1200 calories - is that reasonable?

MaximalLife · February 2012

I am to the point where I see 1200, and I know somebody is over reaching.
The response is automatic now.
Anyway, bless you for sharing!
And just know that slow steady progress beats fast, crash dieting in that the process is more fun and results long lasting.
Set your goals for 1 lb per week and just roll with those results.

Life is to be lived - not endured one failed diet after another where we end up like Oprah Winfrey who is still yo yoing her way through life. I recall how great she looked, then found out she was smoking crack and drinking low cal shakes.

Renew the process by setting your goals for 1 lb weight loss per week.
And continue to eat lean meats, low fat dairy, nuts, whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies.
Do your exercise.
AND EAT BACK YOUR EXERCISE CALORIES!
Remember, this is not a race, and you can do this.

recriger · February 2012

You will probably want to go online and find the calculations for TDEE. TDEE is a maintenance level of calories, it includes the calories needed for the heart to pump, lungs to function etc... Plus it adds in a bit more depending on your activity level and age. Your TDEE will be the Calorie count you will need to stay exactly as your are today. That is the number you use to calculate your calorie deficite. I found the equations and put them into excell. that way when anything changes I can update the numbers and hit enter and it tells me everything. there are different equations for men and women. So plugging in 63 inches and leaving my wife's weight in the cell (170lbs), it says that the TDEE is 1813.7 calories a day to stay the same. This is where the problem arises. Less than 1200 per day is considered a bit unhealthy. So if you don't do any exercise to offset the equation you will only be healthy if your goal is no higher than 1 pound a week. Subtracting 500 cal per day equals 1 pound a week lost, and obviously 1000 is 2 lbs a week but that puts you under the 1200 minimum.

So if you exercise it will burn calories from stores of fat in the body. Since the food in your stomach hasn't been digested yet, the food is not being burned by the exercise. If your daily intake is regulated to your TDEE, then by the time the food is digested it's calories will go straight against your TDEE calories and not back to the fat stores. That is how you are able to "eat back exercise calories" and not keep gaining weight.

15in8 · February 2012

You don't have to start off at it, but try and build to walking an hour a day, it will be great for your health and well being, but also give you some calories to play with.

lisajlly · February 2012

I am also 5'3" and am using the 1200 calories a day plan. The first two weeks I was sooooo hungry, but I stuck with it. Now, it has been a month, I've lost 5 pounds, and my stomach has adjusted to the 1200-1300 calorie range. However, if I had more than 40 pounds to lose, I would allow myself more calories until I had achieved some weight loss. Going hungry a lot generally leads to failure. God bless you and best of luck with your efforts. You'll find a lot of encouragement on MFP.

MaximalLife · February 2012

You will probably want to go online and find the calculations for TDEE. TDEE is a maintenance level of calories, it includes the calories needed for the heart to pump, lungs to function etc... Plus it adds in a bit more depending on your activity level and age. Your TDEE will be the Calorie count you will need to stay exactly as your are today. That is the number you use to calculate your calorie deficite. I found the equations and put them into excell. that way when anything changes I can update the numbers and hit enter and it tells me everything. there are different equations for men and women. So plugging in 63 inches and leaving my wife's weight in the cell (170lbs), it says that the TDEE is 1813.7 calories a day to stay the same. This is where the problem arises. Less than 1200 per day is considered a bit unhealthy. So if you don't do any exercise to offset the equation you will only be healthy if your goal is no higher than 1 pound a week. Subtracting 500 cal per day equals 1 pound a week lost, and obviously 1000 is 2 lbs a week but that puts you under the 1200 minimum.

So if you exercise it will burn calories from stores of fat in the body. Since the food in your stomach hasn't been digested yet, the food is not being burned by the exercise. If your daily intake is regulated to your TDEE, then by the time the food is digested it's calories will go straight against your TDEE calories and not back to the fat stores. That is how you are able to "eat back exercise calories" and not keep gaining weight.

^^^^^^^
THIS

And here is a good calculator
http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

Give it a go!

CMmrsfloyd · February 2012

Thank you all for your feedback. It is greatly appreciated and I will take it all under consideration. If I change my setting from sedentary (which I don't think I am) to moderately active, it goes up to 1300. If I change from 2lbs. week to 1.5, the future looks even brighter !!! You are all wonderful!!!

:-) Try out that new goal for a bit and see how well it works with your lifestyle and what kind of results it gets you. The beauty of this 'program' is that you can tweak it at any time to fit your lifestyle and goals. Good luck. :-)

janegalt37 · February 2012

Congratulations on your weight loss so far!
Lots of excellent advice here. One thing that may need to be emphasized is how much protein and fiber you are getting.

Click on My Home > Goals > Change Goals > Custom > Continue

Look at the percentage of your calories that you're recommended to get from protein. It's insanely low when MFP sets it. I upped mine to 35% and feel much, much fuller throughout the day.

Fiber helps, too. Get at least 25g if your digestive system can handle it. If it makes you a bit windy, add just a little more than what you currently consume to your daily diet each week and your body will adjust and thank you for it.

Upping your calories a bit, eating more protein and getting more fiber may be the only changes you need to make.
Good luck!

fearlessbetz · February 2012

Hi Betsi, Thank you for the friend add. I've got a lot of weight to lose, and am checking in regularly with a nutritionist because I'm pretty clueless when it comes to this. What they said really shocked me. At first I was between 1300-1500 calories and excercising a lot. It was working, then I hit a month long plateau. It's like chemistry, I have to experiment with different things like upping or lowering the calories, or switching up excercise to keep the numbers going down. One thing the nutritionist did was up my calories to 1800 per day, then to 1600 recently since I've lost more weight. She stated that my body needed those calories to keep burning, because with too few my body would "hold onto" what it had, or go into starvation mode. This didn't make sense to me because I am clearly Not starving! But upping the calories worked with an emphasis on lean proteins, fruit, veg and whole grains. If you are excercising a lot your body is craving good proteins for the muscles to be able to work. At that caloric level your body will turn to your muscles for fuel, and that is not good (per my nutritionist). Some suggestions, almond butter, eggs, avocados, salmon, chicken, plain greek yogurt with fresh fruit. Best of luck with your goals and keep up the good work!

muzmacol · February 2012

Heck, go to at least 1500. 1200 is really low. If you have that much to lose, you will still lose pretty quickly at 1500 or even 1800.

I'd agree you may have set your targets too high. 1200 is too low especially to begin with. MFP play relatively safe with the 1200 cal threshold and i dont blame them.

1200 calories - is that reasonable?

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