1200cal/day really works.

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  • fhskss
    fhskss Posts: 6
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    Congrats on your loss so far Belinda! :drinker:
  • belindanjumo
    belindanjumo Posts: 109 Member
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    OP starts a post telling everyone to try 1200 calories, with no mention that it's the bare minimum for a sedentary woman and too low for active or taller women and too low for all men. She then agrees that it's not for everyone but gets upset that people feel it's important to point out that it's not for everyone.

    Did I get everything?

    You have pretty much summarized it but you didn't get everything. I totally agree its not for everyone. But my mistake was not expatiating on the other parameters like i am 5, 2, sendentary and all. maybe that would have been more accurate.
  • belindanjumo
    belindanjumo Posts: 109 Member
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    Congrats on your loss so far Belinda! :drinker:

    Thank you Elphin!
  • belindanjumo
    belindanjumo Posts: 109 Member
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    no mother of twins is completely sedentary.

    I was just going to say the same thing.

    hahaha true. But lemme give you some insight. My twins are 18months old. Not yet playing or running around a football field as you would expect. I sure will be more active when they get older. For now am a stay at home mum.

    When my twins were 18 months, they were climbing fences and the wood pile out back. Not to mention the destruction inside. I was VERY active chasing them!

    Oh you have twins? Congrats. Well its winter here, and I don't take them out much. I could say more, but its a lil' private. Well am not as active as i used to be after I had them. Used to play basketball, volleyball and lawn tennis. So I do consider myself sedentary.
  • belindanjumo
    belindanjumo Posts: 109 Member
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    Wao i think i've come off the wrong foot here.

    welcome_to_the_internet.jpg

    Hahaha. I am only seeing this now. This is truly the internet.
  • quiltlovinlisa
    quiltlovinlisa Posts: 1,710 Member
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    no mother of twins is completely sedentary.

    I was just going to say the same thing.

    hahaha true. But lemme give you some insight. My twins are 18months old. Not yet playing or running around a football field as you would expect. I sure will be more active when they get older. For now am a stay at home mum.

    When my twins were 18 months, they were climbing fences and the wood pile out back. Not to mention the destruction inside. I was VERY active chasing them!

    Oh you have twins? Congrats. Well its winter here, and I don't take them out much. I could say more, but its a lil' private. Well am not as active as i used to be after I had them. Used to play basketball, volleyball and lawn tennis. So I do consider myself sedentary.

    My twins are almost eight. Identical red headed boys. :)
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    Can't judge success after one week. Come back when you have been at your goal and on maintenance for at least a year.

    By the way each loss, no matter how small should be celebrated and ENCOURAGED. So be gone with your sarcasm and negativity

    In...

    ...for more appropriate interaction on the internet lectures.
  • DesireeNL
    DesireeNL Posts: 220 Member
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    In general people lose a lot in their first week or two. That's a lot of water weight, so it doesn't have much to do with eating 1200 calories a day, but with the fact that you are eating at a deficit. Your body uses the stored glycogen, and glycogen holds on to water, so when the glycogen is used for energy it also releases the water.

    That said, 1200 calories isn't much for a grown woman. I'm only 5'0" and I lost on 1500 a day. Try doing a bit more research on this website and figure out your BMR and TDEE. Your TDEE is the number of calories you should eat to maintain, and then subtract 10 to 20% from that for your daily allowance.

    Your TDEE is not set in stone, it takes a bit of experimenting and tweaking along the way. But the key here is, that you are trying to figure out how you can eat as MUCH as possible while still losing weight! Really, you don't have to do it on 1200 calories. By eating as much as possible while still losing, it is so much easier to sustain. Plus, you could always go a little lower (or higher), to tweak as needed. On 1200, you're already at the bottom line.

    Edit: and you might not be actively doing sports, but as a mom of two you are NOT sedentary. Try a pedometer to see how much steps you get in a day.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    This thread again... :yawn:
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Congrats on your loss.

    I am losing on 1600/day (more when I exercise) while enjoying my very high in sugar :devil: White Mocha. Gonna stick to my plan!!

    I wonder how you lose on high sugar. If I did that, my weight would escalate. I drink my tea and coffee with no sugar. Have you heard about insulin resistance? you should check it out!

    Maybe you should do some research.

    Are you insulin resistant? As diagnosed by a medical professional?
  • belindanjumo
    belindanjumo Posts: 109 Member
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    I just plugged your numbers into the TDEE calculator and with 1 day a week of exercise your TDEE would be a little over 2000 calories and if you took 20% from that for weight loss then you should be losing eating 1600 calories. Are you weighing and measuring all your food and logging???

    Yes am doing that. Every little thing i eat, i log on. I made sure i didnt go over 1200. Don't exercise partly because of the weather here in the UK and also coz there would be no one to look after my babies. If ur keen on trying eating 1200cal, please do. Don't want to sound cliche but it does work. I ate salads, chicken and water most of the time. Drank a cup of coffee a day too. I was surprised myself when i lost 4lbs. Because I had not managed to lose that much in a week before.

