did I miss something?

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lindsayvernon
lindsayvernon Posts: 56 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been a MFP member for quite a while now, but have been really getting into it that last month (really want to get myself back on track). I log everyday, and I come on the message boards...and mostly lurk. But one thing I notice is it seems that a lot of people have been given only 1200 calories for the day to lose weight. I have about 20lbs to lose and MFP gave me almost 1400 calories for each day, and I put in sedentary as I have an office job and my setting was to lose 1lbs a week. I've since gone and changed my calories to use IIFFYM as I do exercise at least three times a week and since reading the posts it seemed like a good idea to go by TDEE.

I guess I don't have a question, per se, but how are so many people set to 1200 calories a day to lose weight...and how do they survive?
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Replies

  • ehorn625
    ehorn625 Posts: 144
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    I am set at 1200 per day and have no problem sticking with it.
  • 10BlueDoves
    10BlueDoves Posts: 33 Member
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    Mine is at 1200 calories. Because I am short. :-(
  • BenjaminMFP88
    BenjaminMFP88 Posts: 660 Member
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    Easy answer? People don't understand how their body works so they follow whatever they see.... 1200 calories is very little food and most people believe that little food = weight loss, which is not necessarily true and certenly not the healthiest rout

    Not always, but usually these are the people who complain the most and/or give up first. Of course this is not absolute, but this what I see a lot.
  • Rawfoodsho
    Rawfoodsho Posts: 181
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    Its odd because on caloriecounter.com if you talk about eating 1200 calories a day you would get eaten alive NOT supported for unhealthy choices.
  • krissynicole787
    krissynicole787 Posts: 121 Member
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    I eat 1200 because I am short and I am sedentary. I also have an underactive thyroid. I tried eating at least half of my exercise calories (I use my heart rate monitor for an estimate) back for 3 months, but I gained a significant amount of weight back. I have to stick with 1200 to lose, otherwise I just maintain or gain depending how many of my exercise calories I eat back. I have been doing this for 4 years now and I am just fine with it.
  • stt43
    stt43 Posts: 487
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    I've been wondering the same. Most people seem to be on 1200 calories, and it doesn't seem right to me. I know it's up to them, but as far as I can see it'll damage their health, and isn't sustainable for most people. I don't think males should have any need to drop below 1800 calories and females shouldn't have to drop below 1500, and with regularly exercise even these numbers are too low.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
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    MFP assumes a 7000 calorie deficit weekly when set to 2 pounds lost a week... It bottoms out at 1200....

    If it thinks you need 2200 to amintain it will set you at 1200.. Essentially a 55% deifict when you should probably not cut at more than ~20%


    people, in general, are stupid... people dont self advocate... people say things like TL;DR... did I mention people are stupid?

    I should add that "small" people may actually require something in that range, but, the majority on 1200 calorie diets dont fit that criteria.
  • Sabby888
    Sabby888 Posts: 30 Member
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    It's very hard sticking to 1200 cals a day... but I managed to do just that for about a month and successfully lost 6 kg (12 lbs) during that period and kept it off. I stayed at that weight for a few months and now I want to carry on losing, I plan on eating 1200 cals a day just as I did before ;)

    Most people have a higher calorie goal because they aren't sedentary, like me. If you want to afford to eat more then make sure you exercise too. Regularly. Don't eat back all your burnt calories though, I've noticed MFP tend to overestimate calories burnt during exercise.

    *Disclaimer* The above works for me, not sure if it will for you, but I just wanted to give you my personal experience :)
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
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    MFP wont set a daily intake below 1200, so people who who's weekly loss goal is too high end up on 1200.

    some people - aka short girls can eat around this mark to lose weight. for most people thats going to be a hungry existence.


    so, dont take too much notice of what other people do, just calculate your numbers, log, watch the scale and your body and adjust accordingly.
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    I eat 1200 because I am short and I am sedentary. I also have an underactive thyroid. I tried eating at least half of my exercise calories (I use my heart rate monitor for an estimate) back for 3 months, but I gained a significant amount of weight back. I have to stick with 1200 to lose, otherwise I just maintain or gain depending how many of my exercise calories I eat back. I have been doing this for 4 years now and I am just fine with it.

