Is 1200 calories enough for my age

I entered all of your info into this calculator and used 'lighly active- 1-3hrs a week of physical activity'
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

To maintain right now you would eat 2500 (lightly active) or 2200 (sedentary)

To lose you can eat 2000 (lightly active) or 1750 (sedentary)

Your BMR is 1800 so I wouldn't suggest eating under that. You should recalculate w/ this calculator every 5lbs down.

With this method you don't eat your exersise calories back. This is -20% so its for ~1lb/week loss.

GL! :flowerforyou:

I dont say this often but you need to hear it. OP, You are 57 years old and morbidity obese, both of which make a good combination of an early death. You should should seriously seek advice from a specialist because I have no doubt in my mind that you have a lot of bad stuff going on inside of your body. The average nutritional advice isn't what you want because there are no good options for someone in your situation.


There is no good healthy option for you, only bad ones. Create a big deficit to relieve immediate pressure and fat off of your organs or lose weight slow which in turn would do your body more harm because of the hazardous living condition you created inside of your body. At your weight you are most likely pre-diabetic or even full blown diabetic and everything in your body is choking from so much excess fat that that your organs are literally losing function. If you went and got an MRI this very moment, I wouldn't be surprised if they found a fatty liver and pancreas. Fatty liver leads to Cirrhosis, which means your liver could stop functioning. Having too much fat on the pancreas will block that organ's production of insulin, a cause of diabetes. Eating too many carbs in your state could be destroying the insulin receptors on your blood cells, pre-diabetes. Once all your insulin receptors are destroyed, you'll be classified as a full blown diabetic.


You have no good options. Only bad ones that should be discussed with a specialists.

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How do you figure she has "no good options"? Surely an option is to lose weight in a healthy way.

How do you figure she has "no good options"? Surely an option is to lose weight in a healthy way.

Healthy is a general term that means something different to everyone based on anyone's current situation. She only has two options to lose weight, high deficit or low deficit. Losing weight slowly or what most people are advising her to do at TDEE-20% would mean a 2 to 3 year weight loss plan, essentially leaving her blood cells in a hazardous living condition for almost two years. However, losing weight fast or a higher deficit at 1600 calories max would relieve more immediate pressure faster but cause unknown problems that many people here seem to believe which I have given credit to since so many here recommend TDEE-20%. It is my opinion that she should create the highest deficit possible that keeps her energy needs in line for a normal day and not losing weight at the slowest possible rate for someone in her condition.


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Are you a doctor? Or a dietitian?

She could easily lose 100 lbs in the next year, which would get her down to 166, a much better weight. I don't see how encouraging her to have a huge deficit will help, especially since that would mean she is more likely to gain the weight back.

1200 does not sound like a good idea. So many people start out at 1200 and then have to bump it up either because they are starving all the time or because their weight loss stalls out. I started out with 1200 and lost a pound a week, but I was hungry all the time. After reading a ton of posts, I bumped it up to 1500. I still average a pound a week, but I am not really hungry. I don't do a lot of exercise, but I do try to walk 30 min a day. Sometimes it is two 15 min walks. We are about the same age. The extra weight is going to make it worse on you as you get older. I decided to get serious about my weight at my last physical when the doctor was quizzing me to make sure I would recognize the signs and symptoms of a heart attack. Jeez. Anyway, If you want to send me a friend request, I would be glad to do whatever I can to encourage you along the way. Good luck to you.

Too rapid of weight loss can pose plenty of healthy risks of its own. It makes no sense for her to ruin her metabolism and set herself up to gain it all back. While everyone should regularly be seeing a primary healthcare professional, I fail to see why she would need a specialist any more than anyone else on these boards.

I personally have been eating slightly above my BMR. The weight is coming off slowly, but steadily. More importantly, I am satisfied and rarely hungry and get to enjoy my food. Have a glimpse at some of the 1200 calorie people's diaries...I fail to see how a person (especially one who exercises) could subsist on what little they are eating. Fuel your body with the right foods and the right amount of them.

How do you figure she has "no good options"? Surely an option is to lose weight in a healthy way.

