1200 cals seems
melcookson
Posts: 146 Member
A bit low....
I'm 5ft, 122lbs, wanting to lose 10lbs, quite inactive although on my feet a lot of the day with my job.
1200 cals seems a little low, not sure if its sustainable?!
Does anyone else have similar stats and what is your daily cal intake?
I'm 5ft, 122lbs, wanting to lose 10lbs, quite inactive although on my feet a lot of the day with my job.
1200 cals seems a little low, not sure if its sustainable?!
Does anyone else have similar stats and what is your daily cal intake?
0
Replies
-
I'm 5 foot 3, 170 pounds, been on 1200 calories since 215 pounds. 1200 calories is good for me.0
-
Did you choose that you wanted to lose 2 pounds per week? I think all women get 1200 calories if they choose that goal.
It didn't work for me. I gained and lost and gained and lost the same 2-3 pounds from week to week for 5 weeks.
So I went back and reset my goals to lose 1 pound per week and will work with those numbers for at least a month. The first week, I lost that 3 pounds (AGAIN). I hope I see a new low weight in coming weeks! I need that.0 -
I am 5'4" and MFP put me on 1200. I was MISERABLE and failing. An MFP friend told me to read the "roadmap" post and I ended up going up to 1390 (I set my loss on 1/2 lb per week). I have averaged losing a lb a week, and especially with eating my exercise cals, I am able to stick to it.
1200 is great for some, but don't be afraid to figure out what works for YOU.0 -
I'm similar--at 4'11 and ~113-114 pounds. I'm eating 1600-1800 to lose weight. Trying to stay at the 1700ish mark but this past week I averaged just over 1800 calories and I'm probably losing at a rate of ~1/2 to 3/4 pound a week.0
-
The 1200 calories was too low for me personally but that depends on how you feel with that amount. I would feel tired and run down all the time and would sabotage myself in the evenings with sweets. I've upped it and I feel better and I may not be seeing the scale go down as much as I want but I very much feel it in my clothes (that's way better ).0
-
I'm 5' 2" and entered into the site that I want to lose 1 lb per week. I also got a 1200 net calorie goal. It only works for me if I spend 200-300 calories exercising. Otherwise, I exceed the goal. I've only been at it a week, so I can't really tell what i've lost. So far less than 1 lb, i think.0
-
A bit low....
I'm 5ft, 122lbs, wanting to lose 10lbs, quite inactive although on my feet a lot of the day with my job.
1200 cals seems a little low, not sure if its sustainable?!
Does anyone else have similar stats and what is your daily cal intake?
add 200 calories of daily exercise and eat back those calories. 1400 is better for you in the long run than 1200.0 -
I am on 1200 and most days I have a hard time not going over. So then I figured I had better start exercising and burn up some of the calories. So now I usually go for a brisk walk for about an hour. It says I burn 250 calories but I think that is a little high. But it gives me a few extra calories for a treat in the evening, like a tbls of peanut butter on celery. I dont eat up all of my calories I have burned, usually I eat between 70 - 100. That gets me through the day and I have lost 2lbs a week for the last 4 weeks.0
-
Hello,
I am also in the 1200 calories target. I find it easy to keep up as long as I do some exercise. Like this I find it hard to even meet the target sometimes. I would say to just keep eating lots of fruit, veg and proteins and to watch out for the carbs. Drink a lot of water and tea if you like it, keeps you hydrated and not with such an empty stomach. If you need a snack I usually go for carrot sticks and fruit.
But if you are having a hard time coping with the calories target and don't have much time to exercise to get the extra ones I would advise you to change your diet plan to something you can keep up, otherwise its easy to get frustrated and that is the path to giving up.0 -
1200 Calories is MFP's limit... It will not set anyone's calorie target below this number.
Maybe it helps to give you a bit of an overview of how MFP sets things up:
long summary coming...... the way MFP works is that it is giving you a target goal dependent on the amount you told it you want to lose in a week... But will not let's anyone go below 1200 cals in a week.... So it starts with a 'BMR', Basal Metabolic Rate - this is the calories your body burns just keeping you alive - think of it as what you would burn if you were asleep all day. Everybody burns a different number of calories a day depending on weight, age, gender, height. For example, a taller, younger, heavier, man will simply have more muscle mass and thus will burn more calories, even at rest, than a short, older, lighter, woman. google search for " 'BMR calculator" and you can find a ton of tools that will give you an ESTIMATE of your BMR...
MFP knows this information and will generate its own estimate.
Then you would add a few calories for your general activity level in a day, think of this as only the extra calories it takes to move you around. This gets you to what is referred to as your TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure....
MFP has a method that essentially excludes your intentional, focussed, exercise....
Now if you told MFP you want to lose 1 Lb a week, it deducts 500 calories from what it calculates as your TDEE to get you losing a pound a week - one pound of fat, when burned by the body, generates 3500 calories of energy... So - divide 3500 by 7 and that is why you create a deficit of 500 calories a day for every pound you wish to lose in a week.... The catch is you really need to be cautious of how much you try to lose how quickly.... If you told MFP 2lbs a week, it would deduct 1000cals a day, but will not take anyone below a 1200 calorie target because of the concern they have of wanting to make sure they do not set it up so they are not giving someone their basic healthy nutrition requirements - Clear so far?
