1200 calories a day... I'm confused

I'm just as confused. My fiance says I'm not eating enough but that's the only way I can lose. And it has been EXTREMELY slow. I saw an equation where you have a calorie range. Do your goal weight X 100 for your low. For high, add 300 to that. Whether or not you have a high or low day depends on your workout. But if I eat that many calories I feel like I'm eating too much. Maybe that is not taking into account your workout calories... I DONT KNOW! Haha. Sorry I can't help. Looking forward to responses!

Many people want to lose weight quickly, and 1200 (net) is as low as MFP will go for anyone. If I put in "I want to lose 2 pounds per week" ... then MFP assigns 1200 (the lowest possible) .... this number works for a portion of us ... but not all.

I could never lose 2 pounds per week (closer to goal than that) ..... but many people do have unrealistic expectations and put in the 2 pounds anyway.

I am confused also. I to am on a 1,200 cal diet. I see everyone else talking about 1,800, 2,200 cals etc. and I wonder why mine is so low. I am not hungry at all, but I am not losing weight very fast. Looking for some help.

My Fitness Pal uses an equation to determine how many calories a day to give you.... It will NEVER recommend anything less than 1200 calories.

For example, you maintain at 2,400 calories a day. You select "lose 2 lbs per week". That is a 1,000 calorie deficit so your goal would be 1,400 for the day.


For most people, this is not the case... Say MFP assumes you maintain at 1800 calories a day. You select 2lbs per week... it tries to do a 1,000 calorie deficit and goes UH OH ITS LESS THAN 1,200, we have to recommend 1,200 calories.

This may just put it in perspective that losing 2 lbs per week MAY/MAYNOT be a reasonable goal for you. You'll notice that when you change your goal to a more reasonable goal you will have a significantly more calories. For most people anyway, 1,200 calories is far too low. Slow sustainable weightloss, I always say!

When I hit the gym, I use machines that allow me to enter my weight/age and such and they tell me exactally how many calories I burn so I have proper entry. I am just hoping I am doing everything as well as I can be.

Try getting a heartrate monitor. That will be more accurate for calories burned than the machines that calculate weight and age.
Also - I try not to eat back the calories I burn everytime I work out. If you try to eat 1200-1300, even if you still burn 300 (so that would be a net of 900-1000 calories (even though you took in 1200-1300) - that might help too. I'm not saying do it every day - because you don't want your body to go into starvation mode, but a few days a week would be ok.

I know it does come off slow. It's taking me a while too. I was losing about 1.5 pounds/week in August, then I slipped for 2 weeks and gained 3-4 pounds in 2 weeks. What the heck! Now I'm trying to get back on track again.

Good luck!

I am on 1200 cals a day, and I find it quite easy to stick to. I have lost 13lbs in 6 weeks doing it this way. I agree though that what works for one person, wont always work for another.

I just tend to have my breakfast at 8am, a peice of fruit at 10am, my lunch at 12noon, a snack at 3pm and my dinner before 6pm and I eat a yogurt straight after my dinner. I dont snack after that as I feel full until bedtime. I tend to drink squash throughout the day, and diet lemonade mixed with squash through the evenings as this bloats me for the evening so I dont get hungry until I wake up again.

I do exercise 3 times a week, mainly on days when i'm feeling fat as this makes me walk quicker.

I dont recommend that you do this as a long term eating plan. I am only doing it until August when I get married and then I will move the daily cals to 1600 to maintain.

You do have to have something to motivate you, but you have to try all sorts of different ways until you find the right one for you. I love using this app, as when I eat something naughty, and it goes into negative figures, I go and exercise until its back into positive figures. If I just had to track it myself, I wouldnt be as precise so would probably under-estimate calorie intake anyway.

Hope this helps someone

The machines I use at the YMCA has the heart trackers built right in so that is how it is calculating my calories burned.

only if you are able to put in your own weight and gender etc. Otherwise they are just random guestimates. As others have said MFP suggests calories based on your stats and goals you enter. Once the calorie are given you are suppose to log your exercise and eat back those calories as a deficit has already been factored in. If you do not eat back your exercise calories your deficit could be too large and therefore be counter productive.

I think 1200 calories is too low that's why I changed mine. Here's a link that will explain it all :


http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12:

Don't give up!

You guys are disturbing.
1200 calories is a lot.
Go to Asia, kids.
See a true diet.

Disturbing is a goal weight of 77 pounds. 1200 calories is not a lot.

Ive recently put mine down manually to 1100 calories. im eating less than that a day, not including the exercise i do every day. my family say its not enough but i dont feel like im under eating. I do give myself the weekend off which means i gain weight durig the weekend, but am not getting the results i want. Ive lost 10 pounds, but have been at a stand still for the last 2 weeks. my BMI is overweight so its not as tho ive hit my wall where its harder to lose weight. any advice?