Is it normal to maintain on 1200 cals?

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HealthyMakeover
HealthyMakeover Posts: 142 Member
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
About six months ago, I struggled with restrictive eating habits and I finally broke out just recently.
I upped from about 500-800 calories to 2000, and I gained a lot of my weight back.
I am now at 5'6", and 115 lbs but I fluctuate like absolute crazy to the point where I can't tell if I'm 112, or 120, or somewhere inbetween.

Right now, to stop myself from gaining, I found that eating 1200 calories is my medium. I haven't lost, nor gained.
I still exercise, although not much at all. I eat my exercise calories back.

Could it be normal to maintain on 1200 calories?
I understand that I could be eating more, but I will gain weight. I tried it, and I did. And I don't want to gain.
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Replies

  • mmcdonald700
    mmcdonald700 Posts: 116 Member
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    Ummmm no, you're probably noticing you gain at over 1200 calories because you are underweight for your height. At 5'6" a healthy weight is between 120-160, with 120 being if you have a very small frame but most people are a medium frame which means a healthy weight minimum would be more like 130. Eating 500 calories a day is a starvation diet and your metabolism is likely a bit lower than normal for someone at your height as a result, add to that you're underweight and yeah you're probably maintaining at 1200-1400 calories which is low to be at maintenance and probably unsustainable long term. I would check your relationship with your body and food and maybe seek some help or guidance on what's healthy. Not saying you necessarily have an ED (I'm not a doctor or dietitian or anything) but it doesn't sound like a healthy relationship with eating and your body to me.

    edit: Also possible that you are consuming more calories than you think. Otherwise, it's probably what I already mentioned. It definitely would not hurt your body to let it gain 5-10 lbs.
  • Cheeky_and_Geeky
    Cheeky_and_Geeky Posts: 984 Member
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    Are you weighing your food or just eyeballing? Do you track your exercise with a HRM or use MFP's defaults?

    I'm no expert, but I don't think it's possible to maintain on 1,200. I recommend talking to your doctor. You may have hurt yourself hormonally or metabolically by eating so few calories depending on how long you were eating so few calories.
  • tmaryam
    tmaryam Posts: 289 Member
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    I'm 5'6" and 117 lbs and that is way too heavy for me. I have an extremely small frame, my bone structure is very small, my waist is around 24 inches. I have had 2 specialists AND my family doctor tell me that 110 is my ideal weight. Anything over that, and it is unhealthy FOR ME. So don't assume that 130 is a healthy weight based on height. God, I weighed 130 when I was full-term pregnant and I was ENORMOUS.

    But to answer the question, even with an underactive thyroid, (meaning my metabolism is slow) even I lose weight on 1200 cal/day. Check with your doctor. Wishing you the best! :smile:
  • FreshKrisKreash
    FreshKrisKreash Posts: 444 Member
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    Maybe you killed your metabolism with the restricting and you're body's holding on to those calories for dear life. Try exercising more and then you can eat more. :)
  • mmcdonald700
    mmcdonald700 Posts: 116 Member
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    I'm 5'6" and 117 lbs and that is way too heavy for me. I have an extremely small frame, my bone structure is very small, my waist is around 24 inches. I have had 2 specialists AND my family doctor tell me that 110 is my ideal weight. Anything over that, and it is unhealthy FOR ME. So don't assume that 130 is a healthy weight based on height. God, I weighed 130 when I was full-term pregnant and I was ENORMOUS.

