1,500 calories a day

eeebee
eeebee Posts: 471 Member
edited October 4 in Health and Weight Loss
Is anybody else trying to lose weight slowly (and steadily, I like to think) too?

I see so many people on here with calorie goals around the 1,200 mark and personally, even sticking to 1,400 - 1,500 is tough enough for me!

So all praise goes to you guys on the lowest calorie goal diets - I don't know how you do it :drinker:
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Replies

  • Angellore
    Angellore Posts: 519 Member
    I'm on just over 1500 a day and I don't think I could manage on 1200. I have a lot to lose so I have my goal set to lose 2lb a week, but I will set that to less as I lose so that I don't end up going hungry. Considering before I was probably on 4000+++ cals a day 1500 is low for me!
  • shazzamax11
    shazzamax11 Posts: 154
    Mine is set at 1700 a day but I do exercise 4-5 times a week. I'm trying to lose weight slowly 1-2lbs a week and so far so good ;o)
  • tnh9479
    tnh9479 Posts: 61 Member
    If I go much below 1500/day, my body thinks it is in starvation mode. My theory...whatever works for you! :)
  • PennyNickel14
    PennyNickel14 Posts: 749 Member
    I average about 1650 a month over the last three months. I lose steadily and appropriately.

    I am not going to lie. I struggle to stay under sometimes still. I work on it every day still :). I am never one trying to get up to goal. Always trying to stay under LOL!
  • woo1324
    woo1324 Posts: 168 Member
    ive just decided to put myself on a as i need it diet , basically some days im close to 2000 somedays i might only hit 1000 as long as i feel energised happy and satisfied then i feel that is the best way for me i do however make sure that im never to far over so as to not gain or to far under so i dont get sick or harm my health i feel landing somewhere in the healthy middle is best
  • flimflamfloz
    flimflamfloz Posts: 1,980 Member
    When I try to set my allowance below 1500 cals, I usually end up overeating my way up to 1500 cals anyway (sometimes even more, when I get started).
    Since then I am just sticking to 1400-1500.

    Props to people eating 1200 cals though.
  • kdz0zk7
    kdz0zk7 Posts: 1 Member
    This is so refreshing. I beat myself up because i set my goal to 1500 and 99% of the time i'm somewhere between 1600 and 1900. Only my second week so not much progress yet. Yay for not going to 1200.
  • sqtolliver
    sqtolliver Posts: 20
    MFP gave me 1200 because I'm 5'2 and wanted to lose 1.5 lbs a week. I'm sure it would give me more if I were taller or male. My understanding is there is some customization based on age, height, starting weight, etc.
  • eeebee
    eeebee Posts: 471 Member
    The best thing about this site is that it makes you SO AWARE of every little thing you eat, every day.

    I used to be in charge of all the catering in my last office and pretty much 4 times a week there'd be left over croissants, filled baguettes, sandwiches and smoothies etc....and I would just munch on them whenever I was hungry at work or take some home with me.

    I must have put on about 1.5 stone whilst there and if I had added them all up on here like I do nowadays, the calorie count would have gone through the roof and I would have changed my ways a lot quicker before it was too late.

    I didnt realise it'd take so long to lose weight, it is true what they say, as you get older, it gets harder to shift those extra lbs.
  • jaitken_22
    jaitken_22 Posts: 212 Member
    I find it easier doing 1,500 cals per day but sometimes I alternate to about 1,300 per day. At the moment MFP says I should do 1,310 which isn't too bad. Doing 1,200 cals per day is too hard for me, I feel like I'm starving myself. Just do what feels comfortable for yourself.
  • Luckydrd
    Luckydrd Posts: 56 Member
    Low calorie works however I question if any of us can sustain it for long term. Use it as a tool but eventually you'll need to find a better way to eat.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    MFP tells me to eat 1220 calories plus exercise ones. I plan my meals ahead of time to be around 1550 or so. I exercise 6 days a week, so I guess it averages out to 1220 + 330 exercise calories.

