1200 calories seem too low to anyone?

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jeannine71
jeannine71 Posts: 66 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've been doing a lot of reading and it seems that a 1200 calorie a day diet is a quick way to lose muscle and lower your metabolic rate....especially when paired with exercise. So, I'm wondering why MFP sets up a 1200 calorie limit if you use their guided goal program. Any thoughts?
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  • NicciBowden
    NicciBowden Posts: 3 Member
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    I was talking to a personal trainer who comes in the grocery store that I work at, and she told me that if she was working with me that 1200 would be my goal.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    I've been doing a lot of reading and it seems that a 1200 calorie a day diet is a quick way to lose muscle and lower your metabolic rate....especially when paired with exercise. So, I'm wondering why MFP sets up a 1200 calorie limit if you use their guided goal program. Any thoughts?

    They don't set it up that way, the user does. If a user decides they want to lose 2lbs a week, that requires a deficit of 1,000 cals a day, so any user with a maintenance of under 2,200 will get the 1,200 limit.

    And you can't say 1,200 cals is a quick way to lose muscle and lower metabolic rate without context ie ht/wt/activity of a user. Also assuming protein intake is adequate that will limit muscle loss
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    It depends on the person. For a small female, it may not be too low.

    MFP sets it up according to the info you put in, including the weight loss per week goal chosen. Often I see people who have a 1200 intake because they select 2 lbs a week instead of a lower goal.

    Also keep in mind that the way MFP is set up, you eat back your exercise calories. 1200 calories is recommended, but not for someone who is physically active. Any exercise done means more calories to eat. So an active person may have a base rate of 1200 recommended but actually end up consuming more like 1500 or so whatever, depending on what kind of exercise they do, so it wouldn't be too low.
  • Purpleflipflops
    Purpleflipflops Posts: 563 Member
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    When I go a week without working out, no.... If I work out, then I know I have to heat my calories back, or I feel Starving the next day.
    I think it depends on who you are....
  • zoeengland2000
    zoeengland2000 Posts: 42
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    Mine was set at 1200 when I realized I had input my weight incorrectly, it. Set to pounds & I had put in kilos! I have corrected this now and have a higher daily calorie allowance.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
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    Well, when the 1200 calorie goal is paired up with exercise, you get more calories. For example, if I set my calories to 1200 (which I don't) and then burned 750 calories hiking, my new calorie goal for the day would be 1950.

    Personally, 1200 is *way* too low for me, but it seems to work for a lot of people on here!
  • Mykiidsmom
    Mykiidsmom Posts: 2 Member
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    If you're working out MFP increases your calorie intake for the day. Like if I burned 300 calories at the gym I can eat 1500 calories, so I don't think it is to little. Eating 1200 calories and sitting on your butt, you will lose, thats what they start with. Normally we brun about 1500 or so calories a day by doing nothing so the deficit would help you loose. That is why so many weightloss centers alll use 1200 as a starting calorie goal for the person who is living a sedetary life.
  • xSophia19
    xSophia19 Posts: 1,536 Member
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    1200 calories is incredibly low! especially if your excercing everyday and burning anything between 400-800 calories, then you will put your body into starvation mode which will store fat. soo i would up your calories to about 1400 - 1500 and see how it goes.

    obviously its different for everyone - you might loose muscle/weight on 1200 cals a day, but i tried it for a month and didnt loose anything.

    give it a go and see what works for you :)
  • dhakiyya
    dhakiyya Posts: 481 Member
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    I've been doing a lot of reading and it seems that a 1200 calorie a day diet is a quick way to lose muscle and lower your metabolic rate....especially when paired with exercise. So, I'm wondering why MFP sets up a 1200 calorie limit if you use their guided goal program. Any thoughts?

    For a small inactive woman, 1200 would not be a huge deficit. You need to calculate how many calories to eat based on your total daily energy expenditure, and that depends on your size and your energy levels. For a small, inactive woman her tdee may be as low as 1600 and so 1200 would be a 25% deficit and wouldn't be putting her at risk of muscle loss etc. However for a big man, his tdee may be as high as 2500, and in that case 1200 would be a 50% deficit i.e. starvation. Factor in activity and a big, very active man may have a tdee as high as 6000 cals.

    With MFP, they calulate the deficit in such a way that you add in your exercise calories and eat them, so the deficit is low compared to calculating tdee using an activity factor. I don't record my exercise on MFP, just my food, and my calorie goal is set higher than the MFP default, because I calculated it using a method that takes the activity levels into account.

    I hope I'm making sense I'm not sure I'm explaining it very well. In any case, you can alter your target calories, and your target macros, which I did because I calculated everything using an alternative method. Because of that, I don't add in my exercise calories because my activity levels are already accounted for.
  • pupcamper
    pupcamper Posts: 415 Member
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    I think it depends on what the 1200 calories is made up of if you are going to eat 1200 calories of processed crap than yes it is too low to provide adequate nutrition but if it is made up of the right combination of food you can actually eat alot and never be hungry!
  • twinmama1987
    twinmama1987 Posts: 566 Member
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    The problem is .. 1200 IS too low!! BUT.. people think that doing a 1000 cal defecit OR MORE will benefit them. IT DOES NOT. If you are only burning 2200 cals/day with exercise, then a 1000 calorie defecit is too much! HOWEVER, if you have a caloric burn of say 2500 or more, then a 1000 calorie defecit is a little more acceptable. But unless you are burning calories like a madman, dont do it! Its a sure fire way to lose more muscle than fat, which then in turn makes you burn less calories, because you NEED that lean muscle to burn more! I set my MFP to maintain and then set my own caloric defecits daily. A lot of people dont know that MFP takes those calories away before you see your journal. Do it the smart way! 500-750 calories is ENOUGH of a defecit... 750 would be pushing it if you dont burn enough.

