So why is only 1200 calories for weight loss bad?

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24

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  • Lolav2000
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    (/quote)Plenty of ways to eat more calories without volume. Add cheese, eat peanut butter, sauté in olive oil, add granola to your yogurt. Two words: trail mix! Or nuts. Gosh I could eat 3000 calories in nuts and nut butters alone.
    [/quote]

    I was waiting for someone to address this - I am having the same problem and I didn't want to be eating just for the sake of adding calories but not because I am hungry. I feel guilty eating cheese though! I am gonna try nuts and p.b.! Thanks
  • ajhumbird
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    Perhaps change what you are eating. Add some more protein and fiber. Especially the protein if you are running that much.
  • SunshineKisses_2012
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    Good lord! I weigh less than you, am taller, and maintain on over 2000 calories a day.

    I know everybody is different when it comes to caloric needs, but I can't imagine we are all that much different.

    The lowest I ever went in weight loss mode was 1400.

    Eat more, especially if you are exercising. Making sure it's good nutritious food too - minimize processed foods and add more healthy fresh produce. Lean protein like grilled chicken is good too...

    ^ I like you! I try to NET 1500 per day, though my calories are set at over 2000. I eat at or above 2000 calories a day, but I tend to have 600-1000 calorie burns every day. I eat about half of my exercise calories back - rather, I eat until I am satiated, not to hit a specific number - however the net helps me keep myself in check on days I want to smash my face into a pie. :smile:
  • dawnj87
    dawnj87 Posts: 98 Member
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    Hi, I was reading your reply to a post and noticed you had lost 84 lbs. Wow! How long did it take and what exactly did you do? I try to do the Isagenix program, very expensive, and you literally are starving most of the time. I also am trying to follow the MFP and I should take in 1200 cals a day, very hard to do :( Any suggestions? Thanks and keep up the great work.
  • nydpark
    nydpark Posts: 1 Member
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    Consider yourself lucky that you have a hard time eating all of your calories! I still think it's important to have at least 1200. I don't think you need to use your exercise calories, especially if you are wanting to lose more weight. It's that deficit that will usually create a loss. Just keep in mind that you are close to your ideal weight and that is when it's harder to lose the last 5-10 lbs. I suggest trying something new with your diet if you are still struggling to lose, omit carbs for a week or go vegetarian for a week or omit soda...whatever you're not already doing. Good luck!
  • langsyne
    langsyne Posts: 106 Member
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    MFP had me on 1200 calories a day. I tried that for a month and didn't like it and wasn't losing weight. I have upped it to 1500 and the weight is starting to come off. If you are having a hard time eating enough calories, it's very easy to add calories with monounsaturated fats such as nuts, nut butters, avocados and olive oils. These are the good fats that help your metabolism and stop your body from going into starvation mode, ie hanging on to every calorie for all it's worth!!
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
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    i would trust an endocrinologist a lot more than the MFP calculations. just sayin'.
    I would trust observed reality over either or both. If it isn't going to kill her or do permanent damage to try multiple things, then she can find what does or doesn't work well for her instead of just following one of multiple guesses.
  • Jessymyn
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    Please listen to your doctor over random internet advice.

    If I had listened to my doctor, I'd still be on beta blockers for mitral valve prolapse, and confined to my couch because the medication makes you feel as if you've run a marathon when you've only walked a couple of feet. I'd weigh 300 pounds because the medication slows your thyroid to a crawl, and I'd probably die within a few years.

    Instead, I got a SECOND opinion, and weaned myself off of the beta blocker. I'm exercising, and I can hike up a mountain with only normal exertion and while I still have MVP (born with it) I have few symptoms and expect to live a long, healthy life WITHOUT medication.

    Doctors are not gods. They're human. And they make mistakes. Big mistakes. If that weren't the case, malpractice insurance wouldn't exist. Many doctors know precious little about nutrition unfortunately.

    How can it possibly be good for your body to eat fewer calories than it requires to function in a coma? Common sense says otherwise.
  • SyntonicGarden
    SyntonicGarden Posts: 944 Member
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    Please listen to your doctor over random internet advice.

