When is 1200 calories appropriate? (hint: almost never)
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My current MFP recommendation is 1200 a day BUT I am just starting to ramp my exercise levels and I work in a very sedentary job. I think it's key to go back adjust as your fitness levels increase. I kind of like keeping it at 1200 for now, because if I exercise, I get calories added and that's my incentive to eat up to 1500. It works as a motivating factor for now, but obviously as I exercise more consistenly, the calorie intake also needs to rise.
^^^
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Still hoping we can clarify if this is about consuming 1200 or "netting" 1200.
It's netting.
But even so - netting 1200 is too low. This is the point of this thread.
Eating 1200 and exercising on top is plain ludicrous.
Wish you quoted the whole thing. Netting 1200 is too low? I net 1200 but eat 1500-2300 a day. Just how much more do I need to eat for it to not be too low? Eating 1200 and exercising on top o that and netting like 600 is too low. Netting 1200 is fine.
Oh my my... I totally agree. How can netting 1200 calories be too low when I am eating 1800 and losing weight.
if you're eating 1800 and getting good nutrition and then doing 600 calories of cardio to result in a 1200 NET, then i can't say that 1200 NET is too low. different issues come into play here. there may still be some metabolic slowdown as your body attempts to get more efficient, but more likely you may run into issues with energy levels and fatigue. assuming of course that you continue netting 1200 day in and day out over a period of time. your body will of course draw energy from stored fat, but that's not as efficient as getting it from daily intake. as it dips into your stored fat, you may have to worry about catabolism of muscle. i can't say for sure that will be a big concern with the numbers you've given me, but for people who are morbidly obese and continually run large daily deficits (1500+ per day) even while eating more than enough calories to meet their nutritional needs, loss of LBM becomes a real worry.
our bodies do all work the same way, but with variation. some folks might be perfectly fine in the scenario you've outlined above. others may find that they are lethargic. it does depend alot on how each person's body responds. all i could advise is that if you feel fine doing that and not losing muscle mass (which i think shouldn't be significant at a 4lb/month loss rate), then your settings for weight loss are probably good ones for you.
Ok. So if I said I'm eating TDEE-20% (which for me is 1680) instead of saying I net 1200 while eating 1700-1800 avg per day then it's OK? Cause I can do that-it's really six of one, 1/2 dozen of the other. But using mfp as its set up allows me to make sure I'm not eating exercise calories I'm not actually earning (been injured/sick many times in 15 months). It's the same number doing TDEE-% or using mfp and eating exercise calories. So the entire post there applies to people using TDEE-% just as much as someone using mfp settings and eating their exercise calories.0 -
I am pretty sure MFP has dr approval for their 1200 calorie recommendations.... In fact.. while I was pregnant and gaining a TON of weight my Dr. said a 1200 calorie diet was more than okay (of course I didnt follow it) and went from 155-209. I was able to lose all of the baby weight and some on a 1200-1500 caloric intake - felt healthy - energized etc. A lot of people cannot have 2000 calories without blowing up. I think MFP recommendations are on point and really help in losing extra lbs. Its a great guide and I have never felt better while actively using MFP.0
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I agree but I had a low calorie day yesterday. This was after logging elliptical. On days I'm more sedentary, I eat less. On days I'm more active, I eat more. As long as it balances out weekly. If I go way over one day I may restrict the following day. Anyway, I would never make 1200 a daily thing but thought it was funny that yesterday my net was less than.0
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If anyone has tried the Net Diary Calorie Counter (I tried that one before MFP) it can even suggest 800-900 calories as your maximum. Not healthy, but after nearly starving myself and being completely miserable I switched to MFP and so 1200 feels like a feast for me.
That being said, I'm not hungry on 1200, and when I feel its not enough, I'll readjust my calories. I'm tired of justifying my calorie intake.
If you don't do well on 1200 calories, don't eat 1200 calories, but don't dictate to other people.