    Your body is an anomaly then, so congrats. It happens, but it's not common. Obviously there will always be exceptions. Healthy weight categories are averages based on large sample sizes of people. Of course you have to use your judgment, you're an individual, not a statistical number or completely average person. But, it is something to consider and talk to a doctor about, as you have already which is great. I'm just saying maybe she should get another opinion too from a health professional. If you're naturally small and even lose on 1200, something isn't quite adding up in her case. Either medically (she's underweight, thyroid problem, etc) or honest-food tracking-wise
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    I'm 5'6" and 117 lbs and that is way too heavy for me. I have an extremely small frame, my bone structure is very small, my waist is around 24 inches. I have had 2 specialists AND my family doctor tell me that 110 is my ideal weight. Anything over that, and it is unhealthy FOR ME. So don't assume that 130 is a healthy weight based on height. God, I weighed 130 when I was full-term pregnant and I was ENORMOUS.

    But to answer the question, even with an underactive thyroid, (meaning my metabolism is slow) even I lose weight on 1200 cal/day. Check with your doctor. Wishing you the best! :smile:

    I don't believe for one minute that you were enormous at 130 lb, sorry
  • newpalfan
    newpalfan Posts: 17 Member
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    I am small-boned, 5' 1" and am maintaining 112 pounds on 1200 calories a day. I eat my exercise calories. My age is probably contributing to my metabolism but I have never been a big eater and do not feel starved.

    Sorry but I cannot believe someone could be 5 inches taller than me and need to weigh 110.
  • elisethepoet
    elisethepoet Posts: 4
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    I guess the short answer is 'no' or 'not usually' which you have already heard from the other posters.

    But the long answer is nearly impossible to give to you by strangers on the internet who can't observe your body and take inventories. I would strongly suggest seeing a nutritionist and your doctor to develop the eating plan for you.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    I'd probably say no, unless you have an abnormally low BMR (which can happen).

    I wouldn't like to be stuck at 1200 cals for life though, so you could try upping it gradually. Try out 1300 but give it at least a month to settle down (a gain in the first week shouldn't put you off). If you maintain at that, up it again and so on. Good luck with it.
  • MsMaryMac48
    MsMaryMac48 Posts: 89 Member
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    You body has a natural weight where it is comfortable. If you are having to drastically cut your calories below 1200 calories to maintain that weight then you are not at your body's natural weight. Your body cannot function properly without consuming muscle mass on fewer calories for any period of time. I would dare say you do not need to go below 1200-1400 calories a day. If necessary increase your activity as opposed to decreasing your nutritional intake.
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
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    I'm 5'6" and 117 lbs and that is way too heavy for me. I have an extremely small frame, my bone structure is very small, my waist is around 24 inches. I have had 2 specialists AND my family doctor tell me that 110 is my ideal weight. Anything over that, and it is unhealthy FOR ME. So don't assume that 130 is a healthy weight based on height. God, I weighed 130 when I was full-term pregnant and I was ENORMOUS.

    But to answer the question, even with an underactive thyroid, (meaning my metabolism is slow) even I lose weight on 1200 cal/day. Check with your doctor. Wishing you the best! :smile:

    Wow. this is depressing on so many levels.

    Your "specialists" and "doctor" should be sued for malpractice. They have no business advising on nutrition or pushing young women to be underweight. Sickening. That's why it's important to use OUR OWN BRAIN when determining what is healthy, not just trusting everyone and everything else.

    Assuming that you had a healthy pregnancy, and a healthy baby, you are VERY fortunate for that.
  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
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    :noway:
  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,124 Member
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    I'm 5'2 and the recommended weight for ME is 120-136lbs so I'd say you have a skewed view of your "normal weight". I would definately seek advice from a nutritionist.

    ETA that I don't plan on going that low because I think I would be too thin. I'm going for 140.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    You should be able to maintain at more than 1200. With your history of restrictive eating patterns, I would be really careful about setting your baseline intake that low, because it's really easy to get busy and miss a snack, so then you're down to 1100, or then the next day you're not as hungry and you drop to 1000, and then you're back to undereating. It can be a slippery slope is what I'm saying, and it would help to have a little more of a cushion between your baseline intake and undereating.

