1200 calorie goal- confusion

That happens to me too. I was told by my doctor that I should eat a MINIMUM of 1200 a day to lose weight but I always eat under. I just can't seem to get near the 1200 one I get on a roll with my diet. Maybe my stomach shrinks or something, but I feel satisfied with a little over 1,000. If anyone else can shed some light on this I'd appreciate it too!

You should eat 1200 cals. The way MFP gives you this goal assuming you are going to be exercising some to keep yourself under that goal. Starving yourself (by eating less-- if your body isnt use to it) is only going to make you GAIN weight....not lose it

I'm in the same boat. I am allotted 1200 calories and I feel like if I eat anymore than that, I don't lose weight (past experiences). I try to exercise at least 30 minutes and eat my BMR calories. I'm still trying to figure this all out.

I was a bit confused by that as well, but I've noticed that when I add exercise, it then adds more calories. So your net goal is 1200 but if you do -600 calories of exercise, you can actually eat about 1800 calories. I average anywhere between 1300-1600 calories a day at this point. Because I do most of my exercising at night, I try to be careful all day so that if I don't end up exercising then I haven't hurt myself calorie-wise. But I too sometimes have trouble hitting 1200 when I'm super focused.

The problem with eating too few calories is that you can slow your metabolism. Your body will think that food is in short supply and will slow down, in the anticipation that more calories are not coming soon or easily. Think of your body as a furnace or engine that needs the right type and right amount of fuel to keep going.

I keep my calories at 1200, even with working out and burning 500-600 calories, five times a week. You should stay at just over 1200, 1201 -1250 and if you workout you will be fine. No warnings. I am 5-8 and right now 187. I have lost 86 pounds since february of 2011, so it works. There are days I have less than 1200 but for the most part I stay close to that number. Hope this helps.

You should really eat the full 1200, just ate a serving more of something you already ate in case you "don't feel hungry" later. For instance add a 1/2 cup more of cottage cheese or something to make up the full 1200 hungry. MFP sets you at 1200 for a reason. If you exercise and are active in any way you definitely need the 1200 to survive. If you don't eat enough calories it slows your metabolism and you go into starvation mode where you stall out and stop loosing. Even if you go over one day by 80-100 you will probably still loose. If you are active and not sitting on the couch all day you will lose if you restrict your calories to 1200. It does all depend on your age, size, exercise, and overall goal (.5-2lbs a week)

MFP already calculates a calorie deficit so you should eat the recommended calories that MFP says you should eat. And how many calories you burn during your workout you should be adding those calories back into your diet (so you can eat more food, YAY!). Say MFP says you should eat 1200 calories and you burn 300 calories during your workout; that means you can eat 1500 calories that day (1200+300=1500).

If you don't eat the recommended calories your body will go into starvation mode and the food you eat will be converted into fat storage. So it's important to try and eat something every 2-3 hours throughout the day to put a fire in your metabolism.