It's really that simple.0 -
Still hoping we can clarify if this is about consuming 1200 or "netting" 1200.
It's netting.
But even so - netting 1200 is too low. This is the point of this thread.
Eating 1200 and exercising on top is plain ludicrous.
Wish you quoted the whole thing. Netting 1200 is too low? I net 1200 but eat 1500-2300 a day. Just how much more do I need to eat for it to not be too low? Eating 1200 and exercising on top o that and netting like 600 is too low. Netting 1200 is fine.
Oh my my... I totally agree. How can netting 1200 calories be too low when I am eating 1800 and losing weight.
if you're eating 1800 and getting good nutrition and then doing 600 calories of cardio to result in a 1200 NET, then i can't say that 1200 NET is too low. different issues come into play here. there may still be some metabolic slowdown as your body attempts to get more efficient, but more likely you may run into issues with energy levels and fatigue. assuming of course that you continue netting 1200 day in and day out over a period of time. your body will of course draw energy from stored fat, but that's not as efficient as getting it from daily intake. as it dips into your stored fat, you may have to worry about catabolism of muscle. i can't say for sure that will be a big concern with the numbers you've given me, but for people who are morbidly obese and continually run large daily deficits (1500+ per day) even while eating more than enough calories to meet their nutritional needs, loss of LBM becomes a real worry.
our bodies do all work the same way, but with variation. some folks might be perfectly fine in the scenario you've outlined above. others may find that they are lethargic. it does depend alot on how each person's body responds. all i could advise is that if you feel fine doing that and not losing muscle mass (which i think shouldn't be significant at a 4lb/month loss rate), then your settings for weight loss are probably good ones for you.
Ok. So if I said I'm eating TDEE-20% (which for me is 1680) instead of saying I net 1200 while eating 1700-1800 avg per day then it's OK? Cause I can do that-it's really six of one, 1/2 dozen of the other. But using mfp as its set up allows me to make sure I'm not eating exercise calories I'm not actually earning (been injured/sick many times in 15 months). It's the same number doing TDEE-% or using mfp and eating exercise calories. So the entire post there applies to people using TDEE-% just as much as someone using mfp settings and eating their exercise calories.
the person that i was responding to above was dismissing the idea that their 1200 daily net was bad. i was simply responding to what they posted. they have chosen to use a TDEE-30% calorie setting. i pointed out that even though they might be getting enough nutrition in the 1800 calories they were eating, that there could be other side effects for them. their TDEE-30% is higher than the usually recommended TDEE-20% deficit, but MFP will allow that as i understand it (e.g., if your TDEE is 3000 and you choose a 2lbs/week loss rate, then eating at 2000 is TDEE-33%). since my goal was not to enter into specific arguments on this thread, but simply to put out a reminder to anyone interested that there can be a better and easier way than rigid adherence to a 1200 per day goal, it didn't seem useful for me to get sidetracked into a TDEE-% debate.
i believe that TDEE-20% is the generally recommended goal for most people and this is covered in the links i gave at the top of the thread.0 -
I personally don't care what other people do to get to their fitness goals, but for me, 1200 calories works. Not only that, I have never found any scientific evidence that 1200 calories causes LBM loss or BMR decrease. In fact dozens and dozens of studies suggest that none of that is true. For overweight/obese people, studies show that even on a VLCD BMR decrease and muscle loss are not significant. Research shows that even on VLCD at high rate of fat loss muscle mass and BMR are maintained and muscle mass can even be increased by up to .5lb/month in obese individuals.
Research like the Minnesota Starvation experiment show that BMR will decrease when an individual hits their "essential" body fat level. But even in that experiment, all but one of the individuals who started was healthy weight and even once they hit "essential" body fat the continued to lose weight at a rate of 2.25lb/wk instead of 3lb/wk (which was the expected number). Of course, because they were all at healthy body fat to begin with and fed a starvation diet while training exhaustively, they began to experience psychosis etc...
