1200 calorie ?
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kidakiwi04
Posts: 238
So I have a dumb question. I know you are supposed to eat at least 1200cal a day. Is that before or after you exercise? My goal is 1370 but I have a hard time eating that much. But I make it a point to eat 1200 everyday but once I add exercise my net cal intake is almost always lower than 1200.
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Replies
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Before you exercise. you don't want to drop below 1200 because you risk not getting enough nutrients and possibly sending your body into starvation mode which will cause your body to store fat and burn muscle. If your working out too you definitely want to get more than 1200 calories. If your having a hard time doing that try adding a protein shake after you work out. Good luck!0
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This is a VERY hot topic...Browse the forum and you will see tons of posts about this!! At any rate, here is MY opinion (and it is juts MY opinion... others are definitely different!!):
You should eat at least half of your exercise calories. The 1200 number is what the FDA (or some other organization...LOL) has said is the bare minimum calories one should intake.. and that is net, meaning if you're normal calories are set at 1200, and you burn 400 calories exercising, your net calories for the day would be 1600. In this case, I would try my darnedest to eat at least 1400 calories that day.
Being under or over your net calories every once in a while is fine... but if you are consistently under 1000-1200 calories, you risk your body going into starvation mode (which is another very hot topic with many different opinions!!) That was my poroblem for a long time. I'd barely eat 2 meals a day, and what I ate was all bad stuff... so my body hung onto every gram of fat, preparing for not being fueled for awhile...
Hope this helps!! Good luck!
:happy:0 -
Before you exercise. you don't want to drop below 1200 because you risk not getting enough nutrients and possibly sending your body into starvation mode which will cause your body to store fat and burn muscle. If your working out too you definitely want to get more than 1200 calories. If your having a hard time doing that try adding a protein shake after you work out. Good luck!
Starvation Mode in the concept it is thrown around this site is an untruth.
If you have excess fat on your body, are considered to be overweight, obese or morbidly obese then your body has plenty of calories to burn off to use as fuel, hence NO STARVATION MODE...........
One can only TRULY go into starvation mode if you are down to having only your essential fat, muscle, etc..............most of us are not on this website because we fit into that category.
To the OP: Listen to your body and feed it accordingly. If your hungry, EAT. If your not hungry, then DON'T. Your body will tell you what it needs if you listen to it. That is one reason that all of us are unique!!!0 -
Before you exercise. you don't want to drop below 1200 because you risk not getting enough nutrients and possibly sending your body into starvation mode which will cause your body to store fat and burn muscle. If your working out too you definitely want to get more than 1200 calories. If your having a hard time doing that try adding a protein shake after you work out. Good luck!
Starvation Mode in the concept it is thrown around this site is an untruth.
If you have excess fat on your body, are considered to be overweight, obese or morbidly obese then your body has plenty of calories to burn off to use as fuel, hence NO STARVATION MODE...........
One can only TRULY go into starvation mode if you are down to having only your essential fat, muscle, etc..............most of us are not on this website because we fit into that category.
To the OP: Listen to your body and feed it accordingly. If your hungry, EAT. If your not hungry, then DON'T. Your body will tell you what it needs if you listen to it. That is one reason that all of us are unique!!!
______________________________________
Not Exactly - (from CNN) and I have had greater weight loss eating more calories and not starving myself
______________________________________
(CNN) -- Last year, Karen Daniel was feeling great about her weight. She had gone from 375 pounds to 200 in 24 months.
She was working out nine times a week and thrilled to have turned her life around. She no longer had to purchase two seats on an airplane. She went hot-air ballooning for the first time.
Daniel, one of Fit Nation's first success stories, said in February 2009, "Fit feels so good."
That feeling didn't last long.
Daniel started feeling bad after a trip to New York. She had a sinus infection, upper respiratory infection and bronchitis, she said recently from her home in Arizona. She started feeling better, but then got sick again. And healthy again. And sick again.
She went to two doctors who told her that her body was in "starvation mode," she said.
