Come on, mfp. 1200?
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katandwaves wrote: »Why does myfitnesspal suggest 1,200 calories a day? I am 5'8, about 190 pounds. I work full time so I'm at a desk all day. I'm doing about 3+ days a week of spinning/elliptical.
Any suggestions on what my calorie goal should be?
Uhhh, you get to eat back your exercise calories. Im thinking that will give you an extra 200-300 calories several times as week.0 -
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as I said if you really are eating 1200 chances are you are losing more muscle than you think.
ETA: muscle definition comes from losing the fat on the muscle not from building extra muscle.
Does it really. I had no idea =/ I am not losing muscle, and I am very strong. Not everyone is built the same, burns calories the same, has the same body. This is how I have always been.
anybody trying to lose weight is losing muscle...me included...but with low calorie intake unless you are prefect on your protein macro etc you are losing more than you think...but won't take this any further...you believe what you want and eat how you want as it is of no consequence to me...I just truly was trying to help.
It is unfortunate that you refuse to get it.
Not actually true that everybody loses muscle when dieting.
If someone loses a large amount of weight then they will inevitably lose LBM just because they are smaller - but muscle is just one component of LBM.
I know you are trying to help and I agree with the methods you are promoting but you are exaggerating to say anybody losing weight is losing muscle.
I agree that not all weight lost is muscle but anything I have read the higher the deficit the more muscle loss...and even at a smaller deficit there is some muscle loss. It is inevitable. see quotes below
"This observation was made by researchers at Rockefeller University. Researchers looked at the effect of different daily caloric deficits on weight loss. As might be expected, the fewer calories the subjects consumed, the more weight they lost. What wasn’t expected was where the weight loss came from. In individuals who moderately reduced their daily caloric intake, 91% of the loss was fat and only 9% was muscle. But in subjects who severely reduced their daily caloric intake, fat represented 48% of the total weight loss and muscle 42%. In other words, the greater the daily calorie restriction, the greater the loss of muscle mass."
Pacific Health Labs
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/muscle-loss-while-dieting-to-single-digit-body-fat-levels-qa.html/
and this does say done well you don't lose muscle while dieting...so I will concede not all people lose muscle while losing weight but these people aren't the norm either (esp here on this subform) and I truly believe that the average person while dieting is losing some muscle...and unless they are smart about it...ie eating enough protein, calories and doing some form of resistance training they lose more than they think.
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I was under the impression the lowest calorie allowance MFP would spit out for a man was 1500, much like it does 1200 for women. I apologize if I am mistaken about that. Doing a quick search of various health sites turned up a safe minimum for men of anywhere between 1500-1800. I'm certainly not an expert, but it seems safe to say 1200 is not recommended for a man.3 -
I am not small but I am old. 1200 calories was hard until I changed my diet to more fiber dense foods. I still go over from time to time but I don't sweat it. I can't stand getting hungry, my blood sugar drops and I become evil. I think that everyone's bod is different and you have to do what is best for you.0
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Doing a quick search of various health sites turned up a safe minimum for men of anywhere between 1500-1800. I'm certainly not an expert, but it seems safe to say 1200 is not recommended for a man.
Depends on the man. My RMR is 1600 cals/day. An obese man might be prescribed a VLCD. I believe the US IOM suggests a minimum of 1200 - 1500 for men and 1000 - 1200 for women seeking to lose weight.0 -
I'm 6ft, 75 kgs and on 1200 a day.. I'm a stay at home mum who goes to the gym or aerobics classes for atleasr an hour 7 days a week. I've chose sedentary but probably lightly active and then add exercise calories in which I try not to eat back.1200 is tough at first but with the help of coffee lol I've steadily lost 1kg (about 2lbs) a week over the past 6 weeks.1
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Make sure you do weight training on the 1200 cal diet..and make a good amount of the 1200 protein...preserve your muscle.0
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lexylondon wrote: »I'm 6ft, 75 kgs and on 1200 a day.. I'm a stay at home mum who goes to the gym or aerobics classes for atleasr an hour 7 days a week. I've chose sedentary but probably lightly active and then add exercise calories in which I try not to eat back.1200 is tough at first but with the help of coffee lol I've steadily lost 1kg (about 2lbs) a week over the past 6 weeks.
You are precisely the person for whom 1200 is totally inappropriate. Tall and active. Not to mention that if you aren't eating back those calories you are netting far below that.
