why "1200"

Well. I am 5'4" and I weigh 145lbs - for me, starvation mode occurs WAY before 1200 calories. Actually, I find myself showing signs of it if I am under 2000 calories for an extended period of time. So, I dont know what would happen to me if I tried to only eat 1200 calories. I think I would be very ill, very quickly.

I'm not sure where 1200 calories came from (BTW, it is 1500 for men).

Sorry, I don't understand. Why are you considering 1200 calories as 'starvation mode?' Maybe the 6' male wanted to lose an 'aggressive' 3 lbs per week versus the usual 1-2 lbs, do you know the particulars of why the numbers came up that way?

The harsh reality is that we who are overweight have ingested far more than 1200 calories or 1700 calories (i.e., to create a 500 calorie per day deficit and a 1 lb per week loss) for years. Exercising regularly allows you to eat more than 1200 calories every day. I believe that 1200 calories is the minimum but most of my friends on MFP are on a much higher daily calorie allotment than the minimum 1200 calories and none of them are male or 6'.

I looked at a diary today of a man who has lost over 100 pounds and he consumed a modest 300 calorie breakfast, same as me. He wasn't worried about starvation or deprivation and was actually celebrating his success.

its because the AVERAGE daily intake recommended for women AND men, regardless of height or weight, is 2400 cals.
Less than half your reccommended intake is considered a starvation diet, so theyve kept 1200 as a safe average number, but it doesnt take into account size, frame, gender, weight anything individual about a person.

For this reason, for some people this will be well under a starvation diet, and not good, whereas for some people, youll barely be on maintenance on that amount.

This is where using a computer site based formula based on averages for your weight loss fails for a lot of people, and why it works so brilliantly for others.

It is not a magic number though

I used to use a very similar site to this one (although you had to pay to use it, which is why I stopped), and their minimum calorie level was 1100. All the conversations people have here about 1200, they had there about 1100.

thats funny!

i read in a health and fitness magazine an article about dieting according to your body type, and the recommendations for petite small framed people was to try to go no lower than 1000 calories a day

I have found that if I eat less junk and eat under my maintenance I will lose. It has taken almost a year to get this right. It seems obvious for some. but at 1200 cal on some days I will eat the entire pantry and still not feel full. Other days I would be able to stay at 1200 and be fine. SO, I set every thing to the minimum and I don't feel like a bad person when I eat 1400-1500 cals because I am still at a deficit.
It can be hard for a while when you see folks who are losing but you aren't. But I got mine tweaked and I will be just fine in the end.

ANd so will you!

The first calculator told me to eat 1103 calories a day to lose weight, the second one told me 1658! Lol. I think that just shows that there are many different opinions out there.

"starvation mode" is a hack..... first of all it is made to seem like it happens overnight....it doesn't, not even in a week.....this site in particular over exaggerates it. I haven't eaten over 1,200 cals since I started "changing my lifestyle" and I'm not by any means "starving" or in "starvation mode"
my ticker can account for that!

Starvation mode DOES exist, but eating below your recommended calories for a day or two here and there - won't cause it. For me, being under 2000 for a week will make me start showing signs of it. If I keep going, then the weight comes back and I feel like CRAP. I don't let myself go more than a day low on calories because I know how MY body reacts to it. Not anyone else's body, but MINE. I've learned how intolerant it is when it comes to not getting enough food. It's a big ole grump about it. Everyone's body is different which is why I ALWAYS tell people to take the information they find online and figure out what works for THEM.

All online calculators are ESTIMATES. None of them are necessarily accurate. There are several formulas used to calculate BMR and TDEE, and there is no one consensus on the right number. One thing I have read though, that's something to keep in mind, calculate your BMR based on your lean body mass or your goal weight, as fat isn't metabolically active, and none of the online estimators take body fat into account. So using your lean body mass, plus adding a healthy percentage of body fat (which is really the best way to decide your goal weight) is the best way to calculate BMR.*

*I'm not a doctor or scientist, I have not scientifically researched this, but it's something I've read on other forums that makes logical sense to me.