I have personally had two DXA scans done (one in the beginning and one pretty recently) that showed no muscle loss and only a decrease in fat. I have been on here since Jan15 and lost 14+ lbs (I had also been losing weight for months before joining MFP). There is also no research to suggest that losing weight more slowly is in anyway superior to losing weight more quickly (obviously not talking about VLCD or ED). In fact, some research suggests that not only will losing weight more quickly make it more likely that an individual will get to their healthy weight but there is no difference in ability to maintain once healthy weight is reached.
I have no doubt that for some people a lower deficit can lead to a longer, healthier lifestyle change. But, that does not make it true for everyone.
The last thing is that for someone who regularly exercises, 1200+exercise calories is usually somewhere in the neighborhood of TDEE-20. Probably within a hundred calories or so. It is a matter of working out the math ahead of time or as you go. Of course this is not true all the time and there are a variety of situations that would make this untrue.
If anyone has research, I'm not talking about articles written on some website online or a link to a "case study" posted either here or somewhere else, but links to research in journals that contradicts any of this information, I would love to read it. I have not been able to find any and have done some pretty exhaustive searches. If anyone wants to read any of the research I've found it's in my post history (and I'll dig it up if someone actually wants to read it, most people don't actually read it so I am not going to go through all that stuff for no reason). The research I found is pretty much all from pub-med or the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.0 -
I don't have a 1200 calorie goal, but close. Mine is 1360 (I think I chose a goal of losing 1 pound per week). I'm 34, 5'2", 150lbs, I say "lightly active" because I chase my 5 year old and walk a lot (city life). I work out 3x per week, 15 minutes HARD strength training (as in, 3 sets of 10 reps and by the last one in each set I can barely lift the weight) and 30 minutes on the elliptical or arc trainer.
I stay pretty close to my goals, and have been doing this for 3 months. Know how much I've lost? Zero. Gaining muscle, sure, I didn't have much before. Eating healthy? I'm a vegetarian, fruits and veggies and black beans and tofu are my world and have been for 20 years. I'm a stay at home mom and cook everything from scratch, there are very few processed foods in this house. I'm not a fool when it comes to losing weight, I lost 75 pounds 3 years ago and kept it off. I have a degree in biology, I know how it works, but I also know a heck of a lot of other factors weigh in (I'm suspicious that low blood sugar might be why I'm "stuck"). I cut out coffee two weeks ago (I drank it black but 3 cups per day and I wanted that out of my system so I switched to green tea). I cut out wine a month ago, I used to drink one glass of red wine about 2 times per week. Next, and most difficult, is sugar. I need to cut it out, I know it's spiking my levels but I also know that with my blood sugar being so low I crave it like nuts.
So, I sort of got sidetracked, but I'm a pretty healthy person who wants to lose 15-20 pounds and MFP is giving me 1360 calories. (And no, my journal isn't open, I do that to keep myself honest so I write down everything, even a bite of this or that, I track it. My journal is personal to me, though I do print it because I have decided that after another month, if nothing changes, I'll take those pages to a certified nutritionist for evaluation).0 -
1,200 calories is fine as a short term measure. If you use it then you could always break it up by having a diet break every few weeks, refeeds, a high calorie day etc.
As a long term measure (say 3 months or more) when it is used without a break then not so much for most people.0 -
If anyone has tried the Net Diary Calorie Counter (I tried that one before MFP) it can even suggest 800-900 calories as your maximum. Not healthy, but after nearly starving myself and being completely miserable I switched to MFP and so 1200 feels like a feast for me.
That being said, I'm not hungry on 1200, and when I feel its not enough, I'll readjust my calories. I'm tired of justifying my calorie intake.
If you don't do well on 1200 calories, don't eat 1200 calories, but don't dictate to other people.
