Under calories advice please

GlitteryAtom
GlitteryAtom Posts: 19 Member
edited November 24 in Food and Nutrition
Hi,

Bit of background info...
My goal is 1200 calories. I have noticed that having 500+ calories remaining won't let me complete my diary as it is not recommended. So I will have some more food but my question is:

How many calories can we be under to complete the diary for the day?

Thanks in advance lovely community

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    You have to log at least 1000 calories. However, the 1200 given to you is a goal you should be reaching.
  • GlitteryAtom
    GlitteryAtom Posts: 19 Member
    Ok thanks.
    Sometimes I have noticed that I've been like 100 calories under and I'm almost being congratulated for being under target. ??
  • GlitteryAtom
    GlitteryAtom Posts: 19 Member
    Great, thank you! Going to snack on some peanut butter on toast then :)
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Think of it like the Price is Right. If you've set your goals properly, you want to be as close as you can without going over (although a little over is fine).
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    There's no particular reason to complete your diary. I never do. I'm never understood the point of it really.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    edited February 2018
    bbell1985 wrote: »
    ShaunnaCullen wrote: »
    Def dont eat any less than 1200, it can slow your metabolism down. Stick to 1400 -1600 (depending on your exercise level and frequency) so you set yourself up for sucess!

    Though OP may be able to eat more than 1200 to lose at a good rate, you can't just tell someone how many calories to eat. Some short women maintain their weight on 1600. Some women lose weight quickly eating 1800.

    Can confirm. I am short, lost weight on 1200 and maintain at 1400 (ugh). 1200 is the minimum recommended for women, but without knowing OP's stats, we can't say whether or not it's an appropriate calorie goal for her. We can only reiterate that going below 1200 raises the risk of malnutrition and not getting enough calories to fuel normal activities.

    I think any question about eating under 1200 should be answered with "don't." But beyond that, OP didn't ask us whether 1200 is a good goal, nor do we have the information to tell her whether it is or isn't.
  • rayray3166
    rayray3166 Posts: 2 Member
    Log your info on the iifym.com website and see how many calories it gives you there. For some reason MyFitnessPal always puts women at 1200, that’s pretty low, many different factors to take into consideration.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    rayray3166 wrote: »
    Log your info on the iifym.com website and see how many calories it gives you there. For some reason MyFitnessPal always puts women at 1200, that’s pretty low, many different factors to take into consideration.

    It doesn't always. It's dependent on age, height, weight, activity level, and the rate of loss you choose. Because I have a more active job, I never got a goal lower than 1470 calories to lose 1.5 pounds/week.
  • GlitteryAtom
    GlitteryAtom Posts: 19 Member
    Im 5ft 2,age 26, low activity in my job so I try to exercise 4 times a week. Seems to be working so far!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited February 2018
    This content has been removed.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    rayray3166 wrote: »
    Log your info on the iifym.com website and see how many calories it gives you there. For some reason MyFitnessPal always puts women at 1200, that’s pretty low, many different factors to take into consideration.

    That is because IIFM includes exercise in your goal, whereas MFP you are supposed to eat back those caloreis. also IIFYM will not usually set you to lose 2lbs/week, as your cals are based on % cut from TDEE. So in mfp, lower your weekly weight loss goal and log exercise and you should be very very close on a weekly basis to what IIFYM is telling you calorie wise
  • GlitteryAtom
    GlitteryAtom Posts: 19 Member
    Why would my hair fall out? I'm not starving myself at all! ..... this is why I usually avoid forums.
  • GlitteryAtom
    GlitteryAtom Posts: 19 Member
    In fact - my hair and skin have improved so much already since making healthier lifestyle choices. My hair has actually grown! I'm rarely under 1200 cals, and if I am then I soon make up for it the next day.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    rayray3166 wrote: »
    Log your info on the iifym.com website and see how many calories it gives you there. For some reason MyFitnessPal always puts women at 1200, that’s pretty low, many different factors to take into consideration.

    Not always...generally when a woman puts sedentary (whether they are or not) and they select an aggressive weight loss target. Also, people don't seem to understand that MFP is designed for you to eat back additional calories for exercise to account for that activity whereas IIFYM and other TDEE calculators include an estimate of those calories in your initial calorie target. In other words, someone who is exercising regularly and has a 1200 calorie net target will actually be eating more than 1200 calories.

    My wife gets a target of 1400 to lose 1 Lb per week...with her running and whatnot she loses about 1 Lb per week eating around 1800.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    rayray3166 wrote: »
    Log your info on the iifym.com website and see how many calories it gives you there. For some reason MyFitnessPal always puts women at 1200, that’s pretty low, many different factors to take into consideration.

    MFP has never put me anywhere close to 1200 calories. Not when I was 212 lbs and not now when I'm 35 lbs lighter. Of course, I've always set a reasonable loss rate and been fairly active.

    It's not fair or accurate to generalize that way.
  • mscupples88
    mscupples88 Posts: 1 Member
    It has done this to me too. My goal is 1300 and the least i had to have to complete my diary was 1000.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    Shugahhfatt wrote: »
    yes you are being congratulated by a very very idiotic program....eat more trust me....I eat 1000 calories more then what MFP suggests and am losing fat like krazy....do not go by the caloric recommendations here go by the many fantastic members which is why I am here:)

    Actually, this program works very well but is entirely dependent on the accurate input of the user.

    Excellent guide to how MFP is set up and arrives at a person's calorie allowance, and why it is unwise to undercut these numbers:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    mscupples88 wrote: »
    It has done this to me too. My goal is 1300 and the least i had to have to complete my diary was 1000.

    That's because MFP doesn't want to encourage/enable anorexics.
  • jaquieduck
    jaquieduck Posts: 14 Member
    If you feel full, are weighing your food out, and eating below 1200, consider adding some heathy high calorie snacks, such as avocado.
    Ultimately it's up to you, but if you regularly run a large calorie deficit, you may have trouble maintaining your energy levels.
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