    I could never eat just 1200 though. I would just starve.
  • healthyliving_girl
    healthyliving_girl Posts: 290 Member
    I don't know if I could regularly eat only 1200 calories. I'm guessing no. When I first started doing this and tracked for 1400, I wanted to scream at people or cry in a corner. haha. That was clearly not enough food to keep my mental state in good, working order. HAHA. I work out almost every day in order so I'll get additional exercise calories to eat.

    After a couple days of 1400 craziness, I upped it to 1700 calories or maybe 1750. I decreased it a couple times...and today, I just set it DOWN to 1600....

    Some days I only eat 1600, but more often than not, I eat 1800-2200 calories a day. Those days I obviously exercise, which I've now upped to 40-80 minutes a day, burning 400-1000 calories on the elliptical trainer.

    I admit there are days that my net calories are under 1600, but that's because of a huge workout, not because I didn't eat. LOL.
  • eeebee
    eeebee Posts: 471 Member
    MFP gave me 1200 because I'm 5'2 and wanted to lose 1.5 lbs a week. I'm sure it would give me more if I were taller or male. My understanding is there is some customization based on age, height, starting weight, etc.

    I'm only 5"3 and I thought about it long and hard and concluded that trying to stick to anything lower than 1,500 would mean miserable days ahead for me as food plays a huge part in my enjoyment in life.

    So I opted for the slow, steady 1lb a week weight loss plan incorporating more exercise than originally intended meaning more food!

    I very often go over my 1500 but the exercise makes me appear under. Which all in all works for me.
  • emtess123
    emtess123 Posts: 26
    I'm on 1200 a day and do find it difficult at times, usually through the week im fine as i have a set routine and if i feel like a treat i just make sure its on a day i've done a run or something - its the weekends that i find difficult and very rarely manage to stay at 1200, more like 1500 as routine just goes out the window :laugh: i try to burn at least 400 cals both days of the weekend though so if i do go over (sometimes naerly hitting 2000k) i dont feel so bad! :smile:
  • JennyJacobsen
    JennyJacobsen Posts: 72 Member
    I shoot for 1400 calories now, 1200 would make me crabby and I want to see results. I go to the gym 6 days a week for about an hour a day, I Stay active through out the day. I have been losing 2-3 pounds a week and that is fine with me. It took me more than a month to put this on:blushing: it will take more than a month to shed it ! I would say do what feels comfortable for U. But Don't overdo it :noway:
  • sadafajmal
    sadafajmal Posts: 15 Member
    Initially almost starved all day to remain within 1200 specially with our Asian foods as I don't like salads too much. But now am used to the routine and it is working too
  • n_parker21
    n_parker21 Posts: 8
    Are we talking net calories after exercise or just gross consumption?
  • Teliooo
    Teliooo Posts: 725 Member
    I dunno how people sustain ievery day. I sometimes find it quite hard to hit 1400 (my goals are set at 1470) but 1200 is just too hard for me plus I am too tall and active for that anyway. My aim is too keep my bad fats are low and my cow product intake to a minimum. This usually means my cals are low anyway but never below 1200.
  • eeebee
    eeebee Posts: 471 Member
    I originally started with 1700 calories or maybe 1750. I decreased it a couple times...and today, I just set it DOWN to 1600....

    I don't know if I could regularly eat only 1200 calories. I'm guessing no. When I first started doing this and tracked for 1400, I wanted to scream at people or cry in a corner. haha. That was clearly not enough food to keep my mental state in good, working order. HAHA. I work out almost every day in order so I'll get exercise calories to eat, in addition to the 1600.

    Some days I only eat 1600, but more often than not, I eat 1800-2200 calories a day. Those days I obviously exercise, which I've now upped to 40-80 minutes a day, burning 400-1000 calories on the elliptical trainer.

    I admit there are days that my net calories are under 1600, but that's because of a huge workout, not because I didn't eat. LOL.

    Thats sounds really well balanced, I like your style.

    I am the same when I dont get enough food; I feel cheated.

    We work hard, we exercise hard, we deserve to eat well and feel fulfilled so eating back exercise calories and sticking to your goal at the end of every day will clearly pay off in the long run.

