1200, and why it won't work
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I JUST jumped on here hoping to have that question answered/ confirmed. Thank you.0
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I agree with you, and also if 1200 is so bad why does MFP recommend that for some of us ? Also why does my nutritionist and Doctor also recommend it ? I know what's working for me and I am carrying on that way.
It's the recommended MINIMUM.
MFP takes the amount of pounds you say you want to lose per week and subtracts a set amount of calories from your estimated calorie needs, but only to a minimum of 1200. If you tell it you want to lose 2 pounds a week, it is going to subtract 1,000 calories per day. It doesn't mean that is the best thing for you.
Ask your doctor and nutritionist what their strategy is when your weight loss stalls and you aren't losing any more. Magic pills?0 -
I agree mfp told me 1200 because I didnt put info in correctly. A few days were fine but I was hungry all the time. I think it was just setting myself up for failure. Im now at 1290 and I eat my exercise calories back or at least most of them and I feel more content.0
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great thread. i started MFP again on 1/8/13 at 1200 calories and have lost 12 lbs so far though few days i felt starving! i'm 5ft, now 208 lbs, TDEE 2679, BMR 1729. The 1200 calories was working for me and some days i found it difficult to even reach 1200 bc of my food choices and i rarely ate back exercise calories. After reading this thread and all 19 pages so far, I have decided to up my calories (i think i hit a plateau for a week but i'm not sure) to 1500 a day starting today and not eat back my exercise calories. i exercise 3-5 days a week mountain biking and love it! I'm just worried that i'm eating under my bmr which sounds like it slows down the metabolism and i don't want that to happen anymore. in a few weeks, i will up to 1700 and try to find the perfect daily calorie limit for myself
any advice from other readers or the OP would be appreciated as what i've interpreted from this thread was expressed above. Thanks for such a great thread and all the advice.0 -
Reading this thread is nostalgic. I've had many people try to refute my original post, but I think they misunderstood my message. Perhaps the title is misleading, but I think honestly, for most of dieters 1200 is too low, and I hope that this post has helped many of you see the alternatives.
For those of you that are happy and thriving on a 1200 diet, I applaud you for your compliance and unwavering effort...there's no need for animosity. You are doing well.
For anyone asking about setpoint, or startpoint or "what's a good intake", the solution requires some experimental curiosity. Pick a number you feel you are slightly hungry...by the end of the day. I actually love figuring set points for people, and seeing if they respond. This is probably at least a 4-8 week endeavor...but I would hope that in that time, dieters (like Monica) would have figured out the ultimate pattern. We just keep testing things until something works. My method is not complex.. Nor does it rely on some arbitrary formula. It just says..."eat this much". Then asks "did you lose weight". then says "eat less" or "keep going!".
I am overwhelmed by the response I've gotten from this post. I honestly did not expect it to gain such favor. But I hope that you've all gotten responses from me...and that I've given you some guidance.0 -
I agree with you, and also if 1200 is so bad why does MFP recommend that for some of us ? Also why does my nutritionist and Doctor also recommend it ? I know what's working for me and I am carrying on that way.
It's the recommended MINIMUM.
MFP takes the amount of pounds you say you want to lose per week and subtracts a set amount of calories from your estimated calorie needs, but only to a minimum of 1200. If you tell it you want to lose 2 pounds a week, it is going to subtract 1,000 calories per day. It doesn't mean that is the best thing for you.
Ask your doctor and nutritionist what their strategy is when your weight loss stalls and you aren't losing any more. Magic pills?
No magic pills just keep slogging on which is where I have always gone wrong before, I haven't felt this good in many years, this site is supposed to support people but it seems anyone not doing what some of you are is made to feel they are doing something wrong, to me support would be help them if it goes wrong not bash them down while it's working. I think this may be my last visit to the forum, I find it way to depressing to be told what I am doing cannot work when I can see the results in the mirror and on the scale. If it helps you feel better to eat more fine, I am not hungry, I have more energy, it is working for my body to eat less.0 -
It will work, for awhile. But when you get to the point where it is not working, it is going to be much harder for you to fix, any may come with other health issues that you caused by eating too little.. People are just trying to give you the benefit of their experience, as a way to support you, so you don't make the same mistakes they did. For your benefit. People are not disagreeing with you because we are trying to bash you, we are disagreeing because we are concerned.0
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As they do not know me or inhabit my body how can they say it's bad ? How can anyone say what is right for anyone else ? by all means tell your own stories but don't assume that it will or won't work for everyone. Future problems I'll face when I get there, what I trying to through at the moment is past problems. Eating more is what got me where I am now.0
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As they do not know me or inhabit my body how can they say it's bad ? How can anyone say what is right for anyone else ? by all means tell your own stories but don't assume that it will or won't work for everyone. Future problems I'll face when I get there, what I trying to through at the moment is past problems. Eating more is what got me where I am now.
Because human bodies have more similarities than differences.0 -
Thanks for this interesting read. I've lost all my weight on 1200 and I'm not hungry or miserable although my weight loss has slowed down almost to the point of stopping in recent weeks. I will raise my calories and see where that gets me as I do have my suspicions I'm hitting starvation mode. 1200 can and does work as a quick fix, but not great long term as I'm experiencing.0
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Great post.
