1200 calories a day for women
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I'm 5'7 on 1200kcal a day but I wear a fitbit and eat most if not all of my exercise calories back every day, so I usually end up eating more like 1500-1600, sometimes up to 2000. I'm losing between 0.5-1 Kilo per week. I think it's good having such a low baseline kcal rate because it makes me work out or walk more so that I can increase my calories for the day.0
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EstherOrtizLaw wrote: »I meant to say that I've lost about 1/2 a pound a week. It's been slow but I think it's because of the heavy strength training that I do. So, I'm pretty muscular. I should probably post an updated picture so people will know what eating at 1200 with occasional increases here and there looks like on a 5'2 woman in her 40s. Lol! I'm by no means starving!
Strength training will aide a weight loss goal. Plus it gives us all those other great benefits to our life. Good work
and progress.
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I am 5'2" and I am not big on exercise (I just walk around 15,000 steps a day). So if I eat more than 1,200 calories in a day, I usually see a gain.0
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LegendOfErin wrote: »I am 5'2" and I am not big on exercise (I just walk around 15,000 steps a day). So if I eat more than 1,200 calories in a day, I usually see a gain.
That really doesn't seem correct.
A 5'2" 24 year old female at 140lbs with a sedentary office job has a TDEE of 1700 cals. I noticed that your profile indicates you want to lose 90 more lbs, so your TDEE is that much higher.0 -
LegendOfErin wrote: »I am 5'2" and I am not big on exercise (I just walk around 15,000 steps a day). So if I eat more than 1,200 calories in a day, I usually see a gain.
That really doesn't seem correct.
A 5'2" 24 year old female at 140lbs with a sedentary office job has a TDEE of 1700 cals. I noticed that your profile indicates you want to lose 90 more lbs, so your TDEE is that much higher.
Yeah I don't know... I lost 90 lbs in 2013. Gained it all back and now I have basically the same amount to lose (again). I always found when I ate the recommended amount, I would either maintain or gain.
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TiffanyR71 wrote: »I'm eating 1200 a day. I am satisfied and have plenty of energy. 1200, to stay well-nourished, is tricky- it doesn't leave much room for non-nutritive calories. I stick to it, make very healthy choices, and save up exercise calories for a couple of glasses of wine on the weekends. My TDEE is only 1800, so, to lose 1 lb a week, I need to be at 1300.
My experience is almost identical. As others have said, if you're short and middle-aged with a TDEE range of 1700-1900 and a BMR range of 1100-1300, eating at 1200 is no great challenge. Personally I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under age forty or over 5'5" (barring competent medical supervision.)
Even so I take a daily vitamin supplement, and yes every bit of food has to be nutritionally dense and pull its weight. There's no room for empty calories.
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It depends what I eat, if I dont eat bread and just stick to meats and veggies I have a hard time getting to the 1200 calories. I am full. when I eat bread I usually go over 1200.0
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I saw two separate doctors One who prescribed a 1200 calorie diet, and another a 1000 calorie diet. So yes, they actually do tell you to eat a restrictive diet. One was a rheumatologist, the other an endocrinologist.0
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You're making a huge mistake if you trust MFP's computer to calculate your daily macronutrient and calorie intake. The program does not use enough data points to accurately determine what your body needs.
Research TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and tweak your goals to suit your individual lifestyle and macronutrient targets.0 -
LegendOfErin wrote: »I am 5'2" and I am not big on exercise (I just walk around 15,000 steps a day). So if I eat more than 1,200 calories in a day, I usually see a gain.
Then you are likely not tracking your calories accurately and you are eating more than 1200 calories already.
I am 5'2. I walk around 15,000 steps/day. My TDEE is around 2100. I lose weight eating 1800 cals or more.
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I'm sure 1200 calories a day works for some people, but I strongly encourage my friends to experiment to figure out what works for them. The goal should be to eat as much as possible while still losing weight. Last March, I started dieting by eating 1200 calories a day (because that's what I thought I had to do). I quickly burned out, and after a reverse diet, I lost weight at the same rate eating 2000 calories a day. I'm now eating 2200 calories a day and losing .5 lb/week. (For reference I'm 34 and 5'9"). Basically, don't take any calculators as gospel and experiment with your intake to find that sweet spot.0
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LegendOfErin wrote: »I am 5'2" and I am not big on exercise (I just walk around 15,000 steps a day). So if I eat more than 1,200 calories in a day, I usually see a gain.
Then you are likely not tracking your calories accurately and you are eating more than 1200 calories already.
I am 5'2. I walk around 15,000 steps/day. My TDEE is around 2100. I lose weight eating 1800 cals or more.
You are lucky! I've tried that before, and it truly doesn't work for me.
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It's not 1,200 but I ate at 1,300 as my base for quite a while. It was workable even before I started adding exercise calories, but I'm not sure I would sprint to the nearest person and recommend it. It requires a lot of forethought in my experience, and careful attention to satiety of foods. Personally, this meant that most days I was either full but not particularly enjoying my meals or slightly hungry but having enjoyed a treat or two, lol.
Now I wouldn't consider doing that again as I burned out. The best method of weight loss is one you will do, and one that will allow a transition to maintenance without you feeling cranky/burnt out about everything. Though the loss is slower, a higher calorie count is better for energy, health, and enjoying life- or at least in my opinion.0 -
nicoleromine wrote: »I'm sure 1200 calories a day works for some people, but I strongly encourage my friends to experiment to figure out what works for them. The goal should be to eat as much as possible while still losing weight. Last March, I started dieting by eating 1200 calories a day (because that's what I thought I had to do). I quickly burned out, and after a reverse diet, I lost weight at the same rate eating 2000 calories a day. I'm now eating 2200 calories a day and losing .5 lb/week. (For reference I'm 34 and 5'9"). Basically, don't take any calculators as gospel and experiment with your intake to find that sweet spot.
I totally agree. If you can eat more and still lose weight, why would you not want to try?
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LegendOfErin wrote: »LegendOfErin wrote: »I am 5'2" and I am not big on exercise (I just walk around 15,000 steps a day). So if I eat more than 1,200 calories in a day, I usually see a gain.
Then you are likely not tracking your calories accurately and you are eating more than 1200 calories already.
I am 5'2. I walk around 15,000 steps/day. My TDEE is around 2100. I lose weight eating 1800 cals or more.
You are lucky! I've tried that before, and it truly doesn't work for me.
You mentioned 15,000 steps/day. Are you using a FitBit or some other tracker? How many calories does it say you are burning? There are about 5 basic variables in calculating TDEE - gender, height, weight, age, and activity level. You and I are both 5'2 females with roughly the same activity level. I am assuming you weigh more than me, because your ticker says you have 90 lbs to lose, and you are younger than me. Therefore your TDEE should be about the same as mine, if not higher, but you should definitely be able to lose weight eating more than 1200 calories. I'ts not luck. It is basic math, calories in vs calories out.0 -
LegendOfErin wrote: »LegendOfErin wrote: »I am 5'2" and I am not big on exercise (I just walk around 15,000 steps a day). So if I eat more than 1,200 calories in a day, I usually see a gain.
Then you are likely not tracking your calories accurately and you are eating more than 1200 calories already.
I am 5'2. I walk around 15,000 steps/day. My TDEE is around 2100. I lose weight eating 1800 cals or more.
You are lucky! I've tried that before, and it truly doesn't work for me.
You mentioned 15,000 steps/day. Are you using a FitBit or some other tracker? How many calories does it say you are burning? There are about 5 basic variables in calculating TDEE - gender, height, weight, age, and activity level. You and I are both 5'2 females with roughly the same activity level. I am assuming you weigh more than me, because your ticker says you have 90 lbs to lose, and you are younger than me. Therefore your TDEE should be about the same as mine, if not higher, but you should definitely be able to lose weight eating more than 1200 calories. I'ts not luck. It is basic math, calories in vs calories out.
Yeah I have a FitBit tracker. I've been using MFP for 4 years now, and this is just how it's been for me. Lost 90 lbs before, I can do it again (just harder psychologically the second time). I have tried different variations of calories, and I have done the calculations before. It's old news to me. This is just how my body is.0 -
Makes me wonder why mine is so low then, 5 ft 4 in, 51 years sedentary lifestyle, 'only' got 14 lbs to lose yet asked for a loss of 1 lb a week - calorie intake 1,180... ?0
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Makes me wonder why mine is so low then, 5 ft 4 in, 51 years sedentary lifestyle, 'only' got 14 lbs to lose yet asked for a loss of 1 lb a week - calorie intake 1,180... ?
If you were given a number below 1200 you must have done so on the app before they fixed the glitch. Try it again or try using a computer.0 -
I have been eating at 1450 cals/day and losing at about 2lbs/week. I know this won't continue as I have only been doing this for 35 days.
It also started with 80lbs to lose.
I tried staying at 1200cals (recommended for 1lb/week loss) but quickly raised it to 1250, then 1300, finally 1450 cals/day.
I don't know how this will work in the future. I guess I'll wait and see.
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Oh, I am 5'2" and 36 years old.0
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