1200 Calories Lowest?

kimaboyd
kimaboyd Posts: 23 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I just registered and it says I get 1200 calories which I understand to be the lowest - however I have about 45 lbs to lose....if I am already at the lowest intake how will I be able to continue to lose as the weeks progress?

Replies

  • CeeBeeSlim
    CeeBeeSlim Posts: 1,348 Member
    How aggressive did you set your weekly weight loss goal? .5, 1, 2 lbs?
  • kimaboyd
    kimaboyd Posts: 23 Member
    2 lbs
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    kimaboyd wrote: »
    2 lbs

    #1 - 2lbs a week is too aggressive for 45 lbs to lose. Try 1 - 1.5lbs a week.
    #2 - MFP expects you to log additional exercise and eat those calories, so if you do any activity, you will be eating more than 1200.
    #3 - what activity level did you choose? Most people automatically go for sedentary but many people are at least lightly active.
  • Fursian
    Fursian Posts: 556 Member
    If 1200 isn't sustainable for you, it isn't for many, I'd go with setting your rate of loss to 1.5 - 1 lb per week. Your body will probably be thankful and you'll feel less likely to throw in the towel.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Using this, http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator I have a baseline metabolic rate of 2245.55. It varies for each individual. If your intake of 1200 calories is less than your BMR, then you will lose weight. It is inevitable.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    Using this, http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator I have a baseline metabolic rate of 2245.55. It varies for each individual. If your intake of 1200 calories is less than your BMR, then you will lose weight. It is inevitable.

    BMR is what your body needs if you were in a coma. On top of that you burn calories everyday just living. Of course you will lose if you eat less than your BMR but it is your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) you should figure if you are going to create a deficit.
    Or you can follow MFP which figures these things for you. MFP uses NEAT - non exercise activity thermogenisis - basically what your body need to survive, plus your daily living. That's why it expects you to log your exercise separate. TDEE includes your exercise.

    Many people use BMR as a guideline number to not eat below.
  • swimcoach07
    swimcoach07 Posts: 31 Member
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    Using this, http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator I have a baseline metabolic rate of 2245.55. It varies for each individual. If your intake of 1200 calories is less than your BMR, then you will lose weight. It is inevitable.

    BMR is what your body needs if you were in a coma. On top of that you burn calories everyday just living. Of course you will lose if you eat less than your BMR but it is your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) you should figure if you are going to create a deficit.
    Or you can follow MFP which figures these things for you. MFP uses NEAT - non exercise activity thermogenisis - basically what your body need to survive, plus your daily living. That's why it expects you to log your exercise separate. TDEE includes your exercise.

    Many people use BMR as a guideline number to not eat below.

    ^This.
  • kimaboyd
    kimaboyd Posts: 23 Member
    I am ok with the 1200 but what I am wondering is if i am already at the lowest recommended caloric intake will I not plateau at some point during my loss before goal? Or is it possible to lose the 45 lbs while eating the same amount of calories for the whole time is takes to lose it? I would have thought as you lost weight your calories would decrease but I don't have any to decrease to????
  • Nuke_64
    Nuke_64 Posts: 406 Member
    You will stop losing weight when you hit your maintenance level of calories for that weight. So just throwing out numbers, if your goal is 130 lbs, assuming to maintain 130 lbs you need to eat 1600 calories, you will continue to lose weight as long as you eat less than 1600 calories.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    edited February 2016
    kimaboyd wrote: »
    I am ok with the 1200 but what I am wondering is if i am already at the lowest recommended caloric intake will I not plateau at some point during my loss before goal? Or is it possible to lose the 45 lbs while eating the same amount of calories for the whole time is takes to lose it? I would have thought as you lost weight your calories would decrease but I don't have any to decrease to????

    Are you using a food scale to weigh all solid foods? Are you logging every caloric thing that goes into your mouth?

    If you aren't accurately logging your calories by doing those things then you are likely consuming more calories than you think you are. Your current 1200 may actually be 1400 or 1700 or some other number.

    Accurate logging for a while will give you a body of data to look back through to see where you might want to make some different choices.

    Weight loss will slow as you get closer to your goal because there won't be as much of a calorie difference between 1200 and the maintenance calories for your goal. However, unless you are quite short, 1200 is below maintenance for your goal weight.
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    No--the lowest recommendation for women is 1000 calories/day.

    Exercise.
  • kimaboyd
    kimaboyd Posts: 23 Member
    How do you know what your maintenance calories for your goal weight will be?

