Ending 1200 Calorie Bashing: Respecting Your Peers

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  • chocl8girl
    chocl8girl Posts: 1,968 Member
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    I think others (whose goal in posting is to help others find a way to get healthy) might find it offensive that you expect everyone to write a huge disclaimer for your benefit every time they talk about a 1200 calorie diet.

    Apparently, even when you DO write a disclaimer, people still find a way to be offended. *shrug*
  • gerrielips
    gerrielips Posts: 180 Member
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    This is such an important post - well written and right on target. Every individual is different in how they metabolize food and in the ways that food becomes a trigger to increased weight gain. I am insulin resistant and am saving a copy of this post to refer to when I next see my doctor. The MFP is great for tracking what I'm eating, the amounts, and the comments of others with similar issues are helpful - when they aren't coupled with mis-information. There's so much to learn about the science of weight-loss and why/how we gain weight, but it is vitally important that we know ourselves and are honest about what and how we are eating. Natalie's comments are my reason for finding positive information on MFP.
  • Babeskeez
    Babeskeez Posts: 606 Member
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    I'm glad somebody finally posted this!

    Unless I eat 1200 cals I really struggle to lose weight. I get people commenting on my diary sometimes criticising my meals and telling me to eat more. What people don't understand is - I won't take advice from them.

    I take advice from my doctor and the personal trainers at the gym.

    x
    Any doctor or personal trainer worth anything wouldn't suggest such a thing.

    Yes, I said that.

    Double quoting to say this; my parents are former personal trainers and BODYBUILDERS. They subscribed to the 1200 calorie rule and I think they still do (for weight loss). But let me tell you, they have had to "restart" their diet several times....I cant imagine why since you know, 1200 cals WORKS...:grumble:
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
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    It matters not, you are doing it wrong and there are people here DYING to tell you why. There will be the "you are lying" crowd, the "you can't count" crowd, and the very soapboxy "snowflake" crowd.

    Every human is a machine, every machine is the same, and calories in=calories out period.

    EDIT: My whole post is sarcasm towards the people mentioned in my post, not you OP.

    Exactly.
  • amyann2
    amyann2 Posts: 69 Member
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    Terrific post by the original poster. I have not read all the comments but was pleased to see that the first few were positive.

    Hats off to you for taking charge of your situation and for standing up for yourself and others. :-)
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
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    I was advised to eat 1280 calories by MFP.

    Just to beat my own dead horse here, MFP did not advise you to EAT 1280. MFP advised you to NET 1280-meaning you should be eating more than than when you workout (or averaged out over the week-however). MFP does not tell people to EAT 1200 calories (or any other amount). If you eat your exercise calories (as you should-at least in another 6 weeks when you're tired and cranky you should start), you'll be eating more than 1280-which is what MFP advised you to do.
  • hestia1986
    hestia1986 Posts: 21
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    People are way too sensitive about things that others write - thinking they know exactly what others mean.
    And of course, they also do tend to write things that they needn't - especially when they THINK that someone wrote something insulting. And after that things just escalate...

    However, I have not once noticed anyone bashing people, who are eating under 1200 while being supervised by doctors. Maybe only when they have forgotten to mention it in the first place.
  • RunDoozer
    RunDoozer Posts: 1,699 Member
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    I was advised to eat 1280 calories by MFP.

    Just to beat my own dead horse here, MFP did not advise you to EAT 1280. MFP advised you to NET 1280-meaning you should be eating more than than when you workout (or averaged out over the week-however). MFP does not tell people to EAT 1200 calories (or any other amount). If you eat your exercise calories (as you should-at least in another 6 weeks when you're tired and cranky you should start), you'll be eating more than 1280-which is what MFP advised you to do.

    This sick of people messing this up. Lets exercise 1000 calories a day and then only eat 1300. Your body cannot live off 300 calories and be healthy. Will you survive probably, but youll likely have side effects
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    However, I have not once noticed anyone bashing people, who are eating under 1200 while being supervised by doctors. Maybe only when they have forgotten to mention it in the first place.

    Hopefully it was not your intention to suggest that it is okay to bash people who eat under 1200 without doctor supervision.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    I find it very interesting that high v. low calorie is such an emotive issue on mfp. I started on mfp with 1200kcal + exercise and I BELIEVED it must be right. I believed that my maintenance must be 1700kcal as mfp said because, if 2000kcal was the average, and I was smaller than average it made perfect sense. However, when mfp thought I should lose 1lb a week, I lost closer to 3lb a week, which wasn't my aim with only 10lb left to lose (I had lost 20lb pre mfp, but wanted to slow down).

    Through experimentation I found my maintenance calories to be around 2400 + exercise. I made friends who ate a similar amount, because it can be hard for people to relate to someone eating so much on a weight loss website. It was interesting, at that point, to find that people BELIEVED in eating 2000+kcal, just as I had believed in eating 1200. I believe now that eating 1200kcal, even with added exercise, was very bad FOR ME. It was a cut of around 50% of TDEE! I started hot flushing if I had a high calorie meal and blood tests showed I was anaemic, which I had never been before, despite being vegetarian since the age of 11-23, then pescatarian up to then.

