1200 calories too low? What % macros to aim for?

Getbikinifit · April 2020

Hey everyone,

I'm a 46 yr old woman, 5.7" and weigh 144 pounds (10.4 stone). I've walk most days for at least an hour, often more, and do online HIIT classes of 30 min 3 times a week. In the last 5 weeks I've lost 6 pounds

Current macros are set to 40% protein, 30 for fats and carbs.

I noticed I was getting better and more consistent weight loss results when I went for daily calories at 1200. Currently I've been doing 1400 - 1500 as various calculations that said this was better based on my height, activity level etc. It's all a bit technical for me and I don't know if this is correct. I know a deficit of 500 calories a day equates to 1 pound of weight loss.

My question is this - Is 1200 calories ok for where I am in height, age, activity level?
Or too low and I should I stick what what I'm doing currently of 1400 - 1500?

1200 calories also equates to 120g of protein a day. I find it easy to hit this but not sure if I need so much if I am not body buiding?

Just wondered what others thought? Am I on the right tracks?!

Thank you so much, this is a great Community!

AnnPT77 · April 2020

I'd suggest you stick with the higher calorie level, and slower loss. I understand that we all want to lose weight like yesterday

, but you don't have a huge amount of weight to lose, so trying to lose 2 pounds a week would potentially create unnecessarily high health risks (and appearance risks, if that matters to you). Even a full pound a week might be iffy, at your current weight: You don't have that much to lose, it seems like.

When I started losing in 2015 (at age 59, 5'5", around 155 pounds when I started MFP (had already lost some before)), MFP recommended 1200 calories to me for what was theoretically then for me not crazy-fast weight loss. I ate that plus all exercise calories, and felt great. Until suddenly, I didn't. I corrected as soon as I realized I was losing too fast, but I still got weak and fatigued, and it took several weeks to recover. No one wants that!

Losing too fast risks losing unnecessarily much lean tissue alongside fat loss, and can lead to more serious problems (gallbladder issues, for example), as well as potentially appearance deficits like appearing haggard, getting brittle nails, maybe even thinning hair (and that last often doesn't show up until weeks after the fact, when it's too late to adjust).

As far as protein, some people here (me included

) figure that if you get a minimum of around 0.6-0.8g of protein daily per pound of a healthy goal weight, it should be fine. (That roughly equates to 0.8-1g per pound of lean body mass, if you have a good estimate of LBM.) If you enjoy getting more protein (some people find it especially filling), it's fine to get more. It seems like 40% protein is more than the MFP default: Did you set it there intentionally for some reason?

In the long run, I lost most of the roughly 50 pounds I did lose, in under a year, at 1400-1600 calories daily plus all exercise calories, so more like 1600-1900 calories gross eaten, most days. There's a saying: She who loses weight on the most calories, wins.

Best wishes!

JCH187 · April 2020

I spoke to a physiologist last year about calories, he told me an average height woman shouldn’t go below 1500 calories a day.

relativehunter · April 2020

A couple of years ago, I worked with a dietitian and after running tests, she recommended 1200 for me. I'm average height with a lot of weight to lose. I thought she was crazy. But, after getting used to it for a week or so and thinking protein for each meal, I developed a pattern of eating that let me stay pretty close to that level without tremendous hunger. She did recommend not staying at that level past 3 months. I did not stick to it, but for the 6 weeks of the program, I lost 12 pounds which stayed off for a couple of years.

Maxxitt · April 2020

Your scale weight is going to vary depending on your cycle, if you still have ovaries, so it really is hard to measure actual rate of loss using weekly data. Monthly data is best, and some folks recommend recording that measure at the same point in your cycle each month if you are more on the nit-picky side

I agree with the above to aim for the 1400-1500 calories/day - it will fuel your workout. One thing that happens when calories are on the lower side is that non-exercise activity can drop. Bodies really try to conserve energy! In terms of protein, when you are in a deficit, most experts recommend eating .8g per pound of body weight which will put you at about 115 g/day. That's what you aim for, but you might not always get there. I'm a big fan of resistance training to help maintain muscles in a deficit. Don't worry about getting too muscle-y (if there is such a thing

) - and using body weight in full body exercise will work fine for most: planks, squats/split squats/lunges, push-ups, inverted rows (you can use a sturdy table), romanian deadlifts using whatever weights you might have around (if you don't have dumbbells or kettlebells lying around, gallon jugs of water, large bags of dog food, a box of books... you get the idea) and 2-3 times a week is fine.

1200 calories too low? What % macros to aim for?

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