Is 1200 calories really that bad for you??
valebie
Posts: 9 Member
I'm 17, I'm 5'3, I weigh as of right now 149 pounds. I started dieting July 1, I have been eating 1300 calories or less daily for the past month. I just recently have been hearing that eating only 1200 calories a day is bad for you. Some people say you will lose weight very quickly then gain it all back in a matter of months. Over the past month I think I have been losing weight in a healthy period of time. I started out at 157, and lost about 2 pounds a week. My diet mostly consists of water, fruits, vegetables, and chicken. I try to exercise 4 or 5 times a week for 30 mins to an hour. I have also been reading that 1200 is just enough to get by and that you wont have any energy and you will always feel tired or hungry. I honestly haven't felt that way at all. I'm scared that I might be ruining my metabolism, do you think I could have already started to mess it up?After almost a month of eating 1200 calories I don't find it hard to stick with the diet. Some days after exercising I find it hard to eat up to 1200 calories while still eating healthy. If I slowly started to eat more calories a day would I gain back all the weight I have been working off? Please give me helpful advice, I'm worried I have been going the wrong way about losing weight.
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Replies
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my current calorie limit is 1200, and I can say from experience it leaves me tired and hungry, but im still not really losing weight, if you exercise, log it, then you have extra caloriesI'm 17, I'm 5'3, I weigh as of right now 149 pounds. I started dieting July 1, I have been eating 1300 calories or less daily for the past month. I just recently have been hearing that eating only 1200 calories a day is bad for you. Some people say you will lose weight very quickly then gain it all back in a matter of months. Over the past month I think I have been losing weight in a healthy period of time. I started out at 157, and lost about 2 pounds a week. My diet mostly consists of water, fruits, vegetables, and chicken. I try to exercise 4 or 5 times a week for 30 mins to an hour. I have also been reading that 1200 is just enough to get by and that you wont have any energy and you will always feel tired or hungry. I honestly haven't felt that way at all. I'm scared that I might be ruining my metabolism, do you think I could have already started to mess it up?After almost a month of eating 1200 calories I don't find it hard to stick with the diet. Some days after exercising I find it hard to eat up to 1200 calories while still eating healthy. If I slowly started to eat more calories a day would I gain back all the weight I have been working off? Please give me helpful advice, I'm worried I have been going the wrong way about losing weight.0 -
Your BMR is 1513. This is the base number you should be eating. Your TDEE is 2081. Eat less then 2081 but more then 1513. Most people will tell you to eat about TDEE minus 20%.
Find what works for you. If i were you i would eat about 1600-1800 a day. But don't just jump to that number fast. Work your way up 100 calories at a time.
My two cents0 -
I feel that you may have started off a bit low on the calorie scale. I think that as you lose weight you need room for MFP to lower your calories as you lose to help you continue losing weight. Maybe try doing the 3/1 method to see how it works. Has worked very well for me. This is when you eat on a deficit for 3 days and the next day you bump your calories 500 to 600 calories. It is easy to eat calories if you can add some healthy fats to your diet. Nuts,olive oil, avacado, peanut butter. The list goes on. I do think eventually your metabolism will suffer and you will have a stall in loss. This happened to me several times before joining MFP. Good luck, if you need support or ask any other questions, feel free!0
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I don`t know how you calculated TDEE. I would say she need to not less than 1200 and not more than 1513 calorie net. So it is important to keep track of all exercises and every food you eat.
My BMR is 2350 I set my goal at 2000 and am in fact eating 2700-3000 cal per day and my weight goes down. I`m never tired and feel better than ever.
Most important thing to not ruin the metabolism is not going under 1200 net cal per day. And do cardio exercises.
This is my point of view you can disagree with that.
Good luck0 -
Well it doesn't exactly answer your question but I'm 5'3 and 25, I started at 150lb now 135.5lb after eating 1200 per day for coming up to 3 months. I eat back post of my exercise calories. I don't think of any food as 'bad' as long as I stay in my calorie goal and not too much over on my fat/carbs. I tend to eat a higher cal dinner after a work out like wholewheat pasta.