So... one key is that shorter individuals, particularly women, have bodies that simply burn less calories than others do. That is why 1200 calories isn't a magical number, and also why some people are fine on it and others are not. I have a few friends that are shorter women and do find it hard to create their required calorie gap since they really have low TDEE's and are used to eating what are "standard" meals for others, but since they simply have less muscle mass, they do not burn off that meal.
I would strongly recommend you find a few BMR and TDEE calculators on the web and work our your numbers so you know, but I'm guessing that you told MFP your details, and said 2 Lbs a week and *poof* it says 1200... I have a few friends for whom it will say 1200 even at 1.5 Lbs because their typical, non-exercise related total daily expenditure is not above 1950... (1950-750=1200). If you want some help in working out BMR/TDEE/ etc. feel free to PM me your age, weight, height, gender and I'll look up the numbers and give you a summary that hopefully helps you pick the range you want to target...
If you are like a few of my former and current MFP friends that are shorter females - you will likely want to build a habit of regular cardio exercise to gain some calories so your daily food intake seems more sustainable... If that seems confusing... Let me know.0 -
To sum up:
For a 10 lb loss lose gradually, no more than 1 pound a week, 1/2 a pound even better.
Exercise so you can eat more and get nutrients and feel satiated.
Best wishes0 -
Thanks everyone, I had it set to 1lb per week, I've changed it to .5lb per week and its upped my cal intake to 1380 which seems a lot more manageable x0
-
Ina 5ft 2"and was on 1200 cals for the first week. i was feeling quite ill so i upped it to 1400. I dont go over that and feel much better. play around a bit til you get it right for you xx0
-
Going to definitely stick with 1400cals, I like my treats too much!0
-
I am 5'2", almost 51 yrs old and mine started out at 1450 when I had set my weight goal to 145. I lowered it to 135 and it reset my daily caloric intake to 1420. Mine has never changed so far....although I have only been using MFP since Jan 7th. I eat back my exercise calories, and have managed to lose 10# since Jan 7th.0
-
If you want, check out this link by MFPer Heliotsdan - It'll give you a detailed walkthrough (with pictures even) on finding your TDEE and calculating what you should be eating.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
Or for a different version to figure out your TDEE, as well as some great advice...check out:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833500-what-do-i-do-common-sense-cliff-notes
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/844040-raspberry-ketones-for-the-rest-of-us
Also, if you are worried about the calorie intake, I also suggest you read this thread that has numerous people who met their goals and are maintaining. Some for years and they also provide their calorie intake and how often they work out.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/816542-let-s-hear-it-for-maintainenance
For more information about fitness and nutrition, I highly suggest checking out and joining this group: (Read all the stickies. It's great information to know.)
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/865230-resources-and-references
Yes, this is can all be overwhelming and complicated , but you are more than welcome to ask questions on the post.
One of the things that I have found that has been one of the best methods for me to get fit is to understand fitness. To understand where all these figures, etc come from.
The good thing is once you get the hang of it - it is something you'll be aware of constantly and you'll get a better understanding about your eating habits.
So I HIGHLY suggest making the effort to take every chance to educate yourself. Even if you don't end up going with any of these methods, calculations, etc - at least you understand what they are, where others are coming from, and maybe they will still be able to help you figure out what is best for you.0 -
Yup follow the links Joylia posted.
For me, I'm 5'4" 130 lbs and my TDEE is 1760 (lightly active). I eat about 1500 to lose weight, plus exercise calories.
If you're close to your goal, which it seems like you are given your stats, you should have a smaller deficit than those with more to lose. You want a small deficit and enough protein so that you hang on to as much muscle as possible.0 -
I'm 5'2
Starting weight: 120
Current weight: 113
Goal weight: 110
Ultimate goal weight: 105
I am on a 1000 cal/day diet and, with exercise, always seem to fall below my mark. I never go hungry and feel happy, healthy, and energetic!0 -
It depends on your individual metabolism and stuff. I'm 5'2" and 166 lbs, 1200 was way too low for me, even 1300 was a bit too low. I didn't lose any weight for a week eating between 1200-1300 and when I bumped it up to 1400 I was good again, lost 1.4 lbs last week. But it all depends on you. I have a friend that says if she eats 1300 or more she gains weight like crazy and she's really tall and pretty fit. But for her whole life she ate a plant heavy asian diet with low calories. Just experiment with it, try going a couple weeks at 1200, then bump it up a little if you feel tired, woozy, etc.0
-
Forgot to add to my post that I'm 5'1. SW was 245 and I'm about 178lbs now. I eat between 1600-1800 cals and still losing.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393K Introduce Yourself
- 43.7K Getting Started
- 260.1K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.8K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 416 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.9K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.6K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.5K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions