1200 calories a day?

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Denny_Angelova
Denny_Angelova Posts: 4 Member
in Getting Started
Hey! I have a question for you guys... Well, I'm wondering aren't 1200 calories a day way too little? What can you eat, if you have to follow the 1200 calories plan ?

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  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    What are your stats: height, weight, age, activity level?
    How much do you want to lose?
    What rate of loss did you select?

    All of that information that you entered when setting up your profile is what determines the 1200 cal goal. And it may not be an appropriate goal for the amount of weight you have to lose. Potentially you chose too agressive of a rate of loss which also is a big contributor.

    1200 tends to be most appropriate for very petite, very sedentary, women. There are many who stick with it because they want to lose weight faster or because they can't believe that they could lose weight eating more than that.

    Regardless of what goal you decide to go with, MFP is a NEAT system meaning that exercise is not factored into your goal. When you do exercise and log calories burned you're meant to eat back at least a portion of those calories so that you always NET the goal that MFP provides you.

    For what it's worth I'm 5'2 and changed my goal from 1200 after reading similar advice to what I just mentioned to you. I lost ~ 30 lbs eating between 1600-1800 cals.

    Good luck.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
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    Is 1200 calories enough??? It depends on your stats and activity level. For most people it is probably not enough but for petite, the elderly, the very sedentary...it could be appropriate.

    As far as what to eat...you have to make the most of those 1200 calories especially for health reasons and satiety.

    I am 64 and at times eat only 1200 calories. I have an easier time doing it if I keep my carbs to around 100 grams. I focus on lean meats and vegetables along with leaving myself a few calories left for a dessert at the end of the day. It isn't always easy but I manage.

    If that is you in your profile then I assume that you are fairly young with maybe not a lot to lose and if that is the case I would say that 1200 calories might not be enough for you. It would be easier to answer the question if we knew more about your stats and what your goals are.
  • Denny_Angelova
    Denny_Angelova Posts: 4 Member
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    I'm 5'5, 134lbs, 21 years old and I do 10-15 trainings a month.
    I would like to lose 12-13lbs, and I choosed the plan, where you are supposed to lose 2.20lbs a week.
    Do you think that I should somehow change my MFP plan? Because I've already tried the 1600-1700 calorie plan, but after a month of every day calculating my calories, I was still without any achievements (if I can call my missing results like that haha).. I'm confuesed. :neutral:
  • alicemargaret88
    alicemargaret88 Posts: 6 Member
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    I echo a lot of the aforementioned assessments about caloric intake. MFP has allotted me 1,370 cals (I am very active but I do not track my exercise in MFP because I find it confusing that it gives you more nutrients you can eat based on what you've logged that day). However, when I inputted my information (I am 5"0 115lbs with a fat loss goal) I did input that I am active. 1,370 cals seemed very low, but I am very short and operating at a low body weight.

    Do what feels right for you, but I lost 20lbs in the past year and I took the slow and steady route. Only now am I having to impose greater demands because I am looking to lose the last 5lbs and drop the last 3% body fat range.
  • Nicklebee93
    Nicklebee93 Posts: 316 Member
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    That's why MFP gave you such a low number, you picked an aggressive plan. It'll be a bit unhealthy to lose so much, so quickly with your stats. You really should aim for 1lb a week.

    And are you SURE you accueratly logged those calories. Have you been losing inches? Do you know what you eat for maintance?
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    n1cholee93 wrote: »
    That's why MFP gave you such a low number, you picked an aggressive plan. It'll be a bit unhealthy to lose so much, so quickly with your stats. You really should aim for 1lb a week.

    And are you SURE you accueratly logged those calories. Have you been losing inches? Do you know what you eat for maintance?

    Even 1 lb/week is too aggressive for her goals, she should be aiming for 0.5 lb/week with only 15 lbs to lose.

    I also agree Op that if you weren't losing at the time, it may have been that you weren't accurately tracking calories. Did you log everything you are? Did you use a food scale to weigh solid foods? If not, you may have been eating more than you thought.