Healthy is a general term that means something different to everyone based on anyone's current situation. She only has two options to lose weight, high deficit or low deficit. Losing weight slowly or what most people are advising her to do at TDEE-20% would mean a 2 to 3 year weight loss plan, essentially leaving her blood cells in a hazardous living condition for almost two years. However, losing weight fast or a higher deficit at 1600 calories max would relieve more immediate pressure faster but cause unknown problems that many people here seem to believe which I have given credit to since so many here recommend TDEE-20%. It is my opinion that she should create the highest deficit possible that keeps her energy needs in line for a normal day and not losing weight at the slowest possible rate for someone in her condition.


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Are you a doctor? Or a dietitian?

She could easily lose 100 lbs in the next year, which would get her down to 166, a much better weight. I don't see how encouraging her to have a huge deficit will help, especially since that would mean she is more likely to gain the weight back.

That's a popular theory but the most recent meta-analysis found people who dieted aggressively in the first several months were no more likely to regain the weight.

I really disagree that she has no good options. There are so many people on this site who have far more to lose and improve their health very quickly. In fact, I think quite the opposite is true: All her weight loss options are good! and even a 10% weight reduction is found to improve health.

OP, I would recommend that you go for some relatively quick weight loss at first. Studies find that very obese people lose more fat than leaner people with an aggressive diet; leaner people tend to lose more muscle. But that's not to say 1,200 is the right amount for you and I think it's not. You might try something more like 1,600 or a little higher. That's low enough to give you quick weight loss in these early months but it's high enough to help you stay on your eating plan. It's not helping you when you are following 1,200 one week and then falling off track the next.

I highly, highly recommend that you consult with a nutritionist, not because terrible awful things are going on in your body (which no one but your doctor and you would know so don't listen to people saying negative things out of total ignorance) but to help you adjust your way of eating in a way that will help you shed pounds more quickly (try googling "Not all calories are created equal" and you'll see the study that shows you in what way this is true), feel momre satisfied and really boost your nutrition.

YOu have MANY great options and you will probably adjust and modify those options many times along your path. Best of luck.

By the way, for the "in terrible danger, lose as fast as possible crowd," it's pretty dangerous to make assumptions about someone else's health based on such limited information. I was not as obese as OP is, but I started this just before I turned 59 and I was in the "severely obese" category--not the top of the three obesity categories, but not the bottom, either. I have a total of 78 pounds to lose to reach normal weight and I'm exactly halfway there after 5.5 months. But my blood tests before losing weight were sterling, my cholesterol levels beautiful, my heart tests perfect, my blood pressure 120/80. I didn't deserve all that good medical news with the weight I was carrying around, but there you have it.

That said, consulting professionals is a very good idea.

By the way, for the "in terrible danger, lose as fast as possible crowd," it's pretty dangerous to make assumptions about someone else's health based on such limited information. I was not as obese as OP is, but I started this just before I turned 59 and I was in the "severely obese" category--not the top of the three obesity categories, but not the bottom, either. I have a total of 78 pounds to lose to reach normal weight and I'm exactly halfway there after 5.5 months. But my blood tests before losing weight were sterling, my cholesterol levels beautiful, my heart tests perfect, my blood pressure 120/80. I didn't deserve all that good medical news with the weight I was carrying around, but there you have it.

That said, consulting professionals is a very good idea.

You are a very reasonable person. I like you. I hope i wasn't being too harsh on the OP and I'm sorry if I was.

By the way, for the "in terrible danger, lose as fast as possible crowd," it's pretty dangerous to make assumptions about someone else's health based on such limited information. I was not as obese as OP is, but I started this just before I turned 59 and I was in the "severely obese" category--not the top of the three obesity categories, but not the bottom, either. I have a total of 78 pounds to lose to reach normal weight and I'm exactly halfway there after 5.5 months. But my blood tests before losing weight were sterling, my cholesterol levels beautiful, my heart tests perfect, my blood pressure 120/80. I didn't deserve all that good medical news with the weight I was carrying around, but there you have it.

That said, consulting professionals is a very good idea.

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You are a very reasonable person. I like you. I hope i wasn't being too harsh on the OP and I'm sorry if I was.

"Like" button clicked ;7)