I abandoned 1200 calories per day, and so should you

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  • BENNYDOOR
    BENNYDOOR Posts: 23
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    I think its best to consider what you eat vs the calories... if you ate 1200 of vegetables and lean meat, you would lose weight... if you ate 1200 calories of carbs, sugars, processed foods, artificial sweeteners etc, you will maintain or even gain
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    I think its best to consider what you eat vs the calories... if you ate 1200 of vegetables and lean meat, you would lose weight... if you ate 1200 calories of carbs, sugars, processed foods, artificial sweeteners etc, you will maintain or even gain
    No.
  • tmaryam
    tmaryam Posts: 289 Member
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    Yeah, sadly that isn't true for everyone. If your BMR is low, your daily calorie allowance will also be low. And the smaller you are, the lower your BMR. I have a light weight due to musculoskeletal anomalies (long, thin bones and underdeveloped muscles by genetic defect), but 30% body fat. Despite appearing thin, I still carry a lot of body fat. I have my goal set to lose 0.5 lbs per week, and I'm allowed a whopping 1270 cal/day according to MFP guidelines. I've been dieting and exercising for 3.5 weeks and I've lost 4 lbs so far. I'm going to eat more just so I don't lose weight so fast that I lose muscle. It's trial and error for me. I imagine most people have to play around with numbers to find what works for them, and I'm glad you found something that works for you! :flowerforyou:

    (edited for typo.)
  • Lilanivd
    Lilanivd Posts: 6 Member
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    Thanks for this post, I ve just started using myfitnesspal for a day. I was surprised when they calculated that I should eat 1200 calories a day. On another calorie counter planner website they calculated that I should eat 1800 calories a day to lose 2 pounds a week. I was hungry during the day while sticking to 1200 calories.

    The average height for women in the US and UK for example is around 5'3 - 5'4. If you are perhaps of average height then 1200 calories might be enough for you. But isn't it a quite generally excepted fact that the bigger you are the more calories you need, and use? I am also 5'7 which is more on the taller side and thus I dont think 1200 calories is enough.
  • mcibty
    mcibty Posts: 1,252 Member
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    FACEPALM.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    I love reading about how people realized 1200 calories per day is ridiculous and is not the way to set yourself up for long-term success.

    What I hate is when people comment on these threads with, "Well it works for me!" Of course it works - you're depriving your body of the calories it needs, so you're likely to lose weight. HOWEVER, if you CAN eat more and still lose, why the hell wouldn't you?

    SO MUCH THIS ^^^^

    why do people put so much effort into defending eating of 1200 calories a day versus still losing weight while eating more? I don't get it. What's so groundbreakingly amazing about eating 1200 calories a day that people on this forum seem willing to defend it with all the vehemence of a religious fundamentalist defending their religion?
  • Triseult
    Triseult Posts: 4 Member
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    First of all, there's no two ways around it: if you eat less calories than you burn, you WILL lose weight. It's impossible that the original poster couldn't lose a single pound on 1200 calories per day. It's against the laws of thermodynamics.

    That being said, the lower caloric intake isn't a magic bullet. If you're starving yourself on 1200 calories a day, then there's a fundamental problem: you're not doing something sustainable. You'll quit. Or worse, you'll reach your goal, and your diet will be so impossible to maintain that you'll just go back to your old eating habits and gain the weight back.

    There are a few ways to play with your target caloric intake to make it sustainable:

    1. Raise it closer to your BMR. This means you'll lose weight slower, but remember: this is a marathon, not a sprint! It's MUCH better to lose, say, 1 lb per week while eating in a way you enjoy, than starve yourself to reach your goals. Skipping meals is a SURE sign you're going at it too hard.

    2. Change your food, and make sure to include healthy fats and protein. Fat and protein help with satiety. That is to say, if you eat mostly fat and protein, you'll feel full. If you eat carbs, you'll be hungry within an hour. Veggies and fruits are also great, because it's really hard to go over your caloric budget eating those. Try to binge on lettuce and you'll see what I mean. If you're making room in your caloric budget for fast food, soft drinks or desserts, you'll surely go hungry, because you're "spending" your budget on empty calories.