    Having a medical reason to eat a VLCD (or being one of the tiny people who just don't need as much fuel as average folk) is completely different than being uninformed about what your particular body needs. You've figured yours out - congrats for that. Most people on here are struggling (and potentially hurting themselves) with the 1200 mark and they don't even know why. I did that for a while, and I was miserable doing it. I know I've been much healthier (and happier) since I figured out my TDEE and realized I can eat 2000+ and still lose slowly and steadily. And those "crazy" weeks - like the past month of Thanksgiving, birthday celebrating and Halloween - don't make a big difference on the scale anymore, because my body doesn't need to hold on to every little piece of food anymore. It knows I'm feeding it regularly and well.
  • Hildy_J
    Hildy_J Posts: 1,050 Member
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    MFP assumes a 7000 calorie deficit weekly when set to 2 pounds lost a week... It bottoms out at 1200.... If it thinks you need 2200 to amintain it will set you at 1200.. Essentially a 55% deifict when you should probably not cut at more than ~20%

    people, in general, are stupid... people dont self advocate... people say things like TL;DR... did I mention people are stupid?

    I don't think it's that people are stupid... I think the software algorithms need rewriting. If you're not knowledgeable about weight loss, then you're going to take MFP's calculations on trust and ask for the maximum weekly gain. Who wouldn't? There's not enough information for the new user to make a reasonable judgment. Just my opinion....
  • krissynicole787
    krissynicole787 Posts: 121 Member
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    I've been wondering the same. Most people seem to be on 1200 calories, and it doesn't seem right to me. I know it's up to them, but as far as I can see it'll damage their health, and isn't sustainable for most people. I don't think males should have any need to drop below 1800 calories and females shouldn't have to drop below 1500, and with regularly exercise even these numbers are too low.

    For some it won't damage their health. Not everyone is the same. You shouldn't jump to conclusions saying it is going to damage someone's health unless you know their lifestyle and specialize in nutrition.
  • krissynicole787
    krissynicole787 Posts: 121 Member
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    I'm not saying I recommend everyone eating just 1200 calories. I am just explaining why I do it. I went through trial and error to see what works for me. It is a learning process. I also didn't find out I had an underactive thyroid until recently and I already lost most of my weight.
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
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    I don't think males should have any need to drop below 1800 calories and females shouldn't have to drop below 1500, and with regularly exercise even these numbers are too low.

    tumblr_lzxb3hsswf1r4kfic.gif

    Kursten stuart, and medical science disagrees.

    A clue is something you do not possess.
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    I eat 1200 because I am short and I am sedentary. I also have an underactive thyroid. I tried eating at least half of my exercise calories (I use my heart rate monitor for an estimate) back for 3 months, but I gained a significant amount of weight back. I have to stick with 1200 to lose, otherwise I just maintain or gain depending how many of my exercise calories I eat back. I have been doing this for 4 years now and I am just fine with it.

    Underactive thyroid has no bearing on your total calories consumed. Underactive thyroid certainly can affect weight loss/gain, but in terms of slowness; it's not that someone has to eat less calories than others at similar heights/weights/goals, it's that they eat the same, and the person with hypothyroidism loses slower.
  • FerretBuellerr
    FerretBuellerr Posts: 468 Member
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    I guess I don't have a question, per se, but how are so many people set to 1200 calories a day to lose weight...and how do they survive?

    I honestly don't know :laugh:

    I did the 1200 cals thing for my first 2 weeks, and although it got easier by the end of the second week (when I started to figure out which foods I could eat and which ones I had to avoid or could only eat if I did some intense exercise that day) I still felt misterable not being able to just eat what I wanted, even if in a smaller quantity. Maybe these other people don't get as hangry as I do :laugh: or have more determination to stay at the 1200 goal that MFP set for them. Or they are much shorter and/or sedentary, or have healthy issues that already restrict their diets. Those are the only reasons I can think of, the last sentence being the one that makes the most sense (to me anyways).

