1200 Cal too low??

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Replies

  • yassy124
    yassy124 Posts: 27 Member
    I've kept a healthy diet recently (cut out meat, eating mostly veggies, fish, etc), and I think that's one of the main reasons why I've been able to maintain such a low caloric intake. After reading your responses and checking my TDEE, I think if I increase my caloric range from 1200-1400, I'll feel better about how much I'm consuming. I can't exercise too often or strenuously now (due to internship & time constraints), but once the summer ends, I'll be able to exercise much more and increase my intake.

    Again, thanks for all your helpful advice!
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,285 Member
    In my opinion.

    A woman needs 2000 calories per day and dropping to 1500 calories you'll lose weight but I don't think 1200 cals a day is too low since you're not exercising.

    I think in the long run you having 100-200 cals over 1200 isn't going to make much difference.

    I am 5'7 and 60kgs about 132lb I think. I don't exercise either I am only getting in 900cals a day I don't feel starved and still I have days where I eat almost 3000cals but my weight stays roughly the same.

    Good Luck.

    "A woman" does not have a standard calorie requirement.
    The appropriate amount will vary widely depending on age, size, height, activity level.
    There is certainly no blanket 'One size fits all' amount.

    Secondly it is your weekly average that matters - if you are getting 900 some days and 3000 other days, this will still work out fine if the amount averages to a daily intake of 1500 or whatever your right amount is.
  • Niecytwentyfive
    Niecytwentyfive Posts: 10 Member
    Replace some of those sugar laden fruits with a sugarless protein shake. Not only will cut the sugar, but it will help you preserve muscle tissue that you lose during workouts. I had that very same problem, I was always over my sugar intake by about 20. The "Lean body" shakes are tasty. I buy the ready to drink ones. At least you are not eating refined sugar which I was always confused about when they say sugar intake on the daily list. If your sugar is coming from fruits it doesn't give you a bad insulin spike. Sounds like you have a good diet. :flowerforyou:
  • amsecchi
    amsecchi Posts: 19 Member
    I was trying to say that if you need that to keep your weight and you're not doing any exercise I believe that you should go under it so your body burns fat.
    Of course if you exercise you must it your calories.
    Maybe I am mistaken? But this has worked for me and I don't feel bad, I actually feel pretty good since I have to make the most of my 1200 calories, I have turned to a healthy veggies and fruits based diet.
  • wellforlife_uk
    wellforlife_uk Posts: 11
    I am 19 5"8 and also on 1200 cal a day. I find it to be plenty sufficent for me, i am usually under this (yesterday i ate about 1,000 and today 780 cals). I also exercise 30 minutes a day. However i spend the majority of my week sat at a desk in an office so i try to eat very little as i feel the fat piling on as i just sit there staring at a screen. I do consume a little more at the weekend e.g a chocolate bar and a couple of glasses of wine.

    Having said this, i have never eaten that much and ballet taught me to be aware of my diet.
  • melannebeck
    melannebeck Posts: 7
    I'm 5'3 and my starting weight was 130.6 and I was hoping to aim to lose ten pounds over time. I don't really have a specific date I want to lose weight by, but anyway-it has me at 1200 calories too but my personal thought has been that it's just way too low for me. I keep it as my calorie limit but I total normally around 1500 or so and I've lost 2.5 lbs so far in a month. So my weight loss will be on the slower end, but I'm okay with that as I find it much more doable...it's working! :)
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
    I too am on the 1200 calorie plan and I am eating mostly fruits and vegetables with 4 oz of protein daily. My problem? All those fruits and veggies contain sugar and I'm only permitted 46 g a day. I usually end up going well over my sugar intake attempting to make 1200 calories so I keep my caloric intake about 900-950, yet I'm still going over by at least 10-15 sugar gs a day, Any suggestions?
    Why are you only permitted 46 grams? Eat more protein, less carbs/sugars to get in balance. Have you set your goals to the custom percentages you need to make it easier to track?
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
    Thank you so much for all your responses! I think I'm going to try and workout 3x a week so that I can be able to eat a bit more.
    I would do TDEE with a deficit of like 10%, and exercise.
  • akaMrsmojo
    akaMrsmojo Posts: 762 Member
    I eat at least my BMR, and lose. I hate the number 1200, it is not a magic weight loss number. it is a default number on MFP.
  • msbizybee
    msbizybee Posts: 14 Member
    I too am on the 1200 calorie plan and I am eating mostly fruits and vegetables with 4 oz of protein daily. My problem? All those fruits and veggies contain sugar and I'm only permitted 46 g a day. I usually end up going well over my sugar intake attempting to make 1200 calories so I keep my caloric intake about 900-950, yet I'm still going over by at least 10-15 sugar gs a day, Any suggestions?
    One thing about tracking sugar is; it is quite difficult. Sugar comes in many forms: glucose, fructose, and sucrose. The body processes each type of sugar differently. Glucose is sugar from carbohydrates. This type of sugar is what our bodies use most for energy. On a molecular level, veggies have longers strands of glucose that break down over time and do not cause spikes in sugar (which cause our pancreas to excreet large amounts of insulin). Non-complex carbs do the opposite. doctors and most nutricionists agree to consume non complex carbs sparingly. Fructose is a sugar used for energy but can easily turn to fat if we are not exherting the energy needed to digest it. Sucrose is a combo of glucose and fructose. It breaks down quickly and can easily turn to fat. It is not always bad to go over your daily recommended sugar intake - But know what foods are causing the overages.
  • Ldonahue921
    Ldonahue921 Posts: 75 Member
    1200 is very strict, the bare minimum. MFP tries to provide a deficit of 500 calories per day to lose 1# per week but it will not go below 1200. It can work but it isn't for everyone. I have been on the 1200 calorie plan for 5 weeks and have consistantly lost about 1 pound per week. I have about 30# to lose.