"I went way under on calories, and I got really sick," she said. "I went to under 1,000 calories a day, and I was working out between two and three hours a day. It was not a smart decision."
She felt like she was eating right, but she was gaining weight.
"It really is awful when you are doing everything you can and your body isn't cooperating," she said.
iReport: Share your weight-loss success story
Daniel says by the time she had gotten her health back, she had gained 35 pounds. She needed to make changes again.
She now eats about 1,500 calories a day, more if she's had a hard workout. She decided to drop her trainer, and now she works out with her friends at a new gym. And she adds in new types of exercise, escaping the rut of cardio and lifting weights she felt that she was in, thanks to her workout buddies.
Her friend David, who is 71, teaches her boxing. Another friend who was a professional rower taught her that sport. She also wanted to try tai chi and yoga so she enrolled in classes to see if she would like them.
"I surrounded myself with positive people," she said. "If you surround yourself with people who sabotage you or people who don't believe in you, you're not going to go as far as you should."
Before she lost weight, she said, she knew certain foods were bad for her, but she had no idea how bad. So she learned about food and started paying attention to the number of calories. The cinnamon roll she used to eat had 800 calories. It'll be a great day when all restaurants start posting the number of calories in each menu item, she said.
Daniel runs a website, ihavebones.com, where she shares her story with other people who want to lose a lot of weight.
"It's so hard for them to make that first step, but no matter how many times you have to do it, it is so worth it," she said. "Being healthy is so worth it. It's so worth being able to do everything you want to do and not have to worry about things. I used to be worried about sitting in a chair because I might break it."
It just might take a few tries at that first step. Daniel said she took it a "million" times. The thing that held her back was self-doubt. Some of her restarts would last a day, some two days, some longer. She just kept trying.
And it finally worked, until she overdid it and got sick. The past year has been hard, she said, but she believes that even setbacks are part of the process of losing weight. She came out of starvation mode mentally stronger, she said. She's back on track, having shed 10 pounds in recent months.
She even gives lectures to fitness professionals to give insight into the mind of someone who is morbidly obese, telling the trainers they have to be more than just a coach.
"I tell them everything I have been through so they know what to look for and their clients don't go through the same thing," she said.
Her illness made her research more. She read more and tried new things in the kitchen and the gym. She keeps a food journal.
She shares those tips on the website and still exchanges email with scores of people who became aware of her story after the Fit Nation Summit in 2008.
She tells them about the doors that have been opened for her through her weight loss. She no longer has to make excuses. There are no more sudden illnesses that prevent her from going to an event because she won't fit in -- literally and figuratively. She went to a recent class reunion after missing so many. Her old classmates told her she looked the same as in high school.
"If you only knew," she thought to herself.
She laughs about it, and happily reflects on another recent event, a business trip/family vacation to Ireland, which to many people could have been considered a disaster. There was volcanic ash that trapped people on the island when they were set to fly home. And she had pneumonia.
"In my head I thought even with pneumonia I am a thousand percent better then I used to be," she said, adding that she still went sightseeing with her husband and two daughters. "I can't stress enough how much it means to me; of not sitting on the sidelines and being able to participate with my family. That is the biggest blessing I could have hoped for."0 -
Nice topic....the site is based on eating some or all of your excercise calories...but everyone has to work out what works for them ..Personally after speaking with my Doc and Nutritionist I have to eat 1000-1200 because of a medical condition ...I dont dip into my excercise cals unless Im hungry ...I do agree with July somewhat starvation mode doesnt set in as easy as some believe but to each his own...eating excercise cals and not eating them or portioning them off has worked well for many on here so you have to choose whatyour comfortable with dont overdo it and dont underdo it .....good luck0
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If you notice, MFP adds your exercise calories to the calories available for you to eat on the food log, so MFP is set up assuming you are going to eat your exercise calories.
The idea behind this is that your deficit is setup without taking any exercise into account, and it is generally not considered safe to have too high of a deficit (unless under strict medical supervision). Most people on this site have their goal set a 2 lbs/week, which is a 1000 calorie deficit a day - this is the highest deficit generally recommended. When you exercise, it increases your deficit, so to keep it in the generally-considered-safe range, MFP recommends you eat back most of your exercise calories.
