Is it normal to maintain on 1200 cals?

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  • kelleigh16
    kelleigh16 Posts: 9
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    I recommend seeing a regular doctor, but I believe you also need to see a psychologist or counselor.

    I was anorexic in high school (15 years ago). I began seeing a psychologist who specialized in eating disorders. She was extremely helpful. She had me slowly increase my calorie intake (I was at about 500-700 calories per day when I started seeing her). I kept a food journal and met with my psychologist weekly to discuss the mental issues associated with my "restrictive eating habits".

    A nutritionist is great, but they are unable to treat the mental side of what is going on with you. I would never have been able to develop normal eating behavior and be healthy without the help of my psychologist.

    Good luck to you!
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 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.

    While this is true, there is a big difference between maintaining on 1600 cals vs 1200 cals. At the OPs height and weight, she should not be maintaining on 1200 cals - that number should be > 1600 cals. That's far enough away from the expected value that it's not likely she's just 'not the average person'.

    So,

    1) there's something medically wrong,
    2) or the OP is replenishing glycogen and water and that accounts for the weight gain when she increases calories,
    3) or the OP is underestimating intake and/or underestimating outtake.

    OP needs to figure out which of the above is the issue.
  • ALNoog
    ALNoog Posts: 413 Member
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    I'm not sure... I stay at or below 1200 a day... And I am not losing... It's very frustrating... I workout 4-5 days a week anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and I have a LOT of weight to lose... But I either gain or stick..... So I'm not sure... 1200 doesn't sound like a lot but maybe for some people it is...
  • HealthyMakeover
    HealthyMakeover Posts: 142 Member
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    Wow! Wasn't expecting this many replies.
    Thanks to everybody that has contributed with a reply.

    I am going to work my hardest at respecting my body's needs, and to become the healthy girl I should be!

    I understand a lot of you are probably going *facepalm* at me while reading my original topic, but life is a learning lesson and I'm young (while that is no excuse, but) I have time to fix things, right? Well, I'd like to think that way. I'm glad I have made an account here, I am learning a lot.
  • FTF2014
    FTF2014 Posts: 257 Member
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    Ok if your skinny fat that might be possible , but if your shapely then its not possible. It really comes down to the muscle you have on your body.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    Go see a doctor. Have some tests.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
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    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.

    so you ate very little and lost weight, then you upped it and gained. You are now at 115lbs. Is that the weight the you ended up with after you 'gained a lot'? In which case, it could quite well be that your metabolism is not working like it would for other people since other ED suffers have reported similar issues. It would probably be best to check with a specialist in that field and see what you could do to improve your metabolism.
  • tmaryam
    tmaryam Posts: 289 Member
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    I think those who responded to my post missed my point entirely. I am NOT underweight at 110 pounds, that is WHY my doctors say 110 is my ideal weight. Because OVER that, it causes health issues FOR ME. My point was that you can't use the standard BMI for everyone because there many exceptions to that rule. Am I "overweight" at 117? No. Does the weight cause health problems that would resolve if I lost weight? Yes. (Assuming the weight I gain is "fat" weight and not muscle weight. I could probably handle 120 lbs if I gained muscle, but unfortunately I never do.) And yes, I really was quite large (FOR ME) at 130 lbs full-term pregnant, (not sure why anyone would make that up?) and yes my son was/is healthy. He was a large infant, even large for dates in the womb. He had to be tested to rule out a pituitary gland problems because of his large size. lol, oh my poor baby. He's a healthy adult now and on the leaner side like me. He is muscular like his dad, but lean with nice muscle tone. (I lack the nice muscle tone part. Working on it!!)
  • 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:

    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.

    Wow. That's a pretty audacious claim to make to someone with whom you've never held a conversation. I am healthy, I'm trying to get healthier, and I've never had body image issues or an eating disorder, if that is what you're implying. I think I look great at 117, but unfortunately it's hard on my body due to my aforementioned health issues. Look up Marfanoid features and maybe you'll have an understanding of differences in body structure before you insult or discredit a person you've never met. I mentioned I had health problems in my first post, and I advised her to seek advice from a doctor because even I lose weight at 1200 cal/day.

    Dear OP: I sincerely wish you the best! :heart:

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