1200??

augustawott · July 2013

Thank you for all the advice. The whole calorie intake has me confused, still. It seems a little clearer why I wasn't losing weight when I was working out hard core three times a day. I lost some body fat percentage but no poundage. And that took me months. This whole weight thing is just frustrating. I want this to work. The 1200 calorie thing explains why I feel tired all the time even with enough sleep. I am so glad we have these boards to post and ask questions. I no longer feel like I am all by myself on this.

greenmonstergirl · July 2013

How many pounds per week did you tell MFP you want to lose? If you set it to 2 pounds per week, then 1200 is likely not enough food for you.

If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,

So, you set it to the appropriate loss per week and see if it gives you more than 1200 cals. Try to get in a 30 minute walk every day, or even two 15 minute walks, and eat back those calories as well.

Alternately, figure out your BMR and TDEE and eat 15% less than your TDEE and this way you do not eat extra calories for exercise.

I just changed mine to 1.5 pounds a week from 2 and it still has me at 1200 calories (which is how I lost nearly 60 pounds so far). I don't see a reason to change it if it keeps me at the same calories, LOL! I was going to see how much more they wanted me to eat.

CoderGal · July 2013

How can I make 1200 work and not feel like I am underrating. I had a very active lifestyle, but recently I am stuck in a desk job. I will be able to workout some but not as hard. I just don't want to go into starvation mode again with a program. How do you know if your taking in the right amount of calories? i just seem so lost and new to the calorie counting.

It's really hard to make under eating work without feeling like you're under eating. I also have a deskjob and eat about double that to lose weight and not feel like I'm under eating.

How do you figure out how much you need to eat to lose? Several options. One of the popular one being figure out the math for your TDEE (there are calculators available online). If you eat below that number, you should lose.

deksgrl · July 2013

How many pounds per week did you tell MFP you want to lose? If you set it to 2 pounds per week, then 1200 is likely not enough food for you.

If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,

So, you set it to the appropriate loss per week and see if it gives you more than 1200 cals. Try to get in a 30 minute walk every day, or even two 15 minute walks, and eat back those calories as well.

Alternately, figure out your BMR and TDEE and eat 15% less than your TDEE and this way you do not eat extra calories for exercise.

I just changed mine to 1.5 pounds a week from 2 and it still has me at 1200 calories (which is how I lost nearly 60 pounds so far). I don't see a reason to change it if it keeps me at the same calories, LOL! I was going to see how much more they wanted me to eat.

That would mean that MFP is calculating that what your calorie needs are for just regular living (not including exercise) is 1950 calories or less. To lose 1.5 pounds a week, it will subtract 750 from your calorie needs, but to a minimum of 1200.

So, 1950 - 750 = 1200 or any number lower than 1950 -750 defaults to 1200. But make sure you eat exercise calories because this method does not include that energy you need. If your calories just to do normal things is 1950 but then you exercise and burn more, that would mean your total energy needs is really well over 2000.

akp4Him · July 2013

bump...to read later...
Really interested in this topic. I've been eating 1300 calories and I am EXHAUSTED all the time!!! I thought there was something wrong...but perhaps I'm under-eating? I don't feel hungry...but I have no energy.
I don't exercise that much...burn around 400 to 500 calories in exercise a day.
Try to have a net calorie intake of 1200 to 1300, but I'm exhausted!

CoderGal · July 2013

bump...to read later...
Really interested in this topic. I've been eating 1300 calories and I am EXHAUSTED all the time!!! I thought there was something wrong...but perhaps I'm under-eating? I don't feel hungry...but I have no energy.
I don't exercise that much...burn around 400 to 500 calories in exercise a day.
Try to have a net calorie intake of 1200 to 1300, but I'm exhausted!

Helloitsdan · July 2013

I have gone through several calculators for BMR, both automated and the ones on that roadmap thing where you plug the numbers into a calculator yourself. I have worked out my BMR and from that my TDEE which is about 1750 or 2000 depending on the exercise settings and if I take 750 off that to lose 1.5lb a week (not the 2lb a week which is supposedly the most you can healthily lose, I decided that was a bad idea) I get 1000 (hahahaha no) or 1250. Soooo....what? Where are the calculations going wrong? I'm trying to eat my exercise calories so I actually end up eating 1700-2000 cals. Is this wrong?

The attitudes I see from some of you more dedicated people annoy me because you can become very insulting, but I am also trying to do things correctly so perhaps you can tell me - what TDEE calculation number should I use when, other than going out for a walk to get to my 10k steps a day or going to Curves 3x a week, I am not active. All my work and hobbies are sedentary you see, so I don't think it quite adds up to "1.5-1.6 = Moderately Active (Moderately active daily life & Moderate exercise 3-5 days a week)" because my daily life is about as active as a sloth.

