struggle with weight loss. I really appreciate it! I feel sorry for myself because whether I eat more or less than what is recommended, I still cannot lose any more weight since that last few months. I hit a wall and no matter how much more or less I eat, my body is not responsive. I did 1200 for a while then I upped it to 1600 but I've been just scattered all over the board.
Before any meal, I ask myself, which is the smarter/healthier option to eat? Which items are not worth eating. It's stressful!0 -
I eat 1200 + the exercises calories to lose. No need to feel sorry for me
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If I ever hit my GW, my BMR will be around 1100 - it is just below 1400 now. I'm 5'3", 36 years old female, about 156 pounds.
I never needed much food to feel full. I've been fat most of my life because of the emotional eating that had nothing to do with hunger or pleasure from eating.
I have a desk job and consider it a good day when my daily burn is over 2000.0 -
On the days I don't work out I have a 1200 calorie limit but that is because if I don't workout I have a very sedentary lifestyle- I work a desk job 9 hours a day and can only leave it for head calls. Plus I want to lose 2lbs a week. If I do my usual workout though it bounces up to 1500-1900 respectively; But some days I am just burnt out after work and would rather eat less than get off my *kitten*.
Do you have to stay seated, or can you stand at your desk? because I will often do squats and hip hinges at my desk. In fact I am doing so now 0 -
The real problem women face is the programming done to them by media which makes them believe they need to do more cardio and avoid weight training. This is the 'real' reason women struggle with losing body fat, and why men have an easier time.
Because of women who use steroids in the media, it makes all drug free women assume they'll get huge and bulky if they so much as touch anything other than a pink dumbbell which is pure horse****.
The best method for women to lose body fat, is to lift heavy in good form. Like men they need a solid routine that includes pull exercises to work the back / bi's / rear delts etc effectively, and a good push workout to work the chest / shoulders / tris effectively, and of course most importantly is a solid leg workout.
If you want to lose body fat hella fast as a woman, and still be able to eat a lot of food, you need to learn how to deadlift and squat serious weight in good form. Start out as light as you need to find proper form and your rep capability, and apply the principles of progressive overload and watch your body turn into eyecandy.
Women have more androgen receptors in their legs than men do as well, which means they are more apt to muscle growth in the legs than men are. A reason they have a more shapely figure below, and why men explode more in their upper body, particularly traps / shoulders / chest.
A woman who works her legs good 2-3 times a week will look absolutely amazing, eat plenty of calories, and burn fat way faster than any woman on a treadmill, or who 'jogs' or does the elliptical / stairmaster.
Gotta work it!0 -
The real problem women face is the programming done to them by media which makes them believe they need to do more cardio and avoid weight training. This is the 'real' reason women struggle with losing body fat, and why men have an easier time.
Because of women who use steroids in the media, it makes all drug free women assume they'll get huge and bulky if they so much as touch anything other than a pink dumbbell which is pure horse****.
The best method for women to lose body fat, is to lift heavy in good form. Like men they need a solid routine that includes pull exercises to work the back / bi's / rear delts etc effectively, and a good push workout to work the chest / shoulders / tris effectively, and of course most importantly is a solid leg workout.
If you want to lose body fat hella fast as a woman, and still be able to eat a lot of food, you need to learn how to deadlift and squat serious weight in good form. Start out as light as you need to find proper form and your rep capability, and apply the principles of progressive overload and watch your body turn into eyecandy.
Women have more androgen receptors in their legs than men do as well, which means they are more apt to muscle growth in the legs than men are. A reason they have a more shapely figure below, and why men explode more in their upper body, particularly traps / shoulders / chest.
A woman who works her legs good 2-3 times a week will look absolutely amazing, eat plenty of calories, and burn fat way faster than any woman on a treadmill, or who 'jogs' or does the elliptical / stairmaster.
Gotta work it!
Great advice, thanks! Yes, I'm hungry! But I'm learning as I go.0 -
The real problem women face is the programming done to them by media which makes them believe they need to do more cardio and avoid weight training. This is the 'real' reason women struggle with losing body fat, and why men have an easier time.
Because of women who use steroids in the media, it makes all drug free women assume they'll get huge and bulky if they so much as touch anything other than a pink dumbbell which is pure horse****.
