1200 calories a day + exercise

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  • Zmac34
    Zmac34 Posts: 32 Member
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    I've seen girls with eating disorders exercising and eating under 1k cal per day. I believed you mentioned you did well on 1500 cal so I would stick to that and maybe more on harder workout days.
  • Melmo1988
    Melmo1988 Posts: 293 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Zmac34 wrote: »
    I've seen girls with eating disorders exercising and eating under 1k cal per day. I believed you mentioned you did well on 1500 cal so I would stick to that and maybe more on harder workout days.

    So have I, but that has nothing to do with me since I'm not eating under 1000 calories a day. I eat 1200 calories on days I don't exercise and 1900-2000 on exercise days.
  • elaineamj
    elaineamj Posts: 347 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Perhaps seeing what apps u can download to your phone to get slightly more accurate might also help u with confidence with your numbers? Some of what others posters on here have said in this thread got me to download the free Runtastic app on my phone.

    I was worried it wouldn't work on my Blackberry but I tested it out today and it worked well. It said I walked faster than I thought - 3.6mph instead of 3mph and gave me a more accurate number for distance walked. Since I have been recording this as 219 cals, I can eat 20 calories today :):) Numbers were pretty close to MFP though. (248 cals on MFP, 239 cals on Runtastic).
  • FroggyIN16
    FroggyIN16 Posts: 9 Member
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    elaineamj wrote: »
    Ok...I am finding this a bit weird. OP is losing about 2lbs/week - which is what she wanted. Perhaps she is overestimating her calories burned slightly. But she has the safety margin of having dropped her base calories to 1200 while eating back all her exercise calories - so about 1900 a day. So overestimate on one side while underestimate on the other . Without more accurate tracking tools, it sounds like she has found a way to balance it out.

    Also she said MFP calculates her burn at about 380/390 and someone posted that Runners World's calculation was about 350. Not that much of a difference IMO.

    OP, what I did was start monitoring my weight daily in TrendWeight. I only want to lose 1lb a week. MFP set me at 1200 calories (I am 5ft tall). I was eating back half my exercise calories, so about 1300 cals a day. After logging for 4 weeks, TrendWeight said I was averaging 1.5lbs a week of loss and burning a bit over 200 calories a day more than I planned to. Too fast for me, so I have started eating all my exercise calories. (MFP gives me a burn of 400-500 cals a day, and I had been eating 200-250 of that. Now I eat all 400-500 of it). I am kinda impressed that according to my TrendWeight stats, MFP's exercise numbers seem to be pretty accurate for me.

    I plan to watch TrendWeight for the next 2-3 weeks and adjusting my calorie intake up or down based on what it says.

    It makes sense to pay attention to MY body to see how my way of tracking works/doesn't work and adjust accordingly. Every single calculator out there is just an estimate anyway. Plus, even with all my careful weighing, I have to do a certain amount of estimating when it comes to food logging anyway - when I eat out/eat at a friend's place - I have to guess as best as I can. While most ppl underestimate, I know I often overestimate since I want to be safe.

    So I am watching the scale. Also paying more attention to my body. I was feeling sleepy and having a hard time concentrating on my previous plan. So I am eating more and will see how that goes. No interest in starving myself :)

    Also, based on advice here, I work on weekly net calories. That way if I overeat on one day, I can exercise more/eat less on the next day to make up for it. I've been pretty good about staying right about where my weekly net calories are.

    I agree 100% if its working, and she is losing 2 lb a week, and not 7 lbs a week she should keep at it, an app for tracking just makes it a little easier, and makes me feel for confident I am tracking my info as close as I can...2lbs a week is a healthy rate to lose....I know this past summer I was walking between 4-7 miles a day depending on time and weather, and I was losing about 2lbs a week as well..not that winter is here in MN walking has pretty much halted lol....OP keep doing what you are doing if it is working for you, and you are feeling well.. :)

  • slrayner
    slrayner Posts: 3 Member
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    I've just started with MFP and its gave me 1200 as a goal for my daily calories. I currently weigh 171. Is this something that isn't sustainable? I've seen lots of people on this post saying it's too low? X
  • jenmovies
    jenmovies Posts: 346 Member
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    If you're short, 1200 is perfectly fine. However, taller more active women can eat much more, so long as you do exercise regularly. Try some websites to help you work out your goal versus the MFP auto settings. Good luck!
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    slrayner wrote: »
    I've just started with MFP and its gave me 1200 as a goal for my daily calories. I currently weigh 171. Is this something that isn't sustainable? I've seen lots of people on this post saying it's too low? X

    @slrayner - that depends. It can be fine if you are very short and sedentary. For many, it is too low. The problem is people often pick the sedentary option when they are not and then choose 2 lbs a week for a weight loss goal when it is too aggressive and end up at 1200.

