1200 calorie question

NicoleMKlein
NicoleMKlein Posts: 18 Member
edited November 20 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been using myfitness pal for around 5 months. I have done really well, 56 pounds so far. But I have been at 1200 calories for most of the time. I'm wondering / worried that as I get closer to my goal it will be harder and harder to lose weight. I have worked out pretty intensely the whole time (6 days a week) I don't see how I'm going to be able to up my workouts anymore than I already am. The weight loss is slowing down but still coming off. I'm just concerned that I will have no more upping or lowering anything pretty soon. Does anyone have any situation like this? Will I just keep losing keeping up with what I have been doing?

Replies

  • PixelPuff
    PixelPuff Posts: 902 Member
    Even if it slows, you should definitely keep losing at 1200; especially if you are exercising like you say that you are.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    As you get closer to your goal weight you will lose more slowly. That is because your smaller body size uses less calories; also, as you are closer to goal, you don't need to lose 2 lbs. a week, only about .5 lb a week.
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  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    The less fat you have left to lose, the less energy your body can metabolize from stored fat. It's normal and healthy for weight loss to slow as body fat percentage goes down. It is possible to lose quickly, in short bursts, as you get leaner, but that is an advanced dieting exercise and not for the faint of heart or those who don't fully understand what's involved. And over time, it all averages out the same, anyway.


  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    NicoleMKlein wrote: »
    I have been using myfitness pal for around 5 months. I have done really well, 56 pounds so far. But I have been at 1200 calories for most of the time. I'm wondering / worried that as I get closer to my goal it will be harder and harder to lose weight. I have worked out pretty intensely the whole time (6 days a week) I don't see how I'm going to be able to up my workouts anymore than I already am. The weight loss is slowing down but still coming off. I'm just concerned that I will have no more upping or lowering anything pretty soon. Does anyone have any situation like this? Will I just keep losing keeping up with what I have been doing?

    As you get smaller, the amount you need to maintain your weight gets lower which means that your deficit gets smaller. This is why people say that the last 10 lbs or so are the hardest. Your deficit becomes smaller and it eventually gets to a point that there is little to no room for errors in logging.

    You will continue to lose weight, but there will probably come a point where you are only lose 0.5 lb a week. It will eventually become slow progress. Slow progress however is better than no progress at all.
  • NicoleMKlein
    NicoleMKlein Posts: 18 Member
    Thanks, it just gets frustrating sometimes. I do some form of cardiovascular every other day (eliptical or stationary bike) I walk (with 20 pound weights in a back pack) at least 3.5 miles every day and every other day I do 2 rounds of the 7 minute excercise app. I average 20,000 steps a day and drink usually 20 glasses of water a day. I generally take Saturday off but do get at least 11,000 steps on saturdays. I just get nervous because now my kids are off of school and nothing will probably increase.
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  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    If your weight loss is slowing it's time to look at your logging. Do you use a food scale for solids? Cups/spoons for liquids? Choosing correct entries?
  • NicoleMKlein
    NicoleMKlein Posts: 18 Member
    I have 44 pounds left to lose and I have been losing around 1.4 the past 2 weeks. Previously I had been losing around 3. I have food scales measuring cups etc... I'm doing everything right or obviously I wouldn't have been successful so far. I do have one cheat day per week but Nothing crazy usually around 1600 calories and I have been doing that the whole 5 months
  • Zedeff
    Zedeff Posts: 651 Member
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    The less fat you have left to lose, the less energy your body can metabolize from stored fat. It's normal and healthy for weight loss to slow as body fat percentage goes down. It is possible to lose quickly, in short bursts, as you get leaner, but that is an advanced dieting exercise and not for the faint of heart or those who don't fully understand what's involved. And over time, it all averages out the same, anyway.


    @Mr_Knight could you elaborate on these "advanced dieting" exercises? I'm intrigued and not sure what you are referring to. Thanks!
  • Sandcastles61
    Sandcastles61 Posts: 506 Member
    I just hit my weight loss goal and can tell you honestly it took as long for me to lose the last 8 pounds as it did the first 22 :s. It can be tortuously slow at the end.... Like half pound every two or three weeks.... You just have to stick with the plan, don't dispair and keep doing what has worked to get you this far. Congratulations on losing 56 pounds <3
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  • NicoleMKlein
    NicoleMKlein Posts: 18 Member
    Sandcastles61, thanks :) how frustrating! !
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    edited June 2015
    Look at it this way:

    Let's say you weigh 250 pounds and it takes 2200 calories to maintain that weight because that's what your body needs to keep a 250 pound body working without losing any weight. Eating 1200 calories would put you at a 1000 calorie per day deficit (2200 - 1200) so you would lose two pounds per week.

    After you lose 50 pounds, it may just take 1900 calories to maintain that weight because there's less body that needs to be supported. That means that eating 1200 per day (and you shouldn't go below 1200 per day) is now a 700 calorie per day deficit (1900 - 1200) so you would lose 1.4 pounds per week.