How much weight are you trying to lose? 2 lbs/week is also far too fast to spare lean muscle loss.8 -
WinoGelato wrote: »lexylondon wrote: »I'm 6ft, 75 kgs and on 1200 a day.. I'm a stay at home mum who goes to the gym or aerobics classes for atleasr an hour 7 days a week. I've chose sedentary but probably lightly active and then add exercise calories in which I try not to eat back.1200 is tough at first but with the help of coffee lol I've steadily lost 1kg (about 2lbs) a week over the past 6 weeks.
You are precisely the person for whom 1200 is totally inappropriate. Tall and active. Not to mention that if you aren't eating back those calories you are netting far below that.
How much weight are you trying to lose? 2 lbs/week is also far too fast to spare lean muscle loss.
This, plus you're already at a healthy weight so you should only be aiming for half a pound a week.1 -
I am on 1200 a day and must admit I felt judged when reading a few of the earlier comments. I understand, Sexy Stef, that you are trying to help but please note that not everyone is 130 pounds and trying to lost the last 10. Some people need to drop some pounds fast for health reasons and 1200 net is widely accepted as the minimum amount to lose weight.1
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Citycat2015 wrote: »I am on 1200 a day and must admit I felt judged when reading a few of the earlier comments. I understand, Sexy Stef, that you are trying to help but please note that not everyone is 130 pounds and trying to lost the last 10. Some people need to drop some pounds fast for health reasons and 1200 net is widely accepted as the minimum amount to lose weight.
Your statements are a bit contradictory. 1200 net is the minimum amount to lose weight, not the average, which means that the recommendations that Steff and others in this thread are making, that it may not be appropriate for everyone and that many people can lose weight eating more, are completely valid and reasonable.
If you need to drop a lot of weight quickly for health reasons you should be doing that under the guidance of your doctor and the recommendations of strangers on this board shouldn't bother you if they are not applicable to your situation...
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WinoGelato wrote: »Citycat2015 wrote: »I am on 1200 a day and must admit I felt judged when reading a few of the earlier comments. I understand, Sexy Stef, that you are trying to help but please note that not everyone is 130 pounds and trying to lost the last 10. Some people need to drop some pounds fast for health reasons and 1200 net is widely accepted as the minimum amount to lose weight.
Your statements are a bit contradictory. 1200 net is the minimum amount to lose weight, not the average, which means that the recommendations that Steff and others in this thread are making, that it may not be appropriate for everyone and that many people can lose weight eating more, are completely valid and reasonable.
If you need to drop a lot of weight quickly for health reasons you should be doing that under the guidance of your doctor and the recommendations of strangers on this board shouldn't bother you if they are not applicable to your situation...
I wasn't trying to argue - just offer my perspective. I feel that I have just as much right to comment and be here as anyone else even if my experience is not the same as yours. Of course I am under the guidance of my dr. This is a very tough and maybe even life saving journey for many people here beyond losing a few vanity pounds and we come here for support.1 -
Citycat2015 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Citycat2015 wrote: »I am on 1200 a day and must admit I felt judged when reading a few of the earlier comments. I understand, Sexy Stef, that you are trying to help but please note that not everyone is 130 pounds and trying to lost the last 10. Some people need to drop some pounds fast for health reasons and 1200 net is widely accepted as the minimum amount to lose weight.
Your statements are a bit contradictory. 1200 net is the minimum amount to lose weight, not the average, which means that the recommendations that Steff and others in this thread are making, that it may not be appropriate for everyone and that many people can lose weight eating more, are completely valid and reasonable.
If you need to drop a lot of weight quickly for health reasons you should be doing that under the guidance of your doctor and the recommendations of strangers on this board shouldn't bother you if they are not applicable to your situation...
I wasn't trying to argue - just offer my perspective. I feel that I have just as much right to comment and be here as anyone else even if my experience is not the same as yours. Of course I am under the guidance of my dr. This is a very tough and maybe even life saving journey for many people here beyond losing a few vanity pounds and we come here for support.
Absolutely there are people here on MFP who have a variety of goals. I'm not trying to sound dismissive but what I'm saying is that there is a post about 3 above yours from a woman who is 6 feet tall and already at a healthy weight who exercises an hour a day and she is grossing 1200 calories. The comments from people saying 1200 is not an appropriate target for many people are directed at someone like her, who has read that 1200 is what you must eat in order to lose weight, not someone like you who is working with a doctor and have mutually agreed upon your goals, or someone who is very petite (5 feet and under), or quite sedentary, or much older.