    It's also important to note that even if MFP gives you 1200, the app expects you to log exercise and eat those calories back. So if you exercise you eat more than 1200. This is another common mistake, not eating at least some of the exercise calories back.
  • slrayner
    slrayner Posts: 3 Member
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    I don't really exercise much at the moment and I'm 5'6''. Guess I've just got to get used to having less food! Thanks for the reply x
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    slrayner wrote: »
    I don't really exercise much at the moment and I'm 5'6''. Guess I've just got to get used to having less food! Thanks for the reply x
    slrayner wrote: »
    I don't really exercise much at the moment and I'm 5'6''. Guess I've just got to get used to having less food! Thanks for the reply x

    At 5'6 and 171 lbs you should not be aiming for 2 lbs a week. 1 lb a week would be much more realistic. 2lbs a week is a more realistic goal for those with 100 or more pounds to lose.
    You should be over 1200.
  • slrayner
    slrayner Posts: 3 Member
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    Thank you so much @3dogsrunning for taking the time to reply. I've changed my goal to 1.5lbs a week and I now have 1370 cals to play with which sounds a lot better to me x
  • PlanningBea
    PlanningBea Posts: 7 Member
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    slrayner wrote: »
    I've just started with MFP and its gave me 1200 as a goal for my daily calories. I currently weigh 171. Is this something that isn't sustainable? I've seen lots of people on this post saying it's too low? X

    I'm 5'3 and 147lbs and I find it very hard not to exceed the 1200, as the number on my tracker grows really fast even if i try to bulk up my meals with veggies and don't eat that much carbs. (It might be that I don't eat as "healthy" as I think I do!)

    You would think that month is enough to get used to smaller meals, but I'm still hungry in between and not really loosing much weight (2lbs since the beginning of January) .

    I'm trying to aim for 1400 right now, hoping it'll be enough to move my weight, cause 1200 is definitely not sustainable for me in a long run.
  • mean_and_lean
    mean_and_lean Posts: 164 Member
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    Melmo1988 wrote: »
    How am I supposed to know EXACTLY how far it was? I looked it up on google maps but I don't know if I followed the same route it was measured by.

    So use "Map my run" or one of those programs where you can put in the EXACT route that you went and it will show you exactly how many miles it was. Or hop in your car and drive it to find out exactly how many miles it was.
  • Melmo1988
    Melmo1988 Posts: 293 Member
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    mean_and_lean wrote: »
    Melmo1988 wrote: »
    How am I supposed to know EXACTLY how far it was? I looked it up on google maps but I don't know if I followed the same route it was measured by.

    So use "Map my run" or one of those programs where you can put in the EXACT route that you went and it will show you exactly how many miles it was. Or hop in your car and drive it to find out exactly how many miles it was.

    I do not have a car and I just downloaded the app so I'll have to wait til my next walk to see
  • sanfromny
    sanfromny Posts: 770 Member
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    Personally I think Map My Run over estimates calories burned big time. I'm 5'2 162lbs and it told me I burn something like 150 cals on a .63 mile walk...there's no way. I downloaded an app called cardiotrainer. I use them on my walks. It uses GPS and has a map too. It records time, speed, distance and calories. The estimated calories seem a lot more reasonable. And it compares it like, if I walk my dog, it will say I burned 100 the equivalent of 1 banana.
  • Melmo1988
    Melmo1988 Posts: 293 Member
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    So I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing then. Nobody here can say any app is accurate without someone else disagreeing and mfp is working for me even if there are people who think it's not so whatever. I'm just gonna do what works for me
  • elaineamj
    elaineamj Posts: 347 Member
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    Melmo1988 wrote: »
    So I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing then. Nobody here can say any app is accurate without someone else disagreeing and mfp is working for me even if there are people who think it's not so whatever. I'm just gonna do what works for me

    LOL - it's hard to get a straight answer isn't it? I think the big thing is whatever you use, be consistent with it. That way the inaccuracies are also consistent. Then, keep track of your weight loss and every 2-4 weeks as you see the trends, adjust cals/calculations up or down based on what you see.
  • Melmo1988
    Melmo1988 Posts: 293 Member
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    elaineamj wrote: »
    Melmo1988 wrote: »
    So I'm just going to keep doing what I've been doing then. Nobody here can say any app is accurate without someone else disagreeing and mfp is working for me even if there are people who think it's not so whatever. I'm just gonna do what works for me

    LOL - it's hard to get a straight answer isn't it? I think the big thing is whatever you use, be consistent with it. That way the inaccuracies are also consistent. Then, keep track of your weight loss and every 2-4 weeks as you see the trends, adjust cals/calculations up or down based on what you see.

    Sounds good :) I weight myself every day (it helps keep me motivated) and I write my weight for the day on my white board calendar so I can see how much it changes. Very motivating :) Maybe as my weight loss slows I won't weigh daily but we'll see.
  • beckypierce1
    beckypierce1 Posts: 17 Member
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    juggernaut1974 wrote: »
    tmc715 wrote: »
    That is not enough food to see weight loss that you will sustain. Your body will go into starvation mode eventually and will hold on to what you eat, which could eventually cause weight gain. I am a personal trainer and do not recommend my clients go below 1500.

    While I agree that 1200 is probably too low of a calorie goal for the OP...the starvation mode stuff is nonsense.
  • beckypierce1
    beckypierce1 Posts: 17 Member
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    I tend to agree that the starvation mode from too few calories is myth. If this really happens then why do we have thin, undernourished people? No one would get skinny from malnutrition if this was actually true.
  • Melmo1988
    Melmo1988 Posts: 293 Member
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    Exactly. If that was the case, starving people would be fat lol. Nonsense.

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