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

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  • mmmoniqueee
    mmmoniqueee Posts: 2 Member
    edited June 2015
    1200 is NOT a magic number. It works for some people and not for others. Personally I think your BMR is what you should be eating MINIMUM (you can find a BMR calculator online). Your BMR is how many calories your body would burn if all you did was rest all day, and eating below this number can slow down your metabolism and hurt your progress in the long run. When I started, I ate 1200 calories every day and honestly felt hungry/deprived all the time, this is what ultimately led to me falling off the wagon. I now eat to BMR and actually find it soo much more easier to be consistent with and progress with. Remember that consistency is key! you can't eat 1200 calories for the rest of your life!! good luck :smile:
  • ejbronte
    ejbronte Posts: 867 Member
    mmmoniqueee wrote: »
    1200 is NOT a magic number. It works for some people and not for others. Personally I think your BMR is what you should be eating MINIMUM (you can find a BMR calculator online). Your BMR is how many calories your body would burn if all you did was rest all day, and eating below this number can slow down your metabolism and hurt your progress in the long run. When I started, I ate 1200 calories every day and honestly felt hungry/deprived all the time, this is what ultimately led to me falling off the wagon. I now eat to BMR and actually find it soo much more easier to be consistent with and progress with. Remember that consistency is key! you can't eat 1200 calories for the rest of your life!! good luck :smile:

    This is excellent advice for people tall enough to reach top shelf at the grocery store (I personally am thankful that my shopping friends are at least 5'5" because whatever I want is almost always out of my reach). But out of curiosity, I ran my current TDEE on the IIFYM site. As a 5'0" female, 56 years old, 111.8 pounds (as of this morning: yay!) and giving myself couch potato status, my BMR is 1016 and my TDEE is 1219. So there I go. Not much lee-way there!

  • 04hoopsgal73
    04hoopsgal73 Posts: 892 Member
    It depends on your goals, your age, how weight you want to gain-lose-maintain, how your body metabolizes ( medications, health issues, etc) an other things. We're all different and we all have different needs. Try a number between MFP and IIFYM settings, decide your deficit and try it for 30 days. some of us use customize settings from nutritionists, doctors, and personal trainers. You need to find what works for you.
  • nixonshaun
    nixonshaun Posts: 17 Member
    Remember to factor in your Basal Metabolic Rate, this is the amount of calories your body burns every day just doing things like breathing, pumping blood etc... One of the websites i use shows that at my ripe old age (42), and my current weight (186) I am burning around 1821 calories a day prior to my workout. There is a formula such as BMR x 1.2 to work out the amount to eat to just maintain weight. It's called the Harris Benedict equation. You can find out more on bmi-calculator dot net/bmr-calculator/

    I work out with dumbbells 6 days a week and have just completed the 90 day Body Beast program. I lost 3 inches around my waist in 90 days, but my weight stayed about the same due to losing fat but gaining muscle.
    Remember if you are strength training to get enough protein in your diet. Nutrition is a large part of getting / staying healthy and losing weight. I read somewhere that you should never go below 1200 calories as your body needs a certain amount to maintain bodily functioning, respiration etc; however, if i am not working out i get by pretty well on 1300 calories per day.

    At present I consume 1985 calories per day, with 50% of my daily intake coming from carbs, 25% coming from protein, and 25% coming from healthy fats. i set these in my goals in MFP.
  • LoreA1960
    LoreA1960 Posts: 108 Member
    When I started it said my calorie goal was over 1900. I never wanted to eat that much. I've been trying to stay between 1200-1500 calories per day
  • ptkat28
    ptkat28 Posts: 99 Member
    Annie_01 wrote: »
    ptkat28 wrote: »
    Urban_Princess wrote: »
    3bambi3 wrote: »
    The calorie goal is based on the information you input when you joined. Did you choose 2lb/week loss? With 35lbs to lose, that's pretty aggressive.

    Also, if you are exercising, you should be eating at least a portion of your calories back.

    For reference, I'm 33, 5'4" and 144 and I eat 1,800 calories a day to lose.

    holy famoly, you are stunning! Similarly, I'm 27, 5'4''..but I eat 1200 or less. my SW was 240 and I have lost eating 1000-1200 (very quickly, mind you) and I work out 5-6 times a week. I don't know if I could eat anymore (and do it without feeling guilty). I really wish i could eat 1800 :(

    @Urban_Princess ... I am 45 and 5ft even! MFP set my calories at 1000! I am so full now it is not funny! I do not know how people eat more than that! I started at 228 and am now 195 in 10 weeks!! YAY! I exercise everyday now, but am still not hungry even tho not eating over 1000-1100!