For every example of someone where 1200 is appropriate there are about a dozen posts of people on MFP who chose too aggressive of a goal, want to lose weight quickly for a special event, or just believe that is what they have to do in order to lose.
Neither Steff nor anyone else in this thread said that no one should do 1200 cals. It isn't appropriate for the OP of this thread and it isn't appropriate for a lot of people posting here, but it sounds like it is the right goal for you.
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Citycat2015 wrote: »I am on 1200 a day and must admit I felt judged when reading a few of the earlier comments. I understand, Sexy Stef, that you are trying to help but please note that not everyone is 130 pounds and trying to lost the last 10. Some people need to drop some pounds fast for health reasons and 1200 net is widely accepted as the minimum amount to lose weight.
When I first started losing weight, I was put on a very low calorie diet (800 calories) because I needed to drop weight fast for health reasons. It was short term and fully supervised. These are special cases which do not apply to the average person trying to lose weight. No judgement there, anyone could pick any number. If someone chooses to pick a number too low or too high for their particular case that's also their call, but they need to understand and be prepared for the consequences. I'm saying this with zero judgement. I often make calorie decisions that are not optimal, but I make them fully aware of the facts. If what you get out of it outweighs any possible negative effects for you, then by all means.
I believe things that are being said are more for people who believe 1200 calories is the rule and are not aware they could eat more if they wanted or that it might not be the best thing for their goals.4 -
I'm still tweaking my calorie intake so range from 1400-2000 per day depending on my exercise levels.
I couldn't survive on 1200 no way. I'd feel dizzy and sleepy so no and my body the crafty git would cling on to the fat as it would think it was being starved. Been there done that so no ta.
I'm 50 and 5ft 3in
I am slowly losing but I am now exercising more (6 x times a week)
Thats not why I came here it was actually to tone up my belly as I have skin skirt blurgh horrible but I am doing it slowly as in not rushing it as I lost and gained cos I was miserable as I was hungry all the time.
What works for one doesnt work for another. We are after all different.
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I'm still tweaking my calorie intake so range from 1400-2000 per day depending on my exercise levels.
I couldn't survive on 1200 no way. I'd feel dizzy and sleepy so no and my body the crafty git would cling on to the fat as it would think it was being starved. Been there done that so no ta.
I'm 50 and 5ft 3in
I am slowly losing but I am now exercising more (6 x times a week)
Thats not why I came here it was actually to tone up my belly as I have skin skirt blurgh horrible but I am doing it slowly as in not rushing it as I lost and gained cos I was miserable as I was hungry all the time.
What works for one doesnt work for another. We are after all different.
But you must be exercising...I know that a 1200 net only allows me to lose one pound a week and I'm 5'2. I maintain at 1700 and would definitely gain fairly quickly at 2000.
I often think that half this argument is a miscommunication between eating and netting 1200.0 -
I am not saying 1200 isn't appropriate for anyone at all...depending on the situation it very well could be hut chances are it's not appropriate for 85% of the people doing it.1
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Christine_72 wrote: »
I lasted a whole 3 days on 1200 calories before i lost the plot :noway:
OP change your goal from 2lbs a week down 1-1.5lbs. I'm also 5'8, 147lbs and am losing eating 1600 calories, it's very slow but the scale is still going down.
This^^^^
My first 2 weeks on MFP were tough because I was trying to lose too fast. At 5' 9" with a goal weight of 140, and less than 15 lbs to lose, I found out real quick from knowledgable MFP friends and from reading these boards that I didn't need to starve to lose weight.
In hindsight I probably was just losing at lot of muscle every time I crash dieted over the years.
Now I have my settings at 1/2 lb per week rate of loss, I eat back most (75-80%) of my exercise calories (per Fitbit) and am slowly but steadily losing. My base is 1440 with setting at sedentary and I end up eating between 1700-1800 gross calories.
If I were starting at 190 lbs. I would put my settings at 1 lb per week loss. Good luck to you!! You've got this!
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WinoGelato wrote: »lexylondon wrote: »I'm 6ft, 75 kgs and on 1200 a day.. I'm a stay at home mum who goes to the gym or aerobics classes for atleasr an hour 7 days a week. I've chose sedentary but probably lightly active and then add exercise calories in which I try not to eat back.1200 is tough at first but with the help of coffee lol I've steadily lost 1kg (about 2lbs) a week over the past 6 weeks.
