1200 Calories?!?!
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femierodriquez
Posts: 2 Member
Okay so I'm not sure if I entered that I wanted 1200 cal. a day or if that is what MFP says I need to eat to lose my weight. I haven't counted calories in such a long time, 1200 (400 a meal) sounds like I'm doomed before I start. I am 5' short (haha) and 200 lbs (not so haha). Please help any suggestions.
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Do you exercise? Or will you be exercising as you start watching your calories?0
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I started by doing about 1200 calories. You aren't doomed. It REALLY helps to look at food as a fuel and not for anything else. Due to your current weight your body will consume your fat stores to bring your body up to your needed caloric intake. Now if you start to go on walks, even 30 minutes a day or so, you will lose weight at a very good pace. Then as your fitness level increases, and you add more exercise into your routine, you can then add more calories to your intake while maintaining the same fat loss rate.0
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1200 is MFP's lowest minimum default - so it's likely you got 1200 based on "I want to lose XX pounds per week." If you decrease your weekly loss goal, you will get more food. CBills also makes a good point - MFP gave you 1200 BEFORE any exercise. If you plan on exercise, you will "earn" more calories. Be careful...MFP gives generous estimates...most people start by eating 50% of exercise calories and adjust as needed.
Pick something that is sustainable. Google your TDEE (maintenance WITH exercise)....eat less than this....you lose weight. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/0 -
Okay so I'm not sure if I entered that I wanted 1200 cal. a day or if that is what MFP says I need to eat to lose my weight. I haven't counted calories in such a long time, 1200 (400 a meal) sounds like I'm doomed before I start. I am 5' short (haha) and 200 lbs (not so haha). Please help any suggestions.
Your post is not clear.
In MFP, you enter in your vital statistics, and then tell it what your current activity level is and how many pounds you would like to lose each week, with 2 pounds per week being the maximum.
Based on this, MFP calculates a daily calorie goal that will hit the weight loss goal you told it you wanted per week.
It will not go less than 1200 calories per day.
It has me at 1570 calories per day. I'm 44 years old, 263 pounds, male, no exercise, with a 2-pound-per-week goal.
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To add to what SonicKrunch said, if you don't eat enough you will end up losing muscle mass along with the weight. This will eventually slow down your metabolism and slow your weight loss. You have to eat enough to fuel your body. If you start lifting weights (along with the walking) you will build muscle mass (p.s. you won't get big) which will help with the weight loss. Your weight will fluctuate as you are replacing fat with muscle. Don't get discouraged; you will reach your goals!!0
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SonicKrunch wrote: »I started by doing about 1200 calories. You aren't doomed. It REALLY helps to look at food as a fuel and not for anything else. Due to your current weight your body will consume your fat stores to bring your body up to your needed caloric intake. Now if you start to go on walks, even 30 minutes a day or so, you will lose weight at a very good pace. Then as your fitness level increases, and you add more exercise into your routine, you can then add more calories to your intake while maintaining the same fat loss rate.
1200 for a man (?!)
OP - the problem with a really large deficit is this......your body will use fat AND existing lean muscle for fuel. But, if you are morbidly obese....you don't need to worry about muscle loss for awhile. But it's unlikely you would build any lean muscle at a deficit.
My deficit is moderate because my goal is to lower my body fat percentage.....not just move the number on the scale.
Pound per week goals
75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range
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Thanks everyone, now I see how that # came about and thanks for the advice. I do plan to start the gym today, just got my membership and I will start off slow but with a mission. THANKS!!!!0
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you really can eat enough food on 1200 calories. It is a bit of an adjustment because you will have to pick and choose and substitute lower cal healthy foods in but its totally doable. I'm on 1200 calories and had macaroni and cheese for lunch.0
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1200 calories is actually not that little for a sedentary person who is 5'0"... unfortunately for shorties, y'all don't need as much food as those who are tall, yet everyone is often served the same sized servings. However, if you move more, you will get to eat more while still creating that deficit. I'm not sure what you have your settings at... I personally am told to eat 1200 even though I'm 5'6" and 145 when I select 1 lb week on the sedentary setting... so exercise is key if I want to eat like a normal human being.
However, the more acquainted you become with your body and your exercise habits, the more you'll be able to fine tune your caloric goals. Even though MFP tells me to eat 1260 + exercise, I know that I lose a pound a week-ish if I average 1700-1800 with all the exercise I do (I do quite a bit) so I do suggest you check out the link above that Tea posted though - Scooby really helps understand your BMR and TDEE and sometimes those numbers are a little more realistic, plus they let you know know what you can eat daily instead of having to change it daily based on a specific day's exercise. Finally don't try to lose too fast - I know it's tempting because we all want to be skinny and toned and fit tomorrow, but in reality that's not healthy and the people that lose it fast 9.9x out of 10 just put it all right back on as soon as they let off the reigns a little. A slower approach where you get to know your body will be so much better for you in the end.0 -
1200 calories is not a little bit of food, I recently lost 6 lbs eating 1200 calories and I don't feel hungry at all. If your planning on eating out or driving thru the fast food spots most days,then yes 1200 calories it's not a lot.0
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Yeah, I'm 5'1 and at just one pound per week loss goal, I'm given 1200 calories. I have a really hard time doing that, so my treadmill gets me moving and I get extra calories I can eat back from that (which I try not to, but a girl gets hungry.) I also have hard weekends and often go over, even with exercise calories added, but I just take each day as it comes and most days, I do well and can stay under.
But I'm with you--1200 is not a lot of food. Yesterday, I ate that at lunch. Actually counting calories opened my eyes up to exactly how much I was actually eating. I ate over 1200 calories yesterday in just lunch...a "bowl" of cereal (500 calories!!!!) a small bit of chips and a peanut butter and honey sandwich. I measured everything and logged it at 1228. Ouch. And I didn't use my treadmill at all, so I was over my daily allowance with just a "small" meal. It's easy to do.
Overall though, I have lost 8 pounds since joining here and an overall 18 pounds since March 1, so going over a few calories here and there is not going to make me gain all that back overnight, so I just move on to the next day and try to do better. As long as I don't start going backwards, it's all good.
One thing I have been doing since joining here is take advantage of the fact that I can go until noon or later without eating anything but coffee. I've never been a big breakfast eater, even as a child, so that works for me in keeping my calories in check.0 -
it says for me to eat 1200 cals also i had to choose my food wisely! im 5'00
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SonicKrunch wrote: »I started by doing about 1200 calories. You aren't doomed. It REALLY helps to look at food as a fuel and not for anything else. Due to your current weight your body will consume your fat stores to bring your body up to your needed caloric intake. Now if you start to go on walks, even 30 minutes a day or so, you will lose weight at a very good pace. Then as your fitness level increases, and you add more exercise into your routine, you can then add more calories to your intake while maintaining the same fat loss rate.
1200 for a man (?!)
OP - the problem with a really large deficit is this......your body will use fat AND existing lean muscle for fuel. But, if you are morbidly obese....you don't need to worry about muscle loss for awhile. But it's unlikely you would build any lean muscle at a deficit.
My deficit is moderate because my goal is to lower my body fat percentage.....not just move the number on the scale.
Pound per week goals
75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range
Ya. It wasn't even hard to do that little at first. I started at 265 @ 5'10 and probably around 145lbs of lean muscle. I used the 1200 calories a day until I hit around 210-215. Since then I've switched to lifting and even though I've only lost 5-10 pounds, I've gained about 10 in lean muscle so my aesthetics are better while I've obviously increased my intake. I still lead a pretty sedentary life due to work so my calories are still only in the 1500(rest day)-2000 range until I hit my goal weight.0 -
1. MFP will set your goal according to the info you put in it. By telling MFP that you want to lose at a faster rate, it will create a larger deficit, and therefore a lower calorie goal. This might not always be the best option.
2. Understanding how the deficit works may help you make your decision. A pound is 3500 calories. That means to lose a pound you have to eat 3500 calories less than you burn. To gain a pound you have to eat 3500 calories more than you burn. There's no time limit, so if you ate just 50 extra calories every day, then in a little over 2 months, you'll gain a pound. Your deficit is set according to how fast you tell MFP you want to lose. So if you tell it you want to lose a pound per week, it will set you up with a 500 calorie per day deficit (500 cals x 7 days = 3500 cals or 1 pound). Two pounds per week would be 1000 cals per day, and .5 per week would be 250 cals per day.
Those of us on the shorter side don't have as much leeway. A very tall person might require 2000 or even 2500 calories per day. A short, sedentary person might only require about 1700 cals per day. The amount of activity you do each day will increase the number of calories you burn. Since you should never eat less than 1200 calories on a regular basis, if you would normally burn 1700 cals, and you tell MFP that you want to lose 2 pounds per week (1000 cal deficit) then it will still only set you at 1200, even though that's only a 500 cal deficit. It won't go below 1200.
3. A larger deficit means that your body will cannibalize muscle along with fat to make up the difference. Muscle burns more calories. When you lose muscle, your basic metabolism is lowered. It's not a huge difference as some might have you believe. "Starvation mode" is a myth. But even a 50 calorie per day difference in your metabolism might make a difference in gaining, losing or staying the same weight over the course of time. You want to keep all the muscle you can (and eventually add more.)
