1200 calorie diet? But what about if you exercise?

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  • maheenkqm
    maheenkqm Posts: 11
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    i think it's because 1200 is the minimum, thats why you have to look at youre min calories for your height, age, body type, activity level and all that

    I always thought the same thing, why would you workout and then eat back what u burned..but i think if you workout you eat more calories.

    always been confusing for me
  • Lepouxo
    Lepouxo Posts: 20 Member
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    I am 5'9.
    Starting weight 155 lbs.
    Goal weight 130lbs

    Current weight 135 lbs

    For me the key is to exercise. I try to walk an hour a day by bits of 15, 20, 30 mins. I use RunKeeper to keep track of my walks.

    I rarely go over 1200 cal/day.

    Breakfast: Eggs with Quark cheese + tea
    Snack: Fruit
    Lunch: Salad with any protein (Tuna, chicken, pork) + 1 slice of whole wheat bread + yogurt
    Snack: Fruit
    Dinner: Protein + wild rice + salad + yogurt
  • NatashaDawn24
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    Lmao. The reason people die of starvation, is because starvation is different than starvation mode. Starvation mode is the body's first (well, besides obvious physical signs of hunger) line of defence and survival mechanism against starvation. People in starvation mode, typically dieters in the western world, will eventually binge or go back to eating normally before actual starvation (complete depletion of fat and muscle stores) will set in. So is starvation mode a thing? Yes. I agree that most people haven't truly experienced starvation mode. But to say it's just something made up is false. Your body has built in defences against crash dieting (what was once famine), but in the west, with so much food around us, I feel like most people fall off the wagon before they get to that point. Nothing to do with the original post, just thought some of the comments about starvation mode were silly.
  • Ortax
    Ortax Posts: 98
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    Starvation mode is a myth created by fatties as an excuse to eat more. It's impossible to gain weight if you're starving.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
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    The more frequent the eating pattern, the lower the body fat and the higher the muscle mass. Instead of eating all your calories in 3 meals(breakfast, lunch, dinner), divide the same amount of calories over 6 meals(breakfast, snack1,lunch,snack2,dinner,snack3). This will keep your energy balaced. Avoid large peaks and valleys throughout your day.

    wrong wrong wrong wrong.

    This has been shown to be incorrect in multiple studies.

    Meal frequency has ZERO effect on body composition, this is a total myth, total calories and macros are all that matters.

    google saerch
    Alan Aragon Meal frequency
    intermittent fasting

    EAt however fits your lifestyle best, if that happens to be 5 times per day then great, but this does not give you some kind of metabolic advantage.

    This method actually sustains your metabolism at a relatively balanced level throughout the day. That's why it is a myth that you shouldn't eat late at night. The only reason that it makes you fat is because people usually eat bad food. Eating smaller meals more frequently throughout the day helps rev up your metabolism so you are using all the food that you ate as energy instead of it just sitting there being used for ALMOST nothing. This is straight from a dietitian's mouth.

    I absolutely disagree with your dietitian's mouth.......the human body/metabolism does not work like that. At least that is what I learned when doing a degree in Socialwork and Nutrition in Germany and an MA in Nutritional Science in the US. As long as people eat less than they burn, they lose. If they eat exactly what they burn, they maintain and if they eat more than they burn, they gain. It has nothing to do with " good " or " bad " food ( a concept that would need further explanation ) as far as weight is concerned. If you over eat 500 calories of broccoli each day and don't burn them at the end of the week , you will gain a pound; if you overeat 500 calories a day of lard and don't burn them, at the end of the week , you will have gained a pound.
    Now if you want to discuss good nutrition and general health, then I would wholeheartedly agree with you, then the quality of food matters.
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
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    .

    I rarely go over 1200 cal/day.

