1200 calorie question
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kchuch77
Posts: 31 Member
Hi guys!
I am starting over again today. I have a few questions...
1. I have 75 lbs I want to lose. Anyone who has/had this much to lose...what did you set your calorie limit at to start? Is it ok if I set mine at 2 lbs per week loss? (Which would be 1200 a day for me at 41 yrs old, 5’2”)? My husband tells me that is too low & I will stall & have to cut back even more?
2. Anyone watch my 600 lb Life? How do these people start out at 1200 calories a day?? And why does the doctor recommend low carb/high protein to them if only calories matter?
Thanks for any input! :-)
I am starting over again today. I have a few questions...
1. I have 75 lbs I want to lose. Anyone who has/had this much to lose...what did you set your calorie limit at to start? Is it ok if I set mine at 2 lbs per week loss? (Which would be 1200 a day for me at 41 yrs old, 5’2”)? My husband tells me that is too low & I will stall & have to cut back even more?
2. Anyone watch my 600 lb Life? How do these people start out at 1200 calories a day?? And why does the doctor recommend low carb/high protein to them if only calories matter?
Thanks for any input! :-)
1
Replies
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A lot of calories are found in higher carb foods! And I eat 1200 cals a day and I'm doing just fine.5
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Do you know how many calories you've been eating daily before starting to diet? High protein/decent fat levels promote satiety so that you eat less overall. A high carb diet leaves you feeling hungry faster & more often.
I would recommend you figure out how many calories you've been eating daily and then cut 500 calories off per day. 1200 is too low for most people.3 -
I would go with 1.5 lb per week. It will give you a few more calories.
My 600 lb life- these people need to lose hundreds of lbs, and will not be able to eat a normal diet after surgery, so the doctor sets them on that calorie goal to see if they can actually stick to it, because if they can't, they won't after surgery either. They have to eat more protein because of the surgery - you do have to meet minimum protein otherwise you will lose muscle. Since these people can't eat much at all, they need to concentrate on protein. You can't go by what they do for what you need to do to lose weight.6 -
With 75 lbs. to lose, you can safely lose 2 lbs. a week, for a while anyway. However, there's nothing wrong with losing slower, and you may find that doing so is more sustainable. The drastic drop in calories from your usual to 1200 can be quite a shock. There's no need to feel starving when you're losing weight. You can always compromise and lose at the 1.5 pound a week range, too. As you get closer to goal, you should reduce how much you expect to lose to 1 pound a week, and for the last 10 or so pounds you may be happiest if you lose at 0.5 lbs. a week. Experiment as you start out and see how you feel with the different calorie amounts.
The low carb thing on My 600 Lb. Life helps reduce water weight, and high protein helps with satiety (fullness). I've never understood why they drop all the way down to 1200, myself, but I'm sure it's in part because the patients have to lose X amount of pounds in a relatively small time frame in order to qualify for the surgery. In addition to that, they have to get used to eating less because after surgery, a typical diet is about 800 calories a day. I guess the huge drop would help prepare patients for their post-surgery diet.2 -
BlondeRunner615 wrote: »Do you know how many calories you've been eating daily before starting to diet? High protein/decent fat levels promote satiety so that you eat less overall. A high carb diet leaves you feeling hungry faster & more often.
I would recommend you figure out how many calories you've been eating daily and then cut 500 calories off per day. 1200 is too low unless you're basically bedridden.
I’m not sure how many calories I’ve been eating, but I’m sure its way too many. I feel like I eat from boredom just because the food is there, not actual hunger. I think mfp is exactly what I need because I eat a lot when I eat because the food tastes good, not because I’m hungry. I’m a stay at home mom, so most of my activity now is just back & forth with laundry, cooking, dishes, etc, nothing thats actually getting my heart rate up
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I would suggest that you work out what your calorie TDEE is for the weight you would like to be, and go for that.3
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Hi kchuch77,
I too am starting over again. I have about 40lbs to lose. Last time I tried to lose weight I set my weight loss goals to 2lbs per week, which resulted in failure as it was something I could not maintain. Most doctors recommend 1lb per week which is much more attainable. It takes a calorie deficit of 3500 calories to lose 1lb. If you want to lose 2lbs per week that means you will need a deficit of 7000 calories.
If you are incorporating weight training as part of your weight loss journey, know that as you lose weight and gain muscle you may need to increase your calorie intake. If you don't, as your husband stated you will plateau. This happened to me during my last weight loss journey. I was doing Jenny Craig and I was working with a trainer. Jenny Craig had me on a 1200 calorie diet, but as I gained muscle I notice that I was feeling always feeling hungry and I wasn't losing any weight. As a result, my Jenny Craig trainer up my calorie intake and I started losing weight again.
