1200 calories

Anvasilak
Anvasilak Posts: 21 Member
edited November 22 in Health and Weight Loss
I would like to lose 2 lbs. per week. Is it necessary to stay within the protein, carbs, fat etc. guidelines or can I eat anything I want adding up to 1200 calories?

Replies

  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    What is your current weight and goal weight? 1,200 & 2lbs/week combination sounds too aggressive.
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    Calories first, everything else second. 1200 is a hard number to follow. Depending on your stats, you could eat more and probably still lose that much at first. If you don't have a lot to lose, then 1200 may not even yield you the result. It's not worth the agony of only eating 1200, honestly.
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    Do you have a lot of weight to lose? If it's less than 50 lbs then you would probably want to consider a less aggressive goal.
  • magster4isu
    magster4isu Posts: 632 Member
    Worry about calories for weightloss. That being said, to be healthy, you should have a well balanced diet. It is possible to do this on 1200 calories and not be miserable. It just requires some education and planning.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    The short answer is yes...

    But I have to add to the '1200 calories are possibly too low' train..
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Yes and no. Technically yes, but when using the absolute minimum calories as you've selected to do - to not be hungry all the time and to get the most nutritional value on that tiny amount of calories you'll want to give some focus to what you're eating and getting the most nutritional bang for your calorie buck.
  • pmm3437
    pmm3437 Posts: 529 Member
    According to your profile, you've lost 21 of your 25 lbs weight loss goal. There's no info available about you stats, but if you're that close to a healthy weight, its not realistic to be able to lose 2 lbs a week going forward. You should be aiming for more like 0.5 lbs a week.

    You need some basic macro nutrition, or risk health problems. I would recommend you get at least 0.4g / lb of body weight in protein, and at least 30g of fat for normal hormone function. These are both medially backed RDAs ...

    Beyond that, it's "dealers choice" for the macros.
  • Raynee21
    Raynee21 Posts: 31 Member
    I’m doing 1,200 calories too but I just started. I don’t feel like it’s too low when I eat healthy low calorie snacks and eat spaced out.
  • shillbert
    shillbert Posts: 20 Member
    brendanwhite84 wrote: »
    Carbohydrates are the only non-essential macronutrient. Some fats and some varieties of protein are essential in order to stay alive. And I say this as a very high carb intake individual.

    +1 for a varied diet within the confines of what you arrive at for a calorie limit.

    Edit: Not sure what the Woo votes are all about. My point is that a varied diet is best for most people. Carbs make up the majority of my diet, but there is no proof from any study that ingestion of carbohydrates is necessary for life. By all means post a publication that reads to the contrary.

    You're correct that carbohydrates themselves haven't been proven to be essential, but it would be extremely difficult to eliminate carbs from your diet in an isolated manner without also eliminating other essential nutrients.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    Your ticker says that you have lost 21 pounds of the 25 you want to lose.

    If you only need to lose 4 pounds, even if you entered that you want to lose 2 pounds a week into MFP, it will only create a deficit that will take you down to 1200 calories.

    MFP operates on a system that takes your BMR (basal metabolic rate) based on your current weight multiplied by an activity factor based on what you entered (sedentary, lightly active, active) and arrives at a baseline from which to subtract your deficit based on how much you said you wanted to lose.

    The software won't go below 1200 for females or 1500 for males. It can't create a 1000 calorie deficit a day if you don't weigh enough to create one in the first place.

    A person with only 4 pounds to lose doesn't weigh enough to create that large a deficit.

    I typed all of this out to give you enough information to adjust your expectations.

    With only 4 pounds to lose, it might be better and more realistic to set your weight loss goal to half a pound a week.
  • Iamnotasenior
    Iamnotasenior Posts: 235 Member
    I have been doing 1,200 calories for about 7 months now. I am almost 60 years old and my activity level is sedentary. My initial goal was to lose 70 pounds at two pounds a week. I have lost 37 pounds in the past seven months at a rate of about a pound per week (four pounds per month). I eat three meals and two snacks a day. Some days, I go over by a few calories and one day a week I have a cheat meal and may go over my daily total by about 500 calories. My diary is open if you'd like to add me as a friend.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    Anvasilak wrote: »
    Thank you for all the great information. I have 9 more lbs. to go. I adjusted my stats and now I have more calories per day. I know the healthier options are the way to go!

    That is awesome to hear OP. Best of luck to you!
  • HDBKLM
    HDBKLM Posts: 466 Member
    edited October 2017
    It wasn't clear to me from your wording whether the 1200 calories was something you set for yourself—perhaps based on 'word on the street' wisdom—or if it's what MFP assigned you based on the stats you entered, but others have already taken that issue up here. Instead, I'll add that in case you didn't know, not only do you not have to eat the percentages of protein/fat/carb that MFP auto-assigns, but you can actually customise your macros to your own liking in the settings. If you don't know what 'your liking' is already you can do trial and error for a few weeks. Take a mental note of the macros proportions on meals that keep you feeling comfortably sated and then set your goals accordingly.
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