Why is it bad to eat 1200cal?

I'd look more into what you are eating than just focusing on a number.

For a 5'6" female, 1200 cal should be enough. Make sure to eat back your exercise calories.

I am 5'4 and 160lb, hoping to lose 30. I was planning on eating 1200cal and exercising 300-400. Well after reading some threads on MFP, i learned tha some people say this slows our metabolism. So my question is, how many cals should i eat? and why do you need to eat back your exercise cals? doesn't that defeat the purpose of exercisin to create a calorie deficit?

as a very loose rule, you should eat more than your BMR. this is for various reasons, all related to long term health and success at losing weight.

to lose weight you want to eat at less than your TDEE. MFP will not let you go more than 1000 calories under your TDEE, mostly for long term success reasons.

if you're obese, you can get away with a larger deficit for a number of weeks or months, but eventually there will be some side effects if your deficit is continuously very large (e.g. you start losing your hair, you start feeling lethargic, you start losing muscle mass, etc.). when those side effects occur and how large the continuous deficit would have to be are going to be different from person to person.

in no case will MFP allow you to have a calorie goal under 1200. in general, 1200 is a good minimum under which most people should not go. there are some very short women whose BMRs are low enough that they could conceivably be fine at some number less than 1200, but they are special cases and not the norm.

0 < BMR < calorie goal < TDEE

if it turns out that your (TDEE - deficit) results in a number less than your BMR, then the solution is to reduce the size of your deficit or add exercise to boost your TDEE, until your calorie goal is above your BMR.

1200 calories is a generic number used to represent the BMR, which means, if you did slept all day and did nothing, you would those many calories to just function being alive. Usually, depending on your lifestyle, i.e. active or passive, an amount representing your energy consumption can be added to the 1200 to see how much do you really need for your lifestyle. So, if you eat slight less than what you need, you create a calorie deficit placing you on weight loss path. You should not eat below 1200, however, your calories net of exercise may drop to a number netting to be below 1200. For example, if you plan to eat 1700 calories and burn 600 calories in exercise, you technically drop below 1200, but that works. Use MFP to plan and it will guide you through what you need. Hope that helps. Good luck!

When I hit 100 pounds lost I finally increased my calories from 1200 up to 1380. It's difficult but not impossible. I eat anywhere from none to all of my exercise calories back because I just eat when I'm actually hungry, and I also try to eat as many nutrient dense foods as I can so I fill up. I do believe food is fuel, so I wouldn't recommend going lower than 1200 ????

as a very loose rule, you should eat more than your BMR. this is for various reasons, all related to long term health and success at losing weight.

to lose weight you want to eat at less than your TDEE. MFP will not let you go more than 1000 calories under your TDEE, mostly for long term success reasons.

if you're obese, you can get away with a larger deficit for a number of weeks or months, but eventually there will be some side effects if your deficit is continuously very large (e.g. you start losing your hair, you start feeling lethargic, you start losing muscle mass, etc.). when those side effects occur and how large the continuous deficit would have to be are going to be different from person to person.

in no case will MFP allow you to have a calorie goal under 1200. in general, 1200 is a good minimum under which most people should not go. there are some very short women whose BMRs are low enough that they could conceivably be fine at some number less than 1200, but they are special cases and not the norm.

0 < BMR < calorie goal < TDEE

if it turns out that your (TDEE - deficit) results in a number less than your BMR, then the solution is to reduce the size of your deficit or add exercise to boost your TDEE, until your calorie goal is above your BMR.

quoting this for emphasis.

I'm new to the whole dieting and weight loss thing. I started out following the 1200 calorie suggestion and lost 6 lbs in 2 weeks. I wasn't starving, just eating mostly fruits and veggies. Then I saw all of the posts about not eating less than BMR. I upped my caloric intake to 1450 a day for the next 2 weeks. I only lost 1 lb. A week ago I went back down to 1200 calories a week and I've lost another 2 lbs. I don't feel like I'm starving at 1200 calories. I do eat my exercise calories, but that's not much. I do low impact cardio every other day because I injured my ankle about 2 weeks ago. I think a 1200 calorie diet works for some people, but not everyone. I've lost 9 lbs in 5 weeks, as well as 4 inches from my waist, so it does work for me.

Constantly eating something allows your body to process calories speeding up metabolism...

No.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/820577-meal-frequency-rev-up-that-furnace-lol

That is what the Insanity handbook said but here is a reputable link that will tickle your fancy. Check out "Sinless Snacking".

http://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-boost-your-metabolism

I do find it pretty amusing that 'medical' sites now recommend stimulants and protein.

However, they obviously aren't immune to bull****. Meal timing has been proven over and over to have little to no effect.

I agree
If you eat clean , 1200 kcal is enough. Plus exercise calories.
Some people eat much more calories( process junk food ) I don't think it's better.
I'm 5.5 and I'm doing good on 1200 kcal

Dont listen to that BS, 1200 is just fine..counting calories works, its simple..1200 + exercise you will lose weight fast!

If I got a dollar every time this question...