1200 calories and 10,000 steps: does it work for you?

starpoweractivate · June 2019

Hello MFP friends!
Question to all of you, do any of you follow a 1200 calorie plan and do at least 10,000 steps a day? If you do, do you see any weight loss? How quickly or slowly did the weight come off?
I look forward to hearing about people's experiences. Thanks! 😊

Vb1965 · June 2019

I’m trying that right now - a week in - no results yet

biggiwig4483 · June 2019

I was doing 1200 cal for several weeks. Lost lots of weight. The weight loss was almost to fast. Probably not the healthiest way. Due to my job I walk about 20.000 steps a day. But even just 1200 cals without exercise causes quick weight loss.

Panini911 · June 2019

weight loss is about eating at a calorie deficit regularly over an extended time. 1200 is unnecesssarily too low for most people unless they are very short and very sedentary female. and 10,000 steps is NOT AT ALL sedentary.

I lost my weight eating more than 1200 calories a day. and i am 5'1.

the issue with under eating is it can cause long term health issues if done for an extended period of time. Plus it makes it very very hard to stick to a "diet" and can lead to binging/falling off the wagin.

Use MFP as it was intended, enter your stats including an honest rate of loss and activity level. don't pick 2lb/week unless you are very obese. Get a food scale and weigh all your food. select accurate entires to log your food. eat back your purposeful exercise calories.

here are some great threads on ways to get started loosing weight:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1

LivinLikeLivia · June 2019

I currently follow a 1200 diet plan, I am 5'5 and ive lost about 7 pounds in about 4 weeks. My work has me sitting down or walking a very very short distance which is almost nothing so i knew i needed to go low for calories in order to lose weight. I count my macros and focus on balancing my carb and protein intake with fats being lowest on my percentages. I am thinking about going up to 1300 or 1400 since ive started lifting weights i would not recommend doing 1200 if you are doing 10,000 steps, youll lose fat but you will also lose muscle as well and that will leave you like a skinny noodle. XD

lorrpb · June 2019

I suggest you set up your stats in MFP, choose an appropriate weekly goal depending on how much you need to lose. For most people, 1 lb week is a good place to start. Set an appropriate activity level. Sync your tracker if you have one. Get a digital food scale, weigh and log everything in detail. Eat back about half you exercise cals.
This is s more reliable approach to wright loss than picking random calorie goals and step goals. Just sayin.

panshee · June 2019

Since April 1st (11 weeks ago) I've been following this pretty consistently and have lost 13lbs so far. Sometimes go up to 1400 on days when I need it. I exercise "formally" 3x a week and in between try to get at least 10K steps through light exercise, mostly walking/small home elliptical. I'm 5'. My diary is open if you want to friend me.

sandimorrison52 · June 2019

MFP has me at 1200 calories per day. As a retired person with a varied schedule I usually manage 7,000 steps most days. I found the more I exercise I do (to "buy" more calories to eat), the hungrier I become, so looking to make some changes. I tried upping my calorie allowance to 1300 but my weight has stagnated and I still have 10# to go.

Ketch_22 · June 2019

I was new to mfp on feb 1 and so this is what I did... 1200 cals, 10k steps and walking 1 mile with dogs 6x wk. I set my loss to 1.5# a week and for feb mar and april that's what happended exactly 1.5 loss a week. I was 168 and 5'7. I didn't lose any in May so I added weights. I'm at 150 now with an end of 145 (hopefully soon). You can do it! I only eat real food homemade.

New_me_19 · June 2019

I'm on 1800 cal daily walk avg 10k-13k daily and im loosing

TeaBea · June 2019

starpoweractivate wrote: »

Hello MFP friends!
Question to all of you, do any of you follow a 1200 calorie plan and do at least 10,000 steps a day? If you do, do you see any weight loss? How quickly or slowly did the weight come off?
I look forward to hearing about people's experiences. Thanks! 😊

1200 is the default minimum for women, so unless you are very petite, or you are mis-counting calories in you will see weight loss. The minimum calorie goal is to help you get adequate nutrition.

1200 is "assigned" based on your weekly weight loss goal. Tall women and short women alike can receive 1200 calories (before exercise) if their goal is aggressive enough.

How quickly you will see weight loss depends upon how much weight you have to lose overall.