    I recently bought a BodyMedia FIT ( same thing as the BodyBugg) .. I assumed i was burning somewhere in the high 2000s for calories.. so i was eating more.. turns out i was only burning 2200 calories with exercise.. sometimes less. NOW, i burn 2400-2500 but i still dont leave a 1000 calorie defecit.
  • lanee2004
    lanee2004 Posts: 6 Member
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    I like my fitness pal because when you do workout it adds calories that are needed.
  • beckipercy
    beckipercy Posts: 160 Member
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    My personal calorie allowance is 1540, but I very rarely go over 1200. I think if you eat the right foods it can be fine. It's finding the right foods that are nutritious but also low in calories.
    It's all about finding good alternatives. For example, I use turkey mince instead of beef mince. It has tons of protein and is around 80 calories less per 100g. It fills me up just as much as beef would and is very tasty too!
  • pjkatiemom
    pjkatiemom Posts: 3
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    I have lost 89 pounds in 9 months with the 1200 calorie, I now need to maintain my weight and i have a hard time getting over 1300 in a day and that is eating 6 times a day and always feeling full!!
  • tjpinch
    tjpinch Posts: 87 Member
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    In terms of net calories, 1200 isn't necessarily low depending on your size.
  • Silverkittycat
    Silverkittycat Posts: 1,997 Member
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    For me it is too low, only because I don't get my needed nutrition in at that amount. If I ate very well without all the extra ice cream and such I might be able to hit my macros and micros at 1200, but I don't eat that well. :blushing:
  • MsKittyCAT
    MsKittyCAT Posts: 217
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    I look at other people's food diaries and it seems like they eat next to nothing. Wish I could do that and not have that empty stomach growling all the time feeling!

    1200 is my goal but I go over it more often than not despite my best efforts. I am always so hungry. I know I need to drink more water, eat healthier foods, and exercise more so I can have a little more to eat - but knowing is only part of the battle. I need more willpower and motivation!
  • janjtaylor
    janjtaylor Posts: 25
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    I have been doing 1200 k/cal since before Thanksgiving and 99% of the time I am not hungry. I eat lots...but I have learned to eat LOTS of the good stuff including whole grain breads and pasta and fresh veggies and fruits, nuts and dried fruit, etc.

    Pls, don't beat yourselves up about going over the 1200. For most of you that is pretty low and you can figure out what calories you need to consume and still loose weight w/o the pre-calculations MFP gives you. It's a pretty easy concept.

    Your body burns k/cals 24/7 even if you never got out of bed or lifted a finger. To determine how many k/cals your body burns doing nothing....is called Basal Metabolic Rate (bmr)....and there are tons of calculators out there. Again, this is what your burns with no activity.

    Then you figure out how many calories you body burns during an average day.....taking your BMR and multiplying it using this key:

    1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : BMR x 1.2
    2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : BMR x 1.375
    3. If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise 3-5 days/week) : BMR x 1.55
    4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : BMR x 1.725
    5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : BMR x 1.9

    knowing that expending at least 3500 k/cal's = 1lb loss .... (for most people, you may be a little different) then you can see that going a little over your k/cal or above the 1200 will not hurt at all so long as you keep under your weekly totals using your calculations. Going over might mean you do not loose it as quickly....

    Having said that.....what foods make you feel full...? Those with FIBER. Higher fiber foods will keep you full longer....

    I drink a pretty full glass of water before I sit down to a meal. I grab small hand full's of nuts and/or raisins or dried cranberries all throughout the day.


    And everyone pls read the forum post on cutting back calories vs starvation. It's one of the most important things to keep in mind....
  • jilldetch05
    jilldetch05 Posts: 2 Member
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    1000 is the minimum. balanced meals of veggies, fruit, protein, and water have been easy to work with. i've added strawberries to two meals a day. they fill me up and are a quick sweet treat. they have very few calories. i'm not using any artificial sweeteners either. no caffeine, makes you crave bad carbs. ice water early in the morning speeds up your metabolism. your body has to work at warming it up to body temp. i was so excited to hear that. even getting your decaf coffee iced has a difference of up to 40 calories, depending on the size of your cup. i have a cheat meal or cheat day a week, but i don't go over my real bmr of 2100 (exercise day) or 1600 (nonexercise day). just remember your tummy, when smaller due to small meals, will stretch out with extra meals/calories. it's kinda like compound interest at the bank. when you cheat, your tummy the next day says i want what i had yesterday to feel full....... so you shoot yourself in the foot with cheat days. course, tricking your stomach with fluffy stuff like puffins cereal, popcorn, and wafer like snacks will help. BUT, yes 1200 calories is plenty for women. i've been using this since january last year. lost 53 pounds total. went without logging in for 4 months, gained 10 back. have lost 6 of those 10 this week since cutting back. the dang holidays kicked my butt. gotta get the rest off before next week. goal after that 11 pounds. then done and get to eat 1600 to maintain. :) don't know why i typed all that....but i did - GOOD LUCK
  • jilldetch05
    jilldetch05 Posts: 2 Member
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    bananas have 110 calories. i always eat one when i'm low on count. early in the day. also glass of wine.....
    think about sweet potatoes. they have tons of calories. good luck. or eat soup in a bread soup bowl...

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