Is eating 1200 calories really safe?! And if so, what is the best way to do it?

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charlireah
charlireah Posts: 100 Member
edited May 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been advised by some people that to shed a couple of pounds and basically drop some fat percentage (I want to get leaner and stronger) I should eat 1200 calories a day. Does anyone have further advice and info about this?
I eat approx 1500 calories a day. I do not weigh my food. My BMI is 20, my fat percentage is 20, I weigh 7st12 and I am 5ft 2, 24 years old.

So because I am shorter, naturally I should eat less but BMR calculators have told me that my BMR is around 1800, which sounds like too much.

My current exercise:
3 hours of fast paced walking.
Always on my feet at work, rushing around 30 hours a week. (I know this isn't real exercise but my legs ache and I do sweat after a good day of grafting so it has to count for something right???)

Thanks everyone!!!

PS I am aware that my weight is already healthy and I am thin. This is about a leaner lifestyle and a stronger body :)
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Replies

  • pvju
    pvju Posts: 115 Member
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    Since you are lean and really pretty active rather than reducing calories I would step up the protein. Getting lean means lots of it - a nauseating amount imo - along with lifting weights. 1200 calories is safe as long as it's hitting your nutrician requirements. However at your age and activity level I would suspect you need more calories.
  • charlireah
    charlireah Posts: 100 Member
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    Thank you for that. MFP says that I should be eating 1400 calories a day if I'm lightly active and want to lose two pounds. I just used that as an approximate to see where I wanted to be. Two pounds is pretty exact but it gives me a goal at least.
  • amybugfit
    amybugfit Posts: 40 Member
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    You mention in another thread about talking to a personal trainer... I would go with their advice first since they can see you in person and assess your needs personally.
    Cheers!
  • charlireah
    charlireah Posts: 100 Member
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    Great idea! I'll talk to them about it!
  • benlockyer
    benlockyer Posts: 5 Member
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    3 hours of fast paced walking, I would guess that's 12 miles? That's about 900 calories in itself lol. Eat more!
  • tlflag1620
    tlflag1620 Posts: 1,358 Member
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    charlireah wrote: »
    Thank you for that. MFP says that I should be eating 1400 calories a day if I'm lightly active and want to lose two pounds. I just used that as an approximate to see where I wanted to be. Two pounds is pretty exact but it gives me a goal at least.

    That 1400 is the goal if you want to lose 2 lbs *per week* which is very aggressive for someone who only has a few lbs they want to lose in first place. Set MFP to lose a half a lb per week - eat to that level and incorporate strength training to maintain muscle. Since you're going to see a trainer, they can help you set up a lifting program.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    charlireah wrote: »
    Thank you for that. MFP says that I should be eating 1400 calories a day if I'm lightly active and want to lose two pounds. I just used that as an approximate to see where I wanted to be. Two pounds is pretty exact but it gives me a goal at least.

    7st12 = 110 pounds, yes? What's your goal weight?

    When you say "want to lose two pounds" do you mean two pounds per week or two pounds total? If you meant two pounds per week, at your weight, you should only be trying to lose 0.5 pound per week. 2 #/week is for people who have around 100 pounds to lose.
  • charlireah
    charlireah Posts: 100 Member
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    benlockyer wrote: »
    3 hours of fast paced walking, I would guess that's 12 miles? That's about 900 calories in itself lol. Eat more!

    Haha I do that in a week though, not a day! I am eating 1500 calories I hope that is OK. I need to learn more as I get so much misinformation!
  • charlireah
    charlireah Posts: 100 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    charlireah wrote: »
    Thank you for that. MFP says that I should be eating 1400 calories a day if I'm lightly active and want to lose two pounds. I just used that as an approximate to see where I wanted to be. Two pounds is pretty exact but it gives me a goal at least.

    7st12 = 110 pounds, yes? What's your goal weight?

    When you say "want to lose two pounds" do you mean two pounds per week or two pounds total? If you meant two pounds per week, at your weight, you should only be trying to lose 0.5 pound per week. 2 #/week is for people who have around 100 pounds to lose.

    MFP is giving me a goal of 5 weeks so yes about 0.5 a week
  • charlireah
    charlireah Posts: 100 Member
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    tlflag1620 wrote: »
    charlireah wrote: »
    Thank you for that. MFP says that I should be eating 1400 calories a day if I'm lightly active and want to lose two pounds. I just used that as an approximate to see where I wanted to be. Two pounds is pretty exact but it gives me a goal at least.

    That 1400 is the goal if you want to lose 2 lbs *per week* which is very aggressive for someone who only has a few lbs they want to lose in first place. Set MFP to lose a half a lb per week - eat to that level and incorporate strength training to maintain muscle. Since you're going to see a trainer, they can help you set up a lifting program.

    Believe it or not that goal is for 0.5lbs a week :( I've put my activity to "lightly active" rather than moderate and that altered it.
  • Labyrinthine93
    Labyrinthine93 Posts: 46 Member
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    I'd say keep eating what you're eating and lifting heavy.
  • pumpkinRIP02
    pumpkinRIP02 Posts: 131 Member
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    Depending on your current height and weight plus activity level, 1,200 calories might be a dangerous or safe thing.
  • ilex70
    ilex70 Posts: 727 Member
    edited May 2016
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    You can get sufficient nutrition on 1200 calories. Since you are vegetarian I would recommend maybe adding a vegetarian protein supplement of some type.

    And the information isn't really all that muddled.

    MFP is giving you 1400 calories a day to lose .5 pounds a week, or a deficit of 250 calories a day. That is a small deficit and it is easy to negate if with inaccurate logging. Package food is allowed to be off by 20%, so if you ate only pre-packaged foods and they were all 20% over then you could think you are eating 1400 calories, but really be eating 1680...so no deficit.

    Since you do not want to use a food scale the 1200 was suggested as a way to buffer against potential under estimation of calorie intake.

    ETA: here are a couple of videos re:food measurement, not to convince you to weigh, but to show you why a lower target was suggested.

    youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

    youtube.com/watch?v=XpHykP6e_Uk

  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited May 2016
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    You don't need to lose any weight - to shed fat you need to start lifting weights, that gets great results imo.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    i thought you'd decided from your last thread to do recomp?
  • charlireah
    charlireah Posts: 100 Member
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    I am but I'm still unsure of how many calories to consume?

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