It's really that simple.
who here on this thread demanded that you justify your calorie intake? i certainly didn't. nobody here is dictating anything to you. if you have taken the time to inform yourself and have chosen to be on a VLCD and risk whatever side effects may come your way, then good luck to you. i hope it works out for you.
aside - i'm a bit saddened to see that a handful of people who are determined to stick to their 1200 calorie mindset have decided to come into this thread to defend their belief that 1200 is fine. for a small percentage of people it can be fine. for another percentage of people, there's nothing anyone can say to dissuade them. this thread is not for either of those 2 groups of people. it's for the people who are new, who are confused, or who are frustrated because 1200 is no longer working for them. however, i feel that the attempts to derail this thread into specific debates about specific people and their specific circumstances undermines the usefulness of these public forums and that's why i would re-iterate to those seeking assistance that they should check out the 2 links i posted in at the top of the thread. inform yourself. decide for yourself. try to ignore those personal agendas that are attempting to derail this thread.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress0 -
If anyone has tried the Net Diary Calorie Counter (I tried that one before MFP) it can even suggest 800-900 calories as your maximum. Not healthy, but after nearly starving myself and being completely miserable I switched to MFP and so 1200 feels like a feast for me.
That being said, I'm not hungry on 1200, and when I feel its not enough, I'll readjust my calories. I'm tired of justifying my calorie intake.
If you don't do well on 1200 calories, don't eat 1200 calories, but don't dictate to other people.
It's really that simple.
who here on this thread demanded that you justify your calorie intake? i certainly didn't. nobody here is dictating anything to you. if you have taken the time to inform yourself and have chosen to be on a VLCD and risk whatever side effects may come your way, then good luck to you. i hope it works out for you.
I didn't say on this thread. I meant in general.
I just feel that 1200 is not for everyone, but for some people it works, yet there is such a big debate about it on these forums.0 -
please do yourself a favor and find out the right calorie goal for yourself that allows you to change your body in a healthy and satisfying way. you don't need to starve yourself and you don't need to suffer the side effects of a 1200 calorie diet.
I did exactly this, and guess what?? I found that 1200 per day is the appropriate calorie goal for me to lose 1 pound per week. Wow. Guess I must be a unique snowflake to fall outside your standards of what I should be eating. And the only side effects I am 'suffering' is being 37 lbs down, and stronger and healthier than I have been in 12 years.0 -
bump0
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If anyone has tried the Net Diary Calorie Counter (I tried that one before MFP) it can even suggest 800-900 calories as your maximum. Not healthy, but after nearly starving myself and being completely miserable I switched to MFP and so 1200 feels like a feast for me.
That being said, I'm not hungry on 1200, and when I feel its not enough, I'll readjust my calories. I'm tired of justifying my calorie intake.
If you don't do well on 1200 calories, don't eat 1200 calories, but don't dictate to other people.
It's really that simple.
who here on this thread demanded that you justify your calorie intake? i certainly didn't. nobody here is dictating anything to you. if you have taken the time to inform yourself and have chosen to be on a VLCD and risk whatever side effects may come your way, then good luck to you. i hope it works out for you.
1200 calories per day is not and will never be considered a VLCD. It is considered a BDD or LCD (Balanced daily diet or Low calorie diet) depending on which medical authority you look at. A VLCD is 800 calories or less (some research goes as low as 400 calories per day). A VLCD can be dangerous because it is extremely difficult to get balanced nutrition (except in certain cases of healthy vegan diets) most doctors (like those who provide lap band or other surgical weight loss methods) provide supplements which is why it should only be done under the authority and supervision of a medical professional.0 -
My BMR according to F2F is 1280
TDEE is 1505. How many cals do you advise for me?
5 feet tall, 53 years old, low activity, 134 lb.
Thank you!
This describes me, except I am 49. I have my calorie intake set to my BMR (1283), I log my excercise cals and actually do try to eat them back. It isn't always easy for me to do that. At the end of the day when I have had all I want and log in the dinner, I am usually surpised on excercise days that I did not meet goal, still under. On days I don't excercise, I am usually ravenous and go over, so it balances out in the long run. For us 1% these are the numbers.