4. A smaller deficit not only will help you maintain muscle mass, it will also be easier to maintain and not make you feel deprived, and you will be more likely to stick to it and succeed.
5. One suggestion: Put your current numbers into a TDEE calculator like IIFYM , find out how many calories you burn right now, at your current weight. Then make sure that on average, you eat below that number. Go easy on yourself and don't turn food into an enemy. As long as you are eating somewhere between 1200 calories and your TDEE, then you are making progress. If there's a special occasion, work function, family outing, trip to your favorite restaurant, whatever...don't sweat it. Enjoy it, log it, try to make sure that for the week, you stay below your TDEE. Beating yourself up or setting yourself up to feel deprived or depressed is not a good way to develop a healthy relationship with food.
Good luck!0 -
SonicKrunch wrote: »SonicKrunch wrote: »I started by doing about 1200 calories. You aren't doomed. It REALLY helps to look at food as a fuel and not for anything else. Due to your current weight your body will consume your fat stores to bring your body up to your needed caloric intake. Now if you start to go on walks, even 30 minutes a day or so, you will lose weight at a very good pace. Then as your fitness level increases, and you add more exercise into your routine, you can then add more calories to your intake while maintaining the same fat loss rate.
1200 for a man (?!)
OP - the problem with a really large deficit is this......your body will use fat AND existing lean muscle for fuel. But, if you are morbidly obese....you don't need to worry about muscle loss for awhile. But it's unlikely you would build any lean muscle at a deficit.
My deficit is moderate because my goal is to lower my body fat percentage.....not just move the number on the scale.
Pound per week goals
75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range
Ya. It wasn't even hard to do that little at first. I started at 265 @ 5'10 and probably around 145lbs of lean muscle. I used the 1200 calories a day until I hit around 210-215. Since then I've switched to lifting and even though I've only lost 5-10 pounds, I've gained about 10 in lean muscle so my aesthetics are better while I've obviously increased my intake. I still lead a pretty sedentary life due to work so my calories are still only in the 1500(rest day)-2000 range until I hit my goal weight.
Um.......say what now? You totally need to market this.0 -
SonicKrunch wrote: »SonicKrunch wrote: »I started by doing about 1200 calories. You aren't doomed. It REALLY helps to look at food as a fuel and not for anything else. Due to your current weight your body will consume your fat stores to bring your body up to your needed caloric intake. Now if you start to go on walks, even 30 minutes a day or so, you will lose weight at a very good pace. Then as your fitness level increases, and you add more exercise into your routine, you can then add more calories to your intake while maintaining the same fat loss rate.
1200 for a man (?!)
OP - the problem with a really large deficit is this......your body will use fat AND existing lean muscle for fuel. But, if you are morbidly obese....you don't need to worry about muscle loss for awhile. But it's unlikely you would build any lean muscle at a deficit.
My deficit is moderate because my goal is to lower my body fat percentage.....not just move the number on the scale.
Pound per week goals
75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range
Ya. It wasn't even hard to do that little at first. I started at 265 @ 5'10 and probably around 145lbs of lean muscle. I used the 1200 calories a day until I hit around 210-215. Since then I've switched to lifting and even though I've only lost 5-10 pounds, I've gained about 10 in lean muscle so my aesthetics are better while I've obviously increased my intake. I still lead a pretty sedentary life due to work so my calories are still only in the 1500(rest day)-2000 range until I hit my goal weight.
How are you coming to the conclusion that you've gained that much muscle?0 -
when I started I had a body comp done and was shown to be at 145lb lean(no not a electronic measure). I've been lifting for 8 months. A ~10lb increase in lean mass(which again i was tested to be 157lb) in the first year of lifting is not difficult. Subsequent years will not give me the muscle increases I've seen to date. I'm targeting for around 165lean mass with a full body weight of 190. Anyhow I don't want to sidetrack this persons thread.0
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SonicKrunch wrote: »when I started I had a body comp done and was shown to be at 145lb lean(no not a electronic measure). I've been lifting for 8 months. A ~10lb increase in lean mass(which again i was tested to be 157lb) in the first year of lifting is not difficult. Subsequent years will not give me the muscle increases I've seen to date. I'm targeting for around 165lean mass with a full body weight of 190. Anyhow I don't want to sidetrack this persons thread.
except that whole low calorie intake to the point you were still able to drop 5-10lbs at the same time..........
10lbs in a year....lifting heavy close to maintenance....sure.0
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