    If I had listened to my doctor, I'd still be on beta blockers for mitral valve prolapse, and confined to my couch because the medication makes you feel as if you've run a marathon when you've only walked a couple of feet. I'd weigh 300 pounds because the medication slows your thyroid to a crawl, and I'd probably die within a few years.

    Instead, I got a SECOND opinion, and weaned myself off of the beta blocker. I'm exercising, and I can hike up a mountain with only normal exertion and while I still have MVP (born with it) I have few symptoms and expect to live a long, healthy life WITHOUT medication.

    Doctors are not gods. They're human. And they make mistakes. Big mistakes. If that weren't the case, malpractice insurance wouldn't exist. Many doctors know precious little about nutrition unfortunately.

    How can it possibly be good for your body to eat fewer calories than it requires to function in a coma? Common sense says otherwise.

    Jessymyn has a point, especially with the second opinions. Doctors are only human and they certainly make mistakes, and not all doctors have the same skill sets.

    As the old joke goes,
    What do you call the person who graduates first in his class at med school? Doctor.
    What do you call the person who graduates LAST in his class at med school? Doctor.
  • suz155
    suz155 Posts: 326 Member
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    I think every body is different. Sometimes your doctor will be right, sometimes the people who have already been where you are,,,,are right.

    I suggest, you get a second opinion for your nutrition, through another licensed nutritionist. Thats a step in the right direction.

    Whatever you do decide to do......you will know what works, when you start to try something different.
  • JDBLY11
    JDBLY11 Posts: 577 Member
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    My endocrinologist told me that to maintain my weight (140lbs, height 5'5, 27 y/o) I should only eat 1200 calories a day. I eat pretty healthy, make my own meals, and don't "drink" any calories yet still have a hard time hitting that 1200 cal mark.

    At the same time though, I am trying to lose 10 lbs to get back to my base weight from two years ago but dropping my calories to 1000 doesnt seem to work. I run 4-6 miles everyday and walk to and from work which is about 4 miles.

    What else can I do? I'm following my doc's advice....

    EDIT: When I said I have a difficult time hitting the 1200 mark I meant that I have to eat way more than I want, not the other way around. If I really stuff myself I can hit 1300-1400 but I feel awful afterwards.

    You really are not eating enough. I just calculated your calories burned by running and it is around 600 calories for 5 miles in an hr at your weight. You walk 4 miles too which is probably another 100 calories per mile. That is 1000 calories right there burned through exercise leaving you only 200 calories for fuel. Maybe you are not hungry because you are not eating enough? If you are closer to hyperthyroid that would mean you probably have a higher calorie burned than average so you should be fine taking in the normal recommended amount of calories for your age and height. You are a healthy weight so I do not get the need to eat such low calories.
  • JDBLY11
    JDBLY11 Posts: 577 Member
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    How can it possibly be good for your body to eat fewer calories than it requires to function in a coma? Common sense says otherwise.

    Especially when she may be burning up to 1000 extra calories most days through exercise. It does not make sense why someone a healthy weight should only be getting 200 calories to fuel her body.
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
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    My endocrinologist told me that to maintain my weight (140lbs, height 5'5, 27 y/o) I should only eat 1200 calories a day. I eat pretty healthy, make my own meals, and don't "drink" any calories yet still have a hard time hitting that 1200 cal mark.

    At the same time though, I am trying to lose 10 lbs to get back to my base weight from two years ago but dropping my calories to 1000 doesnt seem to work. I run 4-6 miles everyday and walk to and from work which is about 4 miles.

    What else can I do? I'm following my doc's advice....

    EDIT: When I said I have a difficult time hitting the 1200 mark I meant that I have to eat way more than I want, not the other way around. If I really stuff myself I can hit 1300-1400 but I feel awful afterwards.

