Too many calories verses not enough calories...I need help

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pastorgladys
pastorgladys Posts: 8
in Food and Nutrition
Hi, my name is gladys and have struggled with my weight forever it seems. I have tried other diets and have not had much success. A friend of mine told me about this site so here I am. My question is about calories? Do I have to eat 1200 calories every day and will it really help me to take off the excess pounds?? I heard from other diet plans that if you don't eat enough then our body wants to store fat instead of loosing...true or false? I am trying to make myself stick with 1200 calories like it says but find it is a lot of food for me....Are you really loosing weight eating that much food every day??
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  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    Don't take this the wrong way, but how is eating 1200 calories a lot of food? If you are overweight, then you have likely been eating WAY more than that for a prolonged period of time. For me, 1200 isn't enough and I will starve (I am a 5'7" moderately active female). I lost the best when I ate around 1400-1500 calories.

    Enter your info into MFP, set your weight loss for 1 lb/week....how much does it tell you to eat?
  • pastorgladys
    pastorgladys Posts: 8
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    i already entered info and it tells me to eat 1200 calories a day...thanks for your post
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    i lost weight eating about 1800 net calories per day - which was up to 2800 actual intake some days. it was slow (about half pound a weekon average), but i never felt hungry and was happy with my progress.
  • Ruebia
    Ruebia Posts: 7 Member
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    believe it or not you need to eat at least 1200 calories per day in order to lose any weight at all. otherwise, your body isn't getting the fuel it needs to burn off the fat. one question i would ask is are you doing any exercise? if you are, are you entering that into the exercise portion of MFP so that those calories are added back to your daily allotment? if you're doing that, i would suggest to you to stop doing that. my husband and i are doing this together and found it extremely difficult to eat back all the calories that were added back. not adding them back has worked so far. he's currently down 31 pounds and i'm down 22. we do the best we can to eat all the calories we're allotted for the day. if we don't we won't drop any weight. my sister is having this problem. she's been having trouble losing some extra weight but the problem is she isn't eating enough. she's lucky if she eats 900-1000 per day. 1200 calories is NOT a lot of calories. that is what i'm allotted for every day and some days more than others it's harder to eat so few when i've been used to eating way more than that. another thing you may not be doing is eating often enough. small portions every 3-4 hours throughout the day will help as well. also, it's a good idea to have at least one cheat day per week. otherwise your weight loss will never last. you'll deny yourself the things you like and then when you get the chance to have them again you'll go overboard. the weekend is usually when my husband and i "cheat". we'll have a good healthy breakfast and lunch but for dinner we'll have burgers and fries or wings or pizza and ice cream. it all works together to keep your body guessing. most of the time, though, we don't feel like we're on a diet at all because we try to eat the things we like but make a healthier version of them. if you want to chat or need suggestions or want to see the kinds of things we eat my food diary is public so you can check it out. remember, if you don't see any entries for the weekend it's only because that's when we "cheat" so i don't bother to keep track. i'll be glad to help you in any way i can.
  • leighann881
    leighann881 Posts: 371
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    Some think "calories are calories" but I don't 100% buy it. You can eat 1200 calories from McDonalds or you can eat 1200 clean calories from whole foods that fuel your body. The difference is how you feel and where you lose the weight.

    I too have trouble eating 1200 calories because low calorie foods can be very filling. I had trouble finishing 6 oz of thai beef wrapped in Romaine. It was less than 300 calories. I ate it 5.5 hours ago and I won't eat the rest of the day. (IF) I, personally, front load my calories eating almost all of my 1200 before 2p.

    TRY THIS: Look at your caloric intake as a weekly goal. You should be eating approximately 8400 calories per week. Some days you may only eat 800 but others you may eat 1800. Varying your daily caloric intake can help stop the "starvation mode" conundrum.
  • BigAndTallSection
    BigAndTallSection Posts: 46 Member
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    I am not going to pretend to be an expert but I have had weight issues all my life. I have worked with doctors and nutritionists in the past when I lost weight. I just never could get with the program and stick to a life style change. Anyway, I am going to tell you that eating your BMR, which is what I am guessing is where you are getting the 1200 from as it is your BMR minus whatever goal you told MFP, is for sure the bare minimum that you should be eating. Exercise is going to raise that number each day that you do exercise but you could search for "eat more to lose weight" and enjoy the reading. I believe based on many years of eating experience that you do not need to be afraid to eat your BMR minus a reasonable deficit but really having said that, 1200 sounds really low to me.
  • pastorgladys
    pastorgladys Posts: 8
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    thanks so much! I will check your food ...
  • Siege_Tank
    Siege_Tank Posts: 781 Member
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    believe it or not you need to eat at least 1200 calories per day in order to lose any weight at all. otherwise, your body isn't getting the fuel it needs to burn off the fat.