Actually both the links I have provide allow for a person to input their body fat. I know this because I have used them both. On top of using the links, I have done the manual calculations myself. But I do agree, they are online calculators and can only be used to estimate and even in the end, you will have to play with your caloric intake to get the results you want. I will note, that i have used the links and calculated with my bf% and without my bf%. When I didn't use my BF%, i came up 200 calories short.

I have been doing 1200 calories for 3 weeks today and in the past 5 days, my weight has gone up almost 3 pounds. I am feeling very discouraged. I will keep going and I also have been exercising 3 times a week for 30 minutes. I just can't understand why i gained. help!! Thanks.

Because that number is more than likely too low. Look at the links I posted. That might be able to help out. Most people undereat.

If you get a chance, make yoru food diary public so we can look into it. Also, if you can post your weight, age and height (you can send this over private message too) and we can do some more research.

So yeah this is a really good debate. The three pillars I have come to believe in for losing weight are:
1. Eating less calories,
2. Exercising regularly and
3. Include building muscle mass.

You have to figure out how many calories you can eat in order to lose 1-2# a week. My goal is 1# a week, 3500 calories equals one pound. No matter what size you are, it is the same for everybody. You just have to figure out what it takes for you to lose 1# a week. For me, I lose weight by eating less than 1000 calories, exercising 30 min a day and increasing my muscle mass. I am not going to starve -- when I get hungry, I can eat something from my daily planned menu, log it, and stop thinking about food so much. I'd rather not eat extra calories and have to exercise more.

Eating less than 1000 calories is not healthy. There are several institutues that have research the needs of a body to maintain proper body function and all have come back with 1200 calories for women and 1500 for men (this includes teh Nation Institute for Health and American College of Sports Medicine). Decreasing your calories to below these standards (which are very low to start with) can affect your long term weight loss. Decreasing below your Basal Metabolic Rate can slow your metabolism, decrease thyroid function, decrease muscle mass, and have adverse affects on several organs, digestion, etc...

When you reduce the calories too low, your body may not go into starvation mode but your body doesn't function properly. Also, over time, if you don't eat enough, your body will store fat due to the metabolism slowing down. Your metabolism is contolled by the amount of muscle you body has. The more muscle, the faster your metabolism is (unless you have a thyroid issue or other medical condition). The AmericanCollege of Sports Medicine suggest 1.2 - 1.4 g of protein per kg of weight.


So for a 150 lb person, that comes to 88-95g of protein


150/2.2 = 68.1
68.1*1.2 (1.4) = 88/95g


Obtaining that much protein would be difficult with 900 calories, considering 400 of those calories would have to be from proteins alone. keep in mind the below.

1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 calories
1 gram of protein = 4 calories
1 gram of fat = 9 calories

Here is a link with some good information.

http://www.shapefit.com/basal-metabolic-rate.html

Also, keep in mind, when you don't eat enough calories, your body utilizes proteins from your muscles to fuel your body and holds onto the fat. If you want to run an experiement on your, go get some body calipers or get someone to test you to calculate your total body fat. Work out for 30-60 days and go back to see if anything has changed. Even if your weight changes or doesn't, if you haven't been able to decrease your overall body fat, then you aren't gaining lean body mass (LBM). In fact, there are many cases that I have seen women lose 10 lbs but there overall body fat was unchanged. This means, that your body lost weight by losing LBM. The lower the LBM, the slow your metabolism, the lower it will take to lose weight, the quicker you will plateau and so forth. I can't tell you how many people I have worked with that have hit a plateau and each time, we increased their calories and the weight loss started again. You may just have not hit that point yet but I would highly suggest you reconsider your method.

Beside, if you can eat more food and lose just as much weight, why wouldn't you?


Hope this is helpful, I just want to make sure you aren't hurting your body. Below are some links with some good information in them. Enjoy


http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/reference_calorie.asp

http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

So yeah this is a really good debate. The three pillars I have come to believe in for losing weight are:
1. Eating less calories,
2. Exercising regularly and
3. Include building muscle mass.