    You've done this for one week - give it 6 then we will talk about it working. Lose the weight and happily maintain it for several months on a decent calorie intake - then we might agree.

    It's far far to early to encourage others to lose on 1200 a day :noway:

    PS I'm 5'2 losing on 1600 cals a day and I exercise even in our lousy British weather. (twins is a better reason - but never the weather)

    True. Its not an excuse but people are different. Some cheer up during summer and become depressed in the winter so sure the weather can affect people's activities. I bet you have a car to drive yourself to the gym but if you dont and you still walk to ur place of exercise, kudos to you. But well the mistake i should have made was i should have been more specific. Like if you are sedentary, 5, 2 like myself and all. But it musn't work for you. Thats why I said just try it for a week. I was trying to encourage those who binge and all. But i should have stated other factors like lifestyle and height. My bad!
  • candiceh3
    candiceh3 Posts: 379
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    Nope sorry but this isn't a celebration thread. This is "1200 evangelism".
  • CoffeeNBooze
    CoffeeNBooze Posts: 966 Member
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    Happy you had a loss! I don't know if you have lost weight on diets in the past, but normally the first week or two is when you lose the most. So, all I'm trying to say here is don't get discouraged as you go on, and if you need to up your calories (and you will, inevitably) then it's ok to do that!
  • belindanjumo
    belindanjumo Posts: 109 Member
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    In general people lose a lot in their first week or two. That's a lot of water weight, so it doesn't have much to do with eating 1200 calories a day, but with the fact that you are eating at a deficit. Your body uses the stored glycogen, and glycogen holds on to water, so when the glycogen is used for energy it also releases the water.

    That said, 1200 calories isn't much for a grown woman. I'm only 5'0" and I lost on 1500 a day. Try doing a bit more research on this website and figure out your BMR and TDEE. Your TDEE is the number of calories you should eat to maintain, and then subtract 10 to 20% from that for your daily allowance.

    Your TDEE is not set in stone, it takes a bit of experimenting and tweaking along the way. But the key here is, that you are trying to figure out how you can eat as MUCH as possible while still losing weight! Really, you don't have to do it on 1200 calories. By eating as much as possible while still losing, it is so much easier to sustain. Plus, you could always go a little lower (or higher), to tweak as needed. On 1200, you're already at the bottom line.

    Edit: and you might not be actively doing sports, but as a mom of two you are NOT sedentary. Try a pedometer to see how much steps you get in a day.

    Wao you have a lot of insight and you made so much sense. Thanks!
  • belindanjumo
    belindanjumo Posts: 109 Member
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    Happy you had a loss! I don't know if you have lost weight on diets in the past, but normally the first week or two is when you lose the most. So, all I'm trying to say here is don't get discouraged as you go on, and if you need to up your calories (and you will, inevitably) then it's ok to do that!

    No I haven't tried any diets in the past. And thanks I won't get discouraged :smile: in the longrun. :flowerforyou:
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
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    First off congrats on you loss:flowerforyou: it is worth celebrating.

    Now doubt you have witnessed some debate about your calorie intake and activity level, this is usually born out of concern more then snark and the 1200cal title can really ruffle feathers.

    I recommend you read these links to further understand weight loss and nutrition....

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1069278-acronyms-and-terms-for-new-mfp-members-v-6

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.htm

    Congratulations and the MFP community is by and large very supportive.

    One piece of advice besides reading the links is try to consider a plan that is sustainable.

    Good luck great work.
  • belindanjumo
    belindanjumo Posts: 109 Member
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    Nope sorry but this isn't a celebration thread. This is "1200 evangelism".

    hahaha you are funny. Don't look at it that way. It depends on your lifestyle and BMI etc. But many people have said its probably water weight so I cant wait to see what week 2 will be. But its hard not having a sweet popcorn or something. I have to try to be strict for the 2nd week to see what happens. I feel challenged to do that now.
  • belindanjumo
    belindanjumo Posts: 109 Member
    Options
    First off congrats on you loss:flowerforyou: it is worth celebrating.

    Now doubt you have witnessed some debate about your calorie intake and activity level, this is usually born out of concern more then snark and the 1200cal title can really ruffle feathers.

    I recommend you read these links to further understand weight loss and nutrition....

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1069278-acronyms-and-terms-for-new-mfp-members-v-6

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.htm

    Congratulations and the MFP community is by and large very supportive.

    One piece of advice besides reading the links is try to consider a plan that is sustainable.

    Good luck great work.

    Just clicked on the links. Reading through. Thanks
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    It's not the number of 1200 that people are contesting per say. But rather the fact you were maintaining on 2000 calories and chose the absolute minimum allowed by adhering to an aggressive 2 lb weekly weight loss goal when you only had 39 lbs to lose. A more suitable weekly loss for someone with your degree of fat mass would be a 1 lb per week loss. If you continue, a lot of the weight you'll lose will come from lean mass. By sustaining a larger than needed deficit, you also run the risk of regaining a much greater amount of weight when you reach your goal and start increasing calories to maintenance.

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