    3. Do cardio. Cardio isn't a magic bullet, but it DOES burn calories. If you find a form of cardio you enjoy, you'll raise your caloric budget while getting healthier.

    4. Lift weights. Lifting doesn't lead to weight loss directly, but what it does is activate fat burning. This means you'll maintain your muscle mass during weight loss. This will ensure that you're a healthier person when you reach your weight target.

    Whatever you do, don't go thinking caloric deficit is not the answer... It is. As long as you eat good, quality food, and set realistic and sustainable goals, you WILL make it. Don't give in to fad diets, and remember... What you need is a lifestyle change. If it's too hard day to day, you WILL give up. But if you do it right, you won't even consider it a diet, just a better way of life.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    I've found that there seems to be bands of calorie consumption that you can work with. For instance, when I went to maintenance, I increased my calories by 250 (my deficit). And I didn't stop losing. I think I had to increase by another 200 to actually maintain. Same thing happened when I started to bulk. I increased my calories by 250 over maintenance. And started to lose weight for a few weeks. Makes no sense at all. But I added another 100 calories and have been gaining a little more than a pound a month.

    While calories in - calories out is the basic equation, my experience is that my body has a small range flexibility in controlling that balance.
  • bkjk997
    bkjk997 Posts: 106 Member
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    I think a lot also depends on what you are making up those 1200 calories from. If you are eating a lot of veggies and lean meat or fish, you should be getting quite a lot of food for not so many calories.

    I find quite a lot (not always!) from browsing food diaries that many people who are on the 1200-1300 calorie limits, still try to eat the things they normally would, but maybe just less of them, or skip other meals to have one 'normal' meal - which is going to leave you hungry.

    If you are trying to change to be healthy long term rather than simply to lose weight as soon as possible, it's often necessary to change what you eat, not just how much.

    Agreed. I'm 5'2" and have eaten 1200 (net) for 90 days. The way I have eaten has been sustainable and I have rarely been hungry at the end of the day (but if I am, I will eat over my cals, as I don't believe in starvation). I lost 16 lbs, but even though the last 2 weeks were nearly perfect, this morning I noticed a 1 lb gain. It was working really well, now it's not. So, time to adjust and up my calories.

    Everyone is different, and I don't believe there is a "one-size fits all" when it comes to weight loss.
  • Triseult
    Triseult Posts: 4 Member
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    I've found that there seems to be bands of calorie consumption that you can work with. For instance, when I went to maintenance, I increased my calories by 250 (my deficit). And I didn't stop losing. I think I had to increase by another 200 to actually maintain. Same thing happened when I started to bulk. I increased my calories by 250 over maintenance. And started to lose weight for a few weeks. Makes no sense at all. But I added another 100 calories and have been gaining a little more than a pound a month.

    While calories in - calories out is the basic equation, my experience is that my body has a small range flexibility in controlling that balance.

    That's probably because your actual BMR was a bit higher than the calculations you made. By definition, your BMR is the rate at which you consume exactly as many calories as you expend, but pinning it down precisely is hard to do. Daily activity and metabolism can change from one person to the next.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
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    The problem is, too many people join up, decide 2lb per week is an ideal goal regardless of current size and how much they want to lose, input themselves as sedentary as they have a desk job, and MFP gives them 1200 cals a day. I did this too, when I joined.

    MFP is a great tool, but it is just a calculator, at the end of the day, that can only work on the information it's provided. If that information is wrong, so is its answer.

    The constant butthurt over 1200 calories is irritating though. I don't understand why people defend it so vehemently. Sure, you can lose on 1200 cals. But if you can also lose on 1500, why would you not eat more?
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    I've found that there seems to be bands of calorie consumption that you can work with. For instance, when I went to maintenance, I increased my calories by 250 (my deficit). And I didn't stop losing. I think I had to increase by another 200 to actually maintain. Same thing happened when I started to bulk. I increased my calories by 250 over maintenance. And started to lose weight for a few weeks. Makes no sense at all. But I added another 100 calories and have been gaining a little more than a pound a month.