The only catch to this is that you may not currently have a 1000 calorie deficit if your daily goal is at 1200 - because MFP won't go below 1200, so even if you set your goal at 2 lbs/week, if MFP had to go under 1200 cal/day to reach that goal, it wouldn't let you. I'd take a look at your goals page and see what your deficit is. If it's under 1000, then you could probably burn some exercise calories without eating them back, and still maintain a safe deficit. But, if you end up with crazy high deficits after exercise (normal deficit from goals page + exercise calories burned), then you should probably consider eating at least some of your calories back.
I personally aim to eat 50-75% of mine back, leaving some wiggle room in case I overestimated calories burned or underestimated what I ate.
All of this is how MFP was intended to work. There are a million different opinions on this, and some people think it's unnecessary to eat any back, some people always eat them all back... Personally I know I feel better (more energy, etc.) when I don't let my deficit get too high.... but that's just me. You may have to just figure out what works for you.0 -
Before you exercise. you don't want to drop below 1200 because you risk not getting enough nutrients and possibly sending your body into starvation mode which will cause your body to store fat and burn muscle. If your working out too you definitely want to get more than 1200 calories. If your having a hard time doing that try adding a protein shake after you work out. Good luck!
Starvation Mode in the concept it is thrown around this site is an untruth.
If you have excess fat on your body, are considered to be overweight, obese or morbidly obese then your body has plenty of calories to burn off to use as fuel, hence NO STARVATION MODE...........
One can only TRULY go into starvation mode if you are down to having only your essential fat, muscle, etc..............most of us are not on this website because we fit into that category.
To the OP: Listen to your body and feed it accordingly. If your hungry, EAT. If your not hungry, then DON'T. Your body will tell you what it needs if you listen to it. That is one reason that all of us are unique!!!
______________________________________
Not Exactly - (from CNN) and I have had greater weight loss eating more calories and not starving myself
______________________________________
(CNN) -- Last year, Karen Daniel was feeling great about her weight. She had gone from 375 pounds to 200 in 24 months.
She was working out nine times a week and thrilled to have turned her life around. She no longer had to purchase two seats on an airplane. She went hot-air ballooning for the first time.
Daniel, one of Fit Nation's first success stories, said in February 2009, "Fit feels so good."
That feeling didn't last long.
Daniel started feeling bad after a trip to New York. She had a sinus infection, upper respiratory infection and bronchitis, she said recently from her home in Arizona. She started feeling better, but then got sick again. And healthy again. And sick again.
She went to two doctors who told her that her body was in "starvation mode," she said.
"I went way under on calories, and I got really sick," she said. "I went to under 1,000 calories a day, and I was working out between two and three hours a day. It was not a smart decision."
She felt like she was eating right, but she was gaining weight.
"It really is awful when you are doing everything you can and your body isn't cooperating," she said.
iReport: Share your weight-loss success story
Daniel says by the time she had gotten her health back, she had gained 35 pounds. She needed to make changes again.
She now eats about 1,500 calories a day, more if she's had a hard workout. She decided to drop her trainer, and now she works out with her friends at a new gym. And she adds in new types of exercise, escaping the rut of cardio and lifting weights she felt that she was in, thanks to her workout buddies.
Her friend David, who is 71, teaches her boxing. Another friend who was a professional rower taught her that sport. She also wanted to try tai chi and yoga so she enrolled in classes to see if she would like them.
"I surrounded myself with positive people," she said. "If you surround yourself with people who sabotage you or people who don't believe in you, you're not going to go as far as you should."
Before she lost weight, she said, she knew certain foods were bad for her, but she had no idea how bad. So she learned about food and started paying attention to the number of calories. The cinnamon roll she used to eat had 800 calories. It'll be a great day when all restaurants start posting the number of calories in each menu item, she said.
Daniel runs a website, ihavebones.com, where she shares her story with other people who want to lose a lot of weight.
