1200 cal and exercising, food help?

Hi there.

A month ago I started my weightloss journey. I am 24yr old female, 165cm, now 71kgs. I use a fitbit and log everything I eat (using food scales) All my exercise is logged and my MFP suggested 1200 cal when I started.

I use to mainly only eat carbs (working in a bakery) and have now completely turned my diet around. I eat mainly fruit veg meat and nuts with some other occasional carbs in there too.

My question is.. I have been exercising 5 days a week (2 days a 1.5hr walk and 3 days weights at gym) and I am not sure if 1200 cal is right or not? I see posts about people eating alot more but honestly with my new diet I always feel satisfied and only will snack because I am bored watching netflix (not that of hunger). Since I feel satisfied, is this okay to stick to 1200cal? If I am still hungry during the day I will go up to 1300-1400 but thats rare.

Any tips and advice is much appreciated! Thanks!

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    Your calorie goal is 1200 + exercise calories.
    Are you doing that? If not, why not?

    Did you pick the fastest rate of weight loss? Is that appropriate for how much you have to lose?
  • smolmaus
    smolmaus Posts: 442 Member
    I am 158cm and 52kg (atm but was 48kg) and exercise on 1200kcal is murder. I can cope okay for a while usually then I start getting tired all the time, lifts start to suffer, I'm way more sore after a workout, depression symptoms flare up etc. and I'm likely to have a binge episode. Plus back when I ran more than I lifted low blood sugar nearly wiped me out on the treadmill a few times. So I don't do that anymore, always eat back exercise calories.

    Everybody is different so maybe you'll keep on being fine but watch for getting burned out, it can happen overnight.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    skram01 wrote: »
    At your height and weight you really don't have that much to lose. I'll admit I concert to inches and pounds because I'm a silly American (for my other American's who can't concert quickly, she's about 5'5" and about 156), and the healthy weight range for your weight based on BMI tops out at about 67.5kg (149 lbs). You may want to lose more to be more solidly in your personal healthy weight range, but either way, your rate of loss shouldn't really be more than 1% which would be a pound a week or half a kg. How much do you want to lose? I've seen, but don't quote me on this as there are other resources on here that are better at remembering than me, once you are at about 20 pounds, 9kg, to lose that the rate should drop to about .5% which would be about half a pound or .25 kg.

    All that being said, if you have MFP set at a higher rate of loss, 1200 calories could be too low.
    smolmaus wrote: »
    I am 158cm and 52kg (atm but was 48kg) and exercise on 1200kcal is murder. I can cope okay for a while usually then I start getting tired all the time, lifts start to suffer, I'm way more sore after a workout, depression symptoms flare up etc. and I'm likely to have a binge episode. Plus back when I ran more than I lifted low blood sugar nearly wiped me out on the treadmill a few times. So I don't do that anymore, always eat back exercise calories.

    Everybody is different so maybe you'll keep on being fine but watch for getting burned out, it can happen overnight.
    This, big time. And to add to this, party of the point of slowing down your rate of loss as you go is to start getting used to eating at maintenance calories.

    If your maintenance calories are 1600 and jump from 1200 to 1600, you'll notice some weight gain. It's not necessarily permeant since there's probably a good amount of water weight from the increased carbs. But it's unnerving to see the scale jump up like that. However, if you're slowly increasing your calories to meet your maintenance level, some of that weight gain from refeeding is minimized.

    I am really happy for you that you've found good and meals that are satisfying for you and keep you happy at 1200 calories. If you find that you do need to be eating more calories and your having a hard time getting enough, there is a post about more calories dense foods and meals. I can't remember the name of the post, but I know that @diannethegeek is an active poster so she will likely remember which one it is.

    Good luck!

    Here ya go: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods/p1
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,455 Member
    Dayniiie wrote: »
    Hi there.

    A month ago I started my weightloss journey. I am 24yr old female, 165cm, now 71kgs. I use a fitbit and log everything I eat (using food scales) All my exercise is logged and my MFP suggested 1200 cal when I started.

    I use to mainly only eat carbs (working in a bakery) and have now completely turned my diet around. I eat mainly fruit veg meat and nuts with some other occasional carbs in there too.

