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bizarnz
bizarnz Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
1200 calories is not healthy and it won't work :( i'm 32, 5'3", & 199 lbs. i have an over all goal of 150 lbs. I would like to lose 40 or close to it by june. is that possible? dr. seems to think not :( please help me i'm a mother and a wife and i'm miserable and need to do something productive.
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  • Krista916
    Krista916 Posts: 258
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    The doctor told you that 1200 calories won't work but didn't give you any other advice on what might?
  • Closetcupcake
    Closetcupcake Posts: 1 Member
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    Did your doctor help you identify some things to cut from your diet?
    Ive dropped 11lbs in under a month just by cutting out coca cola and fizzy drinks completely and of course avoiding over eating so I honestly think its possible (ive even slipped up with the over eating a couple of times too) :)
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
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    Regular doctors have about 7 total hours of nutrition and weight loss education. Please request to be sent to a registered dietitian.


    1200 net calories (eat your exercise calories) Is considered "safe" by many health institutions.

    Since you have 59lbs to lose, you could probably still easily eat more than that and lose weight. If 1200 calories becomes too difficult and you feel like you might quit, adjust your goals to lose 1lb per week instead of 2lbs.
  • ettaterrell
    ettaterrell Posts: 887 Member
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    I've learned from logging my cals over the years that I loose as much if not more at 1400 cals a day as I did at 1200 a day, I'm 5'2" 185 lbs at my highest
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    Regular doctors have about 7 total hours of nutrition and weight loss education. Please request to be sent to a registered dietitian.


    1200 net calories (eat your exercise calories) Is considered "safe" by many health institutions.

    Since you have 59lbs to lose, you could probably still easily eat more than that and lose weight. If 1200 calories becomes too difficult and you feel like you might quit, adjust your goals to lose 1lb per week instead of 2lbs.
    This is great advice
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    1200 calories is not healthy and it won't work :( i'm 32, 5'3", & 199 lbs. i have an over all goal of 150 lbs. I would like to lose 40 or close to it by june. is that possible? dr. seems to think not :( please help me i'm a mother and a wife and i'm miserable and need to do something productive.
    I can't really tell you how many calories to eat. That's something each individual needs to figure out. But yes, it's possible to lose that much weight in five months if you're very dilligent AND your body cooperates.
  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
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    Option 1: Listen to a doctor.

    Option 2: Listen to strangers on the internet.

    Hmmmmmmm.......
  • PennyM140
    PennyM140 Posts: 423 Member
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    How many calories are you eating now?
  • turtledove773
    turtledove773 Posts: 122 Member
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    1200 calories is not healthy and it won't work :( i'm 32, 5'3", & 199 lbs. i have an over all goal of 150 lbs. I would like to lose 40 or close to it by june. is that possible? dr. seems to think not :( please help me i'm a mother and a wife and i'm miserable and need to do something productive.

    HMM.. my doctor suggested the 1200 calorie for losing the rest of my weight! She also suggested joining MFP! She lost over 50 lbs doing both and walking everyday!
  • Gemmz2014
    Gemmz2014 Posts: 220
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    I lost 30lbs eating 1500 calories (and exercising). Of course I gained it all back because I went back to binging on sweets :ohwell:

    IMO, eating 1200 calories left me hungry at times and made me want to eat more but everyone is different.

    I definitely think 40lbs is doable! Good luck!!!
  • BluesGuitar
    BluesGuitar Posts: 34
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    Are those net of exercise, or the total amount of calories you are taking in before considering exercise?

    If before exercise, it sounds really low.

    Your body is unique. An internet calculator is just a guideline and can be way off. It is just a reference point.

    My recommended process for those starting out is as follows: If you are currently not losing /gaining weight, track your existing calories for a couple of weeks and see what number you are actually taking in. Don't target or change anything, just track your everyday diet and weigh yourself daily. Take an average of the calories you consumed at the end of the period. If your weight stayed constant, you have your Maintenance Calorie number.

    You then drop that by say 15% and increase your activity level. You'll start losing pounds and you are not randomly shocking your body into some ridiculous deficit number spit out by some Interbebz calculator. The added calories will give you the energy you need as you adjust to a new workour routine and gives you a buffer to drop calories a bit further in the future vs a one shot out of the box approach.