    When you up your calories, a slight gain right at the beginning is totally normal. It's not real fat gain -- it's usually water weight and glycogen replenishment. How long do you usually give it before you drop back down to 1200 again? It's beyond frustrating, but it can take a week or two before your body stabilizes again, so you won't know much earlier than that if you're actually gaining or if it's just fluctuations.

    If you try to slowly up your calories (and I think you probably should), try going very slowly. Add 50-100 calories/day and try to stick with the increased intake for two weeks at minimum. I would really encourage you to take measurements as you go, since that'll give you a more accurate picture of what's going on with your body than the scale will at first. There's no way an extra 350-700 calories/week will make you gain real fat, not over two weeks, so you just have to keep reminding yourself that your body doesn't defy the laws of physics. (That may sound sarcastic, but I mean it completely seriously! I have had to tell myself that on a number of occasions).

    Finally, while you're trying to up your calories and your brain is freaking out, try to find any other positive thing to focus on other than the scale. Whether it's having more energy, feeling just a little bit less tired after a workout, whatever, just try to focus on how the extra calories are benefitting your body.
  • summy2014
    summy2014 Posts: 2
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    Use this site-
    http://www.calorieking.com/interactive-tools/how-many-calories-should-you-eat/?ref=nav
  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
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    I'm 118 pounds and 5'4" (but like you, I fluctuate) and pretty sedentary, and my maintenance is somewhere in the 1200-1500 range.

    If you're light and not super active, your body just doesn't need a ton of calories to maintain your weight. It sucks but it's not unexpected.

    If you want to change it, you can either burn more calories through exercise or you can build enough muscle that your body will need more calories to function (although I guess those two things are related.) Muscle burns more calories than fat pound-for-pound, so if your body fat percentage is lower and you have more muscle, you'll be able to eat a bit more.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    :noway:

    My thoughts exactly.
  • littlekitty3
    littlekitty3 Posts: 265 Member
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    Maybe you killed your metabolism with the restricting and you're body's holding on to those calories for dear life. Try exercising more and then you can eat more. :)
    Bad advice is bad. You can't "kill" metabolism. You can restore it by slowly refeeding your body/upping calories. It sounds pretty scary but it works long term. Focus on health first and yes, you WILL gain weight. It's is natural and a response the body does once higher amounts of calories are reintroduced. But give it time and patience and it will come off.
  • kwantlen2051
    kwantlen2051 Posts: 455 Member
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    I guess the short answer is 'no' or 'not usually' which you have already heard from the other posters.

    But the long answer is nearly impossible to give to you by strangers on the internet who can't observe your body and take inventories. I would strongly suggest seeing a nutritionist and your doctor to develop the eating plan for you.

    Yes, best to see a nutritionist and a doctor for the best plan for you. Also, everyone is different so you will have to experiment a bit to find out what works best for your body. Good luck!
  • Sarah4fitness
    Sarah4fitness Posts: 437 Member
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    I'm 5'6" and 117 lbs and that is way too heavy for me. I have an extremely small frame, my bone structure is very small, my waist is around 24 inches. I have had 2 specialists AND my family doctor tell me that 110 is my ideal weight. Anything over that, and it is unhealthy FOR ME. So don't assume that 130 is a healthy weight based on height. God, I weighed 130 when I was full-term pregnant and I was ENORMOUS.

    But to answer the question, even with an underactive thyroid, (meaning my metabolism is slow) even I lose weight on 1200 cal/day. Check with your doctor. Wishing you the best! :smile:

    You're an outlier, and a first time poster, and believe that at 5'6" you were "enormous." This combination of factors does NOT indicate a healthy body mentality, reliability, or that the OP should follow anything you say.


    OP, if you're counting your calories and measuring your food with a scale, and you're only eating 1200 calories a day and maintaining, I echo the other intelligent posts here saying go talk to your doctor. Actually, go talk to your doctor REGARDLESS, as it seems you had past issues with body image and food, and being under a doctor's advisement on your nutrition will help you overall.

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