I was eating 1350 a day and it was absolutely awful so I raised to 1550/1600 and I'm so much happier. My losses are more consistent and I no longer have headaches or moodswings. Yes, it might take longer but I know that I'll stick to it if I'm not miserable.0 -
As they do not know me or inhabit my body how can they say it's bad ? How can anyone say what is right for anyone else ? by all means tell your own stories but don't assume that it will or won't work for everyone. Future problems I'll face when I get there, what I trying to through at the moment is past problems. Eating more is what got me where I am now.
Because human bodies have more similarities than differences.
Lol so a woman who is disabled to the point she cannot move some days has more similarities than differences with a marathon runner ? No I think not. Unless you know/ see / really understand a member no one should tell them what they should be doing. By all means share your own stories but telling everyone to do the same thing is just crazy, as crazy as me telling people to eat less than 1200 just because it works for me.0 -
Nice post, thanks! Bump0
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Lol so a woman who is disabled to the point she cannot move some days has more similarities than differences with a marathon runner ? No I think not. Unless you know/ see / really understand a member no one should tell them what they should be doing. By all means share your own stories but telling everyone to do the same thing is just crazy, as crazy as me telling people to eat less than 1200 just because it works for me.
I have never advocated that "everyone do the same thing" in regards to exact number of calories to eat. Everyone should however eat more than BMR and less than TDEE. I doubt your BMR is less than 1200 though. But whatever you want to do. I just don't see why everyone gets such a bad attitude when someone tries to point out potential health consequences. Would you rather not know?0 -
As they do not know me or inhabit my body how can they say it's bad ? How can anyone say what is right for anyone else ? by all means tell your own stories but don't assume that it will or won't work for everyone. Future problems I'll face when I get there, what I trying to through at the moment is past problems. Eating more is what got me where I am now.
Because human bodies have more similarities than differences.
Lol so a woman who is disabled to the point she cannot move some days has more similarities than differences with a marathon runner ? No I think not. Unless you know/ see / really understand a member no one should tell them what they should be doing. By all means share your own stories but telling everyone to do the same thing is just crazy, as crazy as me telling people to eat less than 1200 just because it works for me.
Both people should still eat what their bodies need. A marathon runner might need 10000 calorie a day. A disabled woman might only need 1200, but maybe she needs more. If she figures out her BMR and TDEE then she'll have an idea of where to go with her food intake and be able to lose weight at a reasonable rate that won't give future problems caused by slowing the metabolism down to the point where the body is barely getting by and storing every calorie it can.
I can see 1200 working longer term for a very small sect of the population, mainly, small people who don't exercise a whole lot. It will work for an obese person for a while. Maybe 3 months, maybe a year, but at some point, your metabolism will slow down, you'll hit a plateau, and then what. Reduce calories more?
You can't think about only the past and what got you here. You have to think long term. You don't put 100lbs on in 6-12 months, why would you try to remove it that fast?0 -
I'm not losing fast at between 1lb and 2lb per week that is not fast. And I need to lose it as soon as possible when you are waiting for an operation you can't hang around for years.0
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I'm not losing fast at between 1lb and 2lb per week that is not fast. And I need to lose it as soon as possible when you are waiting for an operation you can't hang around for years.
What will you do when you are still a good ways away from your goal and you stall? Not just for a week, but for 3 months? That's what happened to me. Exercising 6 days a week, lifting 2-3 days a week, eating 1700 calories @ 230lbs bodyweight. My progress just stopped to where I was going between 227 and 230, for 2 months straight. Frustrating as hell.
Hey, if it works for you, awesome. But don't be dissapointed if at some point your progress stops, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose.0 -
I wasn't losing anything on 1200 calories and exercising 6 days a week. I upped my calories to 1400 and exercise just 4-5 days a week, added weight lifting and the weight and inches have been coming off.0
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I'm not losing fast at between 1lb and 2lb per week that is not fast. And I need to lose it as soon as possible when you are waiting for an operation you can't hang around for years.
What will you do when you are still a good ways away from your goal and you stall? Not just for a week, but for 3 months? That's what happened to me. Exercising 6 days a week, lifting 2-3 days a week, eating 1700 calories @ 230lbs bodyweight. My progress just stopped to where I was going between 227 and 230, for 2 months straight. Frustrating as hell.
Hey, if it works for you, awesome. But don't be dissapointed if at some point your progress stops, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose.
Only goal I have is to feel better how I look has never worried me. I feel better already nearly 40lb down has been a big help. If you can eat more great, I initially tried what was being suggested and started putting weight back on. It didn't work for me. All I am really trying to say is we have to do what works for us and support each other in that - not tell each other what we are doing is wrong. I get that from other places so will quit this place now as it is not supportive unless you are willing to do what a few people tell you to, or exercise and lift weights. It is not supportive of everyone.0 -
good post0
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Kick *kitten* post, man.0
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Interesting post. However, it assumes the reader is either very overweight, a male, or someone looking to build/maintain muscle mass. 1200 is a fine number for small females, depending on their goals (exercise or not, muscle building or not). You're right, as a blanket number, 1200 won't work - but not only because of the reasons specified.0
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Great post! After reading through the comments I have realized that a lot of people don't have a good understanding about "hunger" and the hormones that directly affect it. I guess some people just like to live in the dark.0
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OMGoodness!
What a great post! I love what you’re saying .0 -
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Great!0
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Bump for future ref.0
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