You are precisely the person for whom 1200 is totally inappropriate. Tall and active. Not to mention that if you aren't eating back those calories you are netting far below that.
How much weight are you trying to lose? 2 lbs/week is also far too fast to spare lean muscle loss.
This, plus you're already at a healthy weight so you should only be aiming for half a pound a week.
My naturopath at the holistic Doctors I go to has this machine, can't think of the name, but it can't test for muscle mass and fat, she also tests for hydration levels. Not sure of the accuracy but it would appear I'm losing fat but still slightly gaining muscle over the past 7 weeks.0 -
Can test I mean.0
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lexylondon wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »lexylondon wrote: »I'm 6ft, 75 kgs and on 1200 a day.. I'm a stay at home mum who goes to the gym or aerobics classes for atleasr an hour 7 days a week. I've chose sedentary but probably lightly active and then add exercise calories in which I try not to eat back.1200 is tough at first but with the help of coffee lol I've steadily lost 1kg (about 2lbs) a week over the past 6 weeks.
You are precisely the person for whom 1200 is totally inappropriate. Tall and active. Not to mention that if you aren't eating back those calories you are netting far below that.
How much weight are you trying to lose? 2 lbs/week is also far too fast to spare lean muscle loss.
This, plus you're already at a healthy weight so you should only be aiming for half a pound a week.
My naturopath at the holistic Doctors I go to has this machine, can't think of the name, but it can't test for muscle mass and fat, she also tests for hydration levels. Not sure of the accuracy but it would appear I'm losing fat but still slightly gaining muscle over the past 7 weeks.
I think they're called body composition scanning machines, at least that's what they're called here, where you stand on it and hold onto the handles, Is that what you used?
Many people here have warned me off of those machines stating they are very inaccurate.0 -
lexylondon wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »lexylondon wrote: »I'm 6ft, 75 kgs and on 1200 a day.. I'm a stay at home mum who goes to the gym or aerobics classes for atleasr an hour 7 days a week. I've chose sedentary but probably lightly active and then add exercise calories in which I try not to eat back.1200 is tough at first but with the help of coffee lol I've steadily lost 1kg (about 2lbs) a week over the past 6 weeks.
You are precisely the person for whom 1200 is totally inappropriate. Tall and active. Not to mention that if you aren't eating back those calories you are netting far below that.
How much weight are you trying to lose? 2 lbs/week is also far too fast to spare lean muscle loss.
This, plus you're already at a healthy weight so you should only be aiming for half a pound a week.
My naturopath at the holistic Doctors I go to has this machine, can't think of the name, but it can't test for muscle mass and fat, she also tests for hydration levels. Not sure of the accuracy but it would appear I'm losing fat but still slightly gaining muscle over the past 7 weeks.
With a calorie deficit of 1000 or more per day you are not losing fat and gaining muscle.
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Oh well, I'll work on the muscle toning after I've lost some more weight then.0
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lexylondon wrote: »Oh well, I'll work on the muscle toning after I've lost some more weight then.
You are already at a healthy weight for your height. Have you considered changing your goal to maintenance and beginning to focus on recomposition?0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »lexylondon wrote: »Oh well, I'll work on the muscle toning after I've lost some more weight then.
You are already at a healthy weight for your height. Have you considered changing your goal to maintenance and beginning to focus on recomposition?
I'm mid range healthy weight for my height and would like to get rid of more fat (most of it is in my thighs). Then I will focus on building muscle I suppose..
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To be honest I don't really know the ins and outs of it all, might be doing it all wrong but psycholgically I will just feel better about myself to get to my goal weight and then can happily focus on toning. And I'm not at all suffering on the low cals, even with a 7 week old, 12wk old, part time job and daily gym and aerobics, my energy levels are more than sufficient. But more sleep at night would be a bonus!0
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lexylondon wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »lexylondon wrote: »Oh well, I'll work on the muscle toning after I've lost some more weight then.
You are already at a healthy weight for your height. Have you considered changing your goal to maintenance and beginning to focus on recomposition?
I'm mid range healthy weight for my height and would like to get rid of more fat (most of it is in my thighs). Then I will focus on building muscle I suppose..
If you're mid range for a healthy weight, you really should be looking at recomping. Building muscle is really.....really hard to do. Why would you give it up now when you'd need to do all the work plus gain weight again to get it back?0 -
Oops 7 week old and 12 MONTH old I mean!!1
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