As for the low carb/high protein diet, I tend to gain weight on this style diet. I try not to follow any diet fad as they are hard to maintain. Instead focus on areas of your health you need to improve. For example, if you are watching your cholesterol then eat foods that are low in saturated fat and cholesterol, if sodium is your problem then a low sodium diet is best for you.
Remember to always listen to your body. What works for someone else may not always work for you. Get your doctor's or a nutritionist opinion on what type of diet will work for you base on your health history.
5 -
Hi kchuch77,
I too am starting over again. I have about 40lbs to lose. Last time I tried to lose weight I set my weight loss goals to 2lbs per week, which resulted in failure as it was something I could not maintain. Most doctors recommend 1lb per week which is much more attainable. It takes a calorie deficit of 3500 calories to lose 1lb. If you want to lose 2lbs per week that means you will need a deficit of 7000 calories.
If you are incorporating weight training as part of your weight loss journey, know that as you lose weight and gain muscle you may need to increase your calorie intake. If you don't, as your husband stated you will plateau. This happened to me during my last weight loss journey. I was doing Jenny Craig and I was working with a trainer. Jenny Craig had me on a 1200 calorie diet, but as I gained muscle I notice that I was feeling always feeling hungry and I wasn't losing any weight. As a result, my Jenny Craig trainer up my calorie intake and I started losing weight again.
As for the low carb/high protein diet, I tend to gain weight on this style diet. I try not to follow any diet fad as they are hard to maintain. Instead focus on areas of your health you need to improve. For example, if you are watching your cholesterol then eat foods that are low in saturated fat and cholesterol, if sodium is your problem then a low sodium diet is best for you.
Remember to always listen to your body. What works for someone else may not always work for you. Get your doctor's or a nutritionist opinion on what type of diet will work for you base on your health history.
Thank you so much Shay4025! :-) I think I will start at 1 lb per week loss then & see how I feel. I want to start working out...I know I have bad circulation in my legs, so I was thinking at least some walking in addition to lifting weights. I see others recommend eating back just 1/2 your exercise calories..whats your opinion on that? Eat back or not eat back?1 -
juliegilburd wrote: »With 75 lbs. to lose, you can safely lose 2 lbs. a week, for a while anyway. However, there's nothing wrong with losing slower, and you may find that doing so is more sustainable. The drastic drop in calories from your usual to 1200 can be quite a shock. There's no need to feel starving when you're losing weight. You can always compromise and lose at the 1.5 pound a week range, too. As you get closer to goal, you should reduce how much you expect to lose to 1 pound a week, and for the last 10 or so pounds you may be happiest if you lose at 0.5 lbs. a week. Experiment as you start out and see how you feel with the different calorie amounts.
The low carb thing on My 600 Lb. Life helps reduce water weight, and high protein helps with satiety (fullness). I've never understood why they drop all the way down to 1200, myself, but I'm sure it's in part because the patients have to lose X amount of pounds in a relatively small time frame in order to qualify for the surgery. In addition to that, they have to get used to eating less because after surgery, a typical diet is about 800 calories a day. I guess the huge drop would help prepare patients for their post-surgery diet.
Thank you juliegilburd! Makes sense! :-)2 -
Thank you all for your replies! I have another question! (Yikes, sorry, haha)..
I am a stay at home mom & my physical activity right now is basic stuff like laundry, dishes, cooking..would my activity level be “lightly active”? or “sedentary” as this activity doesn’t get my heart rate up? I plan to start walking on the treadmill before the kids wake, and even lifting, should I adjust activity level to moderate then? Or is your activity level based on non exercise activity?1 -
Here is a link to the myfitnesspal calculator I used. I needed to lose 90 pounds. https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ When asked I chose a sedentary lifestyle (somedays it is more than others!) I chose 20 net carbs , I chose the amount of 79 g protein and a 30% deficit of fat. These imputed numbers got me as close to the keto macros as possible which is 5% carbs, 25% protein and 70% fat. Imput your own information and play around with the chart until you get as close to the proper keto macros as possible. In doing this, it told me how many calories that I would be eating a day (in my case 1270) or I would not hit my proper keto macros. I bookmarked this chart on my PC. I go back in and change the weight part periodically as I lose and it will give me my new calorie intake goal as I go along. Even regular diets are around 1200 so don't worry that it is too low. It is not too low for a woman on a diet. Men are higher and maintenance is higher. Keep your chin up, you will get there! This keto diet really works and if you get that fat in, you will not be hungry and 1200 will not be at all uncomfortable. I am very proud of your attempts and your desire to be heathly and at your best self!5
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Let me add to my post above. You do not have to use the keto diet I am using to lose weight. Most any diet will work (low carb high protein, low calorie, low fat etc.). The secret is sticking to it. I use keto because I am not hungry on the diet due to the high satiating fat intake. It has also done miracles for my type two diabetes (because of the low carb intake). I am already off of 4 of the pills I take. Now I am working at getting rid of the meformin too. I started keto on Jan 11th and am down 34 pounds. Best of luck in whichever method you chose. We are rockstars and we can do it!2
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deepwoodslady wrote: »Here is a link to the myfitnesspal calculator I used. I needed to lose 90 pounds. https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ When asked I chose a sedentary lifestyle (somedays it is more than others!) I chose 20 net carbs , I chose the amount of 79 g protein and a 30% deficit of fat. These imputed numbers got me as close to the keto macros as possible which is 5% carbs, 25% protein and 70% fat. Imput your own information and play around with the chart until you get as close to the proper keto macros as possible. In doing this, it told me how many calories that I would be eating a day (in my case 1270) or I would not hit my proper keto macros. I bookmarked this chart on my PC. I go back in and change the weight part periodically as I lose and it will give me my new calorie intake goal as I go along. Even regular diets are around 1200 so don't worry that it is too low. It is not too low for a woman on a diet. Men are higher and maintenance is higher. Keep your chin up, you will get there! This keto diet really works and if you get that fat in, you will not be hungry and 1200 will not be at all uncomfortable. I am very proud of your attempts and your desire to be heathly and at your best self!