    If someone asks about low calorie versus high calorie, I will tell my story. If someone can't stick to 1200kcal and binges, I will suggest eating more. However, I have friends who eat little through their own experimentations, rather than a belief, in which case I normally leave them to it. I don't BELIEVE in high calorie, it's just my reality, and others' reality may differ from my own.

    Thank you to the OP for being so reasonable and lucid. The Scottish study is fascinating, as mainly I hear there is little difference in BMR between individuals. When I first found I had to eat so much not to lose I thought I must be ill, but maybe I just have a high BMR.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    Just to add: while I don't believe higher cals are right for everyone, based on my own experience, I do advocate starting high (eg mfp maintenance) and seeing what happens (I'd have lost about 1lb a week) rather than starting too low.
  • nataliescalories
    nataliescalories Posts: 292 Member
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    I'll be honest and say that while your post is really important in that it's a great reminder that MFP is supposed to be a supportive community and not a bunch of attack dogs, I think there is a valuable reason behind why people discourage others from eating 1200 cal diets and refer people who do to IPOARM.

    Not everyone has all of the issues you described - a lot of the people doing 1200 are not obese and do not have medical issues. You get to be the special snowflake. Not everyone can also afford to see dietitians or use a bod pod. Blanket advice is very useful and I would say that for 99% of people 1200 calories is too low. Metabolisms do vary, but that's why BMR uses an average and people are encouraged to play around with their numbers after giving eating more a try.

    I'm also going to point out that saying "1200 calories is ok for me! It's ok for you too!" seems a bit irresponsable given that you are medically recommended to do so. I'm expecting swarms of "I do 1200 calories and I love it so everyone telling me to eat more should shut up" comments.

    But yes. You are correct. Supportive community, blah blah. Play nice, blah blah.

    ^ This completely.

    I just want to add that I went through a month of eating 1200 calories before realising that I could lose the same amount of weight per week eating up to 2000 calories a day.
    I never started this to find a quick fix. I wanted and want to be healthy and fit and to have a long and happy life and future. If that means that I have to go through 6 months of feeling hungry, moody and just all round grumpy then no thank you (my own personal experience of eating @1200). My other option is to extend that timescale to 18 months but eat what I want (IIFYM) and feel like I'm not restricting myself...ever. That for means that this is maintainable for the rest of my life.
    I also just want to add that I have Grave's disease (thyroid disease) and PCOS.

    That's fine that you agree with that poster, but I have to point out, yet again, that she actually blatantly misquoted showing poor absorption of the original post.
  • nataliescalories
    nataliescalories Posts: 292 Member
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    Great OP... I am an accountant for a living, and I am always amazed at how much more there is to life than just numeric results. Numbers are just ways to guide us, not rule us. Our daily logging can record the number on the scale, how many calories in and out, our measurements.. We can get tests done by a doctor that give us good or bad results or need to improve results.

    None of that matters if we dont feel good. I have days when i want to eat many multiples of my plan, but most days now i do struggle to get all my maintenance calories in. Every day i get more activity and strength training in.

    Too bad we cant measure numerically our satisfaction with life level. For me, the daily discipline of logging is very comforting and reading how others are working thru finding the right fitness "mix" is always helpful.

    Well said! Thank you for commenting! So many of us have been so out of touch with our bodies for so long.
  • nataliescalories
    nataliescalories Posts: 292 Member
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    what u gain weight on 200cals and u over 300pounds? impossible

    And this is precisely why I posted this thread. You are actually calling me a liar and questioning some very rigid, specific testing? Such a quip is the epitome of the problem being addressed.
  • nataliescalories
    nataliescalories Posts: 292 Member
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    THANK YOU NATALIE!!!!!

    I too gain weight at 1500 cals (with no exercise). I gain weight at 25 carbs a day. I am under a doctor's supervision. Those people who try to subterfuge me are excessive at MFP. Some are downright abusive in their tactics. Thank goodness for those helpful ones who are not so judgmental - who ask rather than condemn.

    I appreciate your post and the time you took for all of our benefit

    Thank you for your comment; hopefully we can open up more of a space for discussion and positivity. =)
  • nataliescalories
    nataliescalories Posts: 292 Member
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    Amen!

    I also have pcos and hypothyroidism , i am also morbidly obese, that means my weight could kill me. Even with thyroxine tablets the recomended 1440 cals a day MFP allows me is to much I physically cannot loose weight on that amount and increase of just 100 more per day see me put on half a pound a week . I have to stick between 900 and 1200 max in order to loose a small amount of weight. My body is not starving and Im so much healthier already after just 4 weeks at this levels. Personally if I ate 1800 cals more per day my weight would be so high in a few years, everyone would be pointing fingers because Im to fat to leave the house or breathe on my own . Obviously when someone with no health problems and who is just small amounts over weight eats such a low amount it should be discouraged . But foe everyone else how about just giving them credit for doing something about it?

