1200 Calories

I eat 1200 calories but here lately I find that I don't eat all 1200..Somedays I will still have anywhere from 200-300 calories left (sometimes it will be those from exercising)..Once I hit my goal I plan on sticking with the 1200.

I eat a little under 1200 to lose. I'm trying to lose just a few vanity pounds, but I'm trying to explore other approaches to eating. Some knowledgeable people in the nutrition science field think that obesity is caused, not by simple over consumption of calories, but by eating foods that cause hormonal responses that lead to excess fat being stored.

I'm considering trying to eliminate refined sugars and other excess sugars. That's going to be difficult.

I'm planning on resuming exercise, but exercise is not considered all that important for weight loss, although it is important for health. I hope to increase my calories in the maintenance phase, but it depends on how my body responds.

I found a great blog today. Google "The Eating Academy". The author is an M. D. named Attia. Look for the introductory post or the FAQs.

Where on MFP can I read about there recommended 1200 daily calories?

1200 is not the overall goal, but the NET goal. If you eat 1600 calories, exercise for 400, your net goal will be 1200. Most people think the 1200 is an overall goal minus their exercise burned calories and usually have a deficit lower than 1200. That's not the objective.

I think some people are confused on the idea of the 1200 calorie diet. 1200 is a deficit. After you hit your goal why would you continue to eat at a deficit?

If you need 2200 calories to maintain

Eat 1700 = 500 calorie DEFICIT

Once you hit your goal you readjust your calculations but it will be closer to 2200 to maintain.

Anyway I'd google TDEE and figure that out and eat at TDEE -20% unless you're 4'8 its going to be a lot more than 1200.

I'm 5'0 and TDEE-20% without ANY exercise for me is still around 1500 calories. I figured out how much I should be eating yesterday using heybales' spreadsheet and the calorie intake for my activity level and to lose .5lbs per week (since I'm close to goal), even being so short, is 2150. It was really eye opening.

That number just seems unreal to me. 2150 for a 5' woman? Wow. Everyone seems to say we need 2000 calories a day! (give or take)

did you choose too aggressive a weight loss rate? MFP will give people 1200 calories as their goal, even if it's really too low for them.

for example, if you are a woman trying to lose 20 lbs and you choose a 2lbs/week rate of loss, MFP will return 1200 for you. that's too low. make sure you choose your loss rate appropriately.

I put in my weight and age and height and activity level (sedentary) and it gave me 1200. This past week was the first week I didn't eat my exercise calories back and I lost weight after a 2 week plateau. It may have been a fluke. I'm going by trial and error right now. But I don't get hungry or feel the least bit deprived eating 1200 a day. Yesterday I went over a bit, but I had some exercise in the bank.

yes, but what weight loss rate did you choose? the problems with 1200 can be a couple. if 1200 is a large deficit from your actual TDEE and close to your resting BMR, then over time you may find that you reach a plateau you have trouble breaking. prolonged under-eating can lead to changes in your hormones that cause your body's metabolism to slow down a bit. you can find countless examples of women who struggled for months and months at 1200 calories, only to find that after bumping up to 1400 or 1500 started losing again after a couple of weeks. the other problem with 1200 is that it doesn't leave you much wiggle room in your diet to get adequate nutrition.

there are some, but not a lot, of women for whom 1200 is fine and they won't affect their metabolism if they stay that low for a prolonged period of time. these are women with low BMRs to start with. however, they still have to be careful to get the proper nutrition at that calorie level.

if you chose 2lbs/week as your loss rate, that's a 1000 calorie deficit per day. as a sedentary woman, MFP will almost certainly give you 1200 as your goal no matter how much or how little weight you have to lose. that's the problem with the calculator... there is no sanity check on the resulting number based on current weight and goal weight. so YOU have to make sure you haven't set too aggressive a goal for yourself.