"Just Fit it in to your Daily Allowance"
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Sophsmother wrote: »1200 calories is fine if you eat the right foods. It's actually pretty easy for me.
Sadly, a lot of people on MFP don't care about nutrition or what they put in their mouths. As long it fits into 1400 calories or whatever, they'll eat crap. That mentality is very unhealthy, so don't slip into that. Eat the best, cleanest, fresh food you can find and you'll be able to stuff yourself. I do that every day and lose weight.
Well isn't that just an interesting little statement.
Those say fitting it in eat the best food...and I am sure we make sure it's clean (washed fruits etc) and of course fresh who wants to eat spoiled food...ick.
I still eat my chocolate everyday and lose to...so neener.
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Sophsmother wrote: »Sadly, a lot of people on MFP don't care about nutrition or what they put in their mouths. As long it fits into 1400 calories or whatever, they'll eat crap. That mentality is very unhealthy, so don't slip into that. Eat the best, cleanest, fresh food you can find and you'll be able to stuff yourself. I do that every day and lose weight.
I haven't found this to be the case at all. I care about nutrition whether I'm eating 1250 or 2000, and so do my friends, although we don't all have the same ideas as to what works for us as an overall diet--which is why we are different people and all.
I wonder why you think otherwise.
As for fresh food, I don't eat spoiled food, of course, but I'm always confused how people think they have fresh produce available in all seasons unless they just are lucky in where they live. I live in Chicago, so if I ate only fresh local produce I wouldn't be able to eat fruit or veggies much of the year. Also luckily for me I don't think that I have to be so limited in my thinking to care about nutrition, and so while I enjoy fresh and local I also eat canned tomatoes and frozen veggies and various things carted in from elsewhere.
As for "clean," not going there, as no one really means anything consistent about it. I think my food is "clean" in all meaningful senses, and that includes the oatmeal I ate this morning and the ice cream I ate last night, as well as the fruits and veggies (some local, others not) I also ate with breakfast. Beyond that, I don't really care if someone else thinks bread is "unclean" or such nonsense. Heh, so I guess I've decided I'm a "clean" eater, since if you asked me if I eat "unclean" food I don't think so.0 -
I have never seen anyone advocate a nutritionally poor diet on here except for the occasional newbs trying to justify something like a "detox diet" or something.
What I have seen is IIFYM which means "if it fits your macros" and that's not just calories. ..it means if you meet your nutrition goals and have calories left over.
It does not mean eating 1200 calories of Twinkies and ice cream though some idjits try to accuse moderation proponents of advising that.0 -
Hi,
I've been using MFP for a couple weeks now. I find the forum really interesting and helpful. I'm really curious about a statement that I read quite a lot; "eat whatever you want as long as it fits within your allowance".
I'm on 1200 calories a day, so realistically I don't have a lot of calories to play around with. Even with making my meals better 'value for calories', I just have not got spare calories kicking around to treat myself to an indulgent dessert or a full takeaway or a bag of sweets or a bowl of coco pops at the end of the day.
I'm eating well and don't feel hungry for the most part so that's all good. I just know I'm on this weight loss journey for the long haul and at some point I'm going to want to have 'treats' without having to sacrifice a meal.
So I guess I'm wondering how people on 1200 calories do it?
kelziemba,
You have 102 pounds to lose and you're eating 1200 calories a day? Not good. You need to raise your calories. I bet with a much higher calorie goal you will still lose 2 pounds a week.
What helps me every single day, and what helped me during my weight loss journey, is to do the following things:- I weigh all my food
- Log everything I eat in grams, sometimes ounces
- Do my own research to ensure that I am using accurate food entries
- I use a heart rate monitor to track cardio because so far it's been most accurate for me
- I eat most, if not all, of my exercise calories back
- I rinse and repeat every day.
Early on, I read stickies, personal stories, and researched, so that I could find information for successful weight loss.
Do the things above, raise your calorie goal, and then work in a treat as often as you are comfortable. Deprivation often leads to failure.