She didn't ask for keto, and keto is a very restrictive plan. That "calculator" is not affiliated with Myfitnesspal, so not sure what your point is.Thank you all for your replies! I have another question! (Yikes, sorry, haha)..
I am a stay at home mom & my physical activity right now is basic stuff like laundry, dishes, cooking..would my activity level be “lightly active”? or “sedentary” as this activity doesn’t get my heart rate up? I plan to start walking on the treadmill before the kids wake, and even lifting, should I adjust activity level to moderate then? Or is your activity level based on non exercise activity?
I would use "Lightly active." Log everything you eat for 4-6 weeks. If you do any intentional extra exercise, log that in the Exercise tab and eat more on that day to offset that exercise. You may find you are even in the next category up from lightly active. I'm retired, tiny house, live alone and my activity level is way higher than what Myfitnesspal would suggest.
Your food page will tell you what to do. Just eat until you hit "0" at the bottom.
At the end of those 4-6 weeks adjust as your results suggest. Making changes more frequently will make it difficult to pin down your calorie needs.
The only way to know is to run the experiment, being as accurate as possible. It's what we all did.
4 -
cmriverside wrote: »deepwoodslady wrote: »Here is a link to the myfitnesspal calculator I used. I needed to lose 90 pounds. https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ When asked I chose a sedentary lifestyle (somedays it is more than others!) I chose 20 net carbs , I chose the amount of 79 g protein and a 30% deficit of fat. These imputed numbers got me as close to the keto macros as possible which is 5% carbs, 25% protein and 70% fat. Imput your own information and play around with the chart until you get as close to the proper keto macros as possible. In doing this, it told me how many calories that I would be eating a day (in my case 1270) or I would not hit my proper keto macros. I bookmarked this chart on my PC. I go back in and change the weight part periodically as I lose and it will give me my new calorie intake goal as I go along. Even regular diets are around 1200 so don't worry that it is too low. It is not too low for a woman on a diet. Men are higher and maintenance is higher. Keep your chin up, you will get there! This keto diet really works and if you get that fat in, you will not be hungry and 1200 will not be at all uncomfortable. I am very proud of your attempts and your desire to be heathly and at your best self!
She didn't ask for keto, and keto is a very restrictive plan. That "calculator" is not affiliated with Myfitnesspal, so not sure what your point is.Thank you all for your replies! I have another question! (Yikes, sorry, haha)..
I am a stay at home mom & my physical activity right now is basic stuff like laundry, dishes, cooking..would my activity level be “lightly active”? or “sedentary” as this activity doesn’t get my heart rate up? I plan to start walking on the treadmill before the kids wake, and even lifting, should I adjust activity level to moderate then? Or is your activity level based on non exercise activity?
I would use "Lightly active." Log everything you eat for 4-6 weeks. If you do any intentional extra exercise, log that in the Exercise tab and eat more on that day to offset that exercise. You may find you are even in the next category up from lightly active. I'm retired, tiny house, live alone and my activity level is way higher than what Myfitnesspal would suggest.
Your food page will tell you what to do. Just eat until you hit "0" at the bottom.
At the end of those 4-6 weeks adjust as your results suggest. Making changes more frequently will make it difficult to pin down your calorie needs.
The only way to know is to run the experiment, being as accurate as possible. It's what we all did.