    Well said; thank you!
  • NewMnky1
    NewMnky1 Posts: 264
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    Amazing post!!! You said it all and you said it best. I too am on a low calorie 1100-1200 Dr. supervised diet and am by no means starving, deprived or dying. Imagine this when, I started the diet on 1100 calories a day, I got healthier and I am not talking just weight loss, I am no longer borderliine diabetic, borderline high blood pressure or boardline high cholesterol. All of my blood work two weeks ago came back perfect, liver function etc all great. Once I get to goal I will look at upping my calories a bit perhaps but it is working and thank you so much for your post, it lets us know we are not alone!!
  • nataliescalories
    nataliescalories Posts: 292 Member
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    How to say this without sounding like a prick.. because honestly I don't mean to be..

    But I'm reading the responses, "My doctor put me on this diet, they know more than you" "I know my own body" "Everyone's different, I know what works for me"

    Ok. You don't want to hear that what you're doing is wrong or isn't working. Ok.

    So why ask for advice?

    That's the part I don't understand. If you ask for advice people are going to give it. And a lot of what you'll get is "Unless you have a medical condition that your doctor is treating you for you should probably eat over 1200 calories a day and exercise."

    Hopefully this will clarify: the bashing is happening to 1200 calorie people asking for any advice. For example, you ask if weight gain after working out is normal--there will be people saying they saw you eat 1200 calories and you're harming yourself for that. Really, they could be informing you about the muscle repair process. You ask for low-cal breakfast ideas--same thing. It shuts us out of so many threads; it's stifling. Someone on 2400 calories could ask for low cal recipe ideas and actually receive valuable suggestions without being treated like a masochistic idiot; everyone needs to be treated with respect--not just people whose caloric requirements you might agree with. I had a friend today with her 1200-calorie diary open and I commented on the sodium and it helped her make an adjustment with a spice rub she was using. Entering with care instead of criticism can just be so much more beneficial. And hey--maybe someone is on 1200 calories when they ought not be, but again, there are kind ways to suggest they recalculate and try another caloric goal.
  • WinnerVictorious
    WinnerVictorious Posts: 4,735 Member
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    if somebody is on a 1200 calorie diet and the BMR/TDEE calculations support that as the correct amount for them without having a ridiculous weight loss goal rate, then that's certainly fine for me.

    if somebody is on 1200 calories because they read about that amount in some dumb magazine or because their friend's cousin told them that 1200 calories was the way to lose weight, but never bothered to verify it by running the calculations, then i'll call it out as ignorant (if i can even be bothered to comment on it anymore since there are so many threads started by special snowflakes these days, just wanting to be supported in their weight loss goals doing random, silly things like choosing their calorie goals out of thin air).

    for anyone in the former category, more power to them

    for anyone in the latter category, meh... i don't care anymore. do whatever you want and be miserable in the process, just don't demand that total strangers on the internet pat you on the head and tell you how special you are.
  • kcallas88
    kcallas88 Posts: 192
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    I'll be honest and say that while your post is really important in that it's a great reminder that MFP is supposed to be a supportive community and not a bunch of attack dogs, I think there is a valuable reason behind why people discourage others from eating 1200 cal diets and refer people who do to IPOARM.

    Not everyone has all of the issues you described - a lot of the people doing 1200 are not obese and do not have medical issues. You get to be the special snowflake. Not everyone can also afford to see dietitians or use a bod pod. Blanket advice is very useful and I would say that for 99% of people 1200 calories is too low. Metabolisms do vary, but that's why BMR uses an average and people are encouraged to play around with their numbers after giving eating more a try.

    I'm also going to point out that saying "1200 calories is ok for me! It's ok for you too!" seems a bit irresponsable given that you are medically recommended to do so. I'm expecting swarms of "I do 1200 calories and I love it so everyone telling me to eat more should shut up" comments.

    But yes. You are correct. Supportive community, blah blah. Play nice, blah blah.

    You said everything I was going to say, so, QFT. :heart:

    EXACTLY!
    I don't think anyone on this site would bash you or your diet because a doctor put you on it.
    95% of people who say that they need to only eat 1200 calories a day to loose weight are wrong and starving their bodies. People out there are concerned for them, and i'm included in that.
    If you go say a doctor told me to only eat 1200 because i'm obese and have medical problems, i don't think anyone on here would call your doctor a liar. Congrats on being able to afford a doctor to help you with weight loss.

    Your experience, compared to someone who's 120lbs and wants to get to 105 and eats only 1200 calories a day and complains they don't loose anything, are drastically different. Respect the people who eat more because they lose more and it works for them.
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