Only lose on 1200 calories?

dee0304 · April 2019

Hello everyone.
i recently went to the doctor to get help with weight loss after many failed attempts. He pretty much told me that I was the type that is "prone to obesity" and the only way for me to lose weight would be to drop to 1100-1200 cals a day.
This seemed absolutely absurd becuz I currently weigh 220 and am 5ft 3 in.

When I went to the doc I weighed 235 and started the 1200 cals the day after. I also do HIIT 3-4 days a week. Minimum 3 always.

I have ONLY had ANY success by dropping my cals this low very scrictly, all the time.

I haven't been tracking very closely lately and have hit a plateau for about 3 weeks..

Can anyone explain?

xcc670 · April 2019

I am 5'2" and have to go below 1100 to lose weight and even then it is very slow. I'm glad to see it recommended by a doctor. Everything I read says to use 1200 as a minimum, but I can't lose at that level. Good luck and congratulations on losing 15 pounds.

sefajane1 · April 2019

That does seem a low calorie allowance. What does MFP give you when you set up?
How much do you want to lose?
I'm 5' 4", 118lbs with only 3lbs until goal and I'm eating 1320 calories per day and slowly losing.
Are you logging your exercise and eating at least some of those calories?

ceiswyn · April 2019

How are you measuring those calories? Weighing all solids, including vegetables? Measuring all liquids including cooking oils, dressings and the cream in your coffee? Choosing good database entries?

Usually when people have difficulty losing on a low number of calories, it’s because their logging is out in some way and they’re consuming more than they think. If you make your diary open, more experienced MFP users can see if that’s the case for you.

sarabushby · April 2019

Often people will be recommended a 1200 cal diet in the knowledge that the likelihood of the individual sticking rigidly to a 1200 intake is low, even with daily measuring with cups and logging entries someone could easily be overeating to say 1400 calories without even knowing it.
Then throw in the odd cheat meal, drinks, celebration, night out etc and the persons actual weekly average could easily hit 1500-1600 and likely more. Thus pushing the individual into maintenance.

Also meaning that they are not actually eating only 1100-1200 per day and thus the Dr doesn’t need to worry that they will start to be nutritionally deficient.

Unfortunately inconsistent tracking and not using a food SCALE and/or choosing bad diary entries will easily cause a plateau in someone with a low end TDEE.

Daisy_Girl2019 · April 2019

I too is on 1200 cal daily. I don't weigh my food. It can be overwhelming at first so just always remember to log everything.
I thought I platue for 3 weeks too, my weight kept fluctuating from 135 to 140 for good three weeks, then finally my weight drop to 133 one morning. Have faith.
Just keep continuing what you are doing for now, as long as your not gaining.

Lillymoo01 · April 2019

Daisy_Girl2019 wrote: »

I too is on 1200 cal daily. I don't weigh my food. It can be overwhelming at first so just always remember to log everything.
I thought I platue for 3 weeks too, my weight kept fluctuating from 135 to 140 for good three weeks, then finally my weight drop to 133 one morning. Have faith.
Just keep continuing what you are doing for now, as long as your not gaining.

You don't weigh your food which means there is an extremely high probability that you are eating way more than 1200 calories a day. Should you change what you are doing though if it is working for you and you can stick with it long term? Absolutely not! It simply means that for you to lose as you are, your goal has to be 1200 to successfully account for these inaccuracies. We are all different and what works well for one will not work well for another.

sugaraddict4321 · April 2019

dee0304 wrote: »

...I haven't been tracking very closely lately and have hit a plateau for about 3 weeks...

Welcome to the MFP Community.

Try to remember that weight loss isn't linear, so you will have times when the scale zigs and zags or stays flat. Consistency is key to long-term success.

You mention you're not tracking closely lately, and that could be why you think you're plateauing. If at all possible, try to track consistently for a month. Weigh all the solid foods in grams and measure all the liquids in milliliters and log it all. Every drop of milk in coffee, every handful of nuts, every potato chip, for example.

That said, I think for your weight and activity level 1200 is far too strict and simply not necessary. Online calculators can be a bit off, but I plugged your numbers into one to get an example for you.

5'3" female
age 30 (put in a random age since you didn't say)
weight 230 pounds
sedentary (which you're not)

She could, on average, maintain that weight eating 2,079 calories per day. That's maintenance for a couch potato, and you're working out.

To lose 1 pound per week, the general rule is reduce that by 500 calories per day - which means even on 1,500 per day you should lose weight.

Online calculators aren't perfect, and I've found my TDEE is a bit over-estimated with them, by about 100 calories.

I hope this helps. :flowerforyou: Also, here is a link to our sticky with the most helpful threads for getting started, as voted by our members:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest

neugebauer52 · April 2019

There is so much information out there and every second person seems to have a different opinion. Eventually I gave up on that sort of advise and decided to trust MFP and all those knowledgeable members who have been there, lost a good amount of weight and kept it off. MFP has done all the calculations for me, I do my best to record all food / drinks consumed and do whatever exercise I can do with my severe obesity. I prepare a simple meal plan for the next day and take it meal by meal, day by day. I have also realized that it is entirely up to me to lead a healthier life style. No app, no magic pills, no food substitutes, no fancy t - shirt for gym, no snake oil will help - it is what it is: CICO. The macro percentages are an individual choice and don't seem to be clear to start with. Every person has different needs and requirements, so over time I have adjusted mine which gives me a great variety of food. 370 days with MFP, started on 170 kg (375 pounds), lost so far 31 kg, 68 pounds (and a long way to go...)

texasredreb · April 2019

I'm a similar weight (or was) and on a 1275 daily allotment. I've lost 14lbs since I started 3/11/19. I track fairly closely but do have to estimate sometimes--like yesterday, someone brought me a carrot cake for my birthday. I was at my volunteer job so I had to estimate the calories. I looked up several and estimated that a 3oz piece contained around 300 calories. I had to cut back on my planned dinner to make my caloric goals for the day without going over.

My weight drop looks substantial for a month, but my starting weight was an estimate (I think I was actually 3-4lbs less than my estimate) and I dropped fast the first week and a half. I'm settling into a routine of losing from 1.5-2.5lbs/week.

deannalfisher · April 2019

I’m 5’3” and using a TDEE with being active (workouts 5 days a week 60-90min and 8k steps a day on average) - I maintain on 2500cal

Most doctors only get 3ish hours of nutrition training in med school - I’d ask for a referral to a RD

lynn_glenmont · April 2019

dee0304 wrote: »

Hello everyone.
i recently went to the doctor to get help with weight loss after many failed attempts. He pretty much told me that I was the type that is "prone to obesity" and the only way for me to lose weight would be to drop to 1100-1200 cals a day.
This seemed absolutely absurd becuz I currently weigh 220 and am 5ft 3 in.

When I went to the doc I weighed 235 and started the 1200 cals the day after. I also do HIIT 3-4 days a week. Minimum 3 always.

I have ONLY had ANY success by dropping my cals this low very scrictly, all the time.

I haven't been tracking very closely lately and have hit a plateau for about 3 weeks..

Can anyone explain?

You explained it yourself.

dansamy2 · April 2019

Humans haven't yet developed precisely calibrated eyeballs. Weigh everything. You're not logging or tracking your intake accurately. You haven't plateaued. You're eating more than you think you are.

Only lose on 1200 calories?

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