    To make this easier I am currently 189 lbs with a goal of 145 lbs and I am 5'3"
  • amy_kee
    amy_kee Posts: 694 Member
    Exercise. Do some. Increase your daily exercise. Simple
  • hi531
    hi531 Posts: 1 Member
    I have the same amount to lose too. I'm on 1,200 calorie plan and I have been since November. I've lost about 8-9 pounds, but I haven't always been eating right which probably slowed down my weight loss. I did plateau for a little as well, maintaining the same weight for about 2-3 weeks. I started going to the gym and burning 500 calories a day in an hour and following the 1,200 calorie plan strictly, hoping this will make the weight scale go down more. Hoped this helped you out a little! Just exercise and stick to your calorie intake goal.
  • thunder1982
    thunder1982 Posts: 280 Member
    I put in 1kg (of 2.2 pds)a week and because 1200 is the lowest it came back as 0.7kgs. With my normal activity I get about 1400 calories per day (fitbit adj). I lost between .8-1kg per week depending on how well I stuck to the calories. I am now getting closer to moving into the overweight category rather than the obese category and I have recently adjusted my goal to 0.5kg per week. It is going to take a while to lose those overweight kgs but I personally have viewed it as I really needed to do something about being obese. I put in the hard yards for 3 months to get me where I am now. I spent the last 5 weeks losing the weight i put on over 5 week xmas period. Now I have adjusted my goal because I need to find a way to make this work long term so happy to take a slower loss while I find my new normal way of eating.
  • kimaboyd
    kimaboyd Posts: 23 Member
    I guess I am not being clear on my question - thanks for all the responses and feedback so far but can anyone tell me how I find out what my caloric intake will be for maintenance and if eating1200 calories throughout my 45lb loss will I continue to lose as I am already at the minimum recommended caloric intake
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    kimaboyd wrote: »
    I guess I am not being clear on my question - thanks for all the responses and feedback so far but can anyone tell me how I find out what my caloric intake will be for maintenance and if eating1200 calories throughout my 45lb loss will I continue to lose as I am already at the minimum recommended caloric intake

    You can go to an online TDEE calculator like the one at www.fitnessfrog.com and put in your stats at your goal weight. It will give you an idea. The only true way to tell TDEE is by trial and error.

    As for the second part of your question, it is impossible to tell. It comes down to a lot of factors, most importantly, how accurate you are logging. There are lots of people who *think* they are eating at 1200 when they are eating more.

    I'm in camp "Eat as much as you can and still lose weight" so I would start higher and move down if needed. But that's me.

    Also keep in mind that if you continue to lose at 1200, the rate at which you lose will inevitably slow.
  • kimaboyd
    kimaboyd Posts: 23 Member
    So even though it says I should consume 1300 now should I increase that so when I am half way to goal and not losing anymore I have somethings to decrease it to? Or will it change to an amount lower than 1200 automatically at some point?
  • CeeBeeSlim
    CeeBeeSlim Posts: 1,348 Member
    From my experience, I did not continue to lose on 1200. I had to go lower. I did and got to my goal weight. Having said that, I did this twice and gained my weight back both times. Had i done this smarter, while I was "okay with the 1200" - I just wanted the pounds gone yesterday - :) my body wasn't. I lost the weight but what good was that when I couldn't maintain it. Once I introduced more calories, I started to gain and gain. I'm trying to eat as much as I can and still lose weight - that means not setting a weekly two pound weight loss goal.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    Let's step through this.

    You are 189 now and your goal is 145.

    If you eat 1200 calories and lose 1 pound per week, that means that you have a 500 calorie per day deficit.

    You lose 10 pounds and your weight loss will slow down a bit. Smaller bodies use fewer calories. You might just lose 0.9 pounds per week which would be a 450 calorie per day deficit. You would still be eating 1200 calories but not lose quite as much weight. You would still lose.

    You lose 10 more pounds and your weight loss will slow down a bit more. You might just lose 0.8 pounds per week which would be a 400 calorie per day deficit. You would still be eating 1200 calories but not lose quite as much weight. You would still lose.

    That will continue all the way down to your goal. Weight loss isn't linear so you might have what look like stalls but, if you stick it out, your weight will trend downward. It will get slower as you get toward your goal but you won't have to go below 1200 if you are 5'3".
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    edited February 2016
    Honestly, you'll probably be fine at 1200 calories to start, but after losing 10 pounds or so, you'll realize that you're hungrier and need a little more food, especially if you're exercising.
    I started at 1200 and was there for 3 months, but was told by my doctor that I'd want to raise it after I was out of the 'obese' BMI category. And yeah, I found that I was more than ready to go up to 1300 + half my exercise calories.

    A better way to do it than just jumping down to 1200, is to start at the higher range for your TDEE and then cut back by 100 calories per week until you're at your ideal weight loss. It takes a little longer to 'kick off' but it helps you make more mindful changes about how and what you eat, and also helps you find the right range for your personal needs.
  • kimaboyd
    kimaboyd Posts: 23 Member
    I clearly am quite stupid she it comes to understanding all this - so if I calculate my tdee at my ideal weight is says 2166 - so that means once I am on maintenance I will be consuming that much? So how to I go from 1200 to lose the weight up to 2166 without gaining it all back??!!
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    you reverse diet. Add it back slowly over time and monitor for changes. That's how you'll find your true maintenance.

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