    My question is.. I have been exercising 5 days a week (2 days a 1.5hr walk and 3 days weights at gym) and I am not sure if 1200 cal is right or not? I see posts about people eating alot more but honestly with my new diet I always feel satisfied and only will snack because I am bored watching netflix (not that of hunger). Since I feel satisfied, is this okay to stick to 1200cal? If I am still hungry during the day I will go up to 1300-1400 but thats rare.

    Any tips and advice is much appreciated! Thanks!

    What rate of loss did you choose? What activity level?

    Do you have your FitBit synced with MFP? Are you seeing exercise adjustments from that ? Are you eating back those exercise calories?

    How much weight have you lost in the month since you've been doing this?

    As others have mentioned - you probably don't need to be at 1200 calories to lose, and even if that goal is what MFP provided it may be based on too aggressive of a rate of loss, too low of an activity level, etc.

    As a wise rabbit used to say.... "the winner is the one who eats the most and still loses the weight". It's great that you've made some positive changes to your diet but you don't have to go to extremes to accomplish your goal. Finding an approach that is sustainable for the long term is important...
  • Dayniiie
    Dayniiie Posts: 11 Member
    Thanks for all the advice sofar. In the month I have been doing it I have lost 3.3kgs. Yes my fitbit is synced to MFP so it shows me cals I can eat back. I always eat after exercising but the thing that confuses me is that I still feel full after exercise at around 1300-1400 when it says I can eat an extra 500cal or so. I will deffinately eat more if I start feeling burnt out but the thing is with my complete food changes from the past, ive never felt more awake alert and just good in general on 1200. Oh and I think my mfp is set to the fastest rate because at the time that applied, I will change it now I have started exercising ect but I still feel like 1200 is good for me at the moment. My only concern is long term cons, what.may they be other than feeling run down so I can look out for that? Thanks!
  • thisPGHlife
    thisPGHlife Posts: 440 Member
    If your having trouble with eating enough calories, there's a great thread about calorie dense food and meals.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10142490/a-list-of-calorie-dense-foods/p1
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Dayniiie wrote: »
    Thanks for all the advice sofar. In the month I have been doing it I have lost 3.3kgs. Yes my fitbit is synced to MFP so it shows me cals I can eat back. I always eat after exercising but the thing that confuses me is that I still feel full after exercise at around 1300-1400 when it says I can eat an extra 500cal or so. I will deffinately eat more if I start feeling burnt out but the thing is with my complete food changes from the past, ive never felt more awake alert and just good in general on 1200. Oh and I think my mfp is set to the fastest rate because at the time that applied, I will change it now I have started exercising ect but I still feel like 1200 is good for me at the moment. My only concern is long term cons, what.may they be other than feeling run down so I can look out for that? Thanks!

    The thing about long term problems is not just that they take a while to show up; it’s that they can also take a while to recover from. Dont wait until you start seeing problems from undereating. Start eating at a healthy level now and prevent those problems from showing up in the first place.

    Nut butter is always my first suggestion for people who feel like they can’t eat enough. You can also get in extra calories without feeling too full by adding more oil or butter to your cooking.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    Dayniiie wrote: »
    Thanks for all the advice sofar. In the month I have been doing it I have lost 3.3kgs. Yes my fitbit is synced to MFP so it shows me cals I can eat back. I always eat after exercising but the thing that confuses me is that I still feel full after exercise at around 1300-1400 when it says I can eat an extra 500cal or so. I will deffinately eat more if I start feeling burnt out but the thing is with my complete food changes from the past, ive never felt more awake alert and just good in general on 1200. Oh and I think my mfp is set to the fastest rate because at the time that applied, I will change it now I have started exercising ect but I still feel like 1200 is good for me at the moment. My only concern is long term cons, what.may they be other than feeling run down so I can look out for that? Thanks!

    Feeling rundown isn't something you should dismiss.
  • Dayniiie
    Dayniiie Posts: 11 Member
    edited September 2018
    Given my statistics currently, what would you all reccomend I up my cal per day too? Or is there a tool to help this other than MFP? I went through the set up again and changed my exercise to 5 days per week but that hasnt changed anything. Ideally I want to lose 1kg per week as it as set too, but what would you reccomend?

