How many calories you should eat & MFP... A mild rant

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  • glin23
    glin23 Posts: 460 Member
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    Honestly, the way I look at it is listen to your body while evaluating your diet and other habits. To use myself as an example, some days I eat back my calories, some days I don't and some days I eat back some.
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
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    I lost 45 lbs by eating 1200 cals a day + exercise cals as prescribed by MFP.

    I have kept the weight off for around 8 months by increasing to my maintenance goal of around 1500 cals a day + exercise.

    What works for one person does not work for another.

    I have just returned from holiday and I put on 1lb. I ate fries and cake and all sorts of stuff, my body did not suddenly think I had been in starvation mode and kept all the extra cals

    IMHO do what works for you, eating and exercising the way I do works for me. I feel great, I feel healthy.

    My only downside is I wish I had introduced strength training at the start, when I did not believe I could lose weight.
  • Erikalynne18
    Erikalynne18 Posts: 558 Member
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    I rant about this because I had a friend and a cousin just join and it set them at 1200 cals instantly
    You mean they put in 2 lbs a week and sedentary and don't plan to exercise ?

    Can't really blame MFP for any of that. It's an algorithm - garbage in, garbage out.

    I must disagree with you. I set myself as ACTIVE and it set me at 1200 calories. Not possible because I have a VERY ACTIVE job! I tried the 1200 calories. I REALLY REALLY tried, but oh my did I feel bad! Headaches, dizzy spells, hunger pains... nope. Was not enough for me! I am now set to net 1750 and feel much much better! :)

    And 1 lb till goal so something must be right :P
  • lambchristie
    lambchristie Posts: 552 Member
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    Thanks for the post. One of the logically and easy to understand posts I've read.

    Its all confusing and each of us is different and different outcomes based on what we do will be achieved.

    BUT...I am willing to try anything to start losing again. I am at 1300 (MPF set goal) and I don't always eat back by calories...I thought if I didn't eat them and ate at a deficit every day (you know less food in; burn those calories) I'd lose weight. Hasn't been happening (again) lately. I think I'll print out my last month reports and compare them to weeks I was really losing and see what the difference is/was.

    Again, thanks for ranting ... in an easy to understand manner. :wink: :laugh:
  • stormyinfinity
    stormyinfinity Posts: 12
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    I've lost 54 pounds on a 1200 calorie a day diet. I've never felt like I was starving, and I've never felt like I was losing too quickly or losing muscle. What works for one person may not work for another. And that's totally okay.
  • schaapj2
    schaapj2 Posts: 320 Member
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    MFP sets a proper deficit....that 1200 is NET calories.....hence, If I exercise and burn 500 calories, I am supposed to eat them back. TDEE-20% and the algorithm MFP uses are a little different, but the essentially get at the same thing. TDEE accounts for daily activity, MFP relies on strictly net calories.

    For instance, my MFP is set for 1800, but I my average net is about 1520. I've tweaked my numbers to get the results I'm looking for, but don't hate on the 1200 calories without knowing all the pieces.

    Those who use the MFP calculations should be eating their exercise calories back to give them a net of 1,200 (*note this is in an ideal world where food is logged 100% accurately and exercise is not ovestimated*)

    So most people with a 1,200 calorie net often eat closer to 1300-1600 calories a day and burn significantly less than what MFP or even their HRM indicates.

    Take home message:
    You will only lose weight in a deficit. Both calculations use a deficit. You just need to know what's actually being calculated. And yes, 1,200 does work for some people depending on body type, height, weight, gender, activity, and a multitude of other factors. and likely, that 1,200 is just an estimate....give or take a few (or as many as several hundred) calories a day.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    When you understand the system, it works.

    A properly set MFP goal + exercise goal should work out about the same as figuring out a reasonable healthy deficit.

    This. I lost the weight I wanted to lose (and then some) using MFP's numbers, once I had it set properly, which for me was at "lightly active" and one pound a week until I got within about 10 pounds of my goal, then a half pound a week, plus most of my exercise calories.

    The numbers work out about the same if I do that versus going by a TDEE approach. I'm going by TDEE now because my exercise routine is down pat and I don't need the extra motivation to work out I once did, and I'd rather aim for the same goal every day. Otherwise, I end up with a crazy-high calorie goal on a long run day. Long runs kill my appetite. Then a lower calorie goal on a lifting day, which turns me into a walking stomach. :laugh:
  • thecoffeehound
    thecoffeehound Posts: 1
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    Hi - just started and set at 1200 calories. I excercise hard 4 times a week and get the extra calories for doing so. I'm confused as to why you should eat the "bonus calories" if you're suppose to burn more calories than taken in. I get that you need to eat ALL of your daily calories, but for those of you who have been doing this a while could you explain it to me a bit more? Thanks!
  • ash8184
    ash8184 Posts: 701 Member
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    1200 worked for me... and once I started eating what should be maintenance for me, I gained 20lbs back over a couple of months (VERY frustrating).

    It's easy to stay at 1200 with lots of leafy greens and lean protein IMO - you can eat A TON of spinach for not very many calories. If I exercise a lot, I'll eat some of the calories back.

    I think what it boils down to is that it's about experimentation - some people thrive at 2000 cals/day, some need more, some need fewer.
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Hi - just started and set at 1200 calories. I excercise hard 4 times a week and get the extra calories for doing so. I'm confused as to why you should eat the "bonus calories" if you're suppose to burn more calories than taken in. I get that you need to eat ALL of your daily calories, but for those of you who have been doing this a while could you explain it to me a bit more? Thanks!