The best method for women to lose body fat, is to lift heavy in good form. Like men they need a solid routine that includes pull exercises to work the back / bi's / rear delts etc effectively, and a good push workout to work the chest / shoulders / tris effectively, and of course most importantly is a solid leg workout.
If you want to lose body fat hella fast as a woman, and still be able to eat a lot of food, you need to learn how to deadlift and squat serious weight in good form. Start out as light as you need to find proper form and your rep capability, and apply the principles of progressive overload and watch your body turn into eyecandy.
Women have more androgen receptors in their legs than men do as well, which means they are more apt to muscle growth in the legs than men are. A reason they have a more shapely figure below, and why men explode more in their upper body, particularly traps / shoulders / chest.
A woman who works her legs good 2-3 times a week will look absolutely amazing, eat plenty of calories, and burn fat way faster than any woman on a treadmill, or who 'jogs' or does the elliptical / stairmaster.
Gotta work it!
To this I will add, for those exercises, It doesn't hurt at all to start with just your own body weight as the "weight" I know for me they still started out difficult to do and maintain proper form.0 -
I hate the "magic numbers" which seem to abound in fitness, weight loss, and health circles. 1200 calories is one such number, often given as the target for females in weight loss, and 1600-1800 for men. Magic numbers are based on averages, not on individuals. A six foot tall woman needs more calories than a 5'2" man.
And then there are the admonitions that you will go into "starvation mode" if you drop below the magic number. Put aside the fact that research does not support "starvation mode" except in individuals approaching approximately 5% or less body fat.
Fear magic numbers, because few of us are all of the things that go into "the average person." You are probably taller, shorter, more muscled, less muscled, bigger boned, smaller boned, or have a longer or shorter torso than the average person.
Another point to realize is that if you weigh 300 lbs, you will lose weight on a caloric input that will add weight to a person at 175 lbs. Every pound of fat or muscle we add needs calories to feed it. Do a bit of reading on basal metabolic rate (BMR) which is just a fancy way of saying how many calories you would need to input to stay the same weight if you laid in bed all day.
To lose weight we need to create a caloric deficit below the BMR. This can be done by reducing caloric input (eating less), or increasing physical activity (exercising more), or both.
If you don't know where to start, magic numbers might be a good point to begin, but they are not gospel, and are not optimal for the majority of us.0 -
The real problem women face is the programming done to them by media which makes them believe they need to do more cardio and avoid weight training. This is the 'real' reason women struggle with losing body fat, and why men have an easier time.
Because of women who use steroids in the media, it makes all drug free women assume they'll get huge and bulky if they so much as touch anything other than a pink dumbbell which is pure horse****.
The best method for women to lose body fat, is to lift heavy in good form. Like men they need a solid routine that includes pull exercises to work the back / bi's / rear delts etc effectively, and a good push workout to work the chest / shoulders / tris effectively, and of course most importantly is a solid leg workout.
If you want to lose body fat hella fast as a woman, and still be able to eat a lot of food, you need to learn how to deadlift and squat serious weight in good form. Start out as light as you need to find proper form and your rep capability, and apply the principles of progressive overload and watch your body turn into eyecandy.
Women have more androgen receptors in their legs than men do as well, which means they are more apt to muscle growth in the legs than men are. A reason they have a more shapely figure below, and why men explode more in their upper body, particularly traps / shoulders / chest.
A woman who works her legs good 2-3 times a week will look absolutely amazing, eat plenty of calories, and burn fat way faster than any woman on a treadmill, or who 'jogs' or does the elliptical / stairmaster.
Gotta work it!
Thanks!!! I am going to do what you suggest. I take those 24 hour fitness bodypump and lift just enough to feel the pain but I will bump it up and maintain my form to see if my legs can become eyecandy! I did some major leg work with a trainer friend with just my body weight and my legs felt JELLY for at least 3 days. I could not walk or move much. gonna work on that!0 -
bump0
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Don't have the time to read all the other posts so I won't address the misconceptions that women MUST eat that low to lose or maintain (I'm sure they've plenty taken care of that). but ummmm....... NEVER have I eaten that low on a regular basis (except during VERY busy weeks at school where I had no time to eat). Food is fuel. If your body doesn't have enough to fuel your workouts it doesn't function as well. Sure it'll function....but I find more often than not, the people that eat to little get hung up on plateaus again and again and again and when they lose....they lose just as much muscle as they do fat.