    While calories in - calories out is the basic equation, my experience is that my body has a small range flexibility in controlling that balance.

    That's probably because your actual BMR was a bit higher than the calculations you made. By definition, your BMR is the rate at which you consume exactly as many calories as you expend, but pinning it down precisely is hard to do. Daily activity and metabolism can change from one person to the next.

    I had my BMR calculated through a hydrostatic assessment and six months of steady loss says I know my metabolism pretty accurately. I also wait six weeks after making any sort of change so I can sort out trends from variation.
  • Nutella91
    Nutella91 Posts: 624 Member
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    you have a point. but there are smaller people, like me, whose body burn less. I am 5'8" and 112 lbs and i am so afraid to eat more because my goals are different, i aim to be skinnier than most of the people on mfp. not judging or anything, we just all have different goals and look our best in different sizes.

    and i can totally relate to skipping meals in order to stick to the goal.
    glad to hear you are doing well by eating more. maybe i will try it after i've reached my goal weight of 110 lbs.
    <3
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    confused…you were not losing on 1200 so you upped to 1700 and still not losing…is there a point here besides 1200 was not working for you ? From your post it appears that 1700 is not either...
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
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    REDACTED.

    Not even worth it...
  • Triseult
    Triseult Posts: 4 Member
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    I had my BMR calculated through a hydrostatic assessment and six months of steady loss says I know my metabolism pretty accurately. I also wait six weeks after making any sort of change so I can sort out trends from variation.

    Interesting! Seems that you're on to something, then. :)
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    I had my BMR calculated through a hydrostatic assessment and six months of steady loss says I know my metabolism pretty accurately. I also wait six weeks after making any sort of change so I can sort out trends from variation.

    Interesting! Seems that you're on to something, then. :)

    To be clear: calories in - calories out WORKS unless you have a metabolic condition.

    It's just that your body has feedback mechanisms that can jigger the balance slightly and make it seem more complicated than it actually is.
  • MaeHills
    MaeHills Posts: 17 Member
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    I read the OP and then skipped through the 3 pages of boring comments of arguments because this was just what I needed to hear! I'm similar height/weight/age to you and have been eating 1350 for a while but it is depressing and the scale isnt moving, so I've taken the plunge and upped to 1600 (which is my TDEE-20%) in the hope that eating more will help! Thanks for this post OP, very encouraging. :flowerforyou:
  • Loves418
    Loves418 Posts: 330 Member
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    I do 1200, 1250...I am 5 ft short. I really don't feel hungry on this amount. Except once a month 24/48 hours before evil Auntie Flo rears her head..then I could eat everything in site..:laugh:
    I stick to this number because of my Plantar Fasciitis and my knee issue. I can't get more then 300 calories burned in an hour at the gym without doing more damage to the knee of risking my heal flaring up. I see lots of folks on here who burn much more then I do in an hour..to each his own..this is a personal journey and everyone has to figure out what works for them. I don't come here to judge anyone...I read and try to learn. Hopefully the OP can figure out what they need to be successful in their own journey.:drinker:
  • DeadliftAddict
    DeadliftAddict Posts: 746 Member
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    If you are on 1200 calories a day and you think just because you are losing weight right now it's working for you, think about it for a minute. What will you do when you hit that plateau wall and the scale isn't dropping anymore cause it will come. You think you are going to drop more calories? Going lower than 1200 is going to get unhealthy. You will want to kill someone on 900 calories a day. The only thing left is to burn more calories. At some point on 1200 or less calories you will be too tired to burn more calories training or doing cardio. You won't have the energy. Think long term folks. This should be a lifestyle change. You will not want to do that long term. Up the calories a little every week as long as you are still losing weight. Then when you plateau you have room to lower them again. Not by a lot either. Just to get the scale moving again.

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