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MFP is full of food bullies who simply don't understand that some of us, who are short female people past a certain point in our lives, can exist on less than 1200 calories a day most days and be quite happy with our lots in life. My RMR was recently tested at 1460 in a weight clinic, where it had previously been tested at 1060ish many moons before I started running hard 3 times a week and I was called a liar and the integrity of the clinic (which is attached to our hospital) was called into question.
My advice is to ignore those voices and pay attention to those of us who are saying that it is quite easy to live on 1200 calories a day. It's doable and comfortable and not that hard long term. (I can still wear my wedding dress and I got married 25 years ago, so yeah. Not a big deal. Appetites should correlate to size and metabolism, after all.)
Right now I have my counter set to 1000 net calories a day at the moment, but I know I'll go 1800 on the weekends, which averages out to 1230, more or less, per day, which, because I'm using a fitbit and have my settings done that way (so that every bit of physical activity I get, even getting up from my chair at work to go gossip in someone else's cube, earns me calories), means I'm at a setting to lose slowly. I can pop that up 200 calories a day and maintain, but I kind of want to be in a size 6 in September for some purely vain reasons and because the thinner I am the lower my diabetes risk is and the easier time my joints have supporting me when I run.
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MikaMojito wrote: »I know I'm going against what everybody else is saying, but it IS possible to fit in treats even at 1200kcal.
Eg my diary today:
Breakfast: 50g pumpernickel bread with jam (it's VERY dark bread and keeps me quite full for a long time)
Lunch: Mixed leaf salad, 3 slices garlic bread and a sausage
Dinner: two big bowls of vegetable and sausage soup.
And now I just had 20g of very good, rich chocolate and I'm actually under 1200. Not because I meant to but because I was so busy all day and when I got hungry, nothing was acailable and now it's too late to eat more. I'll have some extra calories tomorrow.
I agree you can fit in treats on 1200 calories, but with 102 pounds to lose, she is not eating enough to fuel her body. That's more the point than anything else. 0 -
Hi,
I've been using MFP for a couple weeks now. I find the forum really interesting and helpful. I'm really curious about a statement that I read quite a lot; "eat whatever you want as long as it fits within your allowance".
I'm on 1200 calories a day, so realistically I don't have a lot of calories to play around with. Even with making my meals better 'value for calories', I just have not got spare calories kicking around to treat myself to an indulgent dessert or a full takeaway or a bag of sweets or a bowl of coco pops at the end of the day.
I'm eating well and don't feel hungry for the most part so that's all good. I just know I'm on this weight loss journey for the long haul and at some point I'm going to want to have 'treats' without having to sacrifice a meal.
So I guess I'm wondering how people on 1200 calories do it?
When you exercise you get to eat more...0 -
Food bullies? Seriously?0
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I decided to change my goal to lose more slowly so I can eat more (I felt hungry all the time on 1200 cal), and I exercise quite a bit. Exercise does double for me because it seems to decrease my appetite on exercise days and I get to eat more overall so the treats do fit in.
I also agree with those that suggest making your treats a REALLY YUMMY but smaller amount. I love the super dark chocolate bars with orange bits in them. They are so rich and a smaller amount satisfies me. Same with ice cream, I wouldn't eat the lower calorie stuff, I just eat a small serving of really good stuff.
Hope that helps.0 -
snarlingcoyote wrote: »MFP is full of food bullies who simply don't understand that some of us, who are short female people past a certain point in our lives, can exist on less than 1200 calories a day most days and be quite happy with our lots in life. My RMR was recently tested at 1460 in a weight clinic, where it had previously been tested at 1060ish many moons before I started running hard 3 times a week and I was called a liar and the integrity of the clinic (which is attached to our hospital) was called into question.
Wow. Just because people answer in a way you don't like doesn't make them bullies.My advice is to ignore those voices and pay attention to those of us who are saying that it is quite easy to live on 1200 calories a day. It's doable and comfortable and not that hard long term. (I can still wear my wedding dress and I got married 25 years ago, so yeah. Not a big deal. Appetites should correlate to size and metabolism, after all.)
