Is 1200 enough??

RisRis85
RisRis85 Posts: 28
in Health and Weight Loss
I recently did this BMR calculator and for the amount of running I do per week (4.5-6 or more miles a day) it says I should be consuming around 1700 calories (that's minus 500 for weight loss, so the original number was around 2200 calories per day). So the 1200 on MFP has me questioning if its accurate, also when I restrict to 1200, I feel like i gain weight!!! It's unbelievable to me. Any opinions on this would be great. Thanks for the help!!

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    For an active person no its not enough. 1700 would be better for you especially since you dont have much to lose. Eating to little and you will catabolize your muscle as well as hurt your performance. Fuel your muscle so you dont get flabby.
  • andiskrandi
    andiskrandi Posts: 3
    Ive been doing this since the end of dec. 2012. Mine was 1200 and i worked out twice a day and i would burn about 1000 cals a day. I tried to always get to 1200, sometime i made it sometimes i didnt(ive always had a weird appetite, but to answer your question, yes 1200 is enough. I usually could get three meals and like 6-8 snack( i normally would get like half a serving of of whatever i wAs eating. Ive been a 1200 since dec 31, and i just went up to 1900 today, because i reached my goal and its time for maintainance.
  • Ritzbrit
    Ritzbrit Posts: 211 Member
    No not enough. I started at 1200 cals but then plateaued for the longest time. I increased my cals to netting my BMR but still wasn't enough for my workouts. I now do TDEE - 25% and I'm steadily losing. And a lot of people have been successful this way. I really believe in at least netting your BMR. I workout 5-6 days a week and eat 2,000. I don't eat back my exercise cals because my TDEE already figured that out.

    Example: My BMR is 1595 x my exercise level which is 1.725 for 5-6 days a week = 2751. I have still have over 40 pounds to lose so I'm going 25% below my TDEE (2751 x .25 = 687.75, so subtract the 687.75 from my TDEE of 2751 =2063, bam :) If my workout burns are more than 687.75 I'll eat back some of the exercise cals if I'm starving.

    Look at the Roadmap posts, very helpful :)
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
    Never eat below your BMR. MFP has a BMR calculator too. Click on the Apps tab and scroll down and look for it on the right hand side.

    MFP is a "dumb" tool in that it calculates your calorie limit based on your inputs, even if that calorie limit is unhealthy (i.e. below your BMR). Check your weekly weight loss goal. Perhaps you need to be less aggressive.

    You can also manually adjust your calorie limit so it's ABOVE your BMR. Do this by going to My Home>>Goals>> Change Goals>>Custom. Overtype the daily calorie number. Save your changes.

    Log your exercise and eat back all (or most) of your extra earned calories.
  • RisRis85
    RisRis85 Posts: 28
    Aww thanks guys! I value your input! I've been OBSESSING about this lately, so the replies are appreciated!!
  • Ritzbrit
    Ritzbrit Posts: 211 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

    Here is the link to the Road Map post. I found it to be very helpful.
  • swilki84
    swilki84 Posts: 13 Member
    If you're doing exercise and you input it on your exercise tracker it increases the number of calories that you can have that day. For example 45 mins of running at 5mph gives you 484 calories burned/back. That's your 1700 (ish)

    1200 is just the basic figure for lumps like me who don't exercise (though I have started) The key thing is to add your exercise as and when you do it
  • Lt_Starbuck
    Lt_Starbuck Posts: 576 Member
    Choose your own adventure.

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