1,200 Calorie Daily Goal Question
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My thought has always been to try to lose eating as much as I can. 1200 calories works for weight loss..no doubt. My fear is that ..from my reading on here... when you lose on 1200..you're pretty much stuck with a low maintenance calorie allowance..or regain happens.4
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15k steps is usually how much I get to fit the very active setting.For me, lightly active happens to be around 7k steps, active around 11k and very active around 14k.2
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I've been on 1200 calories for months - 5'3, fairly sedentary, have gone from 224 to 162 and my calorie goal is still identical. I find telling others about my calorie goals can cause concern - everyone's got the infamous 2000 in their minds - my TDEE is around 1800 so I would outright gain on that!
If you don't feel comfortable eating that low, maybe adjust your goals on MFP or try working out a more personalised amount from your TDEE.3 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »15k steps is usually how much I get to fit the very active setting.For me, lightly active happens to be around 7k steps, active around 11k and very active around 14k.
Where do you find this information please? Does this relate to when your Fitbit steps are given back as exercise calories? Sometimes I'll do 7k steps and be given 0 calories, but I did 15k the other day and was given over 400. Confused.0 -
Makeitso39 wrote: »amusedmonkey wrote: »15k steps is usually how much I get to fit the very active setting.For me, lightly active happens to be around 7k steps, active around 11k and very active around 14k.
Where do you find this information please? Does this relate to when your Fitbit steps are given back as exercise calories? Sometimes I'll do 7k steps and be given 0 calories, but I did 15k the other day and was given over 400. Confused.
Yes, it's what Fitbit gives me. These are the averages from experience, the average cutoff where fitbit starts giving me extra calories above set activity level. If you have a heart rate model the variance can be high. Generally, depending on my speed of walking/running, very active can be anywhere from 12k to 15k steps, but most days hover at around 14k steps for very active. Faster stepping or doing lots of sprints takes it down a notch.
If it gives you 0 calories for 7k, this means your current activity level is set up to support 7k steps without giving you extra calories and would need to be lowered to get extra exercise calories on 7k. In other words, those first 7k (if it's a true zero and you have negative adjustment enabled), are already accounted for in activity level and is exactly the amount of steps this activity level expects you to take, and you are likely set as lightly active. Any activity above that gives you extra calories like is the case with 15k.0 -
Thank you @amusedmonkey that clears up some of the mystery. I don't have negative calories enabled though.0
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Makeitso39 wrote: »Thank you @amusedmonkey that clears up some of the mystery. I don't have negative calories enabled though.
Then 7k steps is likely a bit too low for your chosen activity level. As soon as you start getting extra calories, even if it's just one calorie, then you are being active enough for your chosen activity level.1 -
I've been on 1200 calories for months - 5'3, fairly sedentary, have gone from 224 to 162 and my calorie goal is still identical. I find telling others about my calorie goals can cause concern - everyone's got the infamous 2000 in their minds - my TDEE is around 1800 so I would outright gain on that!
If you don't feel comfortable eating that low, maybe adjust your goals on MFP or try working out a more personalised amount from your TDEE.
I agree I also have been on 1200 c a day since Sept. (5'6") sw 224 cw 169.2
Just had a checkup and all my numbers are looking great. I rarely hungry but I am always sure to eat 3 meals plus snacks and maybe a shake. If I am hungry on a particular day I will have a snack. I get about 10,000 steps a day, maybe 4-5 of them are active steps. But of course I'm older.0 -
We've kind of bounced around the important part.
At 169 lbs, looking to lose 30-35, A TWO POUND PER WEEK RATE OF LOSS IS TOO AGGRESSIVE.
Dial that back to 1 lb per week and see what the calculator gives you.
Losing at that rate at your size will mean losing too much lean body mass, and that means losing muscle. Some of it could be very important muscle, you know, like heart muscle.
If you are burning 2,200 a day, then eat ~1,700 for a safe weight loss.
Please.5 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »We've kind of bounced around the important part.
At 169 lbs, looking to lose 30-35, A TWO POUND PER WEEK RATE OF LOSS IS TOO AGGRESSIVE.
Dial that back to 1 lb per week and see what the calculator gives you.
Losing at that rate at your size will mean losing too much lean body mass, and that means losing muscle. Some of it could be very important muscle, you know, like heart muscle.
If you are burning 2,200 a day, then eat ~1,700 for a safe weight loss.
Please.
This is not too aggressive. She is 5'2". And for some, a few weeks of 2lb weight loss can actually help them stick to a diet.0 -
Thank you so much for the thoughtful responses! You all are correct, I was set at a 2lb/wk loss. When I start a journey, I'm usually a little too aggressive. Along with following MFP, I started a step challenge through work, hence my 15,000 steps/day. Based on comments, I have adjusted to 1 lb/week and "active" (as long as I'm committed to those 15,000). It did up calories to 1,680. Will give that a try. Thanks again - slow and steady wins the race!4
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Just be careful, I was on 1200 most days of the week (had treats on weekends), I'm 5'2 as well and do around 10-12k steps a day as well as walking 3 days a week for 1/2 hour a time (walking the dog), I think it's ok so long as you are getting all the nutrients you need within that calorie limit, that is the most important thing as I'm learning the hard way, I think cutting mine so low for so long without tracking what nutrients I was getting has caused problems with me now wanting to start a family, it's not 100% been said it is that but it could well have added to my lack of periods at the moment, they say 1200 is the very minimum, but your body needs a certain amount of calories for all of its basic functions else it starts to cancel out the less urgent ones, just take care of yourself.0
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The thing to remember about 1200 calories is that that does not include exercise and if you don't log and eat back exercise then you are in danger of undereating.
