Am I going too "extreme"?

AlphaditeStrong · June 2018

Hey all!

I'm a complete and total newbie when it comes to health, fitness, and weight loss. I'm a whole week and 3 days into my new journey of weight loss because I'm about 80lbs overweight. I have been tracking my daily exercise, food, and water intake here on my fitness pal, and I eat the necessary calories calculated for me each day (1,200cal). For my "workouts" (I'm just getting started, dont judge) I have been walking at a normal pace doing laps to get myself used to being active. My goal right now is to walk 5 miles a day (it's a fairly easy walk). Im not starving myself. I'm not pushing myself to exhaustion. I'm not in pain. So here's my problem:
A person very close to my is putting me down and making me feel bad for the new lifestyle I'm trying to live. They say its extreme, unhealthy, and too much for me. They say 1,200 calories is starvation and ridiculous. It's making me feel terrible.
To the people who know a thing or two about fitness, am I going overboard? Am I just right? Or should I step it up?
Thank you!
-Tawnie

emmamcgarity · June 2018

1200 sounds a bit low if you have 80 lbs. to lose. What are your stats? Age/sex/height/weight/activity level

stanmann571 · June 2018

AlphaditeStrong wrote: »

Hey all!

I'm a complete and total newbie when it comes to health, fitness, and weight loss. I'm a whole week and 3 days into my new journey of weight loss because I'm about 80lbs overweight. I have been tracking my daily exercise, food, and water intake here on my fitness pal, and I eat the necessary calories calculated for me each day (1,200cal). For my "workouts" (I'm just getting started, dont judge) I have been walking at a normal pace doing laps to get myself used to being active. My goal right now is to walk 5 miles a day (it's a fairly easy walk). Im not starving myself. I'm not pushing myself to exhaustion. I'm not in pain. So here's my problem:
A person very close to my is putting me down and making me feel bad for the new lifestyle I'm trying to live. They say its extreme, unhealthy, and too much for me. They say 1,200 calories is starvation and ridiculous. It's making me feel terrible.
To the people who know a thing or two about fitness, am I going overboard? Am I just right? Or should I step it up?
Thank you!
-Tawnie

As long as you're eating the calories you're earning for the 5 mile walk, I don't see anything extreme.

5 miles is a lot to jump in to, especially at a moderate pace(1-2 hours of your day) but if it fits your schedule.

janejellyroll · June 2018

It's common for people at the beginning of a new plan to feel satisfied and energetic even if they aren't eating enough. I'm not saying you're not eating enough for sure, but feeling good right now isn't *necessarily* an indication that you're eating enough.

Did you put in MFP that you wanted to lose 2 pounds a week? Also, are you eating back at least a portion of your exercise calories?

Scottgriesser · June 2018

If you are indeed 80lbs overweight, 1200 calories a day does seem a bit low. Hard to give advice without knowing the stats.

It isn't like doing that is going to kill you...but it could potentially cause other health issues if you are under-fueling your current body.

quiksylver296 · June 2018

Based on information given, it sounds like you are being smart about it. You can probably eat more calories, like @emmamcgarity said. So, if you find yourself having serious hunger or cravings, you may add a couple hundred more calories to your day.

nowine4me · June 2018

IMO, 1200 calories is a diet, not a lifestyle. But at 80# overweight, that’s probably fine. If you’re feeling good, keep doing what you’re doing. That being said, if you are in this for the long haul, there’s no need to white knuckle it.

WholeFoods4Lyfe · June 2018

1200 calories is on the low side. I also have 80lbs left to lose and my bare minimum is 1200 calories, but I tend to go more in to the 1400-1600 range on days when I'm active. It's still putting me at a 1000 calorie deficit (approx. 2lb per week loss) but I'm much better fueled.

1200 is the bare minium, you really should eat at least a few hundred calories more, you want to make sure that as you progress through your journey that you have some wiggle room in your calorie count, otherwise the closer you get to goal, the more strict you'll have to be.

pinuplove · June 2018

With 80 pounds to lose, you could probably increase your daily calories and still lose at a nice rate. The problem with diving headlong into 1200 calories + increased activity (especially if you aren't eating at least a portion of those calories back) is that while it may work for a while, and you'll swear you feel great, eventually it won't be sustainable. 80 pounds will not melt off in a few months. This is a long-term investment in your health and an important time for you to work on building new habits that you can carry with you into maintenance so you never have to lose 80 pounds again.

cwolfman13 · June 2018

1200 assumes a sedentary lifestyle, and it is an aggressive weight loss target. If you're walking 5 miles per day, you aren't sedentary and should account for that activity.

