My 1200 calorie story

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  • libelluler
    libelluler Posts: 31 Member
    Thank you for this post! I'm really glad I read this too. While I've been eating 1500-1600 calories a day, I have recently been having a hair loss issue and this totally clicked. I workout 5x a week (high intensity) and just calculated my TDEE which is WAY more than 1600! I'm going to switch it up.
  • morticia16
    morticia16 Posts: 230 Member
    A very insightful and helpful post. Thanks, OP!
  • m0ll3pprz
    m0ll3pprz Posts: 193 Member
    Great post! Thanks for sharing your story :-)
  • yuckidah
    yuckidah Posts: 290 Member
    Walla

    Voila
  • FlaxMilk
    FlaxMilk Posts: 3,452 Member

    This is my story, take it for what it is. Some will agree and some will disagree with what I am doing. I am not telling anyone to change but for those who are frustrated there are other options, that's all I want you to take away from this.

    Good luck to everyone in this journey for it is one of the, if not the, toughest battle of your life.

    Only read page 1 but I really hope no one will disagree with what you are doing. The only information anyone really needs is that it is working the best for you. You are healthy, happy, and losing the weight you want to lose. I can't think of a reason in the world for anyone to disagree with that. (If you were telling everyone that because it's your number, it can be their number too, that would be reason for disagreement, but you aren't doing that.)
  • megan020103
    megan020103 Posts: 58
    Thanks so much for your post! I needed to hear this! Today is the first day that I have tried the TDEE method. I am terrified of gaining weight instead of losing this way. I was eating about 1200-1350 calories, but netting 800-950 each day. I felt fine, but I want to build lean muscle and not just be 'skinny' so I am giving this a shot. I ate about 1500 calories - and I feel pretty sick. Just too much food for what I am used to. Since I am using the TDEE method, I did not eat back calories, but I ended up at 1178 net. Still not at 1200 but a big improvement. I am just terrified that I will gain 2 lbs cause of it! I know - it is all in my head! I seriously had to eat a cup of ice cream to get to the number. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made it. It is hard because it goes against everything you are taught about not eating if you aren't hungry. I'm trying though - and you are an inspiration!
  • lavendy17
    lavendy17 Posts: 309 Member
    Yes. I started this week. First I felt great, now I'm sluggish and angry at everything and depressed. I will look at this thing you guys call TDEE and see if I need to make a change. I'm kinda small at 5'2 and only have 5 lbs to goal so I was sure 1200 was right for me.
  • ErinMLB
    ErinMLB Posts: 100 Member

    Did you have MFP set to lose 2 pounds per week? 1200 seems very low to me for your height / weight. With only 20 or so pounds to lose, I would adjust it to lose .5 or 1 pound a week. (or switch to TDEE as you mentioned!) Good luck! I'm 5'6.5" with 30-40 to lose, and I'm losing steadily on 1500 calories PLUS eating back at least some of my exercise calories.

    I tried both MFP (set to lose 1pd/week) and TDEE after joining this board (never heard of TDEE before then!) My number goal is actually pretty similar, assuming I set them up the same way. (Example: I have MFP set at 1500 calories + exercise to lose 1 pound. TDEE says 1556 for sedentary or 1783 for lightly active, which is probably closer what I average eating with exercise to lose 1 pound) I'm personally sticking with MFP because I like the visual of 'earning more calories' - but that's just a mental thing! Find what works for you! :)

    Quick question. If you're at 1500 and only eating back "some" of your exercise calories aren't you regularly falling below 1,200 NET for the day? Just curious.

    Not everyone is exercising for the time or intensity (or has the body size) to burn more than 300 calories. And many say that the MFP database burns are overinflated compared to HRM. Some people who only walk for exercise may not burn that much, depending on their size.

    I've since changed it and upped to 1700 , I had it set to 1.5 a week, but now it's lower to .5. I am also eating back my excerise points, however am starting weight training so will probably be upping the calories quite a bit more to make sure I am eating a healthy amount to build muscle. I am not looking for a short term loss, but long term results. And am not overly concerned about weight loss, but fat loss and muscle gain.
  • judyde
    judyde Posts: 401 Member
    bump
  • mommarobb
    mommarobb Posts: 80 Member
    bump
  • dazzer1975
    dazzer1975 Posts: 104 Member
    Walla