<
Lost almost 50 lbs 2 yrs ago eating around 1600-1700 a day (with at least a 30min workout) and currently do strength training + cardio and eat at least 1800-2000 a day and STILL losing (while putting on some very lovely muscle
Don't be feeling sorry for me :laugh:0 -
The real problem women face is the programming done to them by media which makes them believe they need to do more cardio and avoid weight training. This is the 'real' reason women struggle with losing body fat, and why men have an easier time.
Because of women who use steroids in the media, it makes all drug free women assume they'll get huge and bulky if they so much as touch anything other than a pink dumbbell which is pure horse.
The best method for women to lose body fat, is to lift heavy in good form. Like men they need a solid routine that includes pull exercises to work the back / bi's / rear delts etc effectively, and a good push workout to work the chest / shoulders / tris effectively, and of course most importantly is a solid leg workout.
If you want to lose body fat hella fast as a woman, and still be able to eat a lot of food, you need to learn how to deadlift and squat serious weight in good form. Start out as light as you need to find proper form and your rep capability, and apply the principles of progressive overload and watch your body turn into eyecandy.
Women have more androgen receptors in their legs than men do as well, which means they are more apt to muscle growth in the legs than men are. A reason they have a more shapely figure below, and why men explode more in their upper body, particularly traps / shoulders / chest.
A woman who works her legs good 2-3 times a week will look absolutely amazing, eat plenty of calories, and burn fat way faster than any woman on a treadmill, or who 'jogs' or does the elliptical / stairmaster.
Gotta work it!
I have never thought this. I haven't seen the media tell me that cardio is the way to go and weight training is bad. Who are these stupid women who believe that to be true?
I don't weight train sometimes because I have a bad back and bad knees and also I'm lazy. Nothing to do with thinking weight training is bad for women though.
It's much easier to cut calories than it is to weight train.0 -
Nah, your vision of what women need to eat to lose weight is way off, and it varies depending on their height, weight, age, and how intense their workout program is.
A 20% calorie deficit to a 4'11" woman for example, yes, might be 1200 calories or 1000 even, but to her, it will feel exactly like your calorie deficit of say, 2000,2200.
During my bulk I could easily look at your 2400 calories, while I'm eating 3500 and say "Man I feel sorry for this guy" but it's all relative.
On a higher level, take an olympic swimmer who eats upwards of 10,000 calories a day just to maintain or add some fast twitch muscle strength. He's not going to feel sorry for someone who eats 3,500, or 2400, it's all relative hehe.
If a safe deficit for a woman is 1200-1000 calories, it'll feel exactly like your 20% calorie deficit does at 2,000.
It's like saying "I feel sorry for my pet mouse, it only eats 20 calories a day! Man it must be starving!" It's not, it's all it needs! lol
THANK YOU!
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I feel sorry for men. They will never know how awesome it is to be a female.0
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I don't feel sorry for women.
That is all.0 -
I eat in the 1200-1400 range everyday. Being vegetarian, it is actually hard for me to reach my caloric goals - I do manage to hit the carb numbers everyday
Unless I eat dessert or cook something really special and over eat, I usually am under my allowance. I am not starving by any stretch of imagination! 0 -
I guess I feel differently from most women on here. I didn't read all the replies, but they all eat around 1700 and are happy with that. I eat a minimum of 1600-1700 calories per day also, sometimes over 2000 on the days I workout, and I am still hungry by the time I go to bed. I love food, healthy food and junk food. Of course I miss the junk sometimes, but I try not to eat it because it affects my workouts; I can't lift as much or as hard. There are many people on MFP who brag about eating ice cream every day and talk to the rest of us like we're stupid for cutting it out, but it just doesn't work for me. I've tried. So, yeah, I feel sorry for me too, sometimes. Especially when my husband pigs out next to me and then goes and rocks an awesome kettlebell session. Or he thinks, "Hey, maybe I want to lose a few pounds," and keeps pigging out and loses the weight overnight while I slave and struggle. I think it's nice to have a little male sympathy.0
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I eat lots of food at 1200, loads and loads of vegetables, fills you up and it still feel indulgent, but I really really love vegetables. I'd sooner eat a tray of roasted parsnips, carrots, mushrooms and onions that consider a bag of greasy chips. So I don't feel unfortunate at all. The only shame is that I had to cut out standard yeasty bread, but I have some on Sundays if I'm hungover
I am with this poster. I am on 1100-1200 calories a day and do not eat any "diet" foods--just whole, unprocessed, organic foods. Tons of veggies. I am completely satiated and only feel hungry about half an hour before a meal. I do have PCOS and Insulin Resistence. I have been in the BOD POD and have used indirect calorimetry to find out my actual TDEE. It is VERY low and I would not go near starvation mode until under 900 calories for an extended period of time. I really hope people will stop blindly attacking people with low caloric intakes. You have no idea how varied metabolisms can be and how balanced their nutrient intake can be. Please try to be more considerate of this in the future.