    I usually eat about 1300-1600 and exercise almost every day (mostly walking). I eat 1200 on non-workout days. For me, the goal is to NET about 1200 calories. .

    Real life requires some flexibilty so if you don't have enough fuel to get through your day let alone a workout, EAT! Some days I have to drink a protein shake or other healthy snack to reach 1200, some days I have to walk an extra 20 minutes to burn a few more calories. Always with the goal to NET 1200.

    I'm going to give you the same advice I've been giving myself. 1) Don't over-obsess about the numbers. 2) Listen to your body. I've chosen this strict plan because my inner gauge is 'out of whack", I'm relearning to listen to my body and I need to keep a short leash on my portions.

    Hope this helps.
  • Jkj95
    Jkj95 Posts: 64 Member
    I don't know, it really depends on you. If it's just the food I'm eating, then it usually is way too low for me (I like to eat somewhere around 1500-1600 on most days) but I don't usually have a problem netting it if I exercise and just don't eat the calories back.
  • JeanMachine41
    JeanMachine41 Posts: 14
    I am also eating 1200 a day and doing a special diet where I only eat veggies (all kinds), protein, yogurt, fruit and fats, in that order. You would be surprised how much you can eat without carbs in your diet. Of course you do have to watch the protein and portion control. But its carbs that have all the big calories!
  • lessbounce
    lessbounce Posts: 250 Member
    1200 is fine for me because I'm a short ar*e :wink:. If I do nothing all day it's fine I can get three meal plus a couple of snacks. But I love food so I exercise like mad and eat a large proportion of those calories back. On 1200 a day you need to earn extra calories other wise I don't think you can stick to it with out going mad. L:flowerforyou:
  • acorsaut89
    acorsaut89 Posts: 1,147 Member
    I too am on the 1200 calorie plan and I am eating mostly fruits and vegetables with 4 oz of protein daily. My problem? All those fruits and veggies contain sugar and I'm only permitted 46 g a day. I usually end up going well over my sugar intake attempting to make 1200 calories so I keep my caloric intake about 900-950, yet I'm still going over by at least 10-15 sugar gs a day, Any suggestions?

    Yes, I have a suggestion. Ignore the sugar in fruit and eat more. You are not getting the nutrients you need on 950 calories.

    This and the fact that I think the first quoted poster is confusing the sugar found in fruit with refined sugars. I know, I know sugar is sugar but there is a difference in the way "natural" sugars break down and refined sugars break down in your body.
  • Lib_B
    Lib_B Posts: 446 Member
    it's individualized. find the right number combined with exercise that works for you. also depends on how much you need to lose. i'm fine with 1200, but i eat a primarily vegetarian diet anyway and don't do too many refined carbs. everyone will tell you you need more than 1200 calories, but for me, that results in about a pound per week loss. i have a sedentary job and i've been nursing a torn acl, so i'm not hitting the gym as hard right now. i am just fine. i'm not hungry. some people want/need to eat more, but with the majority of my food coming from non-animal sources, i get a lot of volume for fewer calories meaning i'm full. i tried increasing my calories because of all the starvation mode fear mongering on MFP and I gained inches. do what works for you within reason. don't starve yourself, but losing weight is simple mathematics. lots of great calculators out there and interestingly, most of them have me in the 1200-1400 a day range. I generally stay in that range. over the course of a week, i probably average about 1300 cals a day. find what works for you.

