Calorie Goal 1200

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Sanvita58
Sanvita58 Posts: 122 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Dear Friends,
This a question we have seen million times but I guess we have very different answers. We have read that one should not consume less than 1200 calories a day at any given situation. My question is should it be net 1200 min or min consumption 1200. Because in average I burn 500 calories a day then will that 700 calories remaining be too low. Or I consume between 1500-2000 and eat fully or partially calories back. I don eat all my calories back but sometime I do. Please advice as I am stuck for the last 2 months....Thank you for taking time and reading this and giving your opinions....

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  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
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    Lots and lots and lots of people eat well under 1200 calories per day while they safely and rapidly lose weight.

    I'm one of them.

    When I was losing weight, I ate 800 to 1000 net cals/day and lost 95 pounds in 7 months. I modeled my diet after the diet used by a weight loss clinic here on Southern California that has been in business for 40+ years and has helped hundreds of thousands of people lose weight - and keep it off.

    The recommendation to eat 1200 calories is well founded and most people will lose weight at that calorie level. Some folks will lose one or two pounds a week and have an excellent weight loss experience. My approach was different because I knew it was safe (I've met some of the folks from my girlfriends clinic) and because I wanted to lose weight faster.

    And it worked very nicely.

    The 1200 calorie recommendation works well, no question. And there's no question that for many years people have lost weight at calorie levels well below the 1200 calorie recommendation.

    Suggestion - have a look through my food diary in the time period between December 2010 and June 2011. That's when I was losing weight and my diary might give you ideas.

    Exercise - I exercised on an elliptical three times a week and used dumbbells a couple of times a week during that period. In June 2011 I started running and I did a half marathon in August.

    Good luck with your weight loss journey!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    MFP's recommendation is for 1200 Net. having too large of a deficit can lead to a loss of a large % of lean muscle, not just the fat you are looking at losing.
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
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    1200 is the figure that WHO worked out was the lowest amount of calories that an 'average' woman needs to get the lowest level of nutrition for not falling ill.
    MFP adds your exercise calories in so that you avoid slowing your metabolism.

    Think about it. If you eat less to lose weight, exercise to lose weight and slow your metabolism. You're just going to have to eat even less to lose weight. Doesn't sound like a good idea to me.
  • wmartin8
    wmartin8 Posts: 22
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    MFP's recommendation is for 1200 Net. having too large of a deficit can lead to a loss of a large % of lean muscle, not just the fat you are looking at losing.

    erickirb is right. I personally cannot eat less than 2000 calories a day without feeling starved! I have a semi muscular build but I'm overweight by at least some 30 pounds, I don't know if the muscle has anything to do with me eating so many calories it but it might. Anyway about a year ago I used MFP for about a couple of months and managed to get to my lowest weight ever, I was feeling good and looking better. One thing that surprised me was that the weight seemed to have permanently banished. I've been on-off dieting for a couple of years, and usually when i get off a diet I tend to gain my weight back really quick. But this time, even though I was stuffing my face everyday I didn't seem to put on weight at all! I was so surprised. I weighed myself everyday to see if I had gained, but the numbers seemed to remain the same. I eventually gained my weight back but I took a lot longer then usual and I was actually, in some weird way, trying to gain it back just to test how effective my diet had been. So I can tell you, from experience, that low and steady weightloss is the best way to lose weight once and for all. And now that the new year is here, I'm back at MFP doing the same thing I did a year ago, trying to burn between 400-500 at the gym and eating around 2000 calories a day for a net of 1500 calories. I was 167 around christmas time and I'm now 162. So, i've lost 5 pounds with minimal starvation, and the diet I'm following is something that I can probably follow for the rest of my life.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    Lots and lots and lots of people eat well under 1200 calories per day while they become sickly, depressed, and verge on eating disorder territory. If you want to do it.. go for it.

    Check out this book 'Peele's Metabolic Repair Manual' if you decide starving wasn't right for you after all.
  • KiyaK
    KiyaK Posts: 519 Member
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    From the ticker on you page, I believe you are getting close to your body's "ideal" weight. You are already small, trying to get leaner, correct? Our bodies do not want to be lean. They want to keep a nice little layer of fat just in case, you know, a famine comes around. That is why the closer you get to your final goal weight, the smaller you must keep your calorie deficit. Try eating back all or most of your exercise cals & see if it works. The worst that could happen is it doesn't. Just keep in mind that this is a life-long challange, not just a sprint to the finish. Good luck!!

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