People with less than 10 pounds to lose can reasonably expect to see 1/2 pound a week......with accurate food logging. 2 pounds a week can be a reasonable goal if you have more than 75 pounds to lose.....again accurate food logging will be key.

A couple of good threads.......

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation/p1

staticsplit · June 2019

I maintain on around 2200 calories, so a 1000 calorie deficit is too aggressive for me. I try not to go below 1500, but usually if aiming for weight loss I'm at 1700-1800. I usually hit 10k steps, but also do yoga, weight lifting, and sometimes things like HIIT or barre/pilates.

AnnPT77 · June 2019

As a woman, non-tall (5'5"), older (59-60 at the time) sedentary (outside of exercise averaging around 5000 steps, probably), MFP estimated that I'd need to eat at 1200 calories to achieve what would've then been a reasonable rate of weight loss for me (I was at 150-some pounds then, down from 180s already). So, I ate that, plus all my (carefully estimated) exercise calories, didn't feel especially hungry . . . but lost weight way too fast, feeling fine until suddenly I was weak and fatigued. It took several weeks to recover normal strength and energy.

I lost most of the rest of my excess weight eating 1400-1600 calories plus exercise calories, for a total most days in the 1700-1900 range. I lost a total of around 50 pounds in under a year (180s to 130s). That was plenty fast enough for me.

Now, in maintenance at a weight in the 130s, eating 1200 would put me in the hospital within a matter of months, if I were silly enough to stick to it (or could do so that long!). Admittedly, I'm a good li'l ol' calorie burner for some unknown reason: Some people need to eat as little as 1200 calories in order to lose weight at a sensible moderate weight, especially petite, inactive women in my age group and older. But far more women than need to do it, or ought to do it IMO, try to eat 1200.

This is a good read:

https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/

LittleLightShine · June 2019

I do intermittent fasting and eat 1000-1200 calories a day and walk an average of 11,000 steps a day. I am short. 5'1. That being said, during my time of weight loss I have gone on vacations and participated in holidays and other family events along the way. I am living my life and would say 80% of the time since I started I stick to 1000-1200 and the steps. I have lost an average of a little over 1lb a week if you divide out where I started. Slow and steady. I have only lost .2 muscle according to my Tanita scale.

jamkojak · June 2019

I have been eating 1200 calories per day walking average of 14,000 steps and have lost 4-5 lbs in three weeks. Be honest with your food tracking!! I also walk 2-3 miles (fast pace) per day, yoga 2-3 times per week and this gives me a few extra calories to play with!!

spiriteagle99 · June 2019

Over the years, I tried eating 1200 calories several times. I never lasted more than a week eating that little. When I started MFP, as an older mostly sedentary woman I was given 1200 calories as my goal to lose weight. That actually worked for me, but only because I could eat back all my exercise calories, which added another 500-700 per day, which is a much more reasonable level of eating for me. If you are really walking 10,000 steps a day, then eat back those calories, so your 1200 becomes 1600 or so. It is much more sustainable.

estherdragonbat · June 2019

starpoweractivate wrote: »

Hello MFP friends!
Question to all of you, do any of you follow a 1200 calorie plan and do at least 10,000 steps a day? If you do, do you see any weight loss? How quickly or slowly did the weight come off?
I look forward to hearing about people's experiences. Thanks! 😊

I typically eat around 1500-1800 per day (1350 plus half my exercise) and walk at least 2 hours daily. I don't count steps, but it's around 10 kilometers. Over 2.5 years, I've dropped 108lbs.

kimny72 · June 2019

1200 calories and 10,000 steps would be unnecessarily aggressive for most people, including smaller older women. But if you aren't using a food scale and consistently vetting the database entries you're using, you might need to log 1200 cals to actually eat the 1500-1700 that would be more reasonable. The key is how fast you are losing weight, and that would depend on your height and current weight, the more weight you have to lose, the faster you can safely lose it.

I'm not sure what you're stats are or whether you're just starting out or not, but I'd advise not starting at 1200. If you're getting 10,000 steps per day, set your activity level appropriately and eat the calories mfp gives you. Better to start out slow and have to drop your calories a bit than to start out under eating and hit the wall before you figure it out. Just my opinion.