Awesome! Thank you very much! :-)2 -
cmriverside wrote: »deepwoodslady wrote: »Here is a link to the myfitnesspal calculator I used. I needed to lose 90 pounds. https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ When asked I chose a sedentary lifestyle (somedays it is more than others!) I chose 20 net carbs , I chose the amount of 79 g protein and a 30% deficit of fat. These imputed numbers got me as close to the keto macros as possible which is 5% carbs, 25% protein and 70% fat. Imput your own information and play around with the chart until you get as close to the proper keto macros as possible. In doing this, it told me how many calories that I would be eating a day (in my case 1270) or I would not hit my proper keto macros. I bookmarked this chart on my PC. I go back in and change the weight part periodically as I lose and it will give me my new calorie intake goal as I go along. Even regular diets are around 1200 so don't worry that it is too low. It is not too low for a woman on a diet. Men are higher and maintenance is higher. Keep your chin up, you will get there! This keto diet really works and if you get that fat in, you will not be hungry and 1200 will not be at all uncomfortable. I am very proud of your attempts and your desire to be heathly and at your best self!
She didn't ask for keto, and keto is a very restrictive plan. That "calculator" is not affiliated with Myfitnesspal, so not sure what your point is.Thank you all for your replies! I have another question! (Yikes, sorry, haha)..
I am a stay at home mom & my physical activity right now is basic stuff like laundry, dishes, cooking..would my activity level be “lightly active”? or “sedentary” as this activity doesn’t get my heart rate up? I plan to start walking on the treadmill before the kids wake, and even lifting, should I adjust activity level to moderate then? Or is your activity level based on non exercise activity?
I would use "Lightly active." Log everything you eat for 4-6 weeks. If you do any intentional extra exercise, log that in the Exercise tab and eat more on that day to offset that exercise. You may find you are even in the next category up from lightly active. I'm retired, tiny house, live alone and my activity level is way higher than what Myfitnesspal would suggest.
Your food page will tell you what to do. Just eat until you hit "0" at the bottom.
At the end of those 4-6 weeks adjust as your results suggest. Making changes more frequently will make it difficult to pin down your calorie needs.
The only way to know is to run the experiment, being as accurate as possible. It's what we all did.
OP, people with 10's of thousands of posts tend to know what they're taking about...2 -
The other thing you can do since up to 2 lbs weekly could be reasonable for you (if body not fighting a disease or sickness anyway).
If you have a day where the exercise done increases the amount you can eat (which is correct) - but you just don't feel like you need it (not talking about "listening to your body" nonsense) - always know you can be under your calorie goal another 500 without any issues right now.
That will increase amount lost by a little bit extra.
This is following cmriverside's excellent advice otherwise.
Which frankly at this point, merely carrying the extra weight is the biggest health risk for you, so a tad faster while having enough protein and resistance training is just fine barring other health factors.
Down at 50 lbs left to go, then 1.5 lb weekly would be max to go for.
Which means you can still do above method to get just a little extra.
At 30 lbs left you'd want to stop that method.3 -
The other thing you can do since up to 2 lbs weekly could be reasonable for you (if body not fighting a disease or sickness anyway).
If you have a day where the exercise done increases the amount you can eat (which is correct) - but you just don't feel like you need it (not talking about "listening to your body" nonsense) - always know you can be under your calorie goal another 500 without any issues right now.
That will increase amount lost by a little bit extra.
This is following cmriverside's excellent advice otherwise.
Which frankly at this point, merely carrying the extra weight is the biggest health risk for you, so a tad faster while having enough protein and resistance training is just fine barring other health factors.
Down at 50 lbs left to go, then 1.5 lb weekly would be max to go for.
Which means you can still do above method to get just a little extra.
At 30 lbs left you'd want to stop that method.
Ok, thanks, so let me make sure I understand you correctly...set my weekly goal at 2 lbs loss for now at a lightly active level, then reset to 1.5 lbs loss after I am down 20 or so lbs, right?2 -
No - follow advice others gave to set to 1 lb loss. Or 1.5 lbs for now, until 50 left.
With the knowledge on exercise days when you would normally eat more - but you don't feel like you need it - you can be under goal by 500 and still be alright.
If you start some good hard workouts - body is going to want that extra nurishment to make improvements.
Those improvements could easily make it look like you've lost more than scale shows.
And since people see you but not the scale - support that transformation.1 -
No - follow advice others gave to set to 1 lb loss. Or 1.5 lbs for now, until 50 left.
With the knowledge on exercise days when you would normally eat more - but you don't feel like you need it - you can be under goal by 500 and still be alright.
If you start some good hard workouts - body is going to want that extra nurishment to make improvements.
Those improvements could easily make it look like you've lost more than scale shows.
And since people see you but not the scale - support that transformation.
Got it, thanks again!0 -
BlondeRunner615 wrote: »Do you know how many calories you've been eating daily before starting to diet? High protein/decent fat levels promote satiety so that you eat less overall. A high carb diet leaves you feeling hungry faster & more often.
I would recommend you figure out how many calories you've been eating daily and then cut 500 calories off per day. 1200 is too low for most people.
This assumed OP has been maintaining at current intake. Why do you assume that?0
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