    Not to be all like.. but... *facepalm*

    How do all those study participants lose any weight at all when undergoing 10 day fasts, university controlled VLCD's, and other cited works which show the effects of less than 1200 calories per day?

    I'm not saying they're a good idea, but.. try to say things that are supported by research, instead of the opposite of it.

    Sooper restrictive calorie cuts are, essentially, unsustainable. If someone truly ate that little for a length of time, they'd feel lethargic, want to stay on the couch all day, and want to sleep for ever. Milder calorie cuts are more effective, and don't cause as sharp of a drop in a person's base metabolic rate as severe cuts do. Some research also points towards greater muscle mass retention with a mild cut vs a deep cut.

    If you hate yourself so much that you ARE able to sustain a VLCD, go see a therapist and learn how to love yourself, and THEN start your weight loss journey. (Not directed at OP, just saying to anyone reading. Don't starve, love =)
  • UrbanLotus
    UrbanLotus Posts: 1,163 Member
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    Are you sure you are counting correctly? Because there is no way 1200 is a lot of food.
  • OMGeeeHorses
    OMGeeeHorses Posts: 732 Member
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    I seem to be doing bad then lol, I have a personal trainer and she staggers my calorie intake differently each day one days its 1300, next its 1400 and one others its 1500 and then back down, I actually feel so full when I hit 1100, so I won't push myself to eat. I listen to my body, if it wasn't getting enough I would be feeling hungry all the time, but I actually don't and I am loosing a great deal of inches more than seeing the scale move :), so it really is what your body needs more than following an eating plan to the T. thats what I do anyways :)
  • leighann881
    leighann881 Posts: 371
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    1200 calories can be a lot of food depending on what you eat. 4 cups of spinach is 28 calories. Dress it with red wine vinegar @10-15 calories. Even if you throw in a tomato at 25 calories you are still well below 100 calories. That a LOT of food. Trying to finish 4 cups of fresh spinach is a challenge.
  • leighann881
    leighann881 Posts: 371
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    I seem to be doing bad then lol, I have a personal trainer and she staggers my calorie intake differently each day one days its 1300, next its 1400 and one others its 1500 and then back down, I actually feel so full when I hit 1100, so I won't push myself to eat. I listen to my body, if it wasn't getting enough I would be feeling hungry all the time, but I actually don't and I am loosing a great deal of inches more than seeing the scale move :), so it really is what your body needs more than following an eating plan to the T. thats what I do anyways :)

    That's awesome! I love it when PTs step out of the box and help their clients change up their diets!
  • pastorgladys
    pastorgladys Posts: 8
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    am happy for you that you have found something that is working...thanks for sharing
  • dooders7345
    dooders7345 Posts: 1 Member
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    I was thinking the same thing. I struggle with 1,200 calories. :/
  • BlueInkDot
    BlueInkDot Posts: 702 Member
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    STOP!

    Go to this website: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    On that website you will calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) which is the MINIMUM number of calories you should eat in a day.

    You will also calculate your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) which is the MAXIMUM number of calories you should eat in a day if you want to lose weight. This number includes the calories burned from your workouts, so if you use this method you do NOT have to eat back your workout calories - (otherwise you totally would)!

    Select the "15% cut" option and eat at the recommended calories.

    PLEASE don't get sucked into this 1200 calories per day nonsense, that's almost nothing and will just leave you starving and will just drive you mad.

    Please contact me if you have any questions.
  • Tenaci0uslee
    Tenaci0uslee Posts: 12
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    BUMP
  • Alta2000
    Alta2000 Posts: 655 Member
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    It also depends on how much you want to lose, your height and your age. You are a 62 year old female so it does make a difference on the amount one can eat. What is your current weight and height? The most important change you can make is to change your diet to eat clean food.
  • WineVine
    WineVine Posts: 14 Member
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    This hasn't made it here yet:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

    One of the best explanations I've found yet in the forums.
  • Samifer
    Samifer Posts: 6 Member
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    Start with your BMR (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/) and go from there. Read up and take everything into account. 1200 calories can be a lot of food, depending on what it is. The site I linked has a lot of different calculators and can help create something a bit more manageable than just guessing at what you should be doing. Good luck!
  • SairahRose
    SairahRose Posts: 412 Member
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    STOP!

    Go to this website: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    On that website you will calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) which is the MINIMUM number of calories you should eat in a day.

    You will also calculate your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) which is the MAXIMUM number of calories you should eat in a day if you want to lose weight. This number includes the calories burned from your workouts, so if you use this method you do NOT have to eat back your workout calories - (otherwise you totally would)!

    Select the "15% cut" option and eat at the recommended calories.

    PLEASE don't get sucked into this 1200 calories per day nonsense, that's almost nothing and will just leave you starving and will just drive you mad.

    Please contact me if you have any questions.

    This.. a thousand likes for this.

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