I try to get 8,000 steps per day. I'm maintaining on 1750-1800 and I lost weight eating 1500ish.

starpoweractivate · June 2019

Thanks for everyone's input. Much appreciated.
Obviously, doing 1200 cals on 10k steps is not meant to be a long term solution. It would be for like 4-8 weeks to really get a positive jump start on the weight loss. I am also very knowledgeable of nutrition, so I'm not worried about not getting the proper nutrition for my body. It's not like I'm going to eat 1200 calories of fiber one brownies or whatever. Again, thanks for all your input. 😊

blessedpayne1968 · November 2019

I have only started logging my food and walking/steps on this site and notice at despite rarely eating 1200 calories and walking over 10,000 steps a day, I have not really lost any weight. I did lose weight about 2 months ago, 4lbs but then gained it again. I work on a ward, so my job can be very active but gained weight whilst taking steroids for bells palsy on 2 occasions. I want to lose weight steadily but safely. I do not deliberately eat below 12000 but do not feel hungry most of the time. Any help would be appreciated.

Courtscan2 · November 2019

I'm pretty short (5'4) and over 40, and 1200 would be way too aggressive for me, I can't imagine how lethargic/ill I would feel on that little. I lose on between 1500 - 1700. I exercise 4- 5 days a week, but have a sedentary office job, so am not overly active many days. If you are legitimately only eating 1200 a day, you'll lose weight quickly whether you are walking 10,000 steps or not, but you'll probably feel awful eating that little whilst reasonably active.

Shortgirlrunning · November 2019

I’m 5’0” and get a minimum of 10,000 steps a day. I don’t need to be as low as 1200 calories to lose weight. I eat anywhere between 1300-1600 a day, depending on my activity level, and lose between 1 - 1.5 lbs a week.

Overly restricting usually just leads to failure. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint and quick fixes don’t lead to long term success. You will need to find patience in this journey if you want to lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way.

apullum · November 2019

blessedpayne1968 wrote: »

I have only started logging my food and walking/steps on this site and notice at despite rarely eating 1200 calories and walking over 10,000 steps a day, I have not really lost any weight. I did lose weight about 2 months ago, 4lbs but then gained it again. I work on a ward, so my job can be very active but gained weight whilst taking steroids for bells palsy on 2 occasions. I want to lose weight steadily but safely. I do not deliberately eat below 12000 but do not feel hungry most of the time. Any help would be appreciated.

Are you weighing ALL of your food using a food scale?

tiffany80802017 · November 2019

I have a lot of weight to lose (100+ lbs) and 1200 kcal/10k steps keeps me stable. I didn’t lose weight until I moved more and exercised. Now I exercise 60-120 mins/day, eat between 1200-1800kcal (most days closer to 1200), and average about 17k steps per day, and am losing weight slowly.

I log/weigh everything except 2 or so times a month when eating away from home.

Not saying this is the correct ratio for you by any means, rather, I don’t think the calculations add up for everyone.

Kcal in/out is not always correct because it doesn’t take into account metabolic factors that vary. My Apple Watch shows a combined Active and Resting kcal per day of about 4000, meaning I should lose about 5 lbs per week, but in actuality it’s more like 1 lb per week.

stephie_nyc · November 2019

1200 cals and 10k steps is the sweet spot for me to lose fat at a more aggressive pace. I’m 5’4” and I usually cut once I get up to 148. I can’t keep up 1200 calories for more than 2 weeks though.

quemalosuerte · December 2019

My “base” goal calories right now is 1300 and i get between 1100 and 1400 added back when i reach 10k steps. I eat back about half of them most days. Without eating back calories, it would just be too low to be sustainable.

TeaBea · December 2019

Vb1965 wrote: »

I’m trying that right now - a week in - no results yet

A whole week?

Perhaps adjust your expectations. Water weight can fluctuate 3-5 pounds - time of month, sodium, sore muscles. Heck, even your bathroom habits are going to impact the scale.

When you are close to goal, 1/2 pound a week would be a realistic goal. Even then, because weight loss won't be linear it may take a few weeks to see that 1.5 pounds.

That said, 1200 is the default minimum for a woman and 10,000 steps is active. If you aren't seeing weight loss after a few weeks, then something is off with your logging. The majority of women can eat more calories and still lose.

1200 calories and 10,000 steps: does it work for you?

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