I'm healthier and fitter and have portion sizes under control.
As I get closer to my goal I will up my calories by 100 cal a week until I get to a sustainable 'maintenance' amount (1800-1900 from my TDEE calculations)0 -
my current calorie limit is 1200, and I can say from experience it leaves me tired and hungry, but im still not really losing weight, if you exercise, log it, then you have extra caloriesI'm 17, I'm 5'3, I weigh as of right now 149 pounds. I started dieting July 1, I have been eating 1300 calories or less daily for the past month. I just recently have been hearing that eating only 1200 calories a day is bad for you. Some people say you will lose weight very quickly then gain it all back in a matter of months. Over the past month I think I have been losing weight in a healthy period of time. I started out at 157, and lost about 2 pounds a week. My diet mostly consists of water, fruits, vegetables, and chicken. I try to exercise 4 or 5 times a week for 30 mins to an hour. I have also been reading that 1200 is just enough to get by and that you wont have any energy and you will always feel tired or hungry. I honestly haven't felt that way at all. I'm scared that I might be ruining my metabolism, do you think I could have already started to mess it up?After almost a month of eating 1200 calories I don't find it hard to stick with the diet. Some days after exercising I find it hard to eat up to 1200 calories while still eating healthy. If I slowly started to eat more calories a day would I gain back all the weight I have been working off? Please give me helpful advice, I'm worried I have been going the wrong way about losing weight.
If you eat TDEE - ? then you don't eat back exercise calories. (unless you’re running marathons or iron man) It is simple because you attempt to eat the same number daily. Leaves less room for error as some people over calculate their caloric burns through exercise.0 -
Thank you, I think I might do that. Everyday just add 100 more calories to my diet and stick to 1500 or 1600.0
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I don`t know how you calculated TDEE. I would say she need to not less than 1200 and not more than 1513 calorie net. So it is important to keep track of all exercises and every food you eat.
My BMR is 2350 I set my goal at 2000 and am in fact eating 2700-3000 cal per day and my weight goes down. I`m never tired and feel better than ever.
Most important thing to not ruin the metabolism is not going under 1200 net cal per day. And do cardio exercises.
This is my point of view you can disagree with that.
Good luck
Your suggestion is to eat below her Basel metobolic rate? That would, if done long term, cause a lot of damage. Not that it could not be done in the short term but it would be the cause of metobolic slowing.0 -
Thank you, I think I might do that. Everyday just add 100 more calories to my diet and stick to 1500 or 1600.
Maybe set your goal at 1700. Much better then 1500. Either way though it would be an improvment. Good luck to you.0 -
I don`t know how you calculated TDEE. I would say she need to not less than 1200 and not more than 1513 calorie net. So it is important to keep track of all exercises and every food you eat.
My BMR is 2350 I set my goal at 2000 and am in fact eating 2700-3000 cal per day and my weight goes down. I`m never tired and feel better than ever.
Most important thing to not ruin the metabolism is not going under 1200 net cal per day. And do cardio exercises.
This is my point of view you can disagree with that.
Good luck
Your suggestion is to eat below her Basel metobolic rate? That would, if done long term, cause a lot of damage. Not that it could not be done in the short term but it would be the cause of metobolic slowing.
The BMR sais how much you need to sustain your weight without doing any exercises (BMR+exercises = TDEE in my understanding). So yes I think you should eat under that, but eating back the exercise calories. I do it for 3 months now and all is fine.
That is why I asked about the way you calculated TDEE without knowing how many calories is she burning through exercises.0 -
I'm 17, I'm 5'3, I weigh as of right now 149 pounds. I started dieting July 1, I have been eating 1300 calories or less daily for the past month. I just recently have been hearing that eating only 1200 calories a day is bad for you. Some people say you will lose weight very quickly then gain it all back in a matter of months. Over the past month I think I have been losing weight in a healthy period of time. I started out at 157, and lost about 2 pounds a week. My diet mostly consists of water, fruits, vegetables, and chicken. I try to exercise 4 or 5 times a week for 30 mins to an hour. I have also been reading that 1200 is just enough to get by and that you wont have any energy and you will always feel tired or hungry. I honestly haven't felt that way at all. I'm scared that I might be ruining my metabolism, do you think I could have already started to mess it up?After almost a month of eating 1200 calories I don't find it hard to stick with the diet. Some days after exercising I find it hard to eat up to 1200 calories while still eating healthy. If I slowly started to eat more calories a day would I gain back all the weight I have been working off? Please give me helpful advice, I'm worried I have been going the wrong way about losing weight.
