nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

MyFitnessPal Community

Those on 1200 calories...

Stephanie2167

I just joined MFP on Sunday. Monday was my first day tracking. I only have 10 pounds to get to my goal and I'm 5'4". I have my account set to 1 pound a week. I can stick to 1200 calories a day but should I be eating my exercise calories burned?

Who else is on 1200 calories a day? How is it working for you?

Replies

AlmostFamous29

I am having this problem exactly!!! Can you tell me the science behind this? I only need to lose 5 to get to my goal of 125lbs and I stalled out!

wahmx3

This exactly, you never want to go under 1200 calories for more than one or maybe 2 days, after that, your body begins to go into starvation mode and you lose muscle not fat and also lowers your metabolism.

Jesyka_Gee

Ok, I agree with pretty much everyone here. I'm at the same cals a day as you are, and have been strongly suggested to eat up those exercise calories!! It helps build muscle, and if you are losing a small amount like 10 lbs, you would want to tone up so those muscles are essential. Good luck!

rileymama

I'm 5'4 and origainnaly had about 40 pounds to lose, but on here I was on 1200 calories..I ate back most of y exercise calories, and did great! I will say though, with only 10 pounds to lose, it wasn't coming off as fast..so don't bank on losing a pound a week..good luck!

lou1618

Im 5'4 with 13 lbs more to lose, lost 22 lbs before joining MFP. buy counting calories and working out. I will eat some of my workout calories only if I am hungry. Like yesