Is a 1200 calorie day really realistic???? Is that what most of you are doing????

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  • KellyLouiseGibson
    KellyLouiseGibson Posts: 175 Member
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    I have been losing weight for 5 months now and have been on a calorie intake of 1340. I find it ok I am never hungry. I have lost 3 stone 3 pounds in that 5 months. Which is around 2 pounds a week. My goal has always been set to lose 2 pounds a week to. My stomach has shrunk so I can't actually eat big meals anymore I get to full. I also avoid carbs though bread and pasta etc.
  • AnitaSkipper
    AnitaSkipper Posts: 1 Member
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    according to the nutritionist, NO. I mine was at 1200. I was exercising very little but still burning off enough that at the end of the day I was eating over 1200, burning it off and only had 600-900 to count. And I was gaining. She said I was starving. She said we need to set our goal at 1500. And get most of your calories from protein and complex carbs.
  • runrascal
    runrascal Posts: 53 Member
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    I am tiny - 4'11" and currently 122lbs, aiming for 112. MFP won't go lower than 1200 which is a lot for my size, but it does allow me to go down to 1000 on my log. I aim for between 1000 - 1200 actual calories per day and try not to eat my exercise calories, so some days my net is coming in under 800. I have lost 8lbs in less than 4 weeks.
    My hubby started MFP a couple of weeks ago, he's pretty small too at 5'6" but at over 180lbs has a good bit to lose. MFP gave him 1500 per day which he manages fine and is losing weight. But when I started him on MFP I put him in as a sedentary worker (which he actually isn't!) and it came out at 1200, which was a bit shocking as it was the same as me. I soon realised I had made a mistake in the orginal information I entered.

    But I agree with all the other posters that you have to weigh and log every mouthful - cos even that healthy rice cake sneaks in 30 calories a time, and fruit don't come free either.
  • meeperoon
    meeperoon Posts: 270 Member
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    You are welcome to look at my diary, I am working on 1200 a day and I know that they are correct as I am eating diet chef meals and products which have been specifically weighed and portion controlled. everything else I weigh and measure. e.g rice and pasta or bread.
  • spookypurple
    spookypurple Posts: 1 Member
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    I start the day on 1290, which apparently is the daily requirements for someone weighing just under 9 1/2 stone(I'm 15st 9lb). Bizarrely, my weight has been going UP!
  • crispaholicshaz
    crispaholicshaz Posts: 79 Member
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    It doesn't keep u at 1200 per day, cause when u put in ur exercise it gives u more allowance... I walk a lot during the day and enter it in my diary.. and it puts me to about 1500.....
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Whether it is realistic depends on who you are. A short, sedentary and older woman? A teenager tall boy who spends 6 hours per day playing basketball?
  • professionalHobbyist
    professionalHobbyist Posts: 1,316 Member
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    I am supposed to eat 1670, I had 696 calories of exercise and are 1725 or so calories with a little over 400 left for the day yesterday

    Your age, height, activity level, muscle mass factor in.

    If you go by the basic guidelines of the program it gets you in the ball park.

  • Stella014
    Stella014 Posts: 20 Member
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    Mine is set at 1200. Can't remember if I did it or mfp. It's do-able just have to think about what to eat but never really felt hungry more just "wanting" something. Some days there's room for a treat (Beglain chocolate :-)) somethimes there isn't. I have extra calaories from fitness and walking but I don't tend to each (much of) them.
  • allyphoe
    allyphoe Posts: 618 Member
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    I'm 40-something, 5'4", ~160 pounds, and mostly sedentary. Maintenance for me, as determined by calories in and long-term (10+ months) change in weight, is around 2,200 calories. I eat an average of 1,950 and lose just fine, albeit slowly.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    lseed87 wrote: »
    MFP gives everyone 1200. For some it might be. I would check your tdee and other things and see what is right for you. Could also ask your doctor and see what he/she would recommend. I started around 1450 cals and worked up to 1987 over time. I kept adjusting it 50-100 if I felt like I wasn't getting enough food or if I was exercising way more than I previously was. Everyone also has different goals that can reflect the number.

    I've been on here for 17 months and have not once seen 1200 calories. In fact I didn't even know 1200 calories existed as a goal at first. My goal when I started was 1900-ish for 1.5 pounds a week. Now it's 1480 for a pound a week, but I regularly eat 1800-2000 after my Fitbit adjustments are added in.
  • Scarlett_ptista
    Scarlett_ptista Posts: 22 Member
    edited June 2015
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    1200 a week is typical for a sedentary woman who is trying to lose 2 lbs a week. Unfortunately, the 2lb a week goal is simply not realistic for someone losing less than 50 lbs...

