Girls at 1200 calories/day

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AmandaLynn91316
AmandaLynn91316 Posts: 27 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm about 5'1" and 125 ish. My daily goal is 1220 ish. I find it so hard to stay under this when I'm eating like a person. I'm only trying to loose about 10 lbs and it just sucks.

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  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Move more
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    I've been at this a long time. I have a low TDEE and though I understand CICO, I slap my food on a food scale, I train for powerlifting...I still whine when it's time to lose weight. I need to eat between 1200-1500 (depending on how aggressive I'm being) and I do NO cardio. This time around, I'm adding the cardio. I hate it but I cannot deal with low calories this time. Or at least I can't deal with no movement on the scale.

    So yes, move more.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    At any rate, don't try to eat below the calories MFP gave you. Apart from that, that number may even be too low for you. Your BMI is around 23 - any loss will be slow. Your TDEE will be 1650-2350 - a sustained deficit, as in consistently eating below your TDEE will make you lose weight.
  • CoachJen71
    CoachJen71 Posts: 1,200 Member
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    Definitely move more. You can still net in the 1200s but feel more satisfied emotionally by earning more snacks.
  • foxandflora
    foxandflora Posts: 183 Member
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    If you haven't checked it out, Reddit has a nice group called /r/1200isplenty that includes recipes and daily updates on what people eat. Perhaps that can give you some inspiration!
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    You are not supposed to eat under that number. You are supposed to eat at it. Also, yours is a case where adding more activity is a good idea. Move more, eat more.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    Going under your calorie goal... never do that.

    Exercise, burn some calories.. guess what? you get to eat more that way! :)
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
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    You shouldn't be trying to eat under 1200 calories. Your calorie goal that MFP calculates for you already has a calorie deficit built into it, so you should be eating that amount and never under it. That's why it's a "goal"...that means it's what you should aim for each day.

    Also, as everyone else has mentioned, moving more will allow you to eat more and still lose weight.
  • rivim
    rivim Posts: 11 Member
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    I'm having this issue too. My goal has been 1200 calories for most of this year and I normally stay at that. I'm now looking to increase my activity level by walking more and doing cardio at the gym. How can I determine how much I should increase my daily calories by?
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    What is your rate of loss set at OP?
    Do you exercise?
    Do you eat back some of those calories?



  • RobynTheresa
    RobynTheresa Posts: 15 Member
    edited October 2016
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    rivim wrote: »
    I'm having this issue too. My goal has been 1200 calories for most of this year and I normally stay at that. I'm now looking to increase my activity level by walking more and doing cardio at the gym. How can I determine how much I should increase my daily calories by?

    If you use an activity tracker, does their software interface to MFP? I enter my activities like rowing and strength training in Garmin, which calculates calories burned and updates MFP. That is probably the easiest way.
  • BananaBite
    BananaBite Posts: 135 Member
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    I am 5'0 and a half and currently weigh 116 lbs. My starting weight was 123 lbs. I started out at about 1200 calories and made an effort to work out. Now I am at about 1300 calories because 1200 is hard to maintain when I have things I desire to eat.

    My advice: Us short people have to workout to lose our weight. We can try and limit our calories but it just won't work in the long run. To have a calorie deficit, you need to find an activity you enjoy. Once you lose some of those calories, try not to eat them back. So eat 1200 calories, work out moderately, and do not eat what calories you work off.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
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    AmandaLynn91316 wrote: »
    I'm about 5'1" and 125 ish. My daily goal is 1220 ish. I find it so hard to stay under this when I'm eating like a person. I'm only trying to loose about 10 lbs and it just sucks.

    Girl, please look at my stats. I've been eating at this level for what feels like forever. And you must realize, with the losses I've accomplished, I used to eat a ton more.

    There are websites and subreddits with the title 1200 is enough. And it really can be. I'm not hungry. I'm not struggling. Figure out your hunger patterns, figure out the food that fills you up and you will succeed.

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