What is the female obsession with a 1200 calorie diet?

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bostonwolf
bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm honestly curious. Does one of the magazines like Cosmo push it as the magic number for dieting? As if that one number works for everyone large and small, strong or weak, short or tall?

It just strikes me as very odd that half the diet related threads here involved 1200 calories and whether or not it's appropriate for the poster.

Please, I ask for some enlightenment on this issue.
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Replies

  • Raeontherun
    Raeontherun Posts: 107 Member
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    Speaking for myself ..... I eat a lot more than 1200 ...... Lol
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    I apologize, I don't mean to say all women eat that way. On my friend list that certainly isn't the case. We are all lifting far too much weight to eat that little.

    It's just that we see at least 10 threads a day like this one:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1015351-is-this-an-ok-1200-calorie-diet-plan-for-the-day?page=1#posts-15557337

    Where someone is netting 200-400 calories a day after exercise and asking if this is OK?

    Short answer: NO, it's not OK.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
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    I thought it was because 1200 cals is MFP's minimum allowed.
  • leroyizzy
    leroyizzy Posts: 55
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    IMO when people post suggestions of a 1200 calorie diet it is more of a caution to not go below 1200 calories. After reading a LOT of posts that is the conclusion I have come to. Not necessarily endorsing 1200 calories but it seems to be the bottom line. Personally I sit better at 1400-1500 (*average before bonus exercise cals) and I am a short (albeit curvy) female!
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    ^and to clarify again "we" refers to men and women on my FL. I am a man, I occasionally eat more than 1200 calories at 1 meal. :)
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    IMO when people post suggestions of a 1200 calorie diet it is more of a caution to not go below 1200 calories. After reading a LOT of posts that is the conclusion I have come to. Not necessarily endorsing 1200 calories but it seems to be the bottom line. Personally I sit better at 1400-1500 (*average before bonus exercise cals) and I am a short (albeit curvy) female!

    Understandable, but with the wealth of information here and online about TDEE and how to get a good read as to what your actual calorie consumption is, why not do that and then determine the appropriate calories and macronutrient breakdown?
  • Ashleyxjamie
    Ashleyxjamie Posts: 223 Member
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    I eat 1800-2100 a day and workout 5x a week. I use the TDEE method and I lost almost a pound and a half last week. the 1200 cal a day diet is BS in my opinion. I did that diet and gained back 20 pounds because my body couldn't adjust to eating more once I tried to eat more than 1200 a day again.
  • twinkiemon
    twinkiemon Posts: 216 Member
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    Yeah, I can't do 1200 - in fact I added up 1200 a day plus a typical week's worth of exercise calories and divided it by 7 - I usually eat an average of about 1700-1750 a day and that works for me.
  • Raeontherun
    Raeontherun Posts: 107 Member
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    I would faint eating that little..... I lift heavy..... 2200 is my minimum I consume each day.lol
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
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    It's a governmental guideline - a minimum intake to maintain reasonable health.

    Most websites and magazines won't advocate lower for fear of being sued.

    People are impatient, ala, push it to the max regardless of individual needs.
  • kellykw
    kellykw Posts: 184 Member
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    I think mfp sets the intake at 1200 calories for any female who chooses to lose 2 pounds per week. Isn't that correct? If so, I would think that's why so many people come in to the forums asking about 1200 calorie diets.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    It's just the lowest number of calories that a woman is supposed to eat unless directed by a qualified medical professional, as a presumed safeguard against starvation. The recommended minimum for men is 1800 calories.
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
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    Not sure but it's inhumane IMO. I think 1800 is inhumane some days :p
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    I think some sort of study years ago indicated that 1200 calories is the lowest amount an average woman should eat for weight loss (potentially based off average BMR). People took that information as the golden standard and ran with it. Often people are of the all-or-nothing mentality, so when they hear they can lose weight the "healthy" way by eating 1200 calories they jump into it. They want to lose weight fast and they think more (as in more of a deficit) is better. MFP sets many of our calories at that level initially when we say we want to lose 2 pounds a week.
  • Robin_Bin
    Robin_Bin Posts: 1,046 Member
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    Multiple places (includig MFP) give it as the lowest amount you can normally eat nutritiously. I guess some people don't read past that and automatically think that the fewest calories will be the fastest way to lose weight. (Personallly, I think they're wrong, especially if they want to keep the weight off.) I've seen many people say MFP recommends that amount for them, but when you go through the numbers with him or her, you'll find that it does not recommend it for that person. So... I can't quite explain it either, but it does seem to be what many people (not just women although they are more likely to) think of as the "magic" number.

    ETA:
    WebMD and some other "medical" sites also recommend this as the absolute minimum for anyone not under specific, medically supervised guidance. But just because it's the minimum doesn't mean it's where most people should be. When you add in exercise calories, almost everyone, even a small, inactive woman trying to lose weight, should be eating more than 1,200 calories/day. And at 1,200 the foods eaten should be "nutrition dense" since otherwise you'll probably be missing critical nutrients.
  • emAZn
    emAZn Posts: 413 Member
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    Honestly I eat around 800-1000 calories a day and excercise 3-4 times a week... I tried 1200 calorie diets and found no result... this is just where my body wants to be its not a diet its a lifestyle
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    I think mfp sets the intake at 1200 calories for any female who chooses to lose 2 pounds per week. Isn't that correct? If so, I would think that's why so many people come in to the forums asking about 1200 calorie diets.

    No. MFP sets 1200 as the minimum that you should eat, regardless. The recommendation MFP gives is based on your current size and activity level, minus the rate at which you wish to lose.
  • eissacf25
    eissacf25 Posts: 151 Member
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    I didn't really read all of the other responses, so I apologize if I repeat someone. The 1200 calories noted in diets refers to the minimum they recommend a person eats (when you aren't exercising) to lose up to 2 lbs per week. No matter what your size is, to lose 1 lb your calorie deficit needs to be 3500. Therefore if you are only eating 1200 calories a day, you could lose up to 2.2 lbs in a week. Of course, if you exercise you get to eat more. The main focus really isn't sticking exactly to 1200 calories, but more the deficit between what you consume vs what you burn to lose weight. Hope that helps!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    I've always wondered this as well. Personally, I think it's because many do not understand how calories in/out really works and don't understand that they can actually lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way (albeit somewhat slower) with a higher calorie intake. What really gets me shaking my head are the ones that think 1200 calories should be their gross and they end up netting 500 calories or whatever with their exercise..and somehow they think they're being healthy and what not. I also think a lot of women have been "programmed" to think they should be eating like little birdies if they want to stay slim or lose weight.

    I know when my wife got on here and it gave her the arbitrary 1200 she just chuckled and told MFP to f itself and input her own custom goal using TDEE. When she was losing (now just maintaining, but lost a good 20 Lbs) she was grossing around 1800-2000 calories or so, but she didn't obsess. She just ate food, ran, hit the gym and did all of the above consistently for some time and lost the weight.
  • leroyizzy
    leroyizzy Posts: 55
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    I actually went to a different site so I could get a differing opinion of what my calories and macros should be and adjusted my numbers on MFP. I would not say my food diary is perfect by any means but I am trying to increase my protein to aid in my strength training. I am also doing intermittent 5:2 fasting. So my 'feast' days are much higher in cals than my "fast" days but the average over the week is 1400-1600.

    P.s. the second site that I used to determine my ideal cal consumption was about 200 calories higher than MFP... I will gladly eat those extra 200 :smile:

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