    Here's to hoping, anyway!
  • eeebee
    eeebee Posts: 471 Member
    Are we talking net calories after exercise or just gross consumption?

    calories before acounting for any exercise calories. if i burn say 600 caloires in a day, my goal changes to 2100 calories which is beautiful to see, means I can have a bigger dinner and i'd often come in at around 1,500 total anyway so if that doesnt help me lose weight, i dont know what will.
  • Meggles63
    Meggles63 Posts: 916 Member
    MFP set mine at 1200 and after2 weeks, I HAD to up it to 1500. I was eating back all my exercise calories and still starving and feeling weeny. After I upped it, felt soo much better AND started dropping almost 2 lbs. a week. Everyone is different, but I definitely needed to up the amount!
  • sophieshaped
    sophieshaped Posts: 228 Member
    I'm on 1200 as my maintenance is only 1640 so there's not a lot of room for a deficit!

    I do exercise most days, even if it's just squeezing in a 20 min walk, but mostly I run or gym it – because I want the extra calories for food! 1200 is just about do-able on a non-exercise day but the weekend? Forget it!
  • nifnif
    nifnif Posts: 22
    I set my food calories to 1600 per day, and my net calories to 1300 per day.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    1500 calories isnt that much. I eat 2600 calories and i still lose. Its really based on your basal metabolic rate and the amount of energy you expend throughout the day including exercise.
  • cptnjck0209
    cptnjck0209 Posts: 47 Member
    This is very strange for me, I eat roughly 3 meals a day and I seem to average 1100 and have to make up the next 100 with snacks that I wouldn't normally eat?

    And just to show that I'm not under-eating I'll write out yesterday which was pretty average:

    Breakfast
    2 slices wholemeal bread, toasted with butter
    banana

    Lunch
    Jacket potato and cottage cheese with chives
    1 slice of garlic bread

    Dinner
    Linda McCartney Vegetarian Lasagne

    Snacks
    Go ahead - fruit bakes - rasberry

    That totalled 1,317 but only because I added in the go-ahead and garlic bread to up it... I do roughly 600 cals of exercise a day (I walk a LOT haha)....

    I think you might be able to eat more if you eat totally healthy foods, I'm always full :)

    Or it could be because I'm a 5ft2" female haha. 1500 would be a food-overdose for me I think. So far 2lbs lost in my first week so it's going well :)
  • Tigermad
    Tigermad Posts: 305 Member
    I am 5ft 4 and MFP has set mine to 1200 before exercise. I am sticking to this fairly easily but if I fancy a little 100 cal treat at the end of the day I have it.

    I lost 7 stone nearly 8 years ago and I am sure I stuck to 1500 cals a day and the weight dropped off. (but I put it all back on over time!)

    I am losing approx 2 lbs per week now on 1200 (with some excercise and eating cals back when required). I do wonder though if I ate 1500 cals if I would still lose the same weight since it worked years ago. I am a little scared to try to be honest. Don't want to try it only to stay the same.
  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
    Low calorie works however I question if any of us can sustain it for long term. Use it as a tool but eventually you'll need to find a better way to eat.

    1200 cals... is a DIET. not a lifestyle change. You can make a lifestyle change, but eating 1200 a day shouldn't be it. The quality of your food should be. Cals NEED to go up to maint every couple of months to give your body a break.
  • DzyIzy
    DzyIzy Posts: 22 Member
    I was just thinking about this the other day. COuldn't imagine just eating 1200 (I am tall and active though)
    My goal is a permanent change that I can sustain, so that means slower to me. I am practicing pretty close to what I will do at goal weight.

    I am set just over 1500, + exercise calories. Set at a 500 calorie deficit or 1lb/wk loss. I do go over and do go under (meaning I occasionally don't eat all my exercise calories). On the weekend I don't worry about it much at all (I just try to stay under 2000+ex so I don't gain)
    But, I am also just trying to lose another 5 to 10 lbs, and have never been more than 40 lbs overweight so have not needed to lose weight faster than 1 lb/wk. I probably average just under a 1 lb/wk loss. Any time I have lost faster than 1lb/wk I gained the extra I lost back.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    I'm in maintenance at 1400 calories, but I also work out and try to aim for 2000.
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