1200 calories per day

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SairaJ28
SairaJ28 Posts: 9
in Getting Started
Hi, I've just started and according to the site I should eat 1200 calories per day, to lose 0.9 lb per week. I aim to work out 4-5 times per week at the gym, doing an hour of cardio and around 10 minutes of strength training each time. If I go to the gym 4 days instead of 5, I'll workout one day at home, so in total I'll be working out 5 days per week.

I know that I can eat my exercise calories back on the days that I workout, which is fine, but what about on the days I don't workout? Do I have to eat just 1200 calories on those days? What is everyone else on here doing? Any input would be appreciated.

Replies

  • SofiaofNY
    SofiaofNY Posts: 63 Member
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    Yes - in order for you to loose weight you need to create a deficit. In order to max your results you may want to stay under your 1200 even while working out. I generally say under my 1200 and then have one cheat meal during the week. But I alsi work out 6 days a week really hard.
  • jasonmh630
    jasonmh630 Posts: 2,850 Member
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    Your total NET calories should be as close (+ or -) to your goal calories. Meaning no matter what, exercise or not, you should hit your goal. Examples:

    1200cals - 400 for exercise = 800cals, then eat 400 more cals to reach your NET goal of 1200 again. In other words, you need to eat 1600 calories on these days to reach your 1200 NET calorie goal.

    If you don't exercise, then just eat your goal calories for the day.
  • mads_o86
    mads_o86 Posts: 43 Member
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    I've changed my diet a lot and find that on some days I don't even want to eat 1200 calories (and I'm a big boy).

    What I'm doing now is eating a LOT of vegetables. With each meat at lunch and dinner I eat 500g of vegetables (about 1 pound). I usually do it as a stir-fry with chicken. A pound of vegetables only contains about 150 calories and leaves you full for hours! And with chicken and a nice sauce it's very filling at 400-600 calories.
  • SairaJ28
    SairaJ28 Posts: 9
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    Yes - in order for you to loose weight you need to create a deficit. In order to max your results you may want to stay under your 1200 even while working out. I generally say under my 1200 and then have one cheat meal during the week. But I alsi work out 6 days a week really hard.

    I cannot have cheat meals as once I start eating bad, I cannot stop. I think I'll just have to manage with the 1200 calories on the non-exercise days. I know it's doable, but I just don't want to end up hungry and begin binge eating again!
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
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    Yes - in order for you to loose weight you need to create a deficit. In order to max your results you may want to stay under your 1200 even while working out. I generally say under my 1200 and then have one cheat meal during the week. But I alsi work out 6 days a week really hard.

    No most people do not need to eat under 1200 calories, especially if you are as you say working out hard.

    OP how tall are you, what's your weight, what are your fitness goals?

    Here's some information that might help

    Log your food accurately and honestly. Go for 80% good choices the other 20% don't worry so much about. I eat lots of delicious food and have consistently lost. Keep it simple find a REASONABLE deficit:

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=logging+step+guide

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here?hl=so+you're+new+here

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • bccashleyiverson
    bccashleyiverson Posts: 44
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    I think sometimes myfitnesspal's formulations to calculate calories is too general. And if you are exercising that much, you need to FUEL your body, not starve it! Starving your body (eating under 1200 calories, unless you're a tiny person) can cause your body to hang on to the fat, because it knows you aren't eating enough, and keeps the fat as its energy reserve. Here is an excerpt from the Flexible Dieting book by K Mae Cags:

    "determine your maintenance calories. Maintenance calories means exactly what it sounds like: The number of calories you need to consume a day to maintain your current size. To do this, take your current bodyweight in pounds and multiply it by 11-14. This multiplier is how many calories per pound (kcal/lb) you will be consuming. So which multiplier should YOU use? If you are VERY active and/or young and/or have a nice revving metabolism, use the higher multiplier (13-14). If you are sedentary and/or have some years under your belt and/or have metabolic damage, use a lower multiplier (11-12)."

    If you are very over weight, use your goal weight instead of your current weight when calculating. Once you have your maintenance calories, subtract 250 calories. The cardio you're already planning on doing daily should be at least another 250 calories, which means you'll be at a 500 calorie deficit from your maintenance calories. That will make your weight loss average at 1 pound a week.

    Don't eat your calories back if you've used this method to calculate calories (because you built in your deficit for weight loss already.) There is a setting to change on myfitnesspal so it doesn't give you your calories back when you input your exercise. And when you are just starting to lose weight, just eat the 250 calories less on rest days.Using this method increased the calories I was able to eat daily, but also increased my weight loss! Good luck :)
  • SairaJ28
    SairaJ28 Posts: 9
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    Yes - in order for you to loose weight you need to create a deficit. In order to max your results you may want to stay under your 1200 even while working out. I generally say under my 1200 and then have one cheat meal during the week. But I alsi work out 6 days a week really hard.

    No most people do not need to eat under 1200 calories, especially if you are as you say working out hard.

    OP how tall are you, what's your weight, what are your fitness goals?