I would also say that nothing to 5 miles per day is a pretty big jump, but if you feel ok and it fits your schedule then I'm sure it's fine.

Kathryn247 · June 2018

A lot of us deal with other people's opinions as we lose weight/get healthier - you'll get encouragement from some people, criticism from others, and sometimes both! Learning to handle that can be a serious challenge, and probably contributes to people not sticking with it.
Remember that what other people say about you says more about them than it does about you. It's great to do a "reality check" on your calorie intake and exercise schedule, but if that seems reasonable, don't be afraid to set their comments aside and keep doing what's good for you.

NekoneMeowMixx · June 2018

Echoing what everyone else is saying, ultimately it boils down to what feels right for you. 1,200 is the bare minimum amount of calories you should be consuming. When I was eating 1,200 calories, I was hovering around 145 pounds and couldn't for the life of me lose weight. I ended up upping my calories (I think to 1,600- it's been a while so I don't remember exactly). But moral of the story, sometimes eating more calories will end up getting you where to want to be better than the minimum. One you take into consideration what you're losing from walking, you're running the risk of conusming too few calories for the day, which can ultimately halt and even reserve progress.

Best of luck!

michele22269 · June 2018

I am 5'1" and started at 145lbs. I do 1200 max per day but sit on my bum all day at work and only do strength training 3x a week on a good week. It is not 'extreme' to do 1200 IMO... however... it would behoove you to determine your BMR and TDEE to be sure you actually can lose fat rather than muscle. If your calories are too low for your output, your body will hold on to the fat because it will be in survival mode and it will start burning protein after carbs are expended. Protein loss = muscle loss and you need muscle to burn fat.

I posted a couple links for calculating these factors here:

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/michele22269/view/calculate-954983

Good luck!

Running_and_Coffee · June 2018

You can eat a bit more than that and still lose. I ate 150 calories more than that a day to lose weight with only 10 lbs to lose. It's not that you're "extreme" or there's anything wrong with that, it's just harder than it needs to be fore you to achieve your goals.

peaceout_aly · June 2018

AlphaditeStrong wrote: »

Hey all!

I'm a complete and total newbie when it comes to health, fitness, and weight loss. I'm a whole week and 3 days into my new journey of weight loss because I'm about 80lbs overweight. I have been tracking my daily exercise, food, and water intake here on my fitness pal, and I eat the necessary calories calculated for me each day (1,200cal). For my "workouts" (I'm just getting started, dont judge) I have been walking at a normal pace doing laps to get myself used to being active. My goal right now is to walk 5 miles a day (it's a fairly easy walk). Im not starving myself. I'm not pushing myself to exhaustion. I'm not in pain. So here's my problem:
A person very close to my is putting me down and making me feel bad for the new lifestyle I'm trying to live. They say its extreme, unhealthy, and too much for me. They say 1,200 calories is starvation and ridiculous. It's making me feel terrible.
To the people who know a thing or two about fitness, am I going overboard? Am I just right? Or should I step it up?
Thank you!
-Tawnie

For a real answer, we need to know your stats. For the average height woman, 1,200 is going to be quite low - but if you're 5' and under (like me) it's what's necessary to lose weight if you aren't extremely active. It is NOT starvation mode by any means though. Especially when you aren't training like crazy. When you're working with a fitness or healthy lifestyle, people are always going to judge. I've been judged because I lift for 2+ hours a day, do more than 30-minutes of cardio, eat carbs, weigh my food, still eat out, drink alcohol, etc. But guess what, I know what works for me so I don't give a *kitten* what anyone else thinks. Do you. If 1,200 cals + 5 mile walks are getting you to your goal and you aren't exhausted or starving, then keep at it.

brookekaczor · June 2018

I have lost weight starting at 1200 calories and ate my exercise calories back. I think you can do it as long as you account for your 5 miles a day. I counted 100 calories per mile when I was heavier so often ate 1700 when I did mileage like that. It's very doable with exercise. Without I would have struggled quite a bit but with good food choices you can do it. Keep it up. BTW I have lost 75 lbs and am just below my goal weight.

PS I'm 5'10.5"

nutmegoreo · June 2018

AlphaditeStrong wrote: »

Hey all!