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aside - i'm a bit saddened to see that a handful of people who are determined to stick to their 1200 calorie mindset have decided to come into this thread to defend their belief that 1200 is fine. for a small percentage of people it can be fine. for another percentage of people, there's nothing anyone can say to dissuade them. this thread is not for either of those 2 groups of people. it's for the people who are new, who are confused, or who are frustrated because 1200 is no longer working for them. however, i feel that the attempts to derail this thread into specific debates about specific people and their specific circumstances undermines the usefulness of these public forums and that's why i would re-iterate to those seeking assistance that they should check out the 2 links i posted in at the top of the thread. inform yourself. decide for yourself. try to ignore those personal agendas that are attempting to derail this thread.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress
Yet it's okay for those who are against the 1200 calorie diet to derail other threads? I've had my threads derailed several times with comments about my 1200 calorie intake that weren't even called for.
And anyway, I'm not derailing, I'm just adding to the discussion so it's not so one sided. Different opinions are GOOD. :happy:0 -
As someone relatively new to MFP without great knowledge of nutrition, I started on 1200, lost 8lb along with exercise. I hit a plateau and have upped my calories to 1400-1500, waiting for my weigh in to see how it goes, I doubt I will be lowering them back to 1200, but each to their own!0
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please do yourself a favor and find out the right calorie goal for yourself that allows you to change your body in a healthy and satisfying way. you don't need to starve yourself and you don't need to suffer the side effects of a 1200 calorie diet.
I did exactly this, and guess what?? I found that 1200 per day is the appropriate calorie goal for me to lose 1 pound per week. Wow. Guess I must be a unique snowflake to fall outside your standards of what I should be eating. And the only side effects I am 'suffering' is being 37 lbs down, and stronger and healthier than I have been in 12 years.
Seriously. Give it a rest and quit trying to tell everyone else what they should be doing. Get over yourself, and whatever insecurity you have in your life that makes you feel that you must control everyone else. Control yourself. That is all you can do.
^ Go girl!
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I lost and gained the same 7lbs for 12 months eating 1200. Now, in a fraction of that time, I have lost 9lbs following the Roadmap (eating around 1600 calories a day plus exercise calories). And the weight is continuining to drop off. I'm not as grouchy, I drink alcohol, I have the energy to run and lift weights, my skin is better, I'm less hungry and far happier.
How do you lose and gain at the same calorie level?0 -
if you are a sedentary 38-year old woman, who is 4'10" and weighs 115lbs and does not exercise, then your TDEE-20% would be approximately 1200 calories.
if you are:
more active than that...
and/or younger than that...
and/or male...
and/or taller than that...
and/or weigh more than that...
and/or engage in cardiovascular exercise, then
you should almost certainly be eating MORE than 1200 calories per day.
i would hazard to guess that 99+% of the people on MFP are in the category that should be eating more than 1200 calories. 1200 calories per day is almost certainly too low for almost everyone who does not have an unusual medical condition requiring a low calorie intake, in which case that person would have to be under medical supervision.
if you are new here or are trying to adhere to a 1200 calorie diet because you heard that's what you need to do to lose weight, i would urge you to read through Dan's Roadmap:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
when you are done, join the Eat, Train, Progress group run by 2 knowledgeable members who are trying to provide a safe harbor where accurate, scientifically sound health, nutrition, and fitness advice can be given without all of the background noise occasionally found in the public forums.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress
please do yourself a favor and find out the right calorie goal for yourself that allows you to change your body in a healthy and satisfying way. you don't need to starve yourself and you don't need to suffer the side effects of a 1200 calorie diet.
Reposting the original post to remind anyone who has just joined in what this thread is about. Sensible advice for anyone who has tried 1200 calories a day and found it hasn't worked for them.