You have to figure out how many calories you can eat in order to lose 1-2# a week. My goal is 1# a week, 3500 calories equals one pound. No matter what size you are, it is the same for everybody. You just have to figure out what it takes for you to lose 1# a week. For me, I lose weight by eating less than 1000 calories, exercising 30 min a day and increasing my muscle mass. I am not going to starve -- when I get hungry, I can eat something from my daily planned menu, log it, and stop thinking about food so much. I'd rather not eat extra calories and have to exercise more.

Eating less than 1000 calories is not healthy. There are several institutues that have research the needs of a body to maintain proper body function and all have come back with 1200 calories for women and 1500 for men (this includes teh Nation Institute for Health and American College of Sports Medicine). Decreasing your calories to below these standards (which are very low to start with) can affect your long term weight loss. Decreasing below your Basal Metabolic Rate can slow your metabolism, decrease thyroid function, decrease muscle mass, and have adverse affects on several organs, digestion, etc...

When you reduce the calories too low, your body may not go into starvation mode but your body doesn't function properly. Also, over time, if you don't eat enough, your body will store fat due to the metabolism slowing down. Your metabolism is contolled by the amount of muscle you body has. The more muscle, the faster your metabolism is (unless you have a thyroid issue or other medical condition). The AmericanCollege of Sports Medicine suggest 1.2 - 1.4 g of protein per kg of weight.


So for a 150 lb person, that comes to 88-95g of protein


150/2.2 = 68.1
68.1*1.2 (1.4) = 88/95g


Obtaining that much protein would be difficult with 900 calories, considering 400 of those calories would have to be from proteins alone. keep in mind the below.

1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 calories
1 gram of protein = 4 calories
1 gram of fat = 9 calories

Here is a link with some good information.

http://www.shapefit.com/basal-metabolic-rate.html

Also, keep in mind, when you don't eat enough calories, your body utilizes proteins from your muscles to fuel your body and holds onto the fat. If you want to run an experiement on your, go get some body calipers or get someone to test you to calculate your total body fat. Work out for 30-60 days and go back to see if anything has changed. Even if your weight changes or doesn't, if you haven't been able to decrease your overall body fat, then you aren't gaining lean body mass (LBM). In fact, there are many cases that I have seen women lose 10 lbs but there overall body fat was unchanged. This means, that your body lost weight by losing LBM. The lower the LBM, the slow your metabolism, the lower it will take to lose weight, the quicker you will plateau and so forth. I can't tell you how many people I have worked with that have hit a plateau and each time, we increased their calories and the weight loss started again. You may just have not hit that point yet but I would highly suggest you reconsider your method.

Beside, if you can eat more food and lose just as much weight, why wouldn't you?


Hope this is helpful, I just want to make sure you aren't hurting your body. Below are some links with some good information in them. Enjoy


http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/reference_calorie.asp

http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

If you are listening to fat2fitradio you are on the right track. They repeat over and over why you need WAY more calories than the basic 1200 to keep your metabolism fired up and your body losing weight.

Sure those people are dropping weight, but it's probably also muscle. Like you said. Not just fat. Personally, I want to lose the fat and keep the muscle. So even though I know I could be losing more weight per week, slow and steady is my motto. Lose the fat. Keep the muscle. Make a lifestyle change. Not just drop the weight fast.

"starvation mode" is a hack..... first of all it is made to seem like it happens overnight....it doesn't, not even in a week.....this site in particular over exaggerates it. I haven't eaten over 1,200 cals since I started "changing my lifestyle" and I'm not by any means "starving" or in "starvation mode"
my ticker can account for that!

That's great for you that you have lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time. However - I do not think you completely understand "starvation mode" - it is not about keeping you full (therefore not "starving") and yes you are probably in starvation mode (even though you are continuing to lose) because it is more about sustainability. Once you have reached your goal weight, if you want to keep it that way, you will have to continue eating under 1,200 cals a day forever. Otherwise, if you start to eat normally again, you will gain the weight you lost plus more. However, if you ate more than 1,200 calories DURING your diet, you can start to add more daily calories once you reach your goal weight and not gain any more weight.

Trust me I, as well as many others, have learned the hard way. IF YOU WANT TO MAINTAIN YOUR GOAL WEIGHT ONCE YOU REACH IT, DO NOT ENTER STARVATION MODE DURING YOUR DIET!