    *edited to say 'refined' carbs because i wouldn't want people to think i didn't know that there were carbs in my fruits, veggies and whole grains.
  • Lib_B
    Lib_B Posts: 446 Member
    I too am on the 1200 calorie plan and I am eating mostly fruits and vegetables with 4 oz of protein daily. My problem? All those fruits and veggies contain sugar and I'm only permitted 46 g a day. I usually end up going well over my sugar intake attempting to make 1200 calories so I keep my caloric intake about 900-950, yet I'm still going over by at least 10-15 sugar gs a day, Any suggestions?

    Yes, I have a suggestion. Ignore the sugar in fruit and eat more. You are not getting the nutrients you need on 950 calories.

    This and the fact that I think the first quoted poster is confusing the sugar found in fruit with refined sugars. I know, I know sugar is sugar but there is a difference in the way "natural" sugars break down and refined sugars break down in your body.

    and this ^^^. My sugar mostly comes from fruits and dairy - it's not table sugar and so i don't worry about it.
  • acorsaut89
    acorsaut89 Posts: 1,147 Member
    I am also eating 1200 a day and doing a special diet where I only eat veggies (all kinds), protein, yogurt, fruit and fats, in that order. You would be surprised how much you can eat without carbs in your diet. Of course you do have to watch the protein and portion control. But its carbs that have all the big calories!

    I'm sorry, maybe it's because I eat more than 1,200 calories a day but what exactly is a "big calorie"? And how do you just eat protein? Does it come in a box? Because really, protein is in other foods, you can't buy just protein.

    Do all carbs have them? My understanding was the a calorie is a calorie and carbs are used by your body for energy.

    Maybe you could point me in the right direction since I didn't even know there was such a thing as a big (or small) calorie.


    In all serious, no no no and no.

    Moderation is key and carbs, in some form - preferably complex carbs - are essential to your body. You need carbs to energize, otherwise you may feel weak and will probably be tired a lot of the time. And I don't want to be the one to burst your bubble, but some of your "special diet" has carbs in it . . .
  • Lib_B
    Lib_B Posts: 446 Member
    I am also eating 1200 a day and doing a special diet where I only eat veggies (all kinds), protein, yogurt, fruit and fats, in that order. You would be surprised how much you can eat without carbs in your diet. Of course you do have to watch the protein and portion control. But its carbs that have all the big calories!

    I'm sorry, maybe it's because I eat more than 1,200 calories a day but what exactly is a "big calorie"?

    Do all carbs have them? My understanding was the a calorie is a calorie and carbs are used by your body for energy.



    Maybe you could point me in the right direction since I didn't even know there was such a thing as a big (or small) calorie.


    In all serious, no no no and no.

    Moderation is key and carbs, in some form - preferably complex carbs - are essential to your body. You need carbs to energize, otherwise you may feel weak and will probably be tired a lot of the time. And I don't want to be the one to burst your bubble, but some of you "special diet" has carbs in it . . .

    My guess is that this poster is trying to, though perhaps not eloquently, say that she feels refined carbs are empty calories. stab in the dark, but based on her diet, which i have done something similar, it's avoiding refined carbs. the idea is to get them from fruits and veggies versus bread.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    The thing I like about being on the 1200 cal plan is that I feel ok with not being completely accurate with my calories (lots of people here say that unless you weigh the food, the calories are not accurate while measuring with tbsps and cups etc.). This way I can measure with cups and spoons and even if I'm 200 cals higher than I think I am, I should still be in a range of a calorie deficit. I also only eat back half the calories of my exercise because people here say MFP overestimates your calorie burn (which I believe since my own calculations don't come close).
  • akaMrsmojo
    akaMrsmojo Posts: 762 Member
    That is the best reason of all to go 1200. I know everyone say MFP overestimates calories, I have never replied on the MFP as the soul source of figuring out my exercise calories. I use three different websites.

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