    I've been using the TDEE method since, and I did find it really relieving to find my BMR is closer to 1400 - that's at LEAST an extra 200 cals each day off the bat compared to the MFP method, and without exercise, and guaranteed that I will lose weight (and I have been!). It just made more sense to me, and gave me a little more freedom to eat.
  • bbg_daryl
    bbg_daryl Posts: 150 Member
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    I'm 5'2" and have hypothyroidism as well as polycystic ovarian syndrome, both of which hinder weight loss significantly. When I started at MFP I was 215 pounds. I put in all my info, along with being sedentary and not exercising at all. I was given 1200 calories a day. The first week I lost three pounds, then I maintained 212 for a month. I dropped down to 1100 calories a day and started to lose weight again at a slow healthy pace.

    The only thing that is eliminated from my diet is sodium (cause I swell up easily) and soda (just a personal choice). I don't eat any diet foods, nothing advertised as low fat. I'm not doing any of the diets you hear about all the time (raw, paleo, etc). And though I eat more vegetables now than I did before I decided to get healthy, I'm not loading up on veggies in order to feel "full." I still eat pasta and white bread and white sugar and I still drink whole milk.

    Like krissynicole787 said, every single person is different. Some people have to eliminate all sugar and fat to lose weight. Some people can eat 2000 calories and still lose weight while others have to go lower. You have to experiment and find what works for you. What's unhealthy for some people is perfectly normal for others.
  • krissynicole787
    krissynicole787 Posts: 121 Member
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    I eat 1200 because I am short and I am sedentary. I also have an underactive thyroid. I tried eating at least half of my exercise calories (I use my heart rate monitor for an estimate) back for 3 months, but I gained a significant amount of weight back. I have to stick with 1200 to lose, otherwise I just maintain or gain depending how many of my exercise calories I eat back. I have been doing this for 4 years now and I am just fine with it.

    Underactive thyroid has no bearing on your total calories consumed. Underactive thyroid certainly can affect weight loss/gain, but in terms of slowness; it's not that someone has to eat less calories than others at similar heights/weights/goals, it's that they eat the same, and the person with hypothyroidism loses slower.

    I was eating 1200 before I found out about my thyroid. I am well aware of how my body works, and what works for my body. Like I said, 4+ years of trial and error. This is what works for my short, sedentary body. Thank you though.
  • krissynicole787
    krissynicole787 Posts: 121 Member
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    I'm 5'2" and have hypothyroidism as well as polycystic ovarian syndrome, both of which hinder weight loss significantly. When I started at MFP I was 215 pounds. I put in all my info, along with being sedentary and not exercising at all. I was given 1200 calories a day. The first week I lost three pounds, then I maintained 212 for a month. I dropped down to 1100 calories a day and started to lose weight again at a slow healthy pace.

    The only thing that is eliminated from my diet is sodium (cause I swell up easily) and soda (just a personal choice). I don't eat any diet foods, nothing advertised as low fat. I'm not doing any of the diets you hear about all the time (raw, paleo, etc). And though I eat more vegetables now than I did before I decided to get healthy, I'm not loading up on veggies in order to feel "full." I still eat pasta and white bread and white sugar and I still drink whole milk.

    Like krissynicole787 said, every single person is different. Some people have to eliminate all sugar and fat to lose weight. Some people can eat 2000 calories and still lose weight while others have to go lower. You have to experiment and find what works for you. What's unhealthy for some people is perfectly normal for others.

    THANK YOU!!
  • hazeljordan1974
    hazeljordan1974 Posts: 107 Member
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    I was struggling the last few lbs before maintenance on 1400 calories, thankfully that bumped up to 1830 on maintenance a few weeks later. I think if you're on that sort of calorie allowance you've got to be very careful that you eat a lot of good stuff so you don't miss out on nutrients.

    I have had a low "net" calorie intake before - but I was exercising about 1000 calories and only eating a third back (Which in hindsight was pretty dumb as I suffered several annoying health issues like hair falling out, toenails falling off, my skin losing its glow, irregular periods etc, etc).

    I think the fear of eating more than the minimum doesn't help us....

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