Are you saying your maintenance calories (from TDEE) are 1200? I think you might want to recalculate that. Do you know for sure via weighing your food, logging everything you eat, and logging exercise and eating those calories back, that your net intake is 1200?Right now I have my counter set to 1000 net calories a day at the moment, but I know I'll go 1800 on the weekends, which averages out to 1230, more or less, per day, which, because I'm using a fitbit and have my settings done that way (so that every bit of physical activity I get, even getting up from my chair at work to go gossip in someone else's cube, earns me calories), means I'm at a setting to lose slowly. I can pop that up 200 calories a day and maintain, but I kind of want to be in a size 6 in September for some purely vain reasons and because the thinner I am the lower my diabetes risk is and the easier time my joints have supporting me when I run.
All you're doing is averaging your calories over the week in an intermittent fasting style. That's pretty common, and lots of people are successful at this. 0 -
snarlingcoyote wrote: »MFP is full of food bullies who simply don't understand that some of us, who are short female people past a certain point in our lives, can exist on less than 1200 calories a day most days and be quite happy with our lots in life. My RMR was recently tested at 1460 in a weight clinic, where it had previously been tested at 1060ish many moons before I started running hard 3 times a week and I was called a liar and the integrity of the clinic (which is attached to our hospital) was called into question.
My advice is to ignore those voices and pay attention to those of us who are saying that it is quite easy to live on 1200 calories a day. It's doable and comfortable and not that hard long term. (I can still wear my wedding dress and I got married 25 years ago, so yeah. Not a big deal. Appetites should correlate to size and metabolism, after all.)
Right now I have my counter set to 1000 net calories a day at the moment, but I know I'll go 1800 on the weekends, which averages out to 1230, more or less, per day, which, because I'm using a fitbit and have my settings done that way (so that every bit of physical activity I get, even getting up from my chair at work to go gossip in someone else's cube, earns me calories), means I'm at a setting to lose slowly. I can pop that up 200 calories a day and maintain, but I kind of want to be in a size 6 in September for some purely vain reasons and because the thinner I am the lower my diabetes risk is and the easier time my joints have supporting me when I run.
you can exist yes but are you getting in all the required macro/micro nutrients....no.
If your RMR is 1460 that is what you need to consume if you were not moving...so there is that.
As well most who say they can't lose on 1200 aren't really eating 1200 they are eating more.
Food scales ensure accuracy of logging.
And here is the kicker...my wedding dress it too big...I wear a size 4 I weigh 150lbs (yes I am taller than average) but the fact of the matter is this...regardless of your age, height (unless super super short) eating 1200 is the lowest recommended due to nutrition and getting in all your macros/micros..
You might be small but how is your calcium? protein? how much muscle mass have you lost? you getting in your iron? vitamin b series? A? D? C? Potassium? Zinc?
Chances are no you are not.0 -
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Exercise and you get more calories to play with.
For me, that translates to ice cream every night
Haha.
Even something as simple and low impact as a walk contributes to getting to eat more. 0 -
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I'm at 1490 and I fit in a cheeseburger on a gluten-free bun, french fries, a dessert, a couple of adult beverages, and a gluten-free homemade cinnabon copycat cinnamon roll since Friday. (Side note: I'm not saying these things are healthy foods that SHOULD be eaten regularly, but it was mother's day and we had a lot of eating out/hosting commitments). And I still lost weight.
Since I knew all this was coming, I prepared for it by cutting calories where I could. For example, I usually do half and half in my coffee, but went black for a couple of days. That frees up something like 40 calories right there. A few small changes like that at breakfast and lunch, plus a good walk, and I easily end up with 1000 free calories for dinner--certainly enough to fit in a drink or two, a modest serving of fries, and half a gooey cheeseburger.
