1200 cals a day?

Listen tou your body! Eat more if you are hungry, and don't if you're not.

No. This would be the same as eating 307 calories. Would you ever think eating 307 calories is okay?

That makes NO sense. exercising does not erase what you ate. During weightloss the main function of eating is to provide you with nutrients like protien, vitamins and so on... The closer you are to your goal, the more exercise cals you *may* need to eat to prevent starvation mode, but for people with a lot to lose, it takes a lot more than that to put you into starvation mode... thats why you burn fat.

It makes perfect sense. Calories are energy. You burn energy when you exercise. Why do you think you measure burned calories? The body will turn the protien into energy. It won't use it on muscle building because it needs it as fuel. Sure you get more vitamins by eating 1200 and burning 900 than you do by eating 300 but that's not very different than eating 300 and taking vitamins. Still not healthy, probably not sustainable in the long term.

I don't even buy into "starvation mode". That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about approaching weight loss in a healthy sustainable manner. It's not a race. It's not a contest to see if you can eat as little as possible and burn as much as possible. A successful diet doesn't feel like a diet. Severe calorie restriction causes extreme low energy, insomnia, head aches, your hair to fall out, your nails to crack, severe loss of muscle tissue, digestion issues, etc... And it just sucks. I like food. I like real food, sugar, red meat, egg yolks, cheese, milk, etc.

I see you're at 150, so what you are saying makes sense for YOU. Like I said the closer you are to goal the more you'll need to eat back exercise cals. Thats what I plan on doing eventually. But for me and some others, at 269, I got a LOT of energy reserves and I am not very likely to go into a starvation mode. Personally I eat 1500-1700 per day and burn between 700-1200 per day. I have tons of energy, never feel hungry, no headaches, my hair is fabulous, sleeping like a baby, never been stronger, and I get to eat great food to boot. If that changes, so will I. My Dr. Says I'm doing great, and I'll take his advice over yours thank you very much. I fully plan on enjoying my exercise cals when I hit onederland, but for now this is doing me great!

I so agree with you Chickie_20.....my DOCTOR told me not to eat them and I am sure he knows what is best for me. Believe me I am gaining muscle too....I can feel my muscles more then ever. )

Hunny thats the fat being burned off so you can actually see the muscle.. It takes a calorie surplus, lots of protein, plus a lot of heavy lifting to gain muscle.. You can't gain muscle in a week or a day or a month even.. it takes a long time to gain muscle.

bump

I would say it depends on the person and their body + what works for them. When I first lost my 40lb I stuck to 1200 calories and lost 35 of it before I hit a plateau. The weight never bounced back on and my body never went into starvation mode. Nowadays though, that is totally different. In order to maintain my weight at the moment I "must" eat 1200 calories + a few hundred more with proper carbohydrate/fat and protein ratios spaced out - And if I don't I actually start to gain.

The reason why this is happening now though is because there has been lifestyle changes since I first started losing. I'm more physically active (without exercise) on a day to day basis, and if I don't include something extra gradually over time I notice an increase. As soon as I up my calorie intake again, my weight goes back down. I would suggest on your weekly weigh in that when you record it, you also look in your diary; what you have eaten and if you notice much difference between higher calorie weeks and lower cal ones. This is how you will start to recognise your own needs. Just because you're not hungry doesn't mean that your body doesn't need the extra fuel necessarily. I'm one of those people that doesn't get hungry easily, so I could literally go without for more than half of the day if I wanted to (but would never do).

I won't call myself an e pert bit I will say that I've done tons of research on the subject. Is it healthy or ideal to approach wright loss in the way you mention? Absolutely not BUT if you have no desire of maintaining on more then by all means continue the way you are. You say 1200 is enough to satisfy you so any metabolic damage doesn't matter since you're not hungry for more calories.

Weight loss will likely be a greater percentage of muscle with a 1000+ calorie deficit but you will lose weight. You will probably be more prone to wright regain than someone who takes a moderate approach but the risk is yours and if you don't mind eating 1200 forever then you have nothing to worry about so long as you make nutritious choices and take a multi vitamin but I will warn you...after a while of restricting your calories you might change your mind about 1200 being sustainable.

No. This would be the same as eating 307 calories. Would you ever think eating 307 calories is okay?

That makes NO sense. exercising does not erase what you ate. During weightloss the main function of eating is to provide you with nutrients like protien, vitamins and so on... The closer you are to your goal, the more exercise cals you *may* need to eat to prevent starvation mode, but for people with a lot to lose, it takes a lot more than that to put you into starvation mode... thats why you burn fat.

It makes perfect sense. Calories are energy. You burn energy when you exercise. Why do you think you measure burned calories? The body will turn the protien into energy. It won't use it on muscle building because it needs it as fuel. Sure you get more vitamins by eating 1200 and burning 900 than you do by eating 300 but that's not very different than eating 300 and taking vitamins. Still not healthy, probably not sustainable in the long term.

