Calories

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pg3ibew
pg3ibew Posts: 1,026 Member
in Success Stories
I have a few questions and thoughts.

I see alot people people talking about 1200 calories. Where does this number come from? I assume everyone is different weight/height/whatever.

When I joined, I put in my weight and activity level and MFP said I could have 1910 calories per day + whatever calories I burn during exercise.
Each week, I put in my new lower weight and MFP lowers my daily allowance. I am down to 1880 cals + exercise calories.

Does MFP does this for everyone?
Did I do something wrong when I signed up?
Should I be having 1200 calories per day as well?
What gives?

Replies

  • pg3ibew
    pg3ibew Posts: 1,026 Member
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    Beuller? Beuller? Anyone? Beuller?
  • Ihateplanks77
    Ihateplanks77 Posts: 2
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    1200 calories I would believe is for your current weight and height. If you weigh more, you get to eat more but modified. The amount MFP gives you is a suggestion to lose healthy which is about 1-2 lbs a week.
  • regions02
    regions02 Posts: 154 Member
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    1200 sounds a little low for you - I'm 5' 4", 151 pounds, female and I have 1300 calories. When MFP calculates your calories based on your personal info, it is just a suggestion - you can go in and change it to suit your lifestyle.
  • myfriendamy
    myfriendamy Posts: 131 Member
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    no, you did it right. :) when I started (298 ponds, sedentary job) I got 1900ish cals. as I've lost weight that has dropped to 1490 :)

    I think it calculates your goal calories by taking a deficit off your BMR - which will be different for everyone. 1200 is the lowest it'll give as a target, so if someone only has 20 lbs to lose, I can see why it'd be 1200. I'm sure there are others here with "real" answers to this :)

    but no, you're not the only one!
  • pg3ibew
    pg3ibew Posts: 1,026 Member
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    1200 calories I would believe is for your current weight and height. If you weigh more, you get to eat more but modified. The amount MFP gives you is a suggestion to lose healthy which is about 1-2 lbs a week.

    I understand that. I am set to lose 2 pounds per week. But I see all of these threads about people eating 1200 calories. I didn't get into reading everyone's profiles and weights, but I find it hard to believe they are all the same weight.
  • dobenjam
    dobenjam Posts: 232 Member
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    1200 is the minimum. MFP will never tell you to eat less than that so many people will have that as their calorie goal. You and I started with more to lose (the more mass you have the more calories your body burns to just keep it around) so to maintain your weight you started out with you would have to eat about 2400 calories, but since you are trying to lose weight MFP gives you 1900 calories as a goal so you can safely lose weight.

    When you lose weight your body doesn't burn as many calories so MFP will adjust your calorie goal. Thats why you have seen it go down.

    I hope that helped.
  • Nopedotjpeg
    Nopedotjpeg Posts: 1,806 Member
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    1200 net is the bare minimum women should be eating, that's why sooooo many women seem to think they should be eating that.

    However, to answer your other questions, yes it's normal for your calorie allowance to lower as you lose weight because you burn less calories on average doing the same thing than you did when you carried around more weight.
  • pg3ibew
    pg3ibew Posts: 1,026 Member
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    1200 sounds a little low for you - I'm 5' 4", 151 pounds, female and I have 1300 calories. When MFP calculates your calories based on your personal info, it is just a suggestion - you can go in and change it to suit your lifestyle.

    1200 is way to low for me. I think I would eat one of my kids if I had to eat like that continuously.
  • kducky22
    kducky22 Posts: 276 Member
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    I'm set at 1200, but I'm 5'6, female and 150lbs. The fact that you are male actually has a lot to do with it. Men natuallry burn more calories throughout the day and have a faster metabolism (a lot to do with the fact you are generally larger and burn more calories than women doing the same tasks). Therefore men in general will have a higher calorie intake while being able to lose weight. I'd say your set at a good number.
  • pg3ibew
    pg3ibew Posts: 1,026 Member
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    1200 net is the bare minimum women should be eating, that's why sooooo many women seem to think they should be eating that.

    However, to answer your other questions, yes it's normal for your calorie allowance to lower as you lose weight because you burn less calories on average doing the same thing than you did when you carried around more weight.

    So, basically, alot of these women are STARVING themselves. I have been losing weight for 6 weeks now. 3 on MFP. I try to stay just under my MFP allowance without including the exercise cals. I seem to be on a pretty good run. As long as I see 2 pound per week, I am happy.
    I started MFP at 245. I am down to 237.
  • yesthistime
    yesthistime Posts: 2,051 Member
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    1200 is the minimum. MFP will never tell you to eat less than that so many people will have that as their calorie goal.

    Yup :)
  • sarahgilmore
    sarahgilmore Posts: 572 Member
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    1200 net is the bare minimum women should be eating, that's why sooooo many women seem to think they should be eating that.

    However, to answer your other questions, yes it's normal for your calorie allowance to lower as you lose weight because you burn less calories on average doing the same thing than you did when you carried around more weight.

    So, basically, alot of these women are STARVING themselves. I have been losing weight for 6 weeks now. 3 on MFP. I try to stay just under my MFP allowance without including the exercise cals. I seem to be on a pretty good run. As long as I see 2 pound per week, I am happy.
    I started MFP at 245. I am down to 237.

    Some are, yes
    Sounds like you've got the right idea, though.
    Congratulations on your loss so far!
  • unhgoose
    unhgoose Posts: 122 Member
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    The lowest amount that MFP will give you is 1200 calories. Being a guy, you will always get to eat more. My husband always got to eat more than I did when we were trying to lose weight. His body is bigger and needs more fuel. When I got close to goal my calories were reduced to 1200. It's never recommended that you eat less than that by doctors or weight loss plans to my knowledge.
  • Smithvalerie
    Smithvalerie Posts: 49 Member
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    Yes, I was worried about that too. However, based on MFP calculations of my activity level, height and weight and age and the fact that I want to loss weight. I was given 1200 as a daily budget too. It's not too bad because I do 1 hour of cardio to give me more calories if I need to eat more. It's not too bad. Also, the fact that you are a male you will have more calories any way. Hopes this helps.

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