"It's so hard for them to make that first step, but no matter how many times you have to do it, it is so worth it," she said. "Being healthy is so worth it. It's so worth being able to do everything you want to do and not have to worry about things. I used to be worried about sitting in a chair because I might break it."
It just might take a few tries at that first step. Daniel said she took it a "million" times. The thing that held her back was self-doubt. Some of her restarts would last a day, some two days, some longer. She just kept trying.
And it finally worked, until she overdid it and got sick. The past year has been hard, she said, but she believes that even setbacks are part of the process of losing weight. She came out of starvation mode mentally stronger, she said. She's back on track, having shed 10 pounds in recent months.
She even gives lectures to fitness professionals to give insight into the mind of someone who is morbidly obese, telling the trainers they have to be more than just a coach.
"I tell them everything I have been through so they know what to look for and their clients don't go through the same thing," she said.
Her illness made her research more. She read more and tried new things in the kitchen and the gym. She keeps a food journal.
She shares those tips on the website and still exchanges email with scores of people who became aware of her story after the Fit Nation Summit in 2008.
She tells them about the doors that have been opened for her through her weight loss. She no longer has to make excuses. There are no more sudden illnesses that prevent her from going to an event because she won't fit in -- literally and figuratively. She went to a recent class reunion after missing so many. Her old classmates told her she looked the same as in high school.
"If you only knew," she thought to herself.
She laughs about it, and happily reflects on another recent event, a business trip/family vacation to Ireland, which to many people could have been considered a disaster. There was volcanic ash that trapped people on the island when they were set to fly home. And she had pneumonia.
"In my head I thought even with pneumonia I am a thousand percent better then I used to be," she said, adding that she still went sightseeing with her husband and two daughters. "I can't stress enough how much it means to me; of not sitting on the sidelines and being able to participate with my family. That is the biggest blessing I could have hoped for."
I printed this article out and took it to my doctor who said this article and this woman is a bunch of propaganda and laughed about it.
She was still obese and either her body hadn't finished adjusting to her weight loss and yes will cause a long stall or she was severely underestimating her calorie counts............
You have to remember that the FDA, ADA, AHA, Big Pharma and everyone else that has their hand in the weight loss pot wants people to keep believing this stuff.
If the "starvation mode myth" were true, people would not be losing weight by getting weight loss surgery, etc.............0 -
:devil:0
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If you consistently eat below 1200 net calories per day, your metabolism will S L O W. It will be more difficult to lose weight. Your body will try to hold on to every single little calorie you eat. Because my goal calories each day on here are 1200, whatever I burn off in exercise, I try my hardest to eat most days.
When you are eating enough calories, your body will let you lose the weight because it is sure it will get be getting enough calories on a regular bases. Your metabolism speeds up.
Keep up the good work you are doing by using this site. :flowerforyou:0 -
Starvation Mode IS NOT a myth!
I am fat because of starvation mode. I have never eaten more than one meal a day in my adult life. When I started to log my intake it became apparent that I generally ate between 700 and 1000 calories a day, and never more than 1400 in one day.
I have always eaten healthy foods, lots of fresh produce and no processed foods. My fat intake was of the healthy varieties.
Starvation mode is a reality! I HATE to eat. I have never been an overeater. Weight loss surgury would not work for me, i generally stop eating even before I'm full, so a smaller stomach is not the answer.
I have had to learn to eat, and continue to do so. This is a family issue as well, my Mother's doctor finally told her she had to eat, at least, 3 meals a day if she had any hope of losing weight.
Weight loss plans are geared to those who overeat, so I am still learning. There is much conflicting information.
If you can afford it, consult a physician and a nutritionist, they will be able to better establish your individual needs.
I wish I had to give up food, instead, I am having to learn to eat several small meals throughout the day.
I am going to print these out and take them to my doctor when I got in 2 weeks...............
If you are overweight, what you have is Metabolic Resistance, not starvation mode.0 -
My take...Forget the opinions of others on the whole starvation mode. Don't worry about what someone else experiences or what another person's doctor's opinion is. Doctors vary in their expertise and opinions just as everyone on this site does.