I don't even buy into "starvation mode". That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about approaching weight loss in a healthy sustainable manner. It's not a race. It's not a contest to see if you can eat as little as possible and burn as much as possible. A successful diet doesn't feel like a diet. Severe calorie restriction causes extreme low energy, insomnia, head aches, your hair to fall out, your nails to crack, severe loss of muscle tissue, digestion issues, etc... And it just sucks. I like food. I like real food, sugar, red meat, egg yolks, cheese, milk, etc.

I see you're at 150, so what you are saying makes sense for YOU. Like I said the closer you are to goal the more you'll need to eat back exercise cals. Thats what I plan on doing eventually. But for me and some others, at 269, I got a LOT of energy reserves and I am not very likely to go into a starvation mode. Personally I eat 1500-1700 per day and burn between 700-1200 per day. I have tons of energy, never feel hungry, no headaches, my hair is fabulous, sleeping like a baby, never been stronger, and I get to eat great food to boot. If that changes, so will I. My Dr. Says I'm doing great, and I'll take his advice over yours thank you very much. I fully plan on enjoying my exercise cals when I hit onederland, but for now this is doing me great!

The problem with approaches like this is that while yes you will lose weight but the majority of that is going to be muscle instead of fat and I don't know about you but i have no desire to lose weight quickly if it's going to mean i'm just a pile of mush when i get there.

I'd rather do it right and reach my goal in a healthy manner and look good naked.

Who are you to say what right for someone else is? Just because you don't agree with how someone else looses weight doesn't mean it's wrong. I've lost 90lbs before, so I know what works... For ME, and I also know that I won't be a "pile of mush". The closer I get, the more I'll eat.

Also, for those wondering why it may be a struggle to eat all their calories, I got fat eating too much of the wrong foods, when I'm eating nutrient sense foods I don't feel as hungry to eat more.

i eat at least half of my excercise calories

everybody will have different things that work for them, but 300cals eating is pretty low eek, and you might find it leads to binge eating, (it does for me)

i think there are message boards that give advice from the professionals on here, might be an idea to check them out:)

No. This would be the same as eating 307 calories. Would you ever think eating 307 calories is okay?

That makes NO sense. exercising does not erase what you ate. During weightloss the main function of eating is to provide you with nutrients like protien, vitamins and so on... The closer you are to your goal, the more exercise cals you *may* need to eat to prevent starvation mode, but for people with a lot to lose, it takes a lot more than that to put you into starvation mode... thats why you burn fat.

It makes perfect sense. Calories are energy. You burn energy when you exercise. Why do you think you measure burned calories? The body will turn the protien into energy. It won't use it on muscle building because it needs it as fuel. Sure you get more vitamins by eating 1200 and burning 900 than you do by eating 300 but that's not very different than eating 300 and taking vitamins. Still not healthy, probably not sustainable in the long term.

I don't even buy into "starvation mode". That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about approaching weight loss in a healthy sustainable manner. It's not a race. It's not a contest to see if you can eat as little as possible and burn as much as possible. A successful diet doesn't feel like a diet. Severe calorie restriction causes extreme low energy, insomnia, head aches, your hair to fall out, your nails to crack, severe loss of muscle tissue, digestion issues, etc... And it just sucks. I like food. I like real food, sugar, red meat, egg yolks, cheese, milk, etc.

I see you're at 150, so what you are saying makes sense for YOU. Like I said the closer you are to goal the more you'll need to eat back exercise cals. Thats what I plan on doing eventually. But for me and some others, at 269, I got a LOT of energy reserves and I am not very likely to go into a starvation mode. Personally I eat 1500-1700 per day and burn between 700-1200 per day. I have tons of energy, never feel hungry, no headaches, my hair is fabulous, sleeping like a baby, never been stronger, and I get to eat great food to boot. If that changes, so will I. My Dr. Says I'm doing great, and I'll take his advice over yours thank you very much. I fully plan on enjoying my exercise cals when I hit onederland, but for now this is doing me great!

The problem with approaches like this is that while yes you will lose weight but the majority of that is going to be muscle instead of fat and I don't know about you but i have no desire to lose weight quickly if it's going to mean i'm just a pile of mush when i get there.

I'd rather do it right and reach my goal in a healthy manner and look good naked.

Who are you to say what right for someone else is? Just because you don't agree with how someone else looses weight doesn't mean it's wrong. I've lost 90lbs before, so I know what works... For ME, and I also know that I won't be a "pile of mush". The closer I get, the more I'll eat.

Also, for those wondering why it may be a struggle to eat all their calories, I got fat eating too much of the wrong foods, when I'm eating nutrient sense foods I don't feel as hungry to eat more.

woah-ho, defensive much?

Do whatever you please, i do not care.

All i'm saying is when you make such a large deficit your body is going to eat up muscle, you will lose weight but you are losing lean mass in the process.

If that works for you then more power to you, i just don't think most people realize it and i'm putting that information out there so that people who do want to hold onto any muscle tone they may have, may do so.

