A question for experienced 1200 calorie folk.

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TheMotherAwesome
TheMotherAwesome Posts: 174 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I just readjusted my goals and am now at 1,200 calories per day. I was only at 1,240 before and was pretty good about meeting or being just below, so I'm not worried about that. However, I have had days here and there where I've fallen below 1,200 and you get the lovely warning saying that you could be putting yourself in starvation mode. My question to you all is how close/over/under you usually are on your calories? Do you err on the side of caution and go a little over, or do you just try to meet or be just under? It's pretty hard to hit 1,200 right on the nose, realistically.

Looking forward to your responses!

Replies

  • aldiegirl
    aldiegirl Posts: 2 Member
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    I try to stay under most of the time. The days I exercise, it really helps. However, I never kill myself if I go a little over. It's the total at the end of the week that matters most, not the daily number. Great job losing 25 pounds!

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  • sabrinafaith
    sabrinafaith Posts: 607 Member
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    I actually don't pay any attention whatsoever to the warning. On days I don't work out at all I try to keep my calories at 1100 or under. On days I do work out, I try to stay at 1300-1400 calories. I try to make sure that I have less than 499 calories remaining for my day, so I'm never in starvation mode.
  • shellgib
    shellgib Posts: 196 Member
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    I usually try to get right up to the 1200 as close as possible. I do occasionally stay under, esp. if I burn a lot of exercise cals, but I still try to get within 150 of my goal. If I go over I try not to go over by more than 50-100 as well. I figure everything is an average and estimate anyways, so if your close either way, you should be okay. I did have to increase my goal to 1400 for a week or so to break out of a plateau though, so I don't think staying at 1200 for too long will necessarily work either. I think you just have to play with the numbers to find what works for you.

    HTH. :happy:
  • funkyspunky871
    funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
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    I see what you mean. I wondered about this same thing myself. Luckily, I'm at 1490 calories right now, so I'm not worrying. I'd love to hear what others say about this because eventually I'll be at 1200 with you.

    Personally, I'd keep my calories set at like 1250 or 1300. It's really not enough calories to matter with weight loss, but it's enough to stop your body from going to starvation mode.
  • 123gonnareachit
    123gonnareachit Posts: 69
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    I zig-zag. somedays it's 1192 and some days 1001 and some 1300 and 1200. I usually don't go over 8400 calories per week,
  • Wolfena
    Wolfena Posts: 1,570 Member
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    I average.... there'll be days I exercise a lot and end up way under, then the next day I may eat out for a meal and end up way over. By the end of the week, if I were to average out my days I'd be right on track all week.

    I've lost a lot of weight this way - it works for me. I wouldn't say that I "stagger" my calories as some people call it - because it's not intentional, it's just eating and exercising day to day as my life happens.

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