I'm a complete and total newbie when it comes to health, fitness, and weight loss. I'm a whole week and 3 days into my new journey of weight loss because I'm about 80lbs overweight. I have been tracking my daily exercise, food, and water intake here on my fitness pal, and I eat the necessary calories calculated for me each day (1,200cal). For my "workouts" (I'm just getting started, dont judge) I have been walking at a normal pace doing laps to get myself used to being active. My goal right now is to walk 5 miles a day (it's a fairly easy walk). Im not starving myself. I'm not pushing myself to exhaustion. I'm not in pain. So here's my problem:
A person very close to my is putting me down and making me feel bad for the new lifestyle I'm trying to live. They say its extreme, unhealthy, and too much for me. They say 1,200 calories is starvation and ridiculous. It's making me feel terrible.
To the people who know a thing or two about fitness, am I going overboard? Am I just right? Or should I step it up?
Thank you!
-Tawnie

Others have addressed the concerns about the number of calories. I see a couple other things in here that I would like to go into further.

First, no one is going to judge the workouts you are doing. At least the majority of people here won't. So stop being hard on yourself about it, and assuming that others would/should follow. You're doing great. Do be careful to not overdo it though. You don't want to be sidelined with injuries. It makes it that much harder.

Second, this person who is putting you down, is it coming from a place of concern, or is there something more insidious there? If it's coming from true concern, sit down with them and discuss it further. If it is not coming from true concern, then tell them that you appreciate their opinion, and that you don't want to discuss it further. I share my struggles with a select few people, but otherwise keep it to myself. When people hear you are trying to make changes, you open the door for ALL their beliefs and opinions on diet and exercise, much of which is incorrect.

I lied, I'm adding some thoughts on calories. While 1200 isn't starvation, it can be difficult to get a nutritionally balanced diet in that number of calories. Personally, I like about 1500, gets all the nutrition I need, plus allows for a little treat every day. Today is a Rocky Road Ice Cream bar. Give yourself some time and have some patience, and see how it all goes. For now, losing 2lb/week is fine, but that should slow as you get closer to your goal weight. You want to learn new lifelong habits.

JeromeBarry1 · June 2018

@AlphaditeStrong How tall are you? That matters when discussing your excess weight and your weight loss calorie budget.

AlphaditeStrong · June 2018

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rueruechika86 · June 2018

1. Even though MFP calculates your daily calories, it wouldn't hurt to try find online calculator where you can manually enter your age/gender/height/weight/activity factor. This might give a different goal depending on how much you want to lose per week. In time you'll learn that eating more than 1200 cal will not derail you as long as you maintain a caloric deficit.
2. Listen to your body. It sounds like you're not straining yourself, but as you get more active you'll want to push yourself more. Know your limits. Compete with yourself not with other people.
3. Sometimes it's best to keep personal fitness goals to yourself. At least at first...once you start looking different, people will want to know how you're doing it. Untill then, naysayers will try discourage you.

AlphaditeStrong · June 2018

Hey all,

I appreciate your responses, and received a lot of helpful information.

Thank you!

emmamcgarity · June 2018

At 5'3" that makes more sense for your calorie target to be 1200. I am 5'1", sedentary desk job, and over 50 years old. So, my calorie goal in MFP is also 1200. I have a male friend who is over 6'0" and was very concerned when I first started restricting calories and he heard my calorie goal. 1200 calories is unfathomable to him because of his stats (as it should be). So, it's possible your friend may be just concerned about your well being.

IMO, 1200 is not necessarily extreme with the right mindset. I enter my exercise calories into MFP and often eat them back. I have days that I exceed my calorie goal by 50-200 calories and other days that I am up to 100 calories under. I try to let my hunger guide me and I try to pick overall healthy choices. I also purposely don't try to deprive myself from foods that I enjoy or a glass of wine with a friend.

cebreisch · June 2018

1200 is a bit on the low side. It really is all about calories in/calories out. If you consume less then you burn calorie-wise, you’re going to lose. I have a Fitbit Versa, and the bigger distance between those numbers, the better I lose, but I still lose when the burn numbers are bigger than the consumed numbers.

Yes, I burn about 2400 avg. and I try to stay around 1700 consumed calories. Nobody bash me - this is just what works for me and what I’m comfortable with. Not looking for the “What you oughta do is....”. I get plenty of that from my busy-body, nosy mother.

Figure out what works for you.

Candyspun · June 2018

I think the exercise is fine, just eat back some of your exercise calories.

Am I going too "extreme"?

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