I post stalked and I saw a few posts about things you are sad to "give up." Granted some were not healthy choices but they would be ok as an occasional treat. I had a snowball this evening and totally enjoyed it. I also saw a post where you talked about cheating. If you are just eating a good for you diet then there is no cheating. You work in those items you want.
I have come to accept that this is my life. I need to have a normal diet. I am not on a diet but my diet is what I eat. It needs to be sustainable. There will be days when you find you can eat all if not more than all of your calories. There will be a few days when you are under significantly. Eat quality food. Have a little protein snack if you are hungry. Don't stress. When we start or try to make changes, we are more gung ho and often do too well. It is in the long haul it needs to be workable.
ETA: watch your diet, your weight loss, and how you feel. Make adjustments as needed. That is the beauty of eating to live and not doing a "program" with crazy calorie restrictions or strict guidelines.0 -
If the "starvation mode myth" were true, people would not be losing weight by getting weight loss surgery, etc.............
That is a very, VERY valid point, and one I hadn't considered before.
However, I do think your body needs adequate nutrition to function to its optimum, and most people with surgery sign up to take nutritional supplements + other meds for the rest of their lives. I'd have to research more, but I heard this on a prog a while back.
And I certainly know that 'crash' diets do stop working after a while, from my own experience. AND you put the weight back on.
So while you, individually, may not need 1200 cals exactly, you defintely shouldn't be starving your body of vital nutrients only gained by eating 'enough' and eating the right type of food.0 -
Hot topic - as was mentioned. Even The Biggest Looser books have a diet that is 1000 calories (not the magic 1,200). I personally could eat 1,000 calories of good nutrient dense food sources, exercise, and not loose weight. I need to do 800 - 900 calories a day, plus exercise to make the scale move without the help of a weight loss supplement.
Every body is different. Every calorie is different. Calories from donuts are not the same as calories from organic chicken breast. My post will be bashed. I will be warned of the dreaded starvation mode ... but - I KNOW from personal experience that 1,200 calories plus exercise calories gets me nowhere on the scale.
You must experiment and do what is right for your body.0 -
If the "starvation mode myth" were true, people would not be losing weight by getting weight loss surgery, etc.............
That is a very, VERY valid point, and one I hadn't considered before.
However, I do think your body needs adequate nutrition to function to its optimum, and most people with surgery sign up to take nutritional supplements + other meds for the rest of their lives. I'd have to research more, but I heard this on a prog a while back.
And I certainly know that 'crash' diets do stop working after a while, from my own experience. AND you put the weight back on.
So while you, individually, may not need 1200 cals exactly, you defintely shouldn't be starving your body of vital nutrients only gained by eating 'enough' and eating the right type of food.
Typically I eat way more than 1,200 calories...............and my body is consuming way more than 1,200 calories at the moment.
However, I am being the voice of those people that want to speak up and feel they are going to be bashed into the ground for going against the grain of what everyone else thinks here.0 -
Hot topic - as was mentioned. Even The Biggest Looser books have a diet that is 1000 calories (not the magic 1,200). I personally could eat 1,000 calories of good nutrient dense food sources, exercise, and not loose weight. I need to do 800 - 900 calories a day, plus exercise to make the scale move without the help of a weight loss supplement.
Every body is different. Every calorie is different. Calories from donuts are not the same as calories from organic chicken breast. My post will be bashed. I will be warned of the dreaded starvation mode ... but - I KNOW from personal experience that 1,200 calories plus exercise calories gets me nowhere on the scale.
You must experiment and do what is right for your body.
This is very true and this is where the statement comes from that it is not as simple as calories in, calories out.........
If the whole calories in, calories out theory were true, a lot of people would be skinny by just eating donuts and fast food as many people who eat that crap a lot only eat one meal a day..............
The quality of the food you eat is what counts.
If you are eating high quality proteins (meat, eggs, dairy from farms) and quality produce, limiting the processed foods (and yes bread and cereal are processed) you can eat a lot less calories and meet your nutritional needs.0
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