    Voila

    et voilà
  • mcjmommy
    mcjmommy Posts: 148 Member
    bump
  • taliar93
    taliar93 Posts: 111 Member
    Thank you for sharing! The first two months after I started I was also proudly a part of the 1200cal club! I lost 15kg in two months, and then all of a sudden, I stopped, a complete plateau. and it took a while to work up the courage to go up to a 20% calorie reduction.
  • CherryOnionKiss
    CherryOnionKiss Posts: 376 Member
    Dietitians always want you to stop counting calories. I have no idea why. I listened to mine for 1 month. I've stopped logging. And gained 10 pounds. Charming.
  • kymarai
    kymarai Posts: 3,735 Member
    OP- Well said and great job! At least in the US, too many people think that eating nothing will lead to weight loss. I try to explain that our bodies are like cars. The car won't run on empty nor can it be overfilled without flowing over. We must feed our bodies. I have friends with lots to lose and they say but I don't eat that much! Some of them don't, but others have started tracking calories and found a lot of empty ones during their day. Helping teach them to eat better is a challenge. The car scenario seems to help. Good luck on your journey!
  • appifanie
    appifanie Posts: 95 Member
    Hey IBS people, I thought I had IBS too, and maybe I do, but I quit gluten and I've felt so much better. I've been tested and I'm not allergic but I am intolerant - gluten makes me sleepy and sneezy and other issues I'm not mentioning in public.
    One of my favorite MFP friends is 5'0". She eats at least 1700 calories and has lost over 100 pounds. It's true that she works out/lifts weights like a beast, but it's possible you do gain on 1400 calories because your metabolism is shot. I don't know a whole whole lot about it to get into more specifics, but just know that it's possible for someone your height to eat more than 1200 calories and still lose weight.

    Thank you for this! I'm 5' and I have been eating 1200 calories for about 5 years now. I've also felt exhausted and had a host of mild medical issues. I'm a vegan and there's a vegan forum I hang out on and someone mentioned TDE and I've boosted my calorie intake to at least 1500/day and I have felt so much better, but I'm a little freaked about it being hard to lose weight. I'm 148 now and I'm trying to get to my pre-pregnancy weight (my kid is ALMOST SEVEN) of around 123. I got as low as 133 and have recently jumped to 151 but it's going down slowly again.
  • emilycarr71404
    emilycarr71404 Posts: 176 Member
    Great post!
  • nano5th
    nano5th Posts: 1
    Hi, it's been awhile since you posted, but I wanted to reply and say that I'm new and your post was the first post I ever read in the forum. I'd been on the 1200 calories for a few weeks and thought maybe since I didn't have a lot of weight to lose, maybe it was the right number for me. But beginning right about when I read your post, I completely plateaued, and I was miserable because I felt like i couldn't eat ANYTHING. I remembered your post and I went back into the goals and set it to maintenance and started aiming for just 100-200 less than it told me for maintenance. After plateauing on 1200, I went up to 1500-1700 per day and I couldn't believe that right away my weight was slowly and steadily ticking down again.

    Your post came at just the right time and saved my diet, my sanity, and possibly even my health Thank you for sharing!
  • sunshinesoprano
    sunshinesoprano Posts: 66 Member
    SPOT ON! I went to a 1200 cal diet per my doctor's advisement and it worked great until I hit 50lbs. Now I'm plateaued because I can't possibly live on 1200 cals anymore. Thank you for sharing.
  • appifanie
    appifanie Posts: 95 Member
    Walla

    Voila

    <3 Walla is like my #1 pet peeve.
  • chivitaxxv
    chivitaxxv Posts: 21
    Everyday on the message boards there is at least one topic about exercise calories and 1200 calories being right or not. I'm not going to tell anyone what to do or not to do but I want to share my story.

    When I started back on MFP in May I knew nothing about BMR, TDEE, net calories, starvation mode, etc. and I really didn't care. I knew I wanted to lose weight and get healthy so I plugged my numbers in and was given a number of 1310 by MFP. So I quickly lost 10 pounds and plugged my numbers in again and Walla, 1200 was the magic number, or so I thought.

    I quickly lost another 10 pounds. This was over a six week period. I was over the moon happy. But I started to notice some things. First I was reading in the forums about net calories and exercise calories so I looked at mine. I wasn't eating my exercise calories and I put in some huge burns. My net calories were negative more than they were positive. I thought I was doing things right.

    But, some other things happened. My hair started falling out, my skin was wrinkling even with 8-10cups of water a day, I was exhausted, my pee was no longer bright yellow from my vitamin, my IBS was out of control, and I stopped losing weight.

    So I thought that I'd try increasing to 1500 calories, I couldn't get there because I was "too busy" to eat. Instead I started Zumba. I lost another 4 pounds but still had all these physical symptoms.

