Should I be eating more than 1,200 calories?

Naivety · June 2018

I've been eating 1,200 calories a day for the last few weeks, but from what I've been reading it seems like this might be a bad idea. I'm 5'2'', 30 years old, weigh 185 pounds and want to be about 130 pounds. I have a desk job so I don't move around much for most of the day. I try to do a workout every evening though, my usual Fitbit calorie expenditure for the day is about 2,300, but I don't trust this completely so figure it's probably more like 2,100-2,200. That should result in weight loss of about 2 pounds per week- am I overweight enough that this is a realistic goal, or should I be losing more slowly than this?

TavistockToad · June 2018

If you get under 3000 steps a day then 1200 may be appropriate, otherwise probably not.

You don't really have enough to lose to sustain 2lb per week for long, I'd start with 1.5lb and go from there.

The issue with starting on 1200 cals is that it's difgivult to stick to and gives you nowhere to go when your weight loss slows down.

AdaptivePerformanceLLC · June 2018

Going that low could actually work against you. Surprisingly enough, more calories can make a big difference in achieving your goals.

Fuzzipeg · June 2018

1200 is for a sedentary person, I suggest your work outs compensate for the lack of movement during your work day, as implied by your Fitbit expenditure. I hope you have noted rest days should be part of a regular exercise regime, its time for the body to recover and set itself up for the next time. Many synchronise their Fitbit with MFP, I have no experience of doing this. Logging your exercise on MFP too would increase the calories available to you, they are expressed as calories earned. There are many possible headings under the exercise tab.

As Tavistock suggests setting yourself to loose 1.5lb could be better for you. Possibly take your regular exercise activity into account too its an option in the guided set up. Achieving our goals and calorie levels can be slightly different for everyone its best to find the way suited to our personal needs.

motivatedmartha · June 2018

I am on 1200 as I am old and retired so pretty inactive by routine and it was the goal mfp gave me BUT I do eat back around 50% of the calories I earn through exercise ( some burns mfp gives seem very high). This means that most days I am eating between 1300 and 1400 calories and on the whole, my loss is slow but steady - which I feel is good. Scales have stuck for the last 10 days but I know if I trust the process and weigh and log carefully it will move again.

SLLRunner · June 2018

Excellent advice from peop.

The thing about having more weigh to lose is that you can eat more and still lose weight. That's the gift in avoiding those 1200 calorie diets.

Naivety · June 2018

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'll try bringing it up to 1500 for a few weeks and see how that goes

AnnPT77 · June 2018

The crucial thing is how fast you're actually losing (averaged over several weeks). A rough rule of thumb is that you should not lose more than 1% of your body weight per week, with a slower rate recommended as you get within 25-50 pounds of goal. Those are intended as maximums for anyone not morbidly obese or under close medical supervision.

We should use the calculators (like the one built into MFP) to get a sensible calorie goal (1% or slower), then adjust after a few weeks based on our individual results. (People differ.). Since you've been at it for a few weeks, you should have the data you need to make a reasonable adjustment.

lynn_glenmont · June 2018

TavistockToad wrote: »

The issue with starting on 1200 cals is that it's difgivult to stick to and gives you nowhere to go when your weight loss slows down.

Pardon me, because I have great respect for you, and most of what you post is spot-on and insightful, but this is something silly that everybody likes to repeat but is ... well ... just silly. If your weight loss has slowed down while you're on 1200 kcals/day, either

(1) you are at a point in your weight loss where it's appropriate that your loss should be slow (so you shouldn't go lower anyway),
(2) you are a tiny, sedentary person to whom the 1200 kcal floor may not be appropriate,
(3) your expectations about appropriate weight loss weights are completely unrealistic (and #1 above probably applies to you),
(4) you are too impatient and are judging your rate of weight loss over too short a time (in which case, give yourself at least several weeks to be sure you have really "slowed down"), or
(5) you may have some undiagnosed medical condition if you still have a substantial amount of weight to lose, are not tiny and sedentary, and are accurately accounting for your caloric intake, so it might be a good idea to see a doctor.

ETA: Just to be clear, I'm not disagreeing that 1200 kcal is probably not an appropriate goal for the OP and indeed for most people. I just find that "nowhere to go" saying illogical and potentially misleading, as it could make people think that the answer to a slowing rate of loss is to lower one's daily calories rather than to realize that it's natural and appropriate for the rate of loss to slow as you get closer to a healthy weight.

emmamcgarity · June 2018

I am 5'1" with a desk job as well. But, I am older than you at 51. I have my calories set at 1200 calories as well since my normal day is sedentary. On days where I move more, I add in the exercise data points and use hunger to decide if I want to eat any of my exercise calories back. I also am choosing not to stress if I see red numbers on my tracker indicating I went over 1200 calories on a given day. I just try to be mindful of those choices. There are days that a glass of wine with a friend or a dessert are a nice treat for the day, and that enjoyment is more valuable to me than having nice green numbers for my calorie goal. I also tend to exercise at night instead of the morning. So, my calorie expenditure happens before bedtime, and I end up hungrier the following day. I treat the entries in my log as data and don't get stressed about it. I often look at the Weekly calorie stats to get an idea where I am on net and gross calorie intake to make sure I am in balance.

In 4 months, I've lost a little over 15 lbs. I'm satisfied with that and feel I am on target to reach my 10% bodyweight lost within the next few weeks.

nowine4me · June 2018

OP - you don’t mention how you FEEL at 1200. Are you hungry? satisfied?

Naivety · June 2018

I was feeling pretty hungry on 1200, but slowly adjusting. My weight loss was 3kg for those 3 weeks. I think it was a big weight loss also because it was right before my TOM when I first weighed myself so the initial weight was probably a bit off.

evagoonan · June 2018

I started out at 1200 a day. And I added two more Fitbit and they gave me extra additional calorie points I don’t understand.

chandraminick · June 2018

I've been eating at 1200 which is 1.5 lbs loss, and I've eaten at one pound loss and 2 lbs loss for a week in the past five weeks. I Change it up according to how I feel.

Should I be eating more than 1,200 calories?

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