    Breakfast: Eggs with Quark cheese + tea
    Snack: Fruit
    Lunch: Salad with any protein (Tuna, chicken, pork) + 1 slice of whole wheat bread + yogurt
    Snack: Fruit
    Dinner: Protein + wild rice + salad + yogurt

    Good lawd.....I'm sorry to hear that. I am 45 and 5"2" and rarely eat less than 2000 calories a day. I was miserable eating 1200 calories. Your body is a machine and in order for it to run properly and metabolize you need to fuel it properly.
  • JeSuisPrest
    JeSuisPrest Posts: 2,005 Member
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    I'm 5'11 and weigh 160lbs goal weight is 130
    I aim to eat 1200 calories a day..but my min on myfitnesspal is 1280

    I haven't lost any weight
    UGH its so annoying to have to diet, when none of your friends are and they're always going out to eat.


    Stop dieting and start changing the way you eat. MFP intends for you to log all your movement, that inclused cooking, cleaning etc. Stop being annoyed and start living again! Eat!!!
  • Ximana
    Ximana Posts: 26
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    I am trying to net around 900 calories

    i know itis probably too low but

    I will be okay
  • Ximana
    Ximana Posts: 26
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    your transformation is amazing
  • jakejammerxxx
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    As an adult entertainer i have to keep my body consistently in good shape. Before i started modeling in 2013 i weighed 160 pounds (for a guy that's 5'4, i looked fat) so in May i decided to cut the weight. I started eating nothing but fruit, eggs, fish, and grilled chicken and supplementing the remaining nutritional needs with vitamins. This diet was not to exceed 900 food calories and 300 juice calories. In conjunction with walking 3 miles daily, basic pushup and situp exercises, i lost 35 pounds in 9 weeks!

    The point here is that people will always tell you what they deem unhealthy, but i never felt overly fatigued and my self image was bposted. Do what works for you. If you think you look fat and want to fit in your pretty dress, then diet hard and exercise. Pay NO attention to the silly "you need more than 1200 calories, blah blah blah" . There are plenty of healthy foods and veggies that are super low in calorie, and to use calorie intake as measurement of health is inaccurate. What does it mean to be "healthy" anyway? I promise everybody's answer to this is different.
  • sarafischbach9
    sarafischbach9 Posts: 466 Member
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    1200-1400 calorie diets are usually for people who are lightly active or sedentary. If you are going to the gym or working out on a regular basis ( I say 3 or more times a week ) then you can have more than that. When I go to the gym for 60-120 minutes, I eat more calories than on days when I just do my home workouts.

    When I go the gym, I try to eat 1400-1500 calories ( MFP says I should eat 1800-1900 and still have a 500 calorie deficit ) but I don't trust that amount, even though the numbers I get are from the machines ( which can still overestimate )

    On days I do not go the gym, I stay around 1200-1300 I usually exercise still but it isn't as intense. On days I do not exercise ( which are still days I am at my job, which is very active ) I still eat 1200-1300.I only went under 1200 calories once but that was because I felt sick that day.
  • future0867
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    Hi, my question to add to this is that I started my fitness pal over a year ago and my calories has been set for 1200. I have lost over 50 pounds but have noticed that I have lost muscle tone am at a stall. I am currently sitting at 160 and would like to be 140. I bought Focus T25 and have doing this for about 3 weeks and I haven't lost any more weight but kept at 1200 calories a day. I just read here that I should eat the calories that I burn. So my question is would those calories be carbs or protein? I heard that if you eat more protein you will gain weight. Please help. :)
  • tryclyn
    tryclyn Posts: 2,414 Member
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    Hi, my question to add to this is that I started my fitness pal over a year ago and my calories has been set for 1200. I have lost over 50 pounds but have noticed that I have lost muscle tone am at a stall. I am currently sitting at 160 and would like to be 140. I bought Focus T25 and have doing this for about 3 weeks and I haven't lost any more weight but kept at 1200 calories a day. I just read here that I should eat the calories that I burn. So my question is would those calories be carbs or protein? I heard that if you eat more protein you will gain weight. Please help. :)

    I would start here
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1187899-in-place-of-a-roadmap-short-n-sweet-reposted
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/840082-a-sad-realization?hl=sad

    and read the stickies in this group
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress