If not 1200, then what? Small, active woman.

SillyC2 · January 2014

Hi all,

At this for a week now, and just saw some posts saying 1200 wasn't so great, and I would appreciate some input.

A bit of background - I'm 5'2" and 125 lbs (well, last week I was 125. Now I'm 122). Which is fine.... but..... I took up running ultramarathons about 3 years ago. In that time, I've gained about 12 lbs. Obviously, my mistakes aren't huge, but they are very real. I can't keep gaining 4 lbs a year! I joined MFP in effort to figure out where I was making mistakes, and to take off about 10 lbs as well. I'm more than happy to lose the 10 slowly - 5'2" and 125 is perfectly fine. I just really want to stop gaining.

So, I put in my numbers, set it to lose 1 lb a week, and it gave me 1200 calories. I run a lot, so I get a lot of exercise calories, and I've come in under. 1200 didn't seem so bad... but the distance running also trains the body to not feel so bad at a huge calorie deficit. It's like, I get the cue to eat, but if I ignore it or don't put enough in the tank, my body is primed to run through the fat and I won't get a hunger cue again.

And I promptly lost 3 lbs in week one. It seems real, as I've weighed myself at several different times a day and either come back with between down 4 to down 2.5. Not likely "just" glycogen and water as I SHOULD have been depleted (from running) when I started.

Hunh. That seemed a little much, so I monkeyed with the settings. 2lbs a week (which I don't want to do) also gave 1200!

Anybody have any advice?

zapampnmp · January 2014

I think it is 1200 for a base and then eat your calories. I get 1200 as well {also new} and I weigh twice as much as you so you would think that I would need more calories simply because I need more just to stay the same. I think it is insane to only eat 1200 calories if you are running...

anyway I don't have any clues as to the eat 1200 calories business but a friend who is a personal trainer directed me to this site and told me to entirely ignore the calorie goals but to focus on eating cleaner and keep it more for journalling purposes. I ate an avg of hmmm 1700 every day last week and lost 4 lbs which I assume in mainly water weight but if the 1200 calorie recommendation was correct I should have maintained instead of lost.

chopper_pilot · January 2014

1200 is not great FOR EVERYONE.

For some people, especially the shorties and smaller chicks, it might be perfectly ideal.

teh best way to find out if it is right for you is to learn and teach yourself and find out the truth once and for all, instead of just asking randomly out into the ether.

:flowerforyou:

chopper_pilot · January 2014

also - dont use other brand new beginners as your sources for education. they are learning too and everyone has bad information they need to UNlearn

QuietBloom · January 2014

There is nothing wrong with 1200 if it fits your input (small, already slim, etc). The problems start when every woman who needs to lose weight thinks that 1200 is the number they should use, when really it needs to be calculated for each individual, and 1200 is too low for many many women, leading to adherence issues (too hungry, tired, etc).

jos05 · January 2014

I would just figure out what your TDEE is... and subtract 20%... which seems to be the suggestion on these boards if you don't feel as though you are getting enough calories.

Are you putting in that you have a highly active lifestyle? I wonder if everyone get's 1200 calories. When I started seriously lifting about 18 months ago... when I plateau'd my doctor suggested that I add 250 calories of protein to my 1200 calorie diet. That seemed to help.

cwolfman13 · January 2014

Personally, if I were you I'd track my food intake as normal and figure out to what level of calories you are maintaining and then cut from there. Either that, or I'd use a TDEE calculator and include an estimate of your exercise activity in your activity level and cut form there. If you have very little to lose, your cut should be pretty small...like 0.5 Lbs per week or if you're using TDEE method, a 10% reduction from your theoretical maintenance.

A lot of this is trial and error, especially if you're active. Also, calorie counting is a game of precision...if you're not already using a food scale, you should go get one and start using it. It is amazing how much you can underestimate your intake when you're just eyeballing your portions. A food scale saved me from about 400 extra calories per day that were going unaccounted for because I was just eyeballing portions and guestimating.

stackhead · January 2014

1200 is the lowest number of calories MFP will give you to eat regardless of your weight loss goal settings.

At your weight with so little to lose you want to be looking at 1/2lb per week really. Punching numbers into a TDEE calculator http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ with an age of 30 (you didn't mention) and activity at 3 x per week (I assume more as you run) your TDEE comes out at 1700 calories per day.

At a 1/2lb per week loss you want to cut 250 calories per day, so you're looking at about 1450 per day.

If you want to lose 1lb per week you'll need a calorie deficit of 500 per day, but this takes you down to your BMR level, which sits at just over 1200 (for you). And is a little agreesive for someone your size.

The_Enginerd · January 2014

MFP has a floor of 1200 calories. Your calorie goal on here to maintain is probably around 1550 calories (assuming you are work a desk job and are sedentary for the most part beyond your exercise). A 1 lb/week weight loss goal would put your goal at 1050 calories, so you are already hitting the floor. Putting a more aggressive goal won't change that because you are already at the 1200 calorie floor.

Given you only have 10 lbs to lose and are training pretty heavily, a 1/2 lb/week weight loss goal would be more realistic. A more aggressive goal will make it hard to keep performance up and recover. That will put you around 1300 calories/day. You are pretty much already at that setting since you are already hitting the 1200 calorie floor.

In terms of the weight loss, most like water/food weight. Still "real" weight loss, but not all fat loss. Pretty common when first starting a diet. If you are eating differently, you can lose quite a bit of water weight when you eat less sodium than you used to. Unless you are somehow drastically overestimating your intake or underestimating your calorie burns, it's not all fat. Don't expect to keep dropping 3lbs/week. Weight swings are normal, just keep track of the long term trends

sheenarama · January 2014

I'm 5'0 and started MFP at about 125. It gave me the default of 1200 calories, but that's not realistic for me. I ran a lot in the summer. I was eating anywhere between 1300-1400 cals per day. I lost around 12 pounds in about 4 months. It's possible to lose the weight, it just takes a little longer.

SillyC2 · January 2014

Thanks a lot! This is really helpful!

I DO have a food scale, and three sets of measuring cups. Weighing and measuring food..... that's why I got here.

I have the activity level set at "teacher" - I'm a college professor. Some days I sit at my desk, but for others, I'm on my feet for 6 hours.

Jambalady · January 2014

Thanks a lot! This is really helpful!

I DO have a food scale, and three sets of measuring cups. Weighing and measuring food..... that's why I got here.

I have the activity level set at "teacher" - I'm a college professor. Some days I sit at my desk, but for others, I'm on my feet for 6 hours.

But you're training for ultramarathons so clearly you're doing a ton of exercise.

I'm new to this. But I am 5 feet tall and started at 117, so somewhat similar stats to you.

I have a fitbit and just through light jogging for 30-45 minutes, I log about 1700-1800 calories a day and eat at 1400-1500, giving me a 200-300 calorie a deficit and I have managed to lose 2 lbs over 2 weeks.

If you are a runner, I would suggest getting a Fitbit to see how many calories you are burning daily, and then adjusting a certain % downward (maybe 10-15% since you don't have a lot to lose) and see how it goes.

At 1200, I was famished every day. At 1400-1500 I am still hungry at times, and I'm not doing serious training. I would think you would need more calories if you are training.

Forgot the teacher job - what are you doing the rest of the day? Are you doing 10 mile runs after work? Then, you probably shouldn't be setting your activity level to "desk job"

If not 1200, then what? Small, active woman.

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