1200 Cal too low??

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  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,862 Member
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    My question is, while I'm pretty comfortable with this calorie amount, is it actually healthy for me to only consume 1200 cal a day?
    It's conventional wisdom here on MFP that 1,200 calories is way too low for anyone. However, MFP recommends it to a lot of people based on their inputs and The Mayo Clinic provides helpful meal plans for people based on 1,200 calories per day. I've lived on 1,200 calories a day for weeks on end. Still, you don't have to limit it that much to be successful.
  • katmix
    katmix Posts: 296 Member
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    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?

    Yeah, add more protein and less fruit. :flowerforyou:

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  • demorelli
    demorelli Posts: 508 Member
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    The MFP food diary is totally customizable. If you think your calories are too low, research it and adjust your goal. If you want to change your macro percents, sugar allotment, etc, you can do that too. From your home page, click goals, change goals, and custom. You can change your diary goals to be what you want your diet to be.
  • shmerek
    shmerek Posts: 963 Member
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    Putting your numbers into a BMR calculator like this one

    http://iifym.com/bmr-calculator/

    Your BMR comes up at 1710 so I would say ya 1200 is way too low if that figure is anywhere close to accurate
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
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    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.
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
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    1200 cal is how much a large dog eats a day.

    I know a lot of people say "well Michelle Bridges puts everyone on a 1200cal diet" and that's great, but it's not realistic.
    You should be eating AT LEAST your BMR which would be 1400-1600 for sure. I burn roughly 600-800 cal a day in my exercises and I eat between 1900-2200 cal a day. My BMR is 1600. The process is slower, yes, but it gives your body MORE to use, more energy to rebuild the muscle tissue and to function properly. While your meals should be bulked up by veg, you also need lean proteins in there and some complex carbs (whole grains, sweet potato, red skin potato, pumpkin, beets, quinoa etc). 4oz of protein for a day is bull****. I eat around 3oz of protein per meal. If you are really concerned about calories have a protein powder or protein smoothie as a meal. My favourite is 1 scoop chocolate protein, handful of blueberries (or your berry of choice) and 1 cup unsweetened almond milk.

    tl/dr
    If you eat 1200 cal a day you will drop weight, but you are more likely to gain it, and more, back.

    The number of calories a person needs to maintain or lose weight is highly variable based on body size, age and gender. I've been eating between 1200 and 1400 calories for two years and have maintained my weight. Of course, I'm about the size of a large dog.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
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    No, not healthy. Find your TDEE and eat slightly below that, as other posters have already said.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,022 Member
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    My question is, while I'm pretty comfortable with this calorie amount, is it actually healthy for me to only consume 1200 cal a day?
    It's conventional wisdom here on MFP that 1,200 calories is way too low for anyone. However, MFP recommends it to a lot of people based on their inputs and The Mayo Clinic provides helpful meal plans for people based on 1,200 calories per day. I've lived on 1,200 calories a day for weeks on end. Still, you don't have to limit it that much to be successful.

    No it is conventional wisdom on here that 1200 is too low for most people, not that it is too low for anyone.

    For shorter older less active women 1200 is often about right.

    However OP is 20 years old and 5 ft 7 in - not in the older or shorter category.
    And she only has around 20 lb to lose.

    My bet is that OP put in that she wants to lose 2lb per week and thus got 1200.
    In fact OP you should only be aiming for 1lb or even 1/2 lb with only 20 lb to lose. If you re set MFP saying that, I'm sure it will up your calories to a more realistic level.
    And eat back at least some of your exercise calories too.
  • LAT1963
    LAT1963 Posts: 1,375 Member
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    Is there a reason you can't exercise to raise your calorie ceiling?

    It's hard to get a full range of nutrients on that low a diet. You can do it, but you have to plan more thoroughly.

    If you can do some exercise it will be easier to eat a wide variety of foods to get all your vitamins and trace minerals, without exceeding your adjusted calorie allowance.
  • shaddowstorm
    shaddowstorm Posts: 155 Member
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    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.
  • yassy124
    yassy124 Posts: 27 Member
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    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: 9,022 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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: 764 Member
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    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
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    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.

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