Take this as an example:
"The basal metabolic rate varies between individuals. One study of 150 adults representative of the population in Scotland reported basal metabolic rates from as low as 1027 kcal per day (4301 kJ) to as high as 2499 kcal (10455 kJ); with a mean BMR of 1500 kcal (6279 kJ). Statistically, the researchers calculated that 62.3% of this variation was explained by differences in fat free mass. Other factors explaining the variation included fat mass (6.7%), age (1.7%), and experimental error including within-subject difference (2%). The rest of the variation (26.7%) was unexplained. This remaining difference was not explained by sex nor by differing tissue sized of highly energetic organs such as the brain.[9]
Thus there are differences in BMR even when comparing two subjects with the same lean body mass. The top 5% of people are metabolizing energy 28-32% faster than individuals with the lowest 5% BMR.[10] For instance, one study reported an extreme case where two individuals with the same lean body mass of 43 kg had BMRs of 1075 kcal/day (4.5 MJ) and 1790 kcal/day (7.5 MJ). This difference of 715 kcal (67%) is equivalent to one of the individuals completing a 10 kilometer run every day.[10]"
See the Wikipedia entry for BMR to see the exact sources.
TDEE/BMR calculations are just estimates based on average metabolisms. For example, even the online BMI calculators (with exceptionally precise measurement of inches) gave me a number 7% higher than actual body composition testing. Sometimes caloric increases aid in weight loss, for some, seemingly severely low caloric intake is absolutely necessary. Either way, you can have a 1200 calorie regime that is optimized and much healthier than a 2400 calories regime that is full of crap food. It's all what you make of it.
These discussions bashing 1200 calorie diets are honestly extremely cruel and make those like me feel extremely unwelcome on MFP. Certainly there are people on 1200 calorie diets attempting unrealistically fast weight loss and harming themselves. BUT, that's not all of us. Since when have hyperbolic statements done anyone any good?
meant to highlight this but I'm bad on my phone - "[10] For instance, one study reported an extreme case where two individuals with the same lean body mass of 43 kg had BMRs of 1075 kcal/day (4.5 MJ) and 1790 kcal/day (7.5 MJ)."
I've had my BMR tested twice within 6 weeks and it varied quite a bit, might be a female's hormones, might not. But it IS top of the line - BIODEX Computerized Dynamometer
• BIODEX Balance System SD
• BIODEX Body Weight Support Harness System
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We really are different in our caloric needs.0 -
I feel sorry for men. They will never know how awesome it is to be a female.
Also, penises seem annoying.0 -
I personally find it extremely liberating to know there are women here who have been massively successful in losing weight and changing their body composition, and they've done it all without starving themselves, crash dieting, or excluding foods (think of all those banner ads, "ONE FOOD YOU SHOULD NEVER EAT", etc)
Thank you, ladies.0 -
Some of y'all on this thread seem hangry. Do you want a cookie? Wait, never mind, you probably can't afford that with only 1200 calories...***
***Disclaimer: snark does not equal bashing, humor does not equal hating, stating that one eats more than 1200 calories and still loses does not equal telling anyone else how much to eat, and offering sympathy to those who eat 1200 calories a day does not equal arrogance or ridicule.
/end0 -
I feel sorry for men. They will never know how awesome it is to be a female.
Also, penises seem annoying.
To quote Elaine from Seinfeld, "I don't know how you guys walk around with those things."0
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