1200 calorie minimum

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/12250-1000-calorie-deficit-not-for-people-with-healthy-bmi

Here's one of many, many posts concerning why this isn't a good idea.:flowerforyou:

It would actually depend on your activity levels and your body. Everyone is different and if you are very petite, 1100 may not be too little. That said, I wouldn't do it unless your nutritionist approves it.

pcs0snq wrote: »

It’s 2024 and I was looking for a way to lower the 1200 calorie limit. This is my first post on the web space. 71 years old. My account is set up for 2lb/ week so built in 500 deficit. What’s strange is it takes 800-900 calories per day to reach that. Easy indoor cycling on Zwift for 2-3 hrs a day is 300-500 calories. All automated added from map my ride. Active around house projects and out shopping. I log my food carefully. What’s even stranger are the weight loss estimates of weight loss in 5 weeks if I force or reach 1200 food calories. They are off by 2x. I’ve lost 61 lbs this year Jan 12th to now. I’m 6lbs from my 164 lb goal of inside normal BMI.

If you want to do that, it's fine. MFP doesn't stop you from eating less than 1200, it just won't recommend less than 1200 for women. It may give you warning message if you press "complete diary", sure. "Complete diary" doesn't do anything special, other than give you the prediction. I never bother to "complete diary".

If you've lost 61 pounds in 8 months, which is around 7.6 pounds a month, close to your 2 pound a week intention, and you feel you're happy and thriving, I'm not one to burst your bubble (probably). I wouldn't want to lose that fast myself, if I was under 200 pounds, but that's just me. (I averaged a pound a week, obese to healthy weight, but it was intentionally faster at first, slower at the end.)

I'm 68 now, not that much younger than you. MFP's projections are also off for me . . . but it thinks I'd lose much slower than I do, even when I have my profile values set accurately. (My good brand/model fitness tracker agrees with MFP. My body doesn't.) Individuals vary. Fast loss tends to reduce calorie needs. I like eating more, because food is tasty, so I avoided fast loss. YMMV.

I haven't lost a material amount of weight since January, because I've been in maintenance (at normal BMI) for around 8 years now, after losing from class 1 obese. At 132.2 pounds this morning at 5'5" (BMI 22.0), I'm eating a minimum of 1850 calories (non-exercise days) and up to 2200+. I row (boats) 4x a week in season (now) for an hour to an hour and a half, occasionally ride my bike out on the paved trail system here, otherwise am pretty sedentary. I feel like I'm happy and thriving, too. (If I netted 800-900 calories, I'd be in the hospital pretty quickly, I think. Again, that's just me, not you.)

If you feel good, strong, healthy, thriving and are achieving your goals, that's what matters. If that's all true, don't close your diary, and you won't see the warning message.

Best wishes!

There's no magic with 1200 calories or 1500 for males. The basic point is that when in a calorie deficit the possibility of nutrient deficiencies creeping into someones life over the course of a particular time frame, and of course the longer a person stays in a deficit the more opportunity for deficiencies to happen. As well, the possibility for the loss of lean mass is real, which we really want to avoid and I would say is paramount and of course the sustainability of very low calorie diets can blow up in a persons face, especially when the diet is just a smaller version of the one that created the problem in the first place, generally speaking, and rebound weight gain from sustained semi starvation is basic to our survival mechanisms and most will have very little resistance against that. Basically the difference between 1200 and 1100 for example is with 1200 there's an opportunity to consume more food but both will result in similar outcomes. Getting the right advice is paramount and I would recommend someone that specializes as opposed to just your average PCP or dietitian. Personally I would probably alternate consuming maintenance calories every 3 weeks or so as a minimum and of course the foods we consume are very important for sustainability reasons. Also 5:2 intermittent fasting is showing some interesting outcomes with a few health benefits but you need to do the legwork and educate yourself before you just wing it and believe very low calorie is a sustainable proposition, it's not, imo

pcs0snq wrote: »

It’s 2024 and I was looking for a way to lower the 1200 calorie limit. This is my first post on the web space. 71 years old. My account is set up for 2lb/ week so built in 500 deficit. What’s strange is it takes 800-900 calories per day to reach that. Easy indoor cycling on Zwift for 2-3 hrs a day is 300-500 calories. All automated added from map my ride. Active around house projects and out shopping. I log my food carefully. What’s even stranger are the weight loss estimates of weight loss in 5 weeks if I force or reach 1200 food calories. They are off by 2x. I’ve lost 61 lbs this year Jan 12th to now. I’m 6lbs from my 164 lb goal of inside normal BMI.

BTW, I just happened to re-read this.

2 pounds a week is not a 500 calorie daily deficit, it's a 1000 calorie daily deficit.

1200 may or may not be a 1000 calorie daily deficit, since MFP won't give you lower than 1200. If your "in 5 weeks" estimate is not what you expected, that could be part of the reason.

Personal opinion: Unless a person is well over 200 pounds, has robust health in other respects, and doesn't have other major sources of stress in their life, then 2 pounds a week is too fast weight loss for best balance of success and health risks.

I don't know about you, but at our age (I'm 68), I'm not as physically resilient as I was at 20. To me, fast loss feels like a bigger risk now than it did when I was young. I don't need to lose hard-to-replace muscle or bone, for example. I don't need a suppressed immune system. I don't need thinning hair.

It sounds like you started at about 231. Congratulations on the big loss, sincerely. You've lost 61 pounds in about 7 months, which is about 1.5 pounds a week on average. I'm assuming it may've been a little faster at first, slower recently. As an average, that's excellent, though a little on the aggressive side. At your current weight (170?) slowing that down to a pound a week or less would be IMO a health-promoting plan. But that's just me.

I'm with Springlering62 upthread: If you only have 6 pounds to go, it's time - maybe past time - to start finding and practicing sustainable maintenance habits, habits you can keep up long term to stay at a healthy weight, almost on autopilot. I don't know what that habit set would be for you: Only you can determine that. I'd encourage you to do that.

It's your body, of course, and your life, so your decisions.

Sincere best wishes that you accomplish your weight and fitness goals, and can thrive long term!

It all depends on your goal. Not sure what the goal is when you go that low. Remember you need some food for your basic health.

Note: I’m sure what I’ve lost so far is water weight. Should be interesting going forward. But cutting down on most processed food and limiting sugar is making big change at this point.