Is 1200 really enough?

The only way to know for sure is to talk to your doctor. I was never able to only eat 1200. I personally can't eat below 1400 on a daily basis.

have you ever calculated your bmr? basal metabolic rate. its different for everyone. it's the calories you take in to maintain your body weight. that minus 500 is how mfp calculated your calories. if I'm not mistaken, I mean. anything you eat under your personal bmr will allow you to lose weight - just more slowly. you can find lots of bmr calculators on line. personally, 1200 was way too few for me. I increased my setting in mfp to 1500. I'm losing about a half pound a week.

1st, mangledspoon, that's inappropriate. You don't know someone else situation, to say they have an eating disorder because of their calorie intake is wrong. Maybe they have a reason, maybe they don't but that's not for you to determine.

second, a doctor is NOT who you should be asking about your calorie intake, you should seek out the help of a registered dietitian, doctors don't generally receive much in the way of nutrition training, and unless your doctor has taken specific add-on courses, then he/she isn't the one to ask. At a minimum vet your doctor to see whether they have additional nutrition training, if they say no, then move along. Dietitians (note I said dietitian, not nutritionist, they are NOT equivalent, a dietitian can be a nutritionist, but unless that nutritionist has gone to college, then they can't be a dietitian) have gone to a 4 year accredited college for nutrition training and are prepared to help, doctors haven't.

third, Dexy_ to answer your original question, we can't really tell you. I can give you estimates based on your numbers, but then it's up to you. you're 18, female, 75 kg (or about 160 lbs) and 160 cm tall (or about 5'3"), thus very VERY rough estimate of your maintenance calories (assuming lightly active) is probably around 1900 to 2000 or somewhere around there, 1200 calories is a big deficit for you. Assuming you are in the average as far as body fat % goes for your weight and height, you should be eating probably somewhere between 1300 and 1500 calories to lose about 1 to 1.25 lbs a week (I.E. about 1/2 kg per week or so). You can go with a smaller deficit to make it easier to maintain, but going bigger will probably cause more problems than it's worth. Again, I'm just making educated guesses here based on VERY limited information. I could be way off, I just can't tell with the info given.

feel free to PM me if you need any more in depth assistance.

-Banks

response disorder...!

have you ever calculated your bmr? basal metabolic rate. its different for everyone. it's the calories you take in to maintain your body weight. that minus 500 is how mfp calculated your calories. if I'm not mistaken, I mean. anything you eat under your personal bmr will allow you to lose weight - just more slowly. you can find lots of bmr calculators on line. personally, 1200 was way too few for me. I increased my setting in mfp to 1500. I'm losing about a half pound a week.

MFP doesn't figure your deficit off your BMR. It figures your deficit off your TDEE. TDEE is your BMR multiplied by your activity level.

My BMR is 1338. My TDEE is around 2449. My deficit would be taken off the 2449, NOT off the 1338. The 1338 is the amount of calories my body needs just to survive. You don't want to take the deficit off the basic number of calories your body needs.

I was thinking the same thing and wondering if I need to be eating more then 1200 calories as I have read and heard the amount of calories should be based on the ideal weight you want to be which for example 1200=120lbs. or 1300=130lbs. When I did a calorie count using another website my calories came up as 1430 calories to lose the 40lbs. I needed. My height is 5'0 and I am 171lbs. and very active.

I have read and heard the amount of calories should be based on the ideal weight you want to be which for example 1200=120lbs. or 1300=130lbs.

I heard the same thing the other day! It was the first time I had ever heard it before....Interesting and right now I am eating along those same lines! I just follow what is suggested for me by MFP until I go to the dietitian on the 15th

I was thinking the same thing and wondering if I need to be eating more then 1200 calories as I have read and heard the amount of calories should be based on the ideal weight you want to be which for example 1200=120lbs. or 1300=130lbs. When I did a calorie count using another website my calories came up as 1430 calories to lose the 40lbs. I needed. My height is 5'0 and I am 171lbs. and very active.

I weigh 145lbs and there's NOW WAY I could function on 1450 calories a day. I'm currently maintaining while consuming 2300-2500 NET calories a day. When I was actively losing, I was averaging between 2100-2200 net calories a day. My body would flip out if I cut it down to 1450.

I'm 5'00, 65 kg, sedentary (workout aside) and I'm also supposed to eat 1200 calories according to this site, in order to drop to 50 kg. It's my second day, but I'm finding it really hard. However, I'm petite, and I wonder if it's just that I haven't learnt how to maximize my calories.

Like people have been saying, it's up to you to figure out. If you want to try, make sure to maximize protein and fiber to help stay feeling full. Also, veggies are a great substitue for anything if you are trying to lower calories. All I have to say is, "Good luck", because I can't handle that little food for more than a day.

I believe MFP put everyone at 1200 because I have a friend who does this with me and it kicked out the same number there is a book called " Cook Yourself Thin " thats really good you might like that goes based on your ideal weight theory and they have some delicious recipes as well.

I am also about 5.3 tall, close to goal weight, have a small frame and am fairly inactive except when I go to the gym (about twice a week). I try to stick to 1200 a day (then eat exercise cals when i have them) and have one day a week when I eat slightly over maintainence (1900). Which works well and i lose about 2 lbs a week this way. 1200 is very low and you have to be careful that you eat well, so limit the crisps and biscuits in favour of meats, veg, milk, oats etc to make sure you get enough protein and nutrients. its very restrictive and makes eating out a no no, hence the day off a week.

I lift weights at the gym and read some stuff around that and eating slightly more, but when I eat 1500 a day I dont lose.

I think if you have a lot to lose you wont need to go this low and could lose successfully on a higher amount but when you are close to goal it does get more difficult!