    Here's some information that might help

    Log your food accurately and honestly. Go for 80% good choices the other 20% don't worry so much about. I eat lots of delicious food and have consistently lost. Keep it simple find a REASONABLE deficit:

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=logging+step+guide

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here?hl=so+you're+new+here

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    Thanks for the info.

    I'm only 5 foot 2 inches tall so I don't need as many calories as other people. Over the last year I have lost 32 lbs (it was 38 lbs, but I gained weight back after 13 days of binge eating). This was lost through diet alone, as I am not an active person and have never enjoyed exercise. I log everything I eat religiously and weigh everything with a digital kitchen scale, so that's not a problem for me. My main concern now is trying to eat healthier and to exercise regularly.

    I'm currently 138 lbs and want to lose around 30 lbs.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Hi, I've just started and according to the site I should eat 1200 calories per day, to lose 0.9 lb per week. I aim to work out 4-5 times per week at the gym, doing an hour of cardio and around 10 minutes of strength training each time. If I go to the gym 4 days instead of 5, I'll workout one day at home, so in total I'll be working out 5 days per week.

    I know that I can eat my exercise calories back on the days that I workout, which is fine, but what about on the days I don't workout? Do I have to eat just 1200 calories on those days? What is everyone else on here doing? Any input would be appreciated.

    If you want to, you can allocate the calories throughout the week. For example, deduct 50 from your exercise totals and add the resulting 300 to your off day. That's similar to how the TDEE method works, which will be mentioned in the links you were given above.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    Yes - in order for you to loose weight you need to create a deficit. In order to max your results you may want to stay under your 1200 even while working out. I generally say under my 1200 and then have one cheat meal during the week. But I alsi work out 6 days a week really hard.

    Egads, no. There is zero reason why 99.44% of people would ever want/need to eat <1200 gross calories in a day.

    OP, I'm a big fan of finding the *most* amount of calories you can eat while still making progress towards your goals, not the *least* amount of calories you can eat without problems. I believe it is more sustainable and more likely to lead you to a result that you will like.

    Start with just tracking what you're currently eating. Don't worry about a calorie limit. You're just doing what you've been doing for however many months/years, the difference is that you're measuring it. (Note, you'll likely eat a little less because just the act of logging food causes people to make different choices.) After a few weeks of this, reduce this number by X calories each day. What this X is differs depending on how far you are from your goal (and a whole lot of other factors). Starting with 500 is reasonable, which is about a pound each week. Set your limit and then hit it consistently. After 4-6 weeks, reevaluate your progress and make adjustments as necessary.

    Best of luck.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Options
    Yes - in order for you to loose weight you need to create a deficit. In order to max your results you may want to stay under your 1200 even while working out. I generally say under my 1200 and then have one cheat meal during the week. But I alsi work out 6 days a week really hard.

    No most people do not need to eat under 1200 calories, especially if you are as you say working out hard.

    OP how tall are you, what's your weight, what are your fitness goals?

    Here's some information that might help

    Log your food accurately and honestly. Go for 80% good choices the other 20% don't worry so much about. I eat lots of delicious food and have consistently lost. Keep it simple find a REASONABLE deficit:

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=logging+step+guide

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here?hl=so+you're+new+here

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    Thanks for the info.

    I'm only 5 foot 2 inches tall so I don't need as many calories as other people. Over the last year I have lost 32 lbs (it was 38 lbs, but I gained weight back after 13 days of binge eating). This was lost through diet alone, as I am not an active person and have never enjoyed exercise. I log everything I eat religiously and weigh everything with a digital kitchen scale, so that's not a problem for me. My main concern now is trying to eat healthier and to exercise regularly.

    I'm currently 138 lbs and want to lose around 30 lbs.

    OP: I am 5'2, 45 yrs old and weigh 113 pounds. My calories are 1600 to 1800 to lose weight.

    ETA: Read the links above, very good info. :wink:
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
    Options
    Yes - in order for you to loose weight you need to create a deficit. In order to max your results you may want to stay under your 1200 even while working out. I generally say under my 1200 and then have one cheat meal during the week. But I alsi work out 6 days a week really hard.

    No most people do not need to eat under 1200 calories, especially if you are as you say working out hard.

    OP how tall are you, what's your weight, what are your fitness goals?

    Here's some information that might help

    Log your food accurately and honestly. Go for 80% good choices the other 20% don't worry so much about. I eat lots of delicious food and have consistently lost. Keep it simple find a REASONABLE deficit:

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=logging+step+guide

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here?hl=so+you're+new+here

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    Thanks for the info.

    I'm only 5 foot 2 inches tall so I don't need as many calories as other people. Over the last year I have lost 32 lbs (it was 38 lbs, but I gained weight back after 13 days of binge eating). This was lost through diet alone, as I am not an active person and have never enjoyed exercise. I log everything I eat religiously and weigh everything with a digital kitchen scale, so that's not a problem for me. My main concern now is trying to eat healthier and to exercise regularly.

    I'm currently 138 lbs and want to lose around 30 lbs.

    OP: I am 5'2, 45 yrs old and weigh 113 pounds. My calories are 1600 to 1800 to lose weight.

    ETA: Read the links above, very good info. :wink:


    All of the above +1000000

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