    Also OP you're already at a healthy weight for your height. What are your ultimate goals? Is it a certain number on a scale or a certain body composition? What is your exercise routine like?
  • TheCupcakeCounter
    TheCupcakeCounter Posts: 606 Member
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    I have mine set at 1200 but I also exercise everyday and eat back anywhere from 10-50% of those based on my other activity levels. I usually don't have an issue staying close because I tend to go with nutrient dense foods that really keep me full. Feel free to add me and check out my food diary.
  • Ariliz23
    Ariliz23 Posts: 13 Member
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    I think our bodies have a wisdom. The first thing I do is to look at what's healthiest. If I wanted to get to the weight I was when I was 30 (I'm in my 50's), I'd need to lose 40 pounds! So that was my original goal. But in speaking with my doctor, she told me I was actually quite underweight when I was 30 and to shoot for a loss of 20 or at the most 30 pounds so that's what I'm doing.

    I do 1.050 - 1,200 calories/day and it's slow going - about 5 lbs/month coming off. But that's healthy. I can't recommend what I eat to you because it's personal preference and what you and your doctor work out is healthiest for you. That being said, for breakfast I have a slice of whole grain bread with peanut butter and all fruit jelly with coffee and soy milk. Or, I have an ounce of unsalted nuts (which is only like 12 nuts!), a cup of blueberries and 1/2 cup of soy milk and coffee. For lunch, I have summer rolls (not fried spring rolls - these are the boiled shrimp and veggies wrapped in rice paper) with peanut sauce or I have some lean meat or fish with veggies. If I need a mid-afternoon snack, I have fruit or veggies with hummus. For dinner, I stick with veggies. I have a big salad with Annie's raspberry vinaigrette and a hard-boiled egg. If it's chilly, I tend to do a vegetable stew - roast veggies in the oven (parsnips, carrots, beets, broccoli, mushrooms - whatever you like that's not starchy), then I boil it in a spicy chicken broth. I also have pea soup and a beef barley in the freezer in case I need something hardier. With that, I also have a few of those baked pita chips (I'm a totally potato chip addict and the pita chips satisfy my chippy cravings). If I'm craving sugar, I have a cutie (a type of orange) or a couple graham crackers. I also drink tea throughout the day and lots of water.

    One of the biggest things I need to do - which has helped me in the past - is to freeze individual servings. When I can pop something in the microwave it's very helpful. But getting frozen meals from the grocery is out because they tend to be really high in salt and chemicals.

    Good luck to you!
  • PokeyBug
    PokeyBug Posts: 482 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Something appears wonky with your numbers to me. I converted your numbers to metric (Weight = 60.5 kg, Height = 165 cm, age 21) and used the Mifflin-St. Jeor formula for women (weight in kg x 10 + height in cm x 6.25 - 5 x age - 161) to calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate). According to my calculations, your BMR is 1370. Multiplied by an activity factor of 1.375 (for light activity), your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) should be about 1883 calories.

    To lose 2 pounds a week, you need to cut or burn 7,000 calories a week, or 1,000 calories per day. It's pretty unhealthy to cut your calories down to 883 per day, so you're going to have to exercise. Honestly, I'm not sure that losing 2 lbs. a week is a very realistic goal for you. You're already so close to your goal, even if it seems like a ton of weight to you. And weight is harder to lose when you're really close to goal.

    In fact, I'd advise you to cut your calories to around 1,500 per day and run half an hour at 5 mph 4 times a week, you'll burn around 3,700 calories per week, a little over 1 lb. You'll be at goal in around 4 months, a bit longer than the time you're currently looking at, but I think it will be healthier in the long run than a crash diet.

    As for cutting the calories, I kind of IF (Intermittent Fasting) to cut calories, though most people will tell you you aren't supposed to use it to cut calories. I say, "kind of", because I cannot force myself to eat 3 meals in a five hour period, and I need my coffee with creamer every morning! I just drink my coffee in the morning, nothing else until about 3:00 pm and I stop eating after 8:00 pm. I use SF creamer (15 calories per tbsp x 6 tbsp -- yes, I drink a LOT of coffee), which you're not technically supposed to do with IFing, but I also only eat 2 meals a day instead of 3, so I'm already breaking the rules. If you can cut your meals down to only 2 per day, you've got 2 meals at 750 calories each (700 with SF creamer in the mornings, lol). I got my info for this techniqe from Dr. Herring's free book on the Fast Five site. Maybe it'll be worth a look for you? https://shop.bertherring.com/collections/free-digital-downloads

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