Females trying to lose weight...READ THIS

And personally, I think those that are doing "just fine" on 1200 calories a day have sloppy logging habits, underestimate portions or overestimate exercise.

Guess my food scale was lying to me for the first year of my diet, then. Or Tesco was lying to me with the calories on the things I was eating. And I certainly wasn't overestimating exercise - for a lot of it I wasn't doing any exercise!

I'm currently on 1300 a day as I'm so close to my goal, and that's still working fine for me. My TDEE is only 1500, so both 1200 and 1300 are hardly huge, unmanageable deficits! And when MFP recommends 1200 it does that with the assumption you eat back your exercise calories. I know the article isn't talking specifically about MFP, but still.

I agree that those who say they are on 1200 are typically not really. Even those who say they measure weight everything...quick add calories, counting cookies in stead of weighing them, secret bites, nibbles etc. 1200 calories is not enough food to fuel an adult who actually lives a life and by that I mean just living...going to work, chatting with friends even if you just play video games...it's not enough

As for the TDEE of 1500, i check scooby and at 90lbs, sedendary and 5ft TDEE is still above 1500 it's almost 1600...you would have to be about 4ft 6 and 80lbs to have a TDEE of 1515. my sister who is a tiny woman (5ft 3 and wears a size 2) has a TDEE of 2300...friggen higher than mine...tell me she will be fine on 1200...

And I check your diary there are a lot of days you don't just eat 1300 but more and there are a lot of entries without scale weight that are pretty consistent day after day.

Most TDEE calculators I've used usually give me between 1500 and 1600, depending on the formula they use. Here http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ the first one gives me 1500, the second 1600. Entering in 5ft, sedentary, 90lbs and 23 years old to Scooby gives me 1456 as a TDEE, how on Earth did you get over 1500?? Did I enter something wrong? My stats are 5'4, 114lbs, 23 years old, sedentary and Scooby gives me 1600.

Which entries are there without scale weight? The only things I don't weigh every time are apples. I weigh the first one from a packet, then use that weight for the rest of the packet. They're all the same size. I used to weigh every single one, but all the ones from the same packet were never more than a gram or so different, so I stopped bothering and just weigh the first from each packet.

Admittedly yesterday and last weekend weren't great, but check the days before last weekend. Every day I was between 1200 and 1300 calories, or within what my Fitbit gave me if I was over 1300. Any day that I went significantly over I made up for it either the day before or after.

I see things from resturants i assume like cheese plates...most things are weighed but not all.

But to be honest about the nutrition lables on prepackaged food are allowed a 10-20% margin of error...so if it says 200 calories it could be as much as 240...stupid government regulations and lack of attention to detail from manufacturers.:noway: :grumble:


The TDEE cals is the age...I put in 19 I believe can't remember

But that being said I have read lots from you and you don't like exercise which is understandable and I have checked your diary previously and your weight loss is great and I know you aren't one who wants that "hard body" you are quite content where you are and it think that is great, don't get me wrong I am not judging you for not wanting that "hard body" look not all women do.

But still eating so little when you are so close to goal...5 or 10% off TDEE is sufficent. You are currently at about 15-20%. Me too and I am trying to slowly up them so I am not losing 1lb a week....even though I may change my goal again....:bigsmile:

I think tho that a lot of women who do come here to lose weight try the 1200 to lose it as fast as they can and soon realize, because of all the posts on weight lifting from other women, realize it's not about the scale it is about how they feel when they look in the mirror...I am one of those woman. I think we all need to understand low calorie diets have their place (not vlcd), and it is incumbent on people here who know the difference between what a 1200 calorie diet vs 1600 calorie diet does to offer sound advice...perhaps prefeacing it with I am happy with my body with the way it looks and just want a few more lbs gone and I don't care if I have a six pack...so because I am not big on exercise I have to build my deficet just within calories...

The age factor is the most important variation for TDEE in two individuals with similar stats.

For example, as I'm in my 40s, even being 5'6", my TDEE is only about 1550 for lightly active (not even desk job!) according to the scooby calculator.

I'm quite intrigued by the comment about 1200 calories being not enough. I've also read that overdoing cardio isn't healthy--that research has linked excessive cardio with onset of neurological diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. (Dr. Blaylock Health & Wellness Report).

I've found in the past that paying attention to not getting too full, and paying attention to the type of food I'm eating (lower carbs, lower sugar, leaner cuts of meat, yes to salads, veggies, and good fats) will result in weightloss, without counting calories religiously.

For me, MFP also automatically set my calories at 1200, and so far (I just started) I'm recording everything and it seems to add up to that without my trying very hard to limit my intake. (I'm over on fat content tho). But I have noticed that some of the calorie entries for certain foods are low balled on the MFP database compared to what's on the packages. Tracking calories is good for me because my weight GAIN lifestyle habits involve mindlessly eating way too much, and underestimating all my food intake. So even if my calculations towards 1200 are inaccurate or I go over, the whole process is beneficial by making me more conscious and promoting better food choices and portion control. I know it's not an exact science though. Now I'll check in on this 8 weeks from now and see where I stand! I have 35 pounds to lose and just started, I know one's perspective after 6 months or a year of dieting, when stuck on the same number, would be different.

By the way MissyBrears, 5 2" and 141 lbs at 47 is alright in my books....I'm 5 2 and 175, and 140 is my goal! My advice is to start with some yoga classes, and work up to the more rigorous Ashtanga or Bikram hot yoga. Build muscle and tone and your current weight could be fine.

Great article. Personally, I've found that having the 1200 "cap" on my food diary was a good eye opener as to what kinds of food I'm eating. While MFP has set a 1200 goal for me, I take it with a grain of salt (as long as it's below my sodium goal :bigsmile: )

I am so confused on this whole calorie thing. I was given 1200 cals and was doing fine with it losing 5 pounds and then nothing the scale isn't moving. I spoke with a friend who is very into fitness and told me for my lifestyle 1200 is way to low. I up'd my activity level and now I'm given 1410 cals. My question now is how do I know that the new number is enough? Any advice? I have 6 short weeks until my anniversary and I want to be down 15-20 total by then...

MFP set my goal to be 1200 and to be honest sometimes I eat 1200 and sometimes I eat 1500, sometimes more!. I just try to listen to my body. For example, a day where I missed a work out, I probably won't be as hungry, so I might only have 1200 calories, but since my diet is often packed with fruits and veggies that is often enough! If I'm still hungry, I eat more! I never refuse my body food when it's hungry. It's been working pretty well for me. I try to think of my daily caloric intake as more of a range, and try to think of it that balances out over the course of a week. If I eat 1200 one day and 1800 another day, that averages out pretty nicely. Honestly, it just depends on if I'm very hungry that day or not. But I always eat more on workout days hehe.

Awesomeness! Bumping to bookmark.

I am so confused on this whole calorie thing. I was given 1200 cals and was doing fine with it losing 5 pounds and then nothing the scale isn't moving. I spoke with a friend who is very into fitness and told me for my lifestyle 1200 is way to low. I up'd my activity level and now I'm given 1410 cals. My question now is how do I know that the new number is enough? Any advice? I have 6 short weeks until my anniversary and I want to be down 15-20 total by then...

In six weeks 15-20 is losing weight too fast. Maybe 8-10 but that's still very ambitious. Eat 1410 plus your exercise calories or at least half of them since MFP and machines really overestimates your burn. Set your macros at 40/30/30 for fat loss and muscle maintenance, start lifting heavy objects. You may be able to lose a lot of inches in six weeks if you do something like P90X or 30 Day Shred. But everyone is different. I added 30 Day Shred because the weather has been so bad and in doing in a few days a week I have lost several inches but the scale has really moved, I would much rather lose inches anyway.

Think of all the potential that is thrown out the window when women deprive themselves of food on their quest to be thin. What great things could women accomplish if we weren’t ****ing dieting all the time?!

Fantastic blog post! Thanks for sharing.

THANK YOU. I get so disheartened reading some of the replies in the "how many calories are you eating" posts. Here I am shooting for 2000 a day and sometimes having to budget my calories so I don't overeat. I know for a fact that I'd be completely miserable at 1200 a day. I'm losing with what I do now, so I don't see a need to punish myself. I know there are a lot of people who feel great eating 1200 a day, and good for them, that's great! But I don't want people to think that it's the end-all be-all magic number for weight loss. It's just not.

Good read

Why would you call her out like that? I went to see your profile and it says your a Christian! That's weird....just saying!

And the news this morning was about the backlash of the persecution of Christians in the Central African Republic, and the Christians have taken to lynching and murdering Muslims. What exactly is your point in this discussion?

I love this!! I didnt truly start really losing until I upped my cals from 1200 and started REALLY intentionally exercising. I do some cardio, but mainly do circuit training, crossfit style bootcamp, and HIIT training!! I too wish I would have learned all this years ago!!

.... yeah:noway: ... acording to this"scoby" scale im

You Daily Calorie Requirements

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) 1328
Daily calories to maintain weight (TDEE) 1594
Daily calories based on goal in step 6 1275



so 1200 not realy that bad for me.. was going to say more... but dont have time to

I think it's subjective - I've realised (by calorie counting out of pure curiousity) that quite often if I completely cut out snacking and just eat three meals a day my calorie intake does end up around or below 1200 calories...

If it does, you're not doing what you should, and unless you are weighing absolutely everything you eat, it's pretty unlikely you are accurate. and no, I'm not talking about measuring with measuring cups, I'm talking about weighing with a food scale.

So, I shared this link on FB, and a friend reshared with "Yes! Calories don't matter, just EXERCISE".

I... uh... ah... SMH.