Is 1200 calories too low or..?

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e_keeton
e_keeton Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, everyone!
So, I was wondering if 1200 calories is too small of an amount to eat?

I have been trying to lose weight. I started off at 135. My goal weight is 120, and I am currently at 127, thanks to the 1200 diet thing. I have a BMR of about 1400, and it is recommended that I eat about 1700 calories a day to maintain my current weight. I am 18, Female, and 5"2 1/2. I have a sedentary lifestyle, and the only amount of exercise I get is walking around my college campus. I want to work out, but i often get sidetracked by work/studying and involvement in several clubs. I'm going to try to make time for exercise somehow.

From what I've researched, I am apparently at a borderline "healthy" weight for my age and height, but I have a small stomach that I want to lose. MFP is set so that I could lose 2 pounds a week, but it took way longer than that to get down to 127 (it was more like I was losing 1 pound a week). I have noticed a difference in my body though, and I love the progress so far!

But my question is, am I eating too few calories? Is that what is making the weight loss take longer? Or is that normal, and should I continue down with the 1200 calorie thing?
I have read from some places that weight loss gets harder the closer and closer you get to your goal, and that you should try to lose pounds at a slower rate (like .5 pounds/week instead of 2) and up your calorie intake. Can someone please tell me what's true? Thank you!!

Replies

  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    Yes you need to set your weight loss goal to lose .5 lbs. a week you do not have that much to lose and I wouldn't eat 1200 you need more than that...... Best of Luck
  • jasonalvear
    jasonalvear Posts: 72 Member
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    Yes you need to set your weight loss goal to lose .5 lbs. a week you do not have that much to lose and I wouldn't eat 1200 you need more than that...... Best of Luck

    ^
  • wertgirlfor
    wertgirlfor Posts: 161 Member
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    try doing weight training. it seems to be more effective in getting rid of extra fat when you're at a almost healthy weight

    oh, and don't eat below your BMR. maybe like at it would be good. 1200 is reallyy low
  • pavrg
    pavrg Posts: 277 Member
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    The 1200 calorie/day warning is a generic number that MFP uses. I'm not really sure why. Perhaps it's to warn people that they might be doing a very low calorie diet and that can be dangerous.

    But if you're smaller than the average person, then you'll have to eat less than the average person to lose weight.

    I disagree that you necessarily have to lose only 0.5 lb/week, but I do think 2 lbs/week is too aggressive. People are hung up on 127 lbs seeming light. We don't know your current bodyfat % or what your goal weight ought to be, and you're only 5'2". A 'flat stomach' is usually achieved somewhere around 20% for women. You can use this to find out what your goal weight should be (first calculate current bodyfat estimate, then use the second link to find your goal weight):

    http://www.weightrainer.net/circbf.html
    http://www.weightrainer.net/weight_loss.html

    Frankly, though, to get the results you actually desire you are going to have to start exercising.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    You don't have enough to lose to be set to two pounds a week. Set to one. Keep at it. Lot your exercise and eat back your exercise calories.

    Although I'm taller, I'm also older, and eventually MFP set me to just over 1200 calories to lose a pound a week. But that is NET. I set myself to sedentary and earned several hundred calories a day over that through exercise (just walking) and that made it easy to stick to my goals.

    With a fitbit or other activity monitor it's even easier to do.
  • e_keeton
    e_keeton Posts: 2 Member
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    Thank you all so much!
  • fitspo145
    fitspo145 Posts: 81
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    I'm so glad you posted this. I've been wondering the same thing. MFP sets me at 1200 cals a day and I am 132 lbs and 5'5 and want to get down to 125 lbs but even if I stick to my cal count, not much appears to be changing. I do Insanity and am eating back my lost cals and other than that I eat clean and about 5 small meals a day but have been seeing threads where people say they need to eat more cals to lose weight?
  • nelinelineli
    nelinelineli Posts: 330 Member
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    But my question is, am I eating too few calories? Is that what is making the weight loss take longer? Or is that normal, and should I continue down with the 1200 calorie thing?
    I have read from some places that weight loss gets harder the closer and closer you get to your goal, and that you should try to lose pounds at a slower rate (like .5 pounds/week instead of 2) and up your calorie intake. Can someone please tell me what's true? Thank you!!

    The reason you took longer is because your deficit was NOT enough for 2 lbs/week. MFP has a cutoff at 1200 - so if your 2 lbs/week goal fell below 1200 (and it surely did according to your stats) you were set up from the beginning to lose much less. From what you're saying you should have been at a 500 calorie deficit (1700-1200) which equates to 1 lb/week.

    You do not need to eat more, you are already set at a 1lb/week. You can decide to move up to 0.5 lb/week to get closer to maintenance (that will put your daily calories at about 1450). If you increase your calories without increasing your activity you will lose even less.

    If 1200 is too hard to stick to, try becoming more active.
  • blethers
    blethers Posts: 2
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    I agree with the previous answer. I'm on 1240 calories a day average - but that includes what I deduct by exercise. I've managed to keep this up easily for 6 months and have aimed at 0.5 lbs loss per week. Though it's not coming off as quickly now as before, I'm happy with the results. Can you not fit in half an hour of fast walking up a hill or something?
  • Sylvitryinghard
    Sylvitryinghard Posts: 549 Member
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    YES it is I tried a month n didnt lost then or now 1400 and it works plus Im happy bc I can eat more!
  • caramammal
    caramammal Posts: 147 Member
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    it's simple math, someone of your height/weight/activity level will need 1200 calories to lose 1lb per week (on average). If you maintain at around 1700, then in order to lose 1lb per week, you need to reduce it by 500 a day (which adds up to 3500 over the week and 3500 = 1lb), whether thats through diet, exercise or a combination of both.

    I have a desk job/from home so am pretty sedentary, the only exercise i get is when i go for my run or to the gym. The good thing about this is that it makes it easier to calculate food in/energy out. I eat around 1500-1600 calories a day and exercise 300-400 off, which basically equals 1200 calories net. If I do this, i lose 1lb a week, without fail, without exception. If i eat more and average 1400 calories a day i lose about 0.5lbs per week.

    This method has never once failed, and for those people who say 1200 calories is too low, well it is if you're a tall active heavy person, but when you're petit, it's about right. The main number worth knowing is what you maintain at, and from there you can calculate what you want to lose and how fast.

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