To me it's about intentionally planning treats. When I eat at home, I weigh everything and I spread my calories pretty evenly throughout the day. But if I know we have a special meal coming up--especially if it is going to be at a restaurant or someone else's home where I don't have control over the preparation--I save up as many calories for that meal as possible and then indulge, within reason. You still might have to make some choices (sour cream or cheese on the tacos? Dessert or a cocktail?) and you might need to opt for smaller portions than you would ideally like, but you should be able to eat well and work in something that you wouldn't eat on a normal day and STILL stay pretty close to your goal.
Also for what it's worth, I started at 1200 and lasted there for about a week, but I was so hungry all the time I was feeling faint and getting ready to make bad decisions. I bumped it up to 1490, and aim to stay there without eating back more than half my exercise calories, and I feel much better. Weight loss is a bit slower but still happening.0 -
I can never really work with such a restricted diet everyday. Eventually it just grinds me down. Perhaps a better way would be to think of your calories in weekly terms instead of daily. So, for example, if you have a Saturday treat of chinese food or a big chocolate pudding, take the calories you went over that day and then reduce the calories you intake on other days throughout the week to compensate. Also, as others have said, exercise is a good choice to offset the treats. A combination of both, tailored to your lifestyle and preferences, can really help to make it feel less of a challenge.0
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I'm a 5'3" female, currently netting 1200, and have been doing well with it. My key is to try and fit in some form of exercise daily. Then I can eat back around 50% of my exercise calories, which most days puts me around 1350 - 1400 gross calories. I've been averaging 1 - 1.5lb/week losses and I feel good.
I am also a fan of averaging over a week; it's more sustainable for me because I can eat at a larger deficit most of the week and splurge a little on weekends or special occasions. Even this weekend, I went over on Saturday (thank you delicious lemon cream cake), but ate at a larger deficit yesterday and earlier in the week. Looking at my weekly average, I'm well within my 1200/day net goal. I do the same thing with my macros.
At the end of the day, I think you need to experiment a little and figure out what would work for you long-term. You're making a life change, so whatever new habits you're trying to build should be the habits you want to maintain going forward. Good luck with your journey, OP!0 -
Instead of looking at the absolute weight loss per week (in pounds), look at your relative weight loss or calorie deficit (in percentages).
If your maintenance calories are approximately 2200 without exercise, then 1200 represents a deficit of 45%. Most experts agree that anything over about 20-25% is too steep a deficit -- not only because it's hard to sustain, but because it can increase your chances of losing lean muscle along with fat, and can make it harder to fit in all your daily nutrients as well as some degree of balance.
In my opinion, the biggest problem with MFP is that it asks new members how much weight they would like to lose per week when they sign up. Of course, almost anyone is going to say, "wow, I'd rather lose faster" and input 2lbs/week. But that's just not an appropriate goal for most people.
Instead, MFP really ought to automatically calculate the most appropriate deficit for new members. In your case, OP, with a sedentary maintenance of ~2200, you'd probably want to target 1lb/week, so a base calorie goal of 1700. Plus whatever you earn back through exercise, so maybe you could push that to 1.5lbs/week if you burn off a few hundred extra calories in the gym each day. But I definitely wouldn't recommend going lower than 1700 net.
Yes, you're probably thinking, well, I can manage on 1200 and I'd rather lose it quicker, thanks anyway.
The thing is, you yourself admit that you have trouble fitting in treats or extras into your calorie allowance. 1200 is very restrictive for you. And while you might be able to do it with careful planning and adherence, what happens the first time you have a business trip or a social event or a holiday? Or, just a craving for french fries? People tend to get derailed when they try to restrict too much.
I know you've probably heard "it's not a diet; it's a lifestyle change" a million times. The thing is, that's not just a slogan. Ask yourself this: Can you realistically see yourself eating this restrictive 1200-calorie/day diet for the rest of your life? Or are you viewing it as temporary? If you're seeing it as temporary, sorry to say but odds are you're probably not going to be able to stick with it long enough to achieve your goals.
Losing more slowly at a rate that you can sustain -- and that allows you to work in some treats -- means you can keep it up indefinitely. And that's a recipe for success, not just with weight loss but with maintenance as well.
Good luck!0
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