Worried about 1200 cal diet?

Hi,
I've been a member of Fitness Pal for only a few days - I currently weight 12st 13 (181 pounds) and my ideal weight is 10st 5 (145 pounds).
I am looking to lose about 2 pounds a week (a healthy weight loss) but fitness pal has recommended only 1200 cal a day.
I was doing some research on the internet about it and apparently its unhealthy to eat that little for my height (5"7) and can lead to health problems (loss of muscle etc)
I would also like to add that when I ate a few calories under 1200 on one of the days Fitness Pal told me it was unhealthy and I needed to eat more.
Should I stay on the 1200 Cal a day diet or increase it a little?

change your weight loss goal from losing 2lb to lose 1lb....

^^^ 2 pounds a week is an unrealistic goal considering how much you have to lose.

Read this:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Find a reasonable calorie goal for your body. Log accurately. Incorporate exercise. Be patient and set realistic goals for yourself. You'll be successful.

Stay on the 1200 Calorie diet.

Hi,
I've been a member of Fitness Pal for only a few days - I currently weight 12st 13 (181 pounds) and my ideal weight is 10st 5 (145 pounds).
I am looking to lose about 2 pounds a week (a healthy weight loss) but fitness pal has recommended only 1200 cal a day.
I was doing some research on the internet about it and apparently its unhealthy to eat that little for my height (5"7) and can lead to health problems (loss of muscle etc)
I would also like to add that when I ate a few calories under 1200 on one of the days Fitness Pal told me it was unhealthy and I needed to eat more.
Should I stay on the 1200 Cal a day diet or increase it a little?

Just because MFP is programmed to issue a warning message at 1198 calories but not 1202 doesn't mean there is a magic cutoff of 1200 where above it you burn only fat and below it you burn muscle. It's all a continuum. Losing weight causes muscle loss, period. Yes, very low calorie diets will usually cause more muscle loss. 1200 isn't generally considered 'dangerously low' in my experience but if your research suggests otherwise, by all means, use a less restrictive calorie goal.

I would be starving at 1200 and having a hard time sticking to it and hitting my macro's and micro's (I am your height, and was at your weight a couple of months ago). At 1200 there is no room for treats if you are going to get everything your body needs. I wouldn't recommend it just because it isn't sustainable for me.
If you are going to try to stick with it, make sure you eat back at least a little of your exercise calories, and really pay attention to how your body feels.

Just to add, 2 lbs/week really isn't all that attainable unless you have more fat stores to burn. And it is recommended that you decrease your deficit as you get closer to your goals.

I guess my point is, if you're worried about it, don't do it. You can lose weight eating more without any issues.

Stay on the 1200 Calorie diet.

This!!

Im pretty much the same measurements.... (Started at 220ish, now 164ish, 5"6!) and iv always stuck to 1200 a day, and im still losing. I also DONT eat back my exercise cals. Each to their own though, you will soon find what works best for you!! :flowerforyou:

No. Just no. The MFP method is for you to eat back your exercise calories, so if you only eat 1200 and burn off 300 you are only netting 900...Your body needs more.

I agree with FerretBueller on the TDEE method - 10-20%. I don't stress about how many calories I burn, I eat 1800 calories a day and am losing weight.

I'm old as f___, so 1200 calories for me is perfectly appropriate, and I'm taller than you. Depending on your age, you might need to be somewhere in the 1200 range, but careful accounting of calories in and calories out is CRUCIAL to weight loss. Almost nothing else is crucial. Get the calories in and calories out right, and the weight comes off. That means being as accurate as possible with your food calories and your exercise calories. Don't discount food calories as negligible because they come from "healthy" foods like veggies, or because "it was just one cookie", etc. Log EVERYTHING. And don't think that just because some exercise machine told you that you burned 500 calories that you actually burned 500 calories. I really wish those machines didn't have calorie burn estimates, those machines basically troll people into overeating.

Change it to 1 pound a week. Eat "some" of your exercise calories. I say some because the calories burned estimated can be inflated. OR figure out your TDEE - 20% then you don't have to worry about exercise calories.

As others have said, you have to use both diet AND exercise. If you only eat 1200 calories and do no exercise, there is no way you will be able to meet your nutritional requirements (and reaceive the warning from MyFitnessPal). Now, if you eat 1500 calories and exercise the equivalent of at least 300 calories, you'll be back at 1200 (and won't be reprimanded by MyFitnessPal for not eating enough calories) and lose weight. Even if the only exercise you do is walking slowly, it's still exercise and it's still burning calories. You may also want to reconsider your goals and drop it back to a pound per week. It's realistic and you have less chance of hitting heartbreaking plateaus.

I'm on a 1200 calorie diet as well, but I am only 5'2" and I put my goal weight as 120 pounds with a weight loss of 1 pound a week. Well, I am closer to my goal so at 1200 calories I am losing 0.8 pounds a week, but MFP will not go lower than 1200.

I always eat my workout calories, but this is my base.

The OP is 5'7, she doesn't need to do 1200 calories.

The OP is 5'7, she doesn't need to do 1200 calories.

Stay on the 1200 Calorie diet.

This!!

Im pretty much the same measurements.... (Started at 220ish, now 164ish, 5"6!) and iv always stuck to 1200 a day, and im still losing. I also DONT eat back my exercise cals. Each to their own though, you will soon find what works best for you!! :flowerforyou:

And, I'm 5'6", started at 210 now at 159-160ish, most lost at 1500-1600 cal/day, eating back some exercise.

1200 is not necessary for weight loss.

My understanding is that everything you can do at home is an extremely inaccurate way to measure BF%. The scale is giving same results, though I don't look at that as often. What would you recommend?

Bump