Is 1200 calories enough for me?

Yes, 1200 is enough. I'm 5'2 and in my 30's and realized that I have the body of a 14 year old child, so should eat accordingly. The government recommendations (1500-2000) are based on the average female, which frankly we are well below. I'v been eating 1200 for 2 years and am as fit as a fiddle.

Inga

Also, about the calories, I'm kinda confused. When I log in my exercise - for example I went for a 1.5 hr slow walk and I logged it in myfitnesspal, they came up with 204 calories burned. So I put that in my journal then it gave me more calories?? Do I need to eat this number? Is it smart to? I'm kinda confused on that. They don't really mention what to do with those... (unless I just haven't seen aynthing about it.)


ps.. do you mind if I add you as a friend so I can kinda stalk your journal for food portions/ideas? I'm intrigued to see what someone my exact size and height is eating :P

It's a good idea to eat at least some of the exercise calories or you won't have the energy to do the excercise, if that makes sense? You don't have to eat them all though.

Already added you and my diary is open

As you don't have much weight (if any) to lose to be a healthy weight I'd reduce the goal to 0.5 - 1lb a week. Also don't forget that when you start adding excercise you need to eat some of those calories too.

I'm 5' and 124lb, ok I'm a little older than you, but 124lb isn't an unhealthy weight, but personally I'd like to get down to 119 and 23% body fat. Especially at your age maybe focus on the excercise/fitness rather than the weight and just use the food logging to keep any binges in check? The fitter and leaner you get the less the weight will be an issue.

Of course the odd treat day is good too :happy:

Good luck!

I'm pretty sure that setting it to 1lb a week still sets the calories at 1200. 1200 isn't that much of a deficit at our height (also 5') if we aren't doing much exercise.

I'd say go with the 1200 for now, until you add some exercise. You don't want to be stuck living off 1200 forever!
I'd really recommend getting in to strength training

Definitely incorporate strength/resistance training. You're going to want to eat some of your exercise calories back once you start incorporating more exercise and if you stay at 1200.

I am close to your stats. I have a small build, 5'1" and at my last weigh in I was 120. My highest point was 134 after I made my ticker. I rarely go as low as 1200, but it depends on your exercise and build. I definitely suggest looking into the method I posted below. I exercise about 3-4 times a week, 45mins-1hr per session. However, I am trying to focus on hitting my macros more consistently. I'm currently at a 40/30/30 for my macros - carbs, fat, protein. My week starting yesterday is out of character as I just had a procedure done, so my appetite will be wonky for a few more days, but my diary is open to friends. I log fairly consistently and I tend to weigh/measure my food.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

I'm 5ft too but not really near your body weight as I'm rather muscly. Legs and buns of steel! But I would definitely suggest doing some sort of exercise so you can have a few more cals than the baseline. It will also mean that if you do accidentally splurge it isn't the end of the world and it will tone you up too.
x

Yes 1200 calories is enough. I've eaten 1200 calories everyday for the last 2.5 months and have lost 25 pounds. My diary is open to the public so feel free to have a look. You can add me as well

I'm short too and someone at our height has to eat less calories than taller women... sucks, but it's reality.

You can definitely get all the nutrients you need, you just have to plan your meals accordingly. I find that it's easiest to eat whole foods like lean meats, veggies, etc because they fill you up longer and you can eat more of them.

Good luck to you!

No

you're already at a healthy weight for your height, if you're trying to reduce your bodyfat further, you need to be very conservative with your deficit. 2lb a week is too much for your situation, if you lose that much, most of it won't be fat. You'll be losing mainly water weight, and at risk of losing lean muscle and bone density. If you want to ensure it's just fat you lose, then do exercise that works your muscles hard and puts weight on your bones, and aim for very slow weight loss. 0.5-1lb a week would be better, which should give you a calorie goal that's quite a bit higher. People who are morbidly obese can lose fat at a faster rate, because they have so much more to lose. The leaner you get, the more difficult it is to lose pure fat, so the more careful you need to be. Yes it's slower, but what do you want, a healthy, fit, lean body, or to look half starved?

also, base your goal on body fat percentage, not weight. your body fat percentage affects how you look more than your weight does. See this article: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

When I just entered my stats into mfp, which are very close to the OP's, for 0.5lb loss I still only get 1220 calories. (Sedentary).

1,200. So that's 2 small meals a day, no snacks and nothing to drink except water and diet coke.... that would be some kind of food disorder and would make me go crazy....

So only 2 "small" meals a day, huh? I hardly consider a 600 calorie meal small. Perhaps that thinking has lead you to where you are now.