Can I also ask, are you guys making a distinction between 1200 in total or 1200 NET calories?

you are assuming calories in vs calories out = true weight loss.
You still havent figured out the hormonal side of things.

Havent you seen a fat person eating like a bird and staying fat?
Also, for every month you remain eating at a deficit, it takes appx 3 months to regulate leptin on returning to maintenance.
Yikes!
The human body has 1 built in goal, live long enough to procreate.
If food is scarce and BMR?RMR drops too low, guess what goes next?
The fat isnt going to come off unless you go full on starvation.

Now on the other hand if you program your body to operate on an optimal level then youll lose the fat at a good clip.

That requires you to first eat at TDEE for a while till you maintain current weight and reset leptin and other hormones.
Then you add exercise first such as weight lifting or resistance training via body weight exercises or a combination of the 2.
Walking 2-4miles a day.
Then you slowly step down the calories by 10-15% and hover for a bit to see how much fat loss, not weight loss, happens.
The first 6-8 weeks require extreme patience as your body regulates.

Then you decide if the fat loss is acceptable.
If it isn't, you dont cut more calories just yet, you add HIIT training on 1 or 2 days for only 10 mins.
So far a simple schedule would look like this:

Sunday rest.
Monday 30-60 mins resistance training and 10k steps till bedtime.
Tuesday rest with 10k steps till bedtime.
Weds resistance training 30-60 mins with 10k steps till bedtime.
Thursday rest with 10k steps till bedtime.
Friday resistance training 30-60 mins with 10k steps till bedtime.
Saturday Happy fun food day at TDEE with pizza and co....and 10k steps till bedtime.

If you arent seeing the "Fat loss" you like substitute a tuesday or thursday with HIIT.
Pick a direction and run flat out for 5 mins.
Rest 60 seconds.
Run Home Forest!

You arent starving the fat off this way, you are now using exercise to get it off.

akp4Him · July 2013

Okay...so everything you say makes sense. However....gaining weight has never been my problem. Telling me I can eat more calories is close to telling an alcoholic that they can drink more. I have worked hard to lose 90 pounds. I NEVER want to go back!! But I'm exhausted! I believe you when you say I need to eat more....but where is the happy medium? If the scale moves up...I will stress....
I am REALLY short...5'2". An extra pound on me shows!

deksgrl · July 2013

Okay...so everything you say makes sense. However....gaining weight has never been my problem. Telling me I can eat more calories is close to telling an alcoholic that they can drink more. I have worked hard to lose 90 pounds. I NEVER want to go back!! But I'm exhausted! I believe you when you say I need to eat more....but where is the happy medium? If the scale moves up...I will stress....
I am REALLY short...5'2". An extra pound on me shows!

The happy medium is finding out what your real TDEE is (all of the calories you need in a day for all of your activity, aka "maintenance calories"). If you eat this number of calories you will not gain or lose. To lose more pounds, eat a bit less than that. To gain more pounds, eat a bit more than that. Adding some calories to what you are currently doing but still staying under TDEE will not cause you to gain weight.

Helloitsdan · July 2013

Okay...so everything you say makes sense. However....gaining weight has never been my problem. Telling me I can eat more calories is close to telling an alcoholic that they can drink more. I have worked hard to lose 90 pounds. I NEVER want to go back!! But I'm exhausted! I believe you when you say I need to eat more....but where is the happy medium? If the scale moves up...I will stress....
I am REALLY short...5'2". An extra pound on me shows!

So how long have you been improperly dieting?

Allup2Me78 · July 2013

Agreed 100%!!

1200 calories is to low.Go to apps and check your BMR,you need to at least be eating that amount of calories because that is how many calories you burn doing normal daily activity no exercise included.Then when you workout you can eat all of the calories back but 500 of them (thats if you burn more then 500 calories) to have a 500 daily deficit to lose weight.It took me a while to get this but i get it down.I eat around 1800 or so calories but that is also based on my workout.The more intense your workout the more calories you need to consume.You will put your body in starvation mode if you eat to little calories.You may see weight loss but it will more then likely be muscle not fat.

karimonahan · July 2013

1200, is not under eating! choose what you eat carefully. MFP set my calorie goal at 1200.

veronicad68 · July 2013

1580 calories is NOT a lot. I ate about 1700 - 1800 calories to lose 55 lbs. and I'm only 5' 4".

afreelandgti · July 2013

I'm still trying to figure out how some ppl are working out to their maximum and living on 1200 calories a day lol. I can see how this could work minus the exercise, but as previously stated it would seem to do more harm than good. Even though a person may see results it would seem their metabolic rate would have slowed down to a snails pace. If and when a person hits a plateau I really don't see a way out. What do you do? Go down to 1000 cals?