Each to their own, but for anyone (newcomers in particular) who is struggling on 1200, the advice from WinnerVictorious is really, really helpful. It's not a "you must do this" post but simply a signpost towards an easier way to lose weight.0 -
If anyone has tried the Net Diary Calorie Counter (I tried that one before MFP) it can even suggest 800-900 calories as your maximum. Not healthy, but after nearly starving myself and being completely miserable I switched to MFP and so 1200 feels like a feast for me.
That being said, I'm not hungry on 1200, and when I feel its not enough, I'll readjust my calories. I'm tired of justifying my calorie intake.
If you don't do well on 1200 calories, don't eat 1200 calories, but don't dictate to other people.
It's really that simple.
who here on this thread demanded that you justify your calorie intake?
You did. When you started this ridiculous, judgmental thread, declaring your infinite wisdom about everyone else and what their calorie needs are. Reread your OP.
i really don't know how to respond to this. we must use completely different dictionaries and speak completely different languages because there is nothing ridiculous nor judgemental about anything i've posted here on this thread.0 -
Yawns. *eye roll*
I'm always amazed at the amount of people so focused on what other people are doing and eating....
This^^0 -
i think youre presuming that people on 1200 calories are starving? im certainly not.0
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If anyone has tried the Net Diary Calorie Counter (I tried that one before MFP) it can even suggest 800-900 calories as your maximum. Not healthy, but after nearly starving myself and being completely miserable I switched to MFP and so 1200 feels like a feast for me.
That being said, I'm not hungry on 1200, and when I feel its not enough, I'll readjust my calories. I'm tired of justifying my calorie intake.
If you don't do well on 1200 calories, don't eat 1200 calories, but don't dictate to other people.
It's really that simple.
who here on this thread demanded that you justify your calorie intake? i certainly didn't. nobody here is dictating anything to you. if you have taken the time to inform yourself and have chosen to be on a VLCD and risk whatever side effects may come your way, then good luck to you. i hope it works out for you.
1200 calories per day is not and will never be considered a VLCD. It is considered a BDD or LCD (Balanced daily diet or Low calorie diet) depending on which medical authority you look at. A VLCD is 800 calories or less (some research goes as low as 400 calories per day). A VLCD can be dangerous because it is extremely difficult to get balanced nutrition (except in certain cases of healthy vegan diets) most doctors (like those who provide lap band or other surgical weight loss methods) provide supplements which is why it should only be done under the authority and supervision of a medical professional.
How is 1200 calories a BDD?
For clarity neither is 2000 a BDD
it's not the number of calories that makes a balanced diet, it's the quality of calories.
It is possible to have inadequate nutrition on both numbers.
The 1200 calories was not plucked out of teh air by MFP - the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that calorie levels never drop below 1200 calories per day for women or 1800 calories per day for men. Even these calorie levels are quite low.
if you took the minimum recommended daily protein, carbs, fat, etc, it would add up to 1200 calories, but conversly eating 1200 doesn't automatically mean you reach the nutritional minimums.
MFP has to set a lower limit somewhere, but I'll bet if it was set at 800, we would be having the same discussion about 800 calories, because so many people believe they need to drop to the lowest they can to get any progress.0 -
Reposting the original post to remind anyone who has just joined in what this thread is about. Sensible advice for anyone who has tried 1200 calories a day and found it hasn't worked for them.
Each to their own, but for anyone (newcomers in particular) who is struggling on 1200, the advice from WinnerVictorious is really, really helpful. It's not a "you must do this" post but simply a signpost towards an easier way to lose weight.
Too bad the original post didn't have the "found it hasn't worked for them" caveat. It might have been more well received than just the blanket "do this or you're wrong" pronouncement.0 -
I lost and gained the same 7lbs for 12 months eating 1200. Now, in a fraction of that time, I have lost 9lbs following the Roadmap (eating around 1600 calories a day plus exercise calories). And the weight is continuining to drop off. I'm not as grouchy, I drink alcohol, I have the energy to run and lift weights, my skin is better, I'm less hungry and far happier.