I am on a program that focuses on servings of protein, not calories. Sometimes I go over, sometimes I don't. But I've been steady losing for a month straight. Of course, this is my first time trying a program of this kind. If it stops working, I'll reevaluate what I do. But when I don't hit 1200, I still have energy. Might be the supplements I was given by the clinic to go along with it.0 -
Thank you, I think I might do that. Everyday just add 100 more calories to my diet and stick to 1500 or 1600.
Good idea! This is exactly what I did. I started off at 1,200 but eventually started upping when I realised I didn't have to restrict myself so much and could still lose I now eat 1,600. At the higher cals you still lose weight, get to eat the foods that you like and don't have to restrict yourself so much so it is much more sustainable long term. Good luck :flowerforyou:0 -
Different things work for different people. I successfully lost some weight on 1200 calories a day and didn't gain it back. I also didn't feel tired or hungry. I think the biggest problem people have is that once they reach their goal, they can go back to eating however they want, or they eat poorly because they have deprived themselves for so long. If you continue to eat healthily and within your TDEE once you reach your goal, you probably won't gain much weight beyond the few pounds you gain when you replenish the glycogen stores that were depleted when you were on your diet.
If you think you can continue a healthy diet at maintenance, then go for it. Will your metabolism slow? Probably, but with any diet your metabolism will slow down to some extent (less for lower deficits). However, your metabolism is fairly flexible. It will slowly adjust as you start to eat closer to your TDEE. Also, you are not very heavy, so, depending on how much you burn during exercise, eating 1200 calories is probably not enough of a deficit to seriously slow your metabolism.
If you are afraid of gaining weight when you go into maintenance, slowly up your calories so your body can adjust, instead of immediately upping them. Also, making sure your retain muscle mass by strength training will also ensure your metabolism returns to "normal" for your new weight.0 -
Problems with a quote going to try again.0
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my current calorie limit is 1200, and I can say from experience it leaves me tired and hungry, but im still not really losing weight, if you exercise, log it, then you have extra caloriesI'm 17, I'm 5'3, I weigh as of right now 149 pounds. I started dieting July 1, I have been eating 1300 calories or less daily for the past month. I just recently have been hearing that eating only 1200 calories a day is bad for you. Some people say you will lose weight very quickly then gain it all back in a matter of months. Over the past month I think I have been losing weight in a healthy period of time. I started out at 157, and lost about 2 pounds a week. My diet mostly consists of water, fruits, vegetables, and chicken. I try to exercise 4 or 5 times a week for 30 mins to an hour. I have also been reading that 1200 is just enough to get by and that you wont have any energy and you will always feel tired or hungry. I honestly haven't felt that way at all. I'm scared that I might be ruining my metabolism, do you think I could have already started to mess it up?After almost a month of eating 1200 calories I don't find it hard to stick with the diet. Some days after exercising I find it hard to eat up to 1200 calories while still eating healthy. If I slowly started to eat more calories a day would I gain back all the weight I have been working off? Please give me helpful advice, I'm worried I have been going the wrong way about losing weight.
The deal is that under 1200 calories your body goes into what is called "starvation mode." Meaning instead of burning fat your body will store as many calories as it can. You will be fatigued and hungry because your body is trying to stop you from burning more calories since you're "starving" yourself. When you do eat more than 1200 calories you will store all of it because your body isn't sure of the next time it will get enough energy.
If you can't lose your 2 lbs a week by being above 1200 calores that means 2 lbs per week is too much for you to lose and if you aren't losing weight, you're fatigued, hungry and only eating 1200 calories you need to listen to your body because it's telling you that it's not getting enough food. You probably aren't losing weight because your body is in starvation mode.