Personally I feel it is much better to eat 1800 calories a day and work your but off to get your metabolic rate up through exercise. Set reasonable goals with weight loss. A pound a week max.

maybeazure · July 2013

I'm still trying to figure out how some ppl are working out to their maximum and living on 1200 calories a day lol. I can see how this could work minus the exercise, but as previously stated it would seem to do more harm than good. Even though a person may see results it would seem their metabolic rate would have slowed down to a snails pace. If and when a person hits a plateau I really don't see a way out. What do you do? Go down to 1000 cals?

Personally I feel it is much better to eat 1800 calories a day and work your but off to get your metabolic rate up through exercise. Set reasonable goals with weight loss. A pound a week max.

You are male, so you would need more. At 1800 calories a day I would likely maintain. A pound a week makes sense if you only have 30 or so to lose, but if a person is morbidly obese then really they need to lose it a little faster than that. When you have lots of extra weight it's safer to lose it fast than it would be for just a regular overweight person. Also we are less likely to lose lean mass and more likely to lose fat, than someone who has just a few extra pounds.

Helloitsdan · July 2013

I'm still trying to figure out how some ppl are working out to their maximum and living on 1200 calories a day lol. I can see how this could work minus the exercise, but as previously stated it would seem to do more harm than good. Even though a person may see results it would seem their metabolic rate would have slowed down to a snails pace. If and when a person hits a plateau I really don't see a way out. What do you do? Go down to 1000 cals?

Personally I feel it is much better to eat 1800 calories a day and work your but off to get your metabolic rate up through exercise. Set reasonable goals with weight loss. A pound a week max.

You are male, so you would need more. At 1800 calories a day I would likely maintain. A pound a week makes sense if you only have 30 or so to lose, but if a person is morbidly obese then really they need to lose it a little faster than that. When you have lots of extra weight it's safer to lose it fast than it would be for just a regular overweight person. Also we are less likely to lose lean mass and more likely to lose fat, than someone who has just a few extra pounds.

Depends on how long you've dieted, how much LBM you have, activity etc.
1800 to maintain puts you at about 5' light activity, 5'3" extremely sedentary with low LBM etc... Etc...

Helloitsdan · July 2013

I have a secret.
If every one of you ate at calculated TDEE for an extended period of time, walked 10k steps a day and lifted weights or did resistance training 3-4xa week, you would all lose fat.
Macronutrients play a HUGE role.
A calorie is not a calorie.
It's not always calories in vs calories out.

1200 a day and not lifting weights will put you in the HOV lane to live in an adult community in possibly your 7th decade but definitely 8th and beyond.

Halp!!! I've fallen and I can't get up because I didn't take care of my muscle and eat right!

ghost15026 · July 2013

I have a secret.
If every one of you ate at calculated TDEE for an extended period of time, walked 10k steps a day and lifted weights or did resistance training 3-4xa week, you would all lose fat.
Macronutrients play a HUGE role.
A calorie is not a calorie.
It's not always calories in vs calories out.

1200 a day and not lifting weights will put you in the HOV lane to live in an adult community in possibly your 7th decade but definitely 8th and beyond.

Halp!!! I've fallen and I can't get up because I didn't take care of my muscle and eat right!

I agree with you in principle but disagree on the manner of the message. Everyone has to start somewhere and focusing on diet/lifestyle as a top priority is correct. Everyone realizes doing both diet and exercise has far superior short and long term results. No need to be so abrasive about it.

*Proper* diet+diet+even minor exercise = health. If only because each component creates an entry-way/step into a healthier lifestyle.

Regardless, MFP's 1,200 calorie goal setup should be fixed as a bug. It's entirely misleading for 95% of the users. I've had some days where I've only netted 1,100 or 1,200 (not common). Glycogen exhaustion, "the bonk", was pretty obvious afterwards. Yet, MFP sits there recommending 1,200 on my home screen. MFP should show 1,600-1,900.

Hell, on workout/de-stress days I'm stuck having to figure out how to deal with the 3,600 daily calorie deficit I generated. That's why I know precisely what Glycogen exhaustion feels like. Strange feeling when it's mid-afternoon, you're not hungry, but you have to actually think about eating like a machine to balance your nutrients.

**For those struggling with hunger and low calorie goals** I highly recommend some type of accessible cardio. A treadmill or indoor cycle, perhaps. Consider that 1 hour of spinning will net an additional 600 calories you can eat. Yes, you have to eat back most (even all) of the calories you burn. **Convert your hunger into motivation.** Kind of like a carrot on a stick but it's actually steak, grilled chicken, and/or pasta.

jayrudq · July 2013

The human body has 1 built in goal, live long enough to procreate.

Oppps. I guess I should just lay down and die. No procreation for me anymore. Want to fill me in on my body's goal now?

1200??

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