    You really are not eating enough. I just calculated your calories burned by running and it is around 600 calories for 5 miles in an hr at your weight. You walk 4 miles too which is probably another 100 calories per mile. That is 1000 calories right there burned through exercise leaving you only 200 calories for fuel. Maybe you are not hungry because you are not eating enough? If you are closer to hyperthyroid that would mean you probably have a higher calorie burned than average so you should be fine taking in the normal recommended amount of calories for your age and height. You are a healthy weight so I do not get the need to eat such low calories.

    Aside from the fact that this is a zombie thread... A person with a thyroid issue (un-medicated as the OP said) will burn less calories with everything they do. Their BMR/RMR will be lower than suggested by the calculators, TDEE will be lower than calculated by calculators, and exercise burn will be lower than suggested by calculators. Those calculators use mathematical equations that are designed based on averages of people with healthy thyroids. For that reason, the endocrinologist who measures her thyroid function and has training in metabolism is a better person to listen to than pretty much anything else. (Other than personal experimentation.)
  • ixxiesparkle
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    one would assume that what my doctor, who has all my blood work and thyroid levels would be correct?

    i've been a nurse for...longer than i'm willing to admit. Assuming your physician is inerrant might be part of the problem.

    Doctors know everything. About everyone. All the time. Just ask them, they'll tell you :wink:
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    Get a 2nd opinion from a registered dietitian
  • JDBLY11
    JDBLY11 Posts: 577 Member
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    My endocrinologist told me that to maintain my weight (140lbs, height 5'5, 27 y/o) I should only eat 1200 calories a day. I eat pretty healthy, make my own meals, and don't "drink" any calories yet still have a hard time hitting that 1200 cal mark.

    At the same time though, I am trying to lose 10 lbs to get back to my base weight from two years ago but dropping my calories to 1000 doesnt seem to work. I run 4-6 miles everyday and walk to and from work which is about 4 miles.

    What else can I do? I'm following my doc's advice....

    EDIT: When I said I have a difficult time hitting the 1200 mark I meant that I have to eat way more than I want, not the other way around. If I really stuff myself I can hit 1300-1400 but I feel awful afterwards.

    You really are not eating enough. I just calculated your calories burned by running and it is around 600 calories for 5 miles in an hr at your weight. You walk 4 miles too which is probably another 100 calories per mile. That is 1000 calories right there burned through exercise leaving you only 200 calories for fuel. Maybe you are not hungry because you are not eating enough? If you are closer to hyperthyroid that would mean you probably have a higher calorie burned than average so you should be fine taking in the normal recommended amount of calories for your age and height. You are a healthy weight so I do not get the need to eat such low calories.

    Aside from the fact that this is a zombie thread... A person with a thyroid issue (un-medicated as the OP said) will burn less calories with everything they do. Their BMR/RMR will be lower than suggested by the calculators, TDEE will be lower than calculated by calculators, and exercise burn will be lower than suggested by calculators. Those calculators use mathematical equations that are designed based on averages of people with healthy thyroids. For that reason, the endocrinologist who measures her thyroid function and has training in metabolism is a better person to listen to than pretty much anything else. (Other than personal experimentation.)

    Didn't she say hyperthyroid, but that she is in a normal range?
    WebMD says this

    Having too much thyroid hormone can make a lot of things in your body speed up. You may lose weight quickly, have a fast heartbeat, sweat a lot, or feel nervous and moody. Or you may have no symptoms at all.
  • JDBLY11
    JDBLY11 Posts: 577 Member
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    Are the BMR calculators accurate? I have a slightly hyper thyroid that's still in the normal range so I'm not on any medication.

    Yes, here she says slightly hyper thyroid and not taking medicines becaue she was still in the normal range. Why would someone in the normal range only need to eat 200-300 calories to subsist on?
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    Are the BMR calculators accurate? I have a slightly hyper thyroid that's still in the normal range so I'm not on any medication.
    If you're HYPER then you should burn MORE than is typical. Something is afoot.
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
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    OP you have been to see a specialist that has given you advice in their opinion.

    You are asking a bunch of internet strangers to give you advice based on their opinions?

    If you are not happy to take the specialist`s opinion, then who are you going to follow?

    People can offer conflicting opinions until the cows come home!

    What do you think is best for you?