    Somewhere along the line you had to have been eating more than 1000 calories. If I am correct your profile says that your goal is to lose 108 lbs. How did you gain that.

    I started out with 100lbs to lose...I know how I gained that weight...I ate waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than 1000 calories.

    @Annie_01 , I know where my excess weight came from! From overeating! My dad passed away in April of 2013, and for the past 2 years I have been severely depressed and just gave up and did not care. 3 months ago, I got motivated and told myself that daddy would not want me to be doing this to myself, and changed all my eating habits! Started eating healthy, and exercising! I still have a ways to go, but I am a work in progress :)
  • racheln2017
    racheln2017 Posts: 45 Member
    I know everyone has said this, but it does 100% depend on you. For some reason, MFP gave me a goal of 1650 or so (I don't remember what I put into it to get that goal, I set it up a year before I actually started using it LOL) but I like to keep myself to anywhere between 1100-1400 a day, with my goal as a max. I usually average out to around 1200. Some days I'm just not hungry and I have to force myself to get to 1000. Other days I struggle to keep below the goal.
    I don't measure my food a lot, (sometimes I do, it depends on what it is. I don't own a food scale yet) so eating way under my goal does give me wiggle room due to likely inaccuracies. I also don't put in my workouts, because while I workout every day, my routine is a little too complicated to put into MFP and get an accurate reading (also, because I don't know how much I burn to be honest, just that I'm exhausted after). I'll be getting a fitbit soon, and when I do I'll start logging my exercise. I have never felt like I've been really hungry on 1200. What I feel are hunger pains because I'm not letting myself eat a large bag of chips by myself like I used to. I've only lost 12lbs so far (I'm trying to lose 110 as a final goal, give or take) but I've also only been trying to lose for about a month. So, with my lack of experience on here, take all of this with a grain of salt. But, it has worked for me so far.
  • tedioustrainingap
    tedioustrainingap Posts: 78 Member
    1200 here and I struggle to meet 1400 to eat back half of my exercise cals five days of seven, so I'm switching to a zig zag plan.
  • ohmscheeks
    ohmscheeks Posts: 840 Member
    edited June 2015
    Eh, I more or less do 1200...
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  • lmhump
    lmhump Posts: 21 Member
    1200 a day is tough and that's what I get
    I have to add exercise in order to get more so I use that as my motivating factor for treats etc.,
    I only want to drop 8-10 pounds now and I think those last 5-10 are the hardest.
    Water is also the trick-lots of water to help reduce crazy cravings.
  • triciab79
    triciab79 Posts: 1,713 Member
    I did 1200 to 1000 for the last few months of my weight loss. I have had almost no trouble at all maintaining for the last 3yrs. My maintenance calories are just over 1500 so I go through periods where I might eat a bit more (Oct-Dec) and then I cut it back down to 1200 for a while to compensate. Its not difficult if you are not one of these people who eats out everyday. I make 95% of my meals so I can choose to eat filling items instead of pure fat and sugar.
  • hippytee
    hippytee Posts: 249 Member
    Calorific needs are different for everyone
    Usually a balanced diet of
    2000 for women 2500 for men NHS recommendations (UK s national health service) to maintain a healthy weight ,,
    1200 is ok as a short term diet plan these are only recommended for a few weeks as a long term plan not too great an option esp if yr a active , very active person,,,


    A woman let's say is 250 lbs normally eats 3000 then goes on a 1200 may soon give up as its too much of a decrease or loose let's say 6 lb i for a few week but most probably not loose even a pound a week whilst on it. gonna feel tired Crave the sugary fattening foods and cheat pretty quick Feel disappointed that it's not working
    She could probably eat 2300 and loose 2 + lbs a week

    Usually cutting back 500 calories sees the rec healthy weight loss of 1-2 lbs a week ,, plus getting more exercise than normally taken regularly
    Burning 3500 weekly through exercise = 1 lb weight loss depending on how much muscle you have as muscle burns more cals than body fat
    So a slimmer more muscly woman will. Burn more cals by just even walking the same distance as a heavier lady ,, thus the lighter of the two can eat more
    Sorry for the essay
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