    What I wish is that when you entered your goals, MFP advised/encouraged you to aim for 1-1.5 lb a week if you're losing less than 50 lbs.

    Eating 1200 cal a day is impossible for me. I am sedentary, but trying to be more active, and I feel most days like I am starving being awake from 6:00 a.m. - Midnight and trying to stick to a 1200 cal goal. It's what motivated me to start working out 4x a week, because aside from wanting to be healthier and toned, I wanted to be able to afford the calories to eat a little more!
  • Emma4195
    Emma4195 Posts: 7 Member
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    Iv only had breakfast & now a protein shake & I'm nearly at my limit
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
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    lseed87 wrote: »
    MFP gives everyone 1200. For some it might be. I would check your tdee and other things and see what is right for you. Could also ask your doctor and see what he/she would recommend. I started around 1450 cals and worked up to 1987 over time. I kept adjusting it 50-100 if I felt like I wasn't getting enough food or if I was exercising way more than I previously was. Everyone also has different goals that can reflect the number.

    It gave me 1460. A lot of it has to do with people picking the 2 pound a week option. 2 pounds a week puts me at 1200 calories but MFP tells me at that amount I can only expect to lose 1.3 pounds a week. I would rather eat a little bit more and keep it sustainable for me than to eat the minimum and be miserable in the hopes to speed things up.
  • fat_destroyer1
    fat_destroyer1 Posts: 40 Member
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    well i done 1200 cal for about 120 days then i broke and gained 41 pounds back
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    jkal1979 wrote: »
    lseed87 wrote: »
    MFP gives everyone 1200. For some it might be. I would check your tdee and other things and see what is right for you. Could also ask your doctor and see what he/she would recommend. I started around 1450 cals and worked up to 1987 over time. I kept adjusting it 50-100 if I felt like I wasn't getting enough food or if I was exercising way more than I previously was. Everyone also has different goals that can reflect the number.

    It gave me 1460. A lot of it has to do with people picking the 2 pound a week option. 2 pounds a week puts me at 1200 calories but MFP tells me at that amount I can only expect to lose 1.3 pounds a week. I would rather eat a little bit more and keep it sustainable for me than to eat the minimum and be miserable in the hopes to speed things up.

    To add to this. Part of the problem is people picking 2lbs a week regardless of what they have to lose, which can be too aggressive for some. The other part is people also choose the sedentary option which is also too low for many people.

    And people forget that MFP is a NEAT calculator, not TDEE, so when you exercise, you get additional calories. So for those who do end up with 1200, if they are active, they should be eating more than 1200 anyway.

    It's also a good point that this tool is meant as a starting point, it is not absolute.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,573 Member
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    35pds2newme wrote: »
    Are most people generally going with a 1200 calorie goal for the day. Just out of curiosity it seems that is what I am seeing posted. How realistic is this really? I am only at day 2--Any thoughts?

    I tried 1200 a day and was sad. I now do 1350 - 1450 or so, a little more if I exercise.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    I eat 1200, my dr suggested it. there are times I'm hungry but I'm learning to eat foods that keep me full longer and also retraining myself to learn that brain hungry is not stomach hungry. Now that I exercise more, I try to eat half the calories back
    If I eat more than that, I gain weight.

    but that is just me. and it certainly can be different for everyone
  • chaosathena
    chaosathena Posts: 5 Member
    edited June 2015
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    In my opinion, a 1200 calorie diet would be too dramatic a change for someone just starting out losing weight. Set a much more attainable goal at first, say, losing 1 pound a week. The hardest part of a weight loss journey is at the beginning, trying to get into the routine of logging your food. Later, when you're more set in your routines, you can adjust your goals as they become easier for you.

    Everyone is different, though. Maybe you can succeed at a 1200 cal goal right off the bat, or maybe you need to start out just maintaining your weight. Find what's right for you. After all, as my yoga teacher says, "Some bodies can do things that some other bodies can't, right now, and that's okay." It's not you failing as a person if you can't maintain a 1200 cal diet. It's you taking care of your individual body the way it needs to be taken care of at this moment.
  • grandmothercharlie
    grandmothercharlie Posts: 1,363 Member
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    I have done 1200 a day since I started in January 2014. But I'm short at 5'1" and 64 years old, so my metabolism is slower.

    I started losing 2 lbs. a week consistently. Then 1 pound. Now, I plateau for long periods and then lose a pound or so as I get closer to my ideal weight (whatever that will be).

    I have to work out, too, as my BMR is less than 1200 calories. I try to do at least 60 minutes of cardio a day and a little free weights a couple times a week. Even at that, MFP only says I'll lose .5 pounds a week. I don't quite make that.

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