(in your case this does not apply to your steps as you have taken account of those in your activity level, but it will apply to any other, intentional exercise).
Hopefully you will find 1680 easier.0 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »We've kind of bounced around the important part.
At 169 lbs, looking to lose 30-35, A TWO POUND PER WEEK RATE OF LOSS IS TOO AGGRESSIVE.
Dial that back to 1 lb per week and see what the calculator gives you.
Losing at that rate at your size will mean losing too much lean body mass, and that means losing muscle. Some of it could be very important muscle, you know, like heart muscle.
If you are burning 2,200 a day, then eat ~1,700 for a safe weight loss.
Please.
You beat me to it.
@comom23 with only 30-35 pounds to lose, a rate of two pounds per week is too aggressive. Drop it down to 1 pound per week and when you get to 25 pounds from goal, drop it down to a half a pound per week.
In addition to losing muscle mass, under-eating can also cause hair loss. This doesn't happen until months after the time of under-eating, and can take a very long time to bounce back from.1 -
What's really important is not so much the calorie level per se, but one's actual rate of weight loss. The calculators (like MFP's) give us a starting calorie estimate to target a particular loss rate, but we can differ a bit (some of us a lot) from the averages the calculators are based on.
The typical rule of thumb is to avoid losing more than 1% of your body weight per week, possibly less as one gets close to goal. The underlying rationale is that research suggests one can only metabolize a certain number of calories per day per pound of fat on one's body (30-some calories per pound of fat per day, if I recall correctly). Losing more than that risks unnecessary loss of lean body mass along with fat, since one's body will make up the deficit somehow. For most people, 1% leaves a margin for insurance. But, as one approaches goal, one has less body fat available to metabolize, so it makes sense to gradually reduce the loss rate.
1200 isn't magically bad, or magically good. One does see it adopted by "pedal to the metal" folks here, since it's the minimum MFP will assign to women, but it's appropriate for some. For me, as a 59 y/o at 5'5" and 150-something pounds, I got 1200 to lose when I first signed up. I quickly discovered that it was too low for me - I lost too fast (beyond 1% average per week in one particular month), and got weak/fatigued. Obviously, I corrected course. OTOH, I've seen other women who did not lose too fast at 1200.
What matters most is how you feel. Your actual loss rate is the best leading indicator of whether you're on a sensible course toward continuing to feel great. Flipping out about any specific calorie level may just be symbol-reactive, but it does suggest that people are concerned about one's well-being, which at root is a Good Thing.1 -
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OP I hope I'm still in time to give you my perspective - because my stats are very similar to yours...
I'm 5'2 and started MFP about 4 years ago with a weight of 155. I was close to 40 and have a desk job. I wanted to get down to about 125 lbs. I put in that I wanted to lose 1 lb/week, and was given the standard 1200 calorie goal, because petite, female, sedentary acitivity level... I started logging, and losing, and realized that 1200 wasn't enough. At that point I wasn't super active, but I was exercising a few times a week, walking, didn't have a FitBit, and eating back the exercise calories. I saw the good advice on these forums that most people, even those who are petite females, CAN lose weight eating more than 1200 calories. So I raised my goal to 1400, still eating back exercise cals, so that I was NETTING 1400. I kept losing, about 1 lb/week. And as I was losing, I was motivated to keep increasing my activity and exercise more.
About 6 months into things, I'd lost about 20 lbs, and so I was thinking about changing my goal to 0.5 lb/week and increasing my calorie level. I also decided to get a FitBit, and realized at that point, I was averaging close to 10K steps/day. My exercise adjustments were quite large - 300-500 cals/day based on those steps. I got the good advice on these boards that I wasn't sedentary, even with my desk job, and so I changed my activity level to lightly active, changed my goal to 0.5 lb/week - and kept going. My rate of loss slowed, which was fine, but I had a much higher baseline and my calorie adjustments were more representative of my actual exercise. I ended up losing all the weight I set out to lose in just about a year's time, and have since lost a bit more (~8 lbs)
Fast forward - I'm now in maintenance, averaging 15K steps/day with a setting of Active. My TDEE is ~2200 and that is supported not only by my FitBit but also by my actual results.
Bottom line- A goal of 2 lbs/week is not appropriate for the amount of weight you have to lose - 1 lb/week for now, and then 0.5 lb/week as you get within about 20 lbs of your goal. Also, based on your activity level, you can absolutely eat more than 1200 calories and still lose weight. And if you can lose weight eating more, why would you not want to? A wise rabbit used to say, "The winner is the one who eats the most and still reaches their goal".
Lastly, if your FitBit isn't adding any calories, then you definitely have something set up incorrectly. Go to the FitBit Users Group and read the FAQ's if you can't figure it out.
Good luck.6 -
WinoGelato wrote: »A wise rabbit used to say, "The winner is the one who eats the most and still reaches their goal".
+1 for the wise rabbit!4 -
WinoGelato wrote: »A wise rabbit used to say, "The winner is the one who eats the most and still reaches their goal".
+1 for the wise rabbit!
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For what it's worth, you can set up a custom calorie goal! I didn't like any of the ones MFP spit out so I made my own after researching a good estimate for my TDEE. I track my own stats and I've been losing 1.25 lb per week, eating 1650 cals, which I'm very happy with.1
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