    The reason behind the 1200 cals a day is that is what you need to function at your basic metabolic rate BMR. so let us say you eat 1200 cals a day and burn 500 cals then you are under eating as your cals are just 700 cals , which is not enough to sustain your BMR.

    To cut a long story short (you can find more in the search bar if you want to look) If you are allocated 1200 cals a day then do not eat below them. If you burn 500 cals a day then you can eat an extra 500 cals a day so you do not drop below the 1200.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    I read some of the stories of people who stuck themselves on 1200 for the duration, to find they gained rapidly when they tried to eat what should have been normal maintenance, and I thank goodness I never took that route.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    Hi - just started and set at 1200 calories. I excercise hard 4 times a week and get the extra calories for doing so. I'm confused as to why you should eat the "bonus calories" if you're suppose to burn more calories than taken in. I get that you need to eat ALL of your daily calories, but for those of you who have been doing this a while could you explain it to me a bit more? Thanks!

    The reason behind the 1200 cals a day is that is what you need to function at your basic metabolic rate BMR. so let us say you eat 1200 cals a day and burn 500 cals then you are under eating as your cals are just 700 cals , which is not enough to sustain your BMR.

    To cut a long story short (you can find more in the search bar if you want to look) If you are allocated 1200 cals a day then do not eat below them. If you burn 500 cals a day then you can eat an extra 500 cals a day so you do not drop below the 1200.

    1200 is actually below what many people's BMR is.

    This calculator here does not figure exercise into it. The amount of calories it gives you is to lose weight even if you did NO exercise. It is the amount you need to keep your organs functioning, plus what you need for regular daily activity, work, school, taking care of kids, etc. When you do exercise, you need more fuel. It gives you the calorie deficit to lose weight, but then if you exercise too and don't eat more calories, then you create too big of a calorie deficit for you to be healthy.
  • crystalfisher89
    crystalfisher89 Posts: 196 Member
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    I read some of the stories of people who stuck themselves on 1200 for the duration, to find they gained rapidly when they tried to eat what should have been normal maintenance, and I thank goodness I never took that route.

    ^ AGREED. That's one thing I thought about and forgot to post on this. You need to set yourself up for maintenance or you can say bye, bye to to all the hard work.
  • hilaryhill
    hilaryhill Posts: 156 Member
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    I read some of the stories of people who stuck themselves on 1200 for the duration, to find they gained rapidly when they tried to eat what should have been normal maintenance, and I thank goodness I never took that route.

    I have, too, and this is exactly the reason people need to rethink only eating 1200. If you stay on 1200 for several months (or a year or more), when you do get to your goal, you have trained your body to sustain itself on so few calories that you can only increase it a little bit. That would suck to stay at 1300-1500 calories for the rest of my life. No thank you! Im at 2200cal/day and Im losing 2 lbs a week. I could eat 1200, sure, but Id be miserable. LOL
  • Bekahmardis
    Bekahmardis Posts: 602 Member
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    I'm 42, barely 5'3 and my weight is around 129. All the supposed reasons I often see to justify eating 1200 calories apply to me. However I NET a min of 1600 cal a day (when not working out) and have lost all my weight eating more than the MFP settings recommend.

    That being said if someone is content with eating that low cal. Hey its their business, but I know for myself it would set me up for failure.

    You sound just like me. 42, 5'3" and I finally (FINALLY) weigh 109. My BMR is 1205. So if my BMR is 1205, and MFP set me at 1200 per day and I exercised, but didn't eat back those calories, I'd be totally screwed! I net around 1450 to 1500 per day with my sedentary desk job - I have to WORK to get 6,000 steps in per day, much less the recommended 10,000!
  • chelstakencharge
    chelstakencharge Posts: 1,021 Member
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    I eat less than 1200 per day and work out every day of the week and lift. My number prove that I can lose!
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,454 Member
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    Unless I put I'm Very Active, my suggested calorie goal is too low. Even then it still only gives me 1500 cal. However I'm not that active, lift 3x a week and maybe some light walking. The rest of the time I'm on my behind. Maybe MFP is less accurate when you're smallish and oldish like me. Or maybe it's the lifting that throws it off. I just set my own based on TDEE and ignore the MFP suggestion.

    I'm 48, 5' 2.5" (short) petite woman. I weigh 125. I've been netting 1300 calories a day and haven't lost anything in over several months. Actually I've gained and lost the SAME 5 pounds over and over again. I would love to lose 10 more pounds to be in the middle range weight for my height. But it won't budge. I tried upping my calories a few months ago...at 1600 calories net. I did this for 6 weeks. I gained a pound every week. Different people...different results.

    Similar stats here, except I'm heavier. It was a revelation to me just how FEW calories an "older", shorter woman needs! It does make me worry about maintenance. I think I worked out that my sedentary TDEE would be around 1300, so yes, netting 1300 would mean that I wouldn't lose weight. At the moment, I've found it helps to do TDEE - x% and forget about net calories, for now, anyway.

    I've never set my goal for 2lbs a week. MFP gives me 1200 for 1lb a week.
  • MatthewMacG
    MatthewMacG Posts: 27 Member
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    Eating 1200 calories per day won't put the human body anywhere near a starvation response causing the body to resort to ketosis to survive. You would need to fast for 2-3 days or spend around 4 days on a very low calorie diet would cause a starvation response and ketosis. Even then for some ketosis is a desired state as long as their carbohydrate levels are low enough.

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