Bear in mind that weight is an aweful judgement about how you're doing healthwise. Your best bet is to measure your waist, neck, thighs, etc.0 -
I don`t know how you calculated TDEE. I would say she need to not less than 1200 and not more than 1513 calorie net. So it is important to keep track of all exercises and every food you eat.
My BMR is 2350 I set my goal at 2000 and am in fact eating 2700-3000 cal per day and my weight goes down. I`m never tired and feel better than ever.
Most important thing to not ruin the metabolism is not going under 1200 net cal per day. And do cardio exercises.
This is my point of view you can disagree with that.
Good luck
Your suggestion is to eat below her Basel metobolic rate? That would, if done long term, cause a lot of damage. Not that it could not be done in the short term but it would be the cause of metobolic slowing.
The BMR sais how much you need to sustain your weight without doing any exercises (BMR+exercises = TDEE in my understanding). So yes I think you should eat under that, but eating back the exercise calories. I do it for 3 months now and all is fine.
That is why I asked about the way you calculated TDEE without knowing how many calories is she burning through exercises.
Base metabolic rate is the base amount of calories a person needs to eat, long term, to sustain basic organ function. It is the amount of calories a person is estimated to need to survive with no exercise.
If a person eats at TDEE - a percentage then they don't eat back exercise calories. Your method is the opposite. BMR and eating back calories. Different approach but not really all that different.
TDEE is a number that changes every single day. When doing calculations to determine a caloric daily goal it has to be estimated. I estimated her activity level as lightly active based on what info was in the post.0 -
Base metabolic rate is the base amount of calories a person needs to eat, long term, to sustain basic organ function. It is the amount of calories a person is estimated to need to survive with no exercise.
If a person eats at TDEE - a percentage then they don't eat back exercise calories. Your method is the opposite. BMR and eating back calories. Different approach but not really all that different.
TDEE is a number that changes every single day. When doing calculations to determine a caloric daily goal it has to be estimated. I estimated her activity level as lightly active based on what info was in the post.
Summing up the result should be simillar
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Base metabolic rate is the base amount of calories a person needs to eat, long term, to sustain basic organ function. It is the amount of calories a person is estimated to need to survive with no exercise.
If a person eats at TDEE - a percentage then they don't eat back exercise calories. Your method is the opposite. BMR and eating back calories. Different approach but not really all that different.
TDEE is a number that changes every single day. When doing calculations to determine a caloric daily goal it has to be estimated. I estimated her activity level as lightly active based on what info was in the post.
Summing up the result should be simillar
Yupp..........eat TDEE and not eat exercise calories back VS eat BMR and eat exercise calories back= Likely eating close to the same calories daily.0 -
Different things work for different people. I successfully lost some weight on 1200 calories a day and didn't gain it back. I also didn't feel tired or hungry. I think the biggest problem people have is that once they reach their goal, they can go back to eating however they want, or they eat poorly because they have deprived themselves for so long. If you continue to eat healthily and within your TDEE once you reach your goal, you probably won't gain much weight beyond the few pounds you gain when you replenish the glycogen stores that were depleted when you were on your diet.
If you think you can continue a healthy diet at maintenance, then go for it. Will your metabolism slow? Probably, but with any diet your metabolism will slow down to some extent (less for lower deficits). However, your metabolism is fairly flexible. It will slowly adjust as you start to eat closer to your TDEE. Also, you are not very heavy, so, depending on how much you burn during exercise, eating 1200 calories is probably not enough of a deficit to seriously slow your metabolism.
If you are afraid of gaining weight when you go into maintenance, slowly up your calories so your body can adjust, instead of immediately upping them. Also, making sure your retain muscle mass by strength training will also ensure your metabolism returns to "normal" for your new weight.
I agree !!0 -
I eat less than that and I'm fine.. I think it does depend on the person0
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I strongly believe you are on the right course. 1200-1500 should be the minimum requirement to burn quite a reasonable amount of calories daily. You diets are well selected and please continue with them for more good results.0
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