I eat 2 large meals a day and at least 2 snacks and a protein shake.

I really very much disagree with everyone who thinks that because you are shorter you have to eat drastically lower than the general population. I think people forget that the average woman is actually only about 5'4". In the past three weeks, I have eaten around 1650 net calories per day and I've lost 2.2kgs so far. MFP recommended me 1400 to begin with and I'm sure that if I hadn't had a few almighty binges, I would have lost a good amount more. I'm 5'2". When I stop seeing weight loss, I will be more strict but really, a deficit is a deficit. When you don't have a lot to lose, you need to go much much slower. This prevents losses from your lean tissue (which is bad as that will then decrease your metabolism).

What happens when people eat very low amounts (I consider this to be below their basal metabolic rate (BMR) - the amount that you would need if you were completely immobile in a coma (for me this is around 1350)) is that they then end up maintaining on these low amounts as they've compromised their lean tissue. I can quite happily maintain on 1800-2100 calories per day depending on my exercise. It has nothing to do with how short you are. The adult human body needs a certain amount of food to operate optimally and that is that.

I mean, would you rather eat 1800 calories a day for the rest of your life or 1200? If you'd rather eat less just because then that's quite odd.

Try putting your details in with a much lower weight loss goal per week like 0.25-0.5lbs. You should get a more sensible number. If you think about it long-term, you will easily be where you want to be in anywhere from several months to a year! And you won't have to struggle for it. Doesn't that sound nicer? And definitely eat back your exercise calories. I tend to leave a leeway of 50-100 calories when I exercise, however, because I have no idea how accurate the machines are.

You're young and consider 6 months of decent effort to the rest of your life potentially yo-yoing because you were too harsh. Develop a healthy relationship with your food and body (weight gain is not something to fear! It's just something that happens sometimes and there's no need to panic).

I wish you lots of luck!

1,200. So that's 2 small meals a day, no snacks and nothing to drink except water and diet coke.... that would be some kind of food disorder and would make me go crazy....

So only 2 "small" meals a day, huh? I hardly consider a 600 calorie meal small. Perhaps that thinking has lead you to where you are now.

I eat 2 large meals a day and at least 2 snacks and a protein shake.

600 would be small meal more me, more like a snack. Perhaps my line of thinking has gotten me where I am now...

1,200. So that's 2 small meals a day, no snacks and nothing to drink except water and diet coke.... that would be some kind of food disorder and would make me go crazy....

So only 2 "small" meals a day, huh? I hardly consider a 600 calorie meal small. Perhaps that thinking has lead you to where you are now.

I eat 2 large meals a day and at least 2 snacks and a protein shake.

How on earth you know where I am at now? Random assumption.

For the record, so that I maintain my weight (BMI 23, male), I am recommended to eat 2,300 calories a day, so 600 calories for both dinner and lunch would leave my on the dangerously thin side.

1,200 calories a day is low. A lot of lettuce leaves granted, but we arent all salad freaks. Still 1,200? 2,000 is average RDA for a lady, so while appreciating we are all shapes and sizes, thats around 40% lower than the RDA.

Work that one out.

Ok let me try to work it out... You're a male. The OP is a female. You cannot compare how much a man can eat to lose weight as compared to a woman. 600 calories when eating lean meats and veggies and other "healthy" foods is a huge meal. That is typically what I eat, so when I picture 600 calories of food I hardly think of lettuce and salads.

I HAVE to stick to a 1200 calorie diet to lose weight. It is my reality. So when people assume that EVERYONE can eat 1800-2000 calories to lose weight, just because they can I get a little annoyed. Maybe a lot annoyed. Just because you can't or won't be able to adhere to a 1200 calorie diet doesn't mean that others can't.

On a side note, it was a little asinine for me to randomly assume where you are fitness wise. Apologies.

1,200. So that's 2 small meals a day, no snacks and nothing to drink except water and diet coke.... that would be some kind of food disorder and would make me go crazy....

Oh good lord. Isn't there some damsel in distress somewhere who needs saving? With a cheeseburger?

Well. I'm female and short and I eat around 1800 calories a day to lose .7 pounds a week, not factoring in working out and being pretty sedentary (I usually work part time and spend the rest of my time at the computer). 1200 calories is in fact two meals, and I'd be fairly cranky about it.

I hope I count and am not invalidated because of whatever factors we use to decide people don't matter in this thread.


OT: it may be enough OP. I'd start higher and slowly work down until you find a sweet spot, rather than starting at the very bottom. That's just me though.

there are online calculators...here's one http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html. once you get that number research to see what percentage of that you want to eat.