How do you lose and gain at the same calorie level?
I can only put it down to my body being really unhappy with getting calories way below my BMR for months upon end. I was constantly hungry, my skin was constantly breaking out and I felt utterly miserable. I also struggled to do any endurance sport (up to six hours of mountain climbing most weekends) despite eating back my exercise calories. My body was being starved.
Once I started eating a calorie intake above my BMR, I felt tonnes better and the weight started shifting. Best of all my endurance when doing sport has gone through the roof and my bodyfat percentage has noticeably dropped.0 -
Reposting the original post to remind anyone who has just joined in what this thread is about. Sensible advice for anyone who has tried 1200 calories a day and found it hasn't worked for them.
Each to their own, but for anyone (newcomers in particular) who is struggling on 1200, the advice from WinnerVictorious is really, really helpful. It's not a "you must do this" post but simply a signpost towards an easier way to lose weight.
Too bad the original post didn't have the "found it hasn't worked for them" caveat. It might have been more well received than just the blanket "do this or you're wrong" pronouncement.
Yes, and maybe less of this:
"1200 calories per day is almost certainly too low for almost everyone who does not have an unusual medical condition requiring a low calorie intake, in which case that person would have to be under medical supervision. "
"please do yourself a favor and find out the right calorie goal for yourself that allows you to change your body in a healthy and satisfying way. you don't need to starve yourself and you don't need to suffer the side effects of a 1200 calorie diet. "0 -
I lost and gained the same 7lbs for 12 months eating 1200. Now, in a fraction of that time, I have lost 9lbs following the Roadmap (eating around 1600 calories a day plus exercise calories). And the weight is continuining to drop off. I'm not as grouchy, I drink alcohol, I have the energy to run and lift weights, my skin is better, I'm less hungry and far happier.
How do you lose and gain at the same calorie level?
1200 net or 1200 gross. I wish people would be specific.0 -
I personally have been really happy with the members posting threads about why 1200 is often too low and to check out the TDEE-20% way. I don't feel they're judgmental, to me it's like they're saying "hey everyone, you can eat more and still lose weight! Isn't that great?!" And for me that led to a big fat YAY!
I started out attempting 1200 and working out vigorously. But I was always hungry, always thinking of food, always tired, and progressively felt weaker. I think I would've totally fallen off the bandwagon had I not discovered these forums. Once I figured out my TDEE and saw I could eat up to 2350 calories and still lose weight, I was frickin ecstatic. I've been consistently losing 1-2lbs per week, I can eat a lot of food, and I'm no longer cranky, tired, and weak.
If you're *truly* happy with 1200, clearly these threads aren't for you. But I was really unhappy and had no idea what I was doing and threads like this are what saved me from giving up entirely. So, thank you OP. For every one person doing 1200 that you piss off with posts like this, at least there's another that you helped.0 -
Reposting the original post to remind anyone who has just joined in what this thread is about. Sensible advice for anyone who has tried 1200 calories a day and found it hasn't worked for them.
Each to their own, but for anyone (newcomers in particular) who is struggling on 1200, the advice from WinnerVictorious is really, really helpful. It's not a "you must do this" post but simply a signpost towards an easier way to lose weight.
Too bad the original post didn't have the "found it hasn't worked for them" caveat. It might have been more well received than just the blanket "do this or you're wrong" pronouncement.
there is no "do this or you're wrong" pronouncement in anything i've posted. i left plenty of wiggle room for those for whom 1200 is valid or for those who decide to adhere to 1200. words matter. i choose and parse my words carefully so that my meaning is clear. i'm dumbstruck at the notion than anyone can read what i've written, disregard what those words actually mean, and then invent a new meaning and attack me for something i didn't write.
:frown:0
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