    The more you lose, the slower you will lose because smaller bodies use fewer calories.
  • arv51862
    arv51862 Posts: 115 Member
    I'm just finding out about the slowing weight loss myself. It sounds like you just need to stay on the path that you are on & know that the progress will be slower. I'm in the same boat 'bottoming out' at 1200 calories. Congrats on your progress thus far, very awesome !
  • NicoleMKlein
    NicoleMKlein Posts: 18 Member
    Thank you, this has helped me feel better!
  • rayw89
    rayw89 Posts: 564 Member
    It all depends on height, weight, and exercise amount. It sounds like you're currently exercising pretty hard like I was when I started. I say was because I've recently cut my almost 1 1/2 hour gym time down to just 45 minutes. But at 5' 8", I upped my calories from 1,200 to 1,400 a day over a month ago, and I still lost a decent amount each week(half a pound here, 2-3 lbs. there). I've started experimenting with not counting on weekends and doing 1,400 a day on week days and I still lose(last week was a 3 lb. loss). Continuing the no-count weekends and cutting my exercise in half has resulted this first week with just maintaining my current weight. So I will be playing with this to see what the balance is. I am 4-7 lbs. from ultimate goal, so it's a good experimental zone.
    Remember that this needs to be something you can and will maintain after reaching the goal. :)
  • ladymorella
    ladymorella Posts: 7 Member
    Maybe try upping your protein intake. You can get to the point where it is hard to gain muscle because you aren't fueled right/not enough calories. Muscles take more calories to maintain so it increases the calories you burn. Maybe just up it a little bit for a while?

    I'm not sure active people are suppose to be on 1200 a day. I think the minimum is 1600, but I can't seem to find anything on it right now. (Dang internet all info is equal, I miss the days of knowing what a reliable source was quickly.)
  • NicoleMKlein
    NicoleMKlein Posts: 18 Member
    I never thought to change my activity level...
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,303 Member
    edited June 2015
    You are confronting the fact that 1200 Cal is not compatible with your activity level.

    You my friend are currently VERY ACTIVE in MFP speak. Not sedentary.

    You can continue to lose an appreciable amount of weight at 2000+ Cal a day.

    No, not 3lbs a week. But probably 1 to 1.5lbs a week.

    As your available fat decreases you will have trouble maintaining your current 1500+ Cal a day deficits without burning through muscle mass.

    You may seriously want to adjust your expectations of what a healthy weight loss rate is, and move your daily intake of calories up to something more sustainable.

    You remind me of me back in early November before I discovered MFP and a more sane rate of loss.

    Losing 1.33 lbs a week over 7 months eating 2350+ Cal a day sure beats burning out and giving up because of attempting to lose at a rate of 3lbs a week which would require eating @ 1500Cal a day!
  • Roaringgael
    Roaringgael Posts: 339 Member
    I eat higher than you and exercise. The weight loss will just slow down. Over the last 3 months I lost 1.5kgs(3.4lbs). 1.2 of those was in the first 18 days, I plateaued for 2 months and just lost 0.3kgs in just over a week. Nothing's linear. This is sustainable. I like what I eat and don't feel deprived I have lost a total of 41.3 kgs (91lbs) so far. It works.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Yes the weight loss will slow down toward the end, but it will not stop. Like the others have said, when you're down to the last 10-20lbs accurate logging is crucial, because you don't have as much wiggle room for errors as you did when you were heavier.
    I'm in maintenance kind of now, and i was losing 1kg (2.2lbs ) a month for the last 5ish kgs.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    With less to lose, the aggressiveness of your goal will change and although you will continue to lose, it will be at a slower pace.
  • alias1001
    alias1001 Posts: 634 Member
    Sandcastles61 wrote: »
    I just hit my weight loss goal and can tell you honestly it took as long for me to lose the last 8 pounds as it did the first 22 :s. It can be tortuously slow at the end.... Like half pound every two or three weeks.... You just have to stick with the plan, don't dispair and keep doing what has worked to get you this far. Congratulations on losing 56 pounds <3

    Helpful, thank you!
  • cindyangotti
    cindyangotti Posts: 294 Member
    When my weight slowed down I added in a lot more protein. I did that by adding protein powder (25 grams) to my coffee in the morning. I also started making green smoothies and increased my cardio up to 90 minutes 4x a day and making sure I got in at least 1400 steps on the non cardio days. With the extra protein and the smoothies I had plenty of energy for it. The pounds started melting off again. I think just by doing something different is what my body needed.
  • ladymorella
    ladymorella Posts: 7 Member
    edited June 2015
    I would echo what pav8888 said. I stopped losing weight when I kept trying to stay on a low calorie diet (1200 cal a day). Despite lifting weights I wasn't getting stronger and despite cardio I wasn't getting faster/fitter. I started eating 1900 calories back in March and started losing weight again. Now I am on 2100 cal a day and am losing steadily. Though it's not just any calories. I eat a ton of protein and not much carbs and all carbs are from plants.
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