    I dont know if this matters as it has been mentioned (that being my weight isnt much to lose to be healthy weight) but my weight is mostly fat, barely any muscle. I am starting on very low weights as I dont have the stregnth and the fat is long term and saggy mainly over my pubic area and around my abdominal area not spread out so much everywhere else.

    Again I would like to thank you all, I understand there may be other similar threads but the best thing for me is personalised advice for as I am, so it can really help aid my journey without 'buuuuuut I spose they' and typical excuses I may make to not get 'so into it'
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    Dayniiie wrote: »
    Given my statistics currently, what would you all reccomend I up my cal per day too? Or is there a tool to help this other than MFP? I went through the set up again and changed my exercise to 5 days per week but that hasnt changed anything. Ideally I want to lose 1kg per week as it as set too, but what would you reccomend?

    I dont know if this matters as it has been mentioned (that being my weight isnt much to lose to be healthy weight) but my weight is mostly fat, barely any muscle. I am starting on very low weights as I dont have the stregnth and the fat is long term and saggy mainly over my pubic area and around my abdominal area not spread out so much everywhere else.

    Again I would like to thank you all, I understand there may be other similar threads but the best thing for me is personalised advice for as I am, so it can really help aid my journey without 'buuuuuut I spose they' and typical excuses I may make to not get 'so into it'

    This rate of loss is too aggressive for your stats. The upper end of your optimal BMI range is 67 kg, so you should not be trying to lose at a rate of 1 kg per week. You are trying to lose a relatively small amount of weight and it is not reasonable or healthy to expect it to happen this quickly. Set MFP to lose 0.25 kg/week.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited September 2018
    Dayniiie wrote: »
    Given my statistics currently, what would you all reccomend I up my cal per day too? Or is there a tool to help this other than MFP? I went through the set up again and changed my exercise to 5 days per week but that hasnt changed anything. Ideally I want to lose 1kg per week as it as set too, but what would you reccomend?

    I dont know if this matters as it has been mentioned (that being my weight isnt much to lose to be healthy weight) but my weight is mostly fat, barely any muscle. I am starting on very low weights as I dont have the stregnth and the fat is long term and saggy mainly over my pubic area and around my abdominal area not spread out so much everywhere else.

    Again I would like to thank you all, I understand there may be other similar threads but the best thing for me is personalised advice for as I am, so it can really help aid my journey without 'buuuuuut I spose they' and typical excuses I may make to not get 'so into it'

    Activity level in MFP is based on your job. Exercise is separate and gets logged in the same way food does.

    If your exercise is consistent look for a TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) calculator. Scoobys is a good one. Take a cut from your TDEE......no more than 500 calories, that's 1 pound a week. 2 pounds a week (1k) is for people with quite a bit of weight to lose (75+ pounds).
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,455 Member
    TeaBea wrote: »
    Dayniiie wrote: »
    Given my statistics currently, what would you all reccomend I up my cal per day too? Or is there a tool to help this other than MFP? I went through the set up again and changed my exercise to 5 days per week but that hasnt changed anything. Ideally I want to lose 1kg per week as it as set too, but what would you reccomend?

    I dont know if this matters as it has been mentioned (that being my weight isnt much to lose to be healthy weight) but my weight is mostly fat, barely any muscle. I am starting on very low weights as I dont have the stregnth and the fat is long term and saggy mainly over my pubic area and around my abdominal area not spread out so much everywhere else.

    Again I would like to thank you all, I understand there may be other similar threads but the best thing for me is personalised advice for as I am, so it can really help aid my journey without 'buuuuuut I spose they' and typical excuses I may make to not get 'so into it'

    Activity level in MFP is based on your job. Exercise is separate and gets logged in the same way food does.

    If your exercise is consistent look for a TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) calculator. Scoobys is a good one. Take a cut from your TDEE......no more than 500 calories, that's 1 pound a week. 2 pounds a week (1k) is for people with quite a bit of weight to lose (75+ pounds).

    Agree in principal with the comments here - however, OP, you have a FitBit. I don't think you need to keep looking for a TDEE calculator. Let FitBit and the MFP sync work together for a while to see if they are accurate for your needs. Out of curiosity, @Dayniie since I don't think you said yet - what does the average calories burned say from your FitBit for the last few weeks/months?