What people seem to forget is a little bugger called the BMR ( Basal Metabolism Rate ) , and it's the minimum required to live. You have to be very careful in toying with the idea of eating 1200 cal, burning 700 = 500 net calories and then factoring in your BMR your calories are going to be much too low to sustain your health. I would strongly recommend that you talk to your family doctor or at the very least a nutritionist to figure out what you need to eat to stay healthy. Yes everyone wants to loose weight and yes it's a little over 3000 calories to lose 1 lbs of weight but at the end of the day you need to do it safely and in a healthy way.

Everyone here is going to have an opinion on it but in the end please make sure you talk to a professional and stay healthy.

No. This would be the same as eating 307 calories. Would you ever think eating 307 calories is okay?

That makes NO sense. exercising does not erase what you ate. During weightloss the main function of eating is to provide you with nutrients like protien, vitamins and so on... The closer you are to your goal, the more exercise cals you *may* need to eat to prevent starvation mode, but for people with a lot to lose, it takes a lot more than that to put you into starvation mode... thats why you burn fat.

Actually yes, exercising DOES erase what you ate, your body burns those calories while you are exercising, and your body burns off the food you eat first to refill it's stores, before dipping into fat or muscle to make up the deficit. So physiologically, eating 1200 calories and burning 900 through exercise and eating 300 calories without exercising are the exact same thing.

1200 - 900 = 300

300 - 0 = 300

How can that not make sense?

listen honey bun.... if u began to eat below or not give ur body the amount of calories it needs .. it will go into starvation mode.....now dont get me wrong ... u will lose weight but what u will be losing is muscle mass.... which is wayyyyyy bad..... ur energy is stored in ur muscles so when u eat too little ur body began to basically eat itself starting with the muscles...... i know if ur burning that amount of calories and eat those amount of calories... ur energy levels have to be low.....im just saying .....but i do wish u well on ur journey......

True words.

People talk about eating when you're hungry and don't when you're not. The only problem with that, IMO, is our hunger is skewed. Unless you've been eating healthy for years and have been active as well, I doubt a lot of people actually know what true hunger or lack thereof (how much of that is psychological? as well). 1200 cals should be your minimum. Actually, I don't completely agree with 1200 cals. either. I lean more towards BMR (eat that many calories and exercise how much you want without eating any cals back), but I'll roll with the 1200 cals. If you exercise, eat and/or drink back those 1200 calories.

I use MFP as my food & exercise diary as well as community. I can care less about how much they recommend I eat to lose weight (1200 cals), because MFP is a company afterall just like any of the other companies banking on the diet industry.

No. This would be the same as eating 307 calories. Would you ever think eating 307 calories is okay?

That makes NO sense. exercising does not erase what you ate. During weightloss the main function of eating is to provide you with nutrients like protien, vitamins and so on... The closer you are to your goal, the more exercise cals you *may* need to eat to prevent starvation mode, but for people with a lot to lose, it takes a lot more than that to put you into starvation mode... thats why you burn fat.

Actually yes, exercising DOES erase what you ate, your body burns those calories while you are exercising, and your body burns off the food you eat first to refill it's stores, before dipping into fat or muscle to make up the deficit. So physiologically, eating 1200 calories and burning 900 through exercise and eating 300 calories without exercising are the exact same thing.

1200 - 900 = 300

300 - 0 = 300

How can that not make sense?

I'm sorry, maybe you are not aware. Food actually contains MORE than JUST calories. It contains nutrients like fiber, vitamins, minerals, protiens and so on. So while exercise used the calories you eat it does NOT ERASE the actual food you have eaten. You are still getting the benefits of all the other nutrients in the food.

Your BMR is the actual number of calories required to keep your body alive. For example mine is currently 2100. By your theory everyone should net those calories, but it doesn't work that way. MFP has set me at 1510 calories per day. Its all about a deficit. Eating during weightloss serves to keep you metabolism up, teach you new habits, get all the OTHER nutrients from food and so on. OFCOURSE the closer you get to your goal the more you will need to compensate for exercise calories, but like I said before, for people, like myself, who have a lot of extra energy stores (fat, which is actually stored calories), it is not always nessecary so eat all those calories back and my body knows it ain't going to starve for a LONG time. If my medical professional is not concerned and is actually praising me, then I'm good with that.

Yes, but if you eat below your BMR and you create too much of a deficit your body is going to do everything that it can to survive - this means it will hang onto fat and cannibalise your muscle, because muscle burns more calories than fat and is therefore expendable.
Then when you try to eat more calories, or eat a 'normal' diet, your body will easily store these as fat. Your maintenance level of calories will be stuck at the lower end.

People are offering their advice to you and you just seem to be incredibly defensive and the whole "I'm sorry, maybe you are not aware..." is just plain rude.
We're only trying to help, and to point out that you can lose weight and eat more calories, and that you need to fuel your body in order to get it to thrive.

I'm hoping that my advice might actually stand for something/anything as I've been at this a long time *looks down at ticker* whereas you just seemed to dismiss Rachel as she is already weighing in at 150lbs.

lets all put the claws away and i guess agree to disagree

valid points have been made and it's now up to the individual to take action

thanks for all the comments

good job

Each to their own !!

Ok, what exercise are you all doing to burn 800+ calories in a day????? Please share