    I finally messaged someone on MFP who always responded to these 1200 calorie forums non-judgmentally. That changed my way of thinking and I am grateful to this person. I am now eating at my TDEE minus 20%, which is around 2150 calories. I don't make it every day but I also don't eat less than 1800 calories. I do have to supplement with protein shakes. However, I am losing weight at a slow and steady rate, my IBS is under control with food alone, I have boundless energy, my skin looks amazing, my weight fluctuations have gone from 7 pounds to 2 pounds, and most importantly my hair has not only quit falling out but is also growing back.

    I just started training with a trainer and dietician. His first comment to me was to quit counting calories altogether. Not going to happen. His second comment, "you're my first female client in months I haven't had to convince to eat more."

    This is my story, take it for what it is. Some will agree and some will disagree with what I am doing. I am not telling anyone to change but for those who are frustrated there are other options, that's all I want you to take away from this.

    Good luck to everyone in this journey for it is one of the, if not the, toughest battle of your life.

    Thank you. I have been experiencing the same symptoms that you've described. I will implement my TDEE method. However, I will try deducting only 15% for now.
  • KatrinaDelRey
    KatrinaDelRey Posts: 100 Member
    Thank you for sharing!
    I too struggled with 1200 calories. I wasn't losing weight and just felt terrible.
    Now that I have upped them a bit, I'm feeling great!
    I wish you the best =]
  • cmh7770
    cmh7770 Posts: 31 Member
    Hey Thanks so much! This is an issue for me. What is your TDEE??? I was just talking about this yesterday with a good friend who is also working out and eating more. I have been sticking with 1200 cals and feeling just awful. Not really losing either. How do I know how much to eat? should I stick with what MFP suggests? Or do you use a different formula?
    I really need some help here..miserable cause I'm always dieting and then on the weekends binging now so..not good!
  • cmh7770
    cmh7770 Posts: 31 Member
    Can someone please explain what the TDEE is? I'm so confused. Thanks!
  • smn76237
    smn76237 Posts: 318 Member
    Hey Thanks so much! This is an issue for me. What is your TDEE??? I was just talking about this yesterday with a good friend who is also working out and eating more. I have been sticking with 1200 cals and feeling just awful. Not really losing either. How do I know how much to eat? should I stick with what MFP suggests? Or do you use a different formula?
    I really need some help here..miserable cause I'm always dieting and then on the weekends binging now so..not good!
    Your TDEE is your total daily energy expenditure. This is how much your body burns in an entire day both from exercise and from the energy it takes to keep your body functioning, like digestion and organ function and breathing. Basically, whatever you do in a day from start to finish is your TDEE. This number depends on your age, height, weight, sex, and activity level. A website like this can help you get an idea of an average TDEE based on your stats:
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    Your own TDEE might be higher/lower than an online calculator suggests, and it takes a bit of trial and error to figure that out. As long as you eat less than your TDEE, you will lose weight. Stick to 80-85% of your TDEE for fat loss.

    You can also use MFP's numbers. Set it to lose 1 lb a week, and then EAT BACK EXERCISE CALORIES. If you set MFP to sedentary, and then you exercise 5 days a week, you should be netting 1200, not grossing 1200 calories per day.
  • askeates
    askeates Posts: 1,490 Member
    Thank you so much for this post. There are so many people that don't listen, and then get frustrated by always being exhausted, or other things physical things starting to go crazy (all messages from the body that something is wrong). You are one smart cookie to listen to what your body was telling you!

    Congratulations on your success:drinker:
  • Birdlet
    Birdlet Posts: 2 Member
    Fitbit seems to calculate something like TDEE as it adjust how much I can eat thoughout the day depending on how much I exercise and how many steps I have done. Does anyone know if the fitbit calculation is fairly accurate?
  • Dottie27
    Dottie27 Posts: 159 Member
    Thanks for sharing your story in a nice way that is sure to help many of us searching for answers.
  • cmh7770
    cmh7770 Posts: 31 Member
    Hey Thanks so much! I guess i am just so afraid to gain weight but I really am quite active and, since starting to do Jillian Michaels Body Revolution (a great 1/2 hr workout a day) I have been feeling really awful! And, not losing weight.... so thanks. If you think the MFP calculator is correct I'll start using it. My issue with MFP is that there are numerous calorie counts for the same foods so sometimes you have to guestimate . I guess it doesnt have to be totally exact. Thanks for your help! I'm going to eat my calories and put back some of the whole grains and carbs that I've taken out.
  • jackienborg
    jackienborg Posts: 1
    Sorry, I'm a newb to MFP. And I got the magic 1200 number as well. What is TDEE?

    Nevermind - I just read more posts! So, if I'm understanding this right, MFP suggests 1200 calories a day, so if I exercise and burn 350 calories, then I should eat 1550 calories, is that correct?

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