    OP you changed your exercise, but did you change your activity setting? Based on what you've described - you are at least lightly active, more like active. Change the rate of loss to 0.5 kg/week, the Activity Level to lightly active, make sure MFP and FitBit are synced, and enable negative calorie adjustments. This should give you both a higher baseline calorie goal than the 1200 cals you currently have, AND reduce the size of your exercise adjustments from FitBit, making it easier maybe for you to work them into your day and to trust those numbers.

    Continue to work on incorporating strength training into your routine - many people who are already close to a healthy weight find tremendous improvement by eating at a very modest deficit plus strength training, and those who have reached their goal weight but still don't like the way their body looks find a recomposition (eating at maintenance while focusing on strength training) provides the desired results they've been seeking.

    Give it 4-6 weeks eating the new calorie level PLUS at least half of the FitBit adjustment. After that period of time, if you aren't losing at the 0.5 kg/week, and are losing either faster or slower, you can adjust as needed. When you get to within 10kg of your ultimate target weight, you should probably reduce your rate of loss again to 0.25 kg/week.

    Good luck.

  • Dayniiie
    Dayniiie Posts: 11 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    TeaBea wrote: »
    Dayniiie wrote: »
    Given my statistics currently, what would you all reccomend I up my cal per day too? Or is there a tool to help this other than MFP? I went through the set up again and changed my exercise to 5 days per week but that hasnt changed anything. Ideally I want to lose 1kg per week as it as set too, but what would you reccomend?

    I dont know if this matters as it has been mentioned (that being my weight isnt much to lose to be healthy weight) but my weight is mostly fat, barely any muscle. I am starting on very low weights as I dont have the stregnth and the fat is long term and saggy mainly over my pubic area and around my abdominal area not spread out so much everywhere else.

    Again I would like to thank you all, I understand there may be other similar threads but the best thing for me is personalised advice for as I am, so it can really help aid my journey without 'buuuuuut I spose they' and typical excuses I may make to not get 'so into it'

    Activity level in MFP is based on your job. Exercise is separate and gets logged in the same way food does.

    If your exercise is consistent look for a TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) calculator. Scoobys is a good one. Take a cut from your TDEE......no more than 500 calories, that's 1 pound a week. 2 pounds a week (1k) is for people with quite a bit of weight to lose (75+ pounds).

    Agree in principal with the comments here - however, OP, you have a FitBit. I don't think you need to keep looking for a TDEE calculator. Let FitBit and the MFP sync work together for a while to see if they are accurate for your needs. Out of curiosity, @Dayniie since I don't think you said yet - what does the average calories burned say from your FitBit for the last few weeks/months?

    OP you changed your exercise, but did you change your activity setting? Based on what you've described - you are at least lightly active, more like active. Change the rate of loss to 0.5 kg/week, the Activity Level to lightly active, make sure MFP and FitBit are synced, and enable negative calorie adjustments. This should give you both a higher baseline calorie goal than the 1200 cals you currently have, AND reduce the size of your exercise adjustments from FitBit, making it easier maybe for you to work them into your day and to trust those numbers.

    Continue to work on incorporating strength training into your routine - many people who are already close to a healthy weight find tremendous improvement by eating at a very modest deficit plus strength training, and those who have reached their goal weight but still don't like the way their body looks find a recomposition (eating at maintenance while focusing on strength training) provides the desired results they've been seeking.

    Give it 4-6 weeks eating the new calorie level PLUS at least half of the FitBit adjustment. After that period of time, if you aren't losing at the 0.5 kg/week, and are losing either faster or slower, you can adjust as needed. When you get to within 10kg of your ultimate target weight, you should probably reduce your rate of loss again to 0.25 kg/week.

    Good luck.

    My cal out varies alot each day as some days im fast paced all day at work and some there is nothing to do but stand around and watch the clock.

    Fitbit says my cal out ranges from 2400-3200 over this last month, lowest being 1800 and highest 3800. Is it a better idea to just take a certain defecit from the cal out each day or to use the cal adjustment?

    Sometimes after eating 1200cal it tells me to eat 1200 cal more which is confusing as thats doubling my food for a busier day at work with a leisurely 1.5hr stroll after.

    I will change my MFP settings to .5kg loss now and see how that goes!