    So, for example, if your doctor thinks that the 1400 calories represents a 600 calorie drop from what you may be consuming a day, he/she may be thinking that 30% drop too much (and this is before even netting out your exercise calories) and thus his "likely won't work" comment.

    Just my two cents.
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
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    1,200 calories is the minimum you should eat. Scooby workshop suggest 1,427 (not including exercise calories) with your stats. I averaged between 1400-1500 calories.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
  • bizarnz
    bizarnz Posts: 4
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    Thank you all for all your advice. I have done the 1200 calories before and i've never had a problem other than falling off the wagon lol and lost weight and never exercised or drank my water. Now i'm drinking half my body weight in water and i'm going to incorporate exercise 3-4 times a week. when i first was tracking what i ate i realized i wasn't even eating 1200 calories and a lot of it wasn't good for me. so when i eat healthier i'm at the end of the day needing to eat at least 200 calories just to get 1200 in (before exercise) my hubbie says my body was storing it instead of burning it.
  • bizarnz
    bizarnz Posts: 4
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    Thank you :smile: :smile:
  • hammersoaps
    hammersoaps Posts: 27
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    Option 1: Listen to a doctor.

    Option 2: Listen to strangers on the internet.

    Hmmmmmmm.......

    Personally, I'd listen to to the people on these forums who have successfully lost, continue to lose, and maintained their weight. They have more personal, real world, experience.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    Thank you all for all your advice. I have done the 1200 calories before and i've never had a problem other than falling off the wagon lol and lost weight and never exercised or drank my water.
    Falling off the wagon is the only reason 1200 doesn't work for many.

    Water intake has nothing to do with weight loss. Exercise can help you burn more calories and be more fit but it also is incidental to weight loss.
  • bizarnz
    bizarnz Posts: 4
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    another thing i've been told both ways....eat the calories i've burned and not to eat them...i usually don't but i try to make sure that i have eaten the calories i'm suppose to. make sense? or is that a no no too lol
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
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    Thank you all for all your advice. I have done the 1200 calories before and i've never had a problem other than falling off the wagon lol and lost weight and never exercised or drank my water.
    Falling off the wagon is the only reason 1200 doesn't work for many.

    Water intake has nothing to do with weight loss. Exercise can help you burn more calories and be more fit but it also is incidental to weight loss.

    Those are my thoughts as well. Your doctor may be saying 1200 is unlikely sustainable for you and it sounds like your past experience evidences that. You may want to try a higher caloric intake and aiming for slow and steady weight loss, rather than aiming for rapid weight loss at 1200 calories/day until you eventually fall off the wagon yet again.
  • ddarpel
    ddarpel Posts: 14 Member
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    Reducing calories in below calories used works. The whole "below 1200 calorie diet" debate will light the boards up here. Remove the 1200 calorie number from the discussion. Using the logging and suggested calories on MFP works. Learn about the calculators and set your target number of calories. Find the right number for you to lose at a satisfying, but realistic rate.

    My story:
    I set my counts very low (1201 ;-)). I was morbidly obese and had a lot to lose. The weight fell off and I was able start some basic exercise. I knew I could not maintain that pace. I started to feel my energy drop and my weight loss slow. As I ramp up my workouts I simply don't have the fat stores anymore to convert quickly into energy. I am ramping up my calories and my workouts and trusting in the calculations now. It will be slower loss, but more realistic. My goal as I have it now will still have me as overweight, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there!
  • zilfig64
    zilfig64 Posts: 71 Member
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    another thing i've been told both ways....eat the calories i've burned and not to eat them...i usually don't but i try to make sure that i have eaten the calories i'm suppose to. make sense? or is that a no no too lol

    I could post alot of BS about this, but here is a great post by one of the main moderators/OPs on the site:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

    If you are new, this MFP page is a great read by one of the other MOderators and are great reads to get you going and answer a lot of questions with real answers not BS or broscience or "Dr. Oz said..." (always ignore those!).

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read

    Good luck on your saga!

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