Females trying to lose weight...READ THIS

Honestly one of the best and most transparent articles I've read. Wish I'd seen it years ago.

I will say though that this isn't necessarily the case for women (and men) who simply want to trim down, not 'tone'. I lost 2 stone by simply running and eating better (I didnt track calories). However now that I am down to a much healthier weight, now is the time where strength training is a must.

I think one of the main problems with the "1200 calorie" diet is MFP - that's where I first came across it. I simply inputted my information and goal to lose 1.5-2lbs a week and MFP automatically set to 1200 calories. I know it will automatically do that to ensure I don't eat less than that, as less than 1200 calories is considered unhealthy. But for women who want to lose weight quickly, MFP tells them to eat 1200 calories. I think MFP needs to take more responsibility in educating users on what their weight loss goals should be. e.g. weight loss of <20lbs = 0.5lb loss goal per week, weight loss of 30-40+lbs = 2lb loss goal per week, etc, as well as warn people if their weight loss goals per week are not healthy based on CW and GW. The only warnings they give are when you eat less than 1200 calories and they warn you you're not eating enough. Ironically, if you do eat over your 1200 calorie goal you're in the 'red'. Can't win!

Excellent article!

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...

Cheese plates? Don't know where you got that haha. I don't go to restaurants very much, poor student and all that! The only time I go out a lot is to the pub, where I always have a jacket potato as it's one of the few meals they publish their calories for. I know the calories for the pub meals aren't going to be 100% correct but it's the best I can do.

Even at 19, sedentary, 5', 90lbs it's still giving me 1479 for TDEE. I would personally believe that my TDEE is likely to be closer to 1500 since I think I have quite a high body fat %. Something I will work on in the future if I have to, but right now I just want to stick to the diet.

Yeah, I write quite a lot about how I don't like exercise haha. I just know a lot of people who get really put off dieting because they think they have to do loads of exercise, and I want to do everything I can to stop anyone on here getting put off for the same reasons.

Maybe I should eat more, but the reason I eat this little is so that I can have weekends like last weekend where I forget the diet and eat whatever I want, so that I can enjoy going to a Chinese buffet like I did last night and know that it probably won't have all that much of a negative effect. Also, as you say, to make up for calories being wrong on packaged foods and at the pub and such. And I find it so easy to stick to this many calories I figured I might as well do it so that I know it won't be too bad if I go over, whether it be intentionally or without realising. All of calorie counting is just an estimate, anyway.

I do essentially agree with the article that 1200 cals isn't enough for a lot of people, especially if they're exercising too! I just wanted to say that it does work for some of us, and that I have been counting my calories about as accurately as it is possible for someone to count calories (most days, at least. I'm not going to bring my scales to a restaurant :P).

I have to beg to differ here. Looking at your diary very briefly you have a lot of food from Tesco, which is where I assume you buy your braeburns from?? I do too - I weigh my apples everyday and they vary from around 105-140g each time, even though they are from the same packet. I know we are only talking about 30 or so calories, but on a calorie restricted diet, over or under-estimating the weight of something is a recipe for disaster. I admit I never used to weigh fruit or veg - but I've learned you must weigh everything if you're really serious about accurately (as much as possible) monitoring calorie intake. It takes longer every time you want to eat something but it's worth it in the long run. Whatever you're doing seems to be working for you though as you're losing weight - it gets harder the closer you get to your target weight.

Oh wow really? Maybe I just got very samey packets before haha. I'll try weighing them again.

I have to beg to differ here. Looking at your diary very briefly you have a lot of food from Tesco, which is where I assume you buy your braeburns from?? I do too - I weigh my apples everyday and they vary from around 105-140g each time, even though they are from the same packet. I know we are only talking about 30 or so calories, but on a calorie restricted diet, over or under-estimating the weight of something is a recipe for disaster. I admit I never used to weigh fruit or veg - but I've learned you must weigh everything if you're really serious about accurately (as much as possible) monitoring calorie intake. It takes longer every time you want to eat something but it's worth it in the long run. Whatever you're doing seems to be working for you though as you're losing weight - it gets harder the closer you get to your target weight.

Oh wow really? Maybe I just got very samey packets before haha. I'll try weighing them again.

Surprising isn't it!! My apple yesterday was about 110g. Today I weighed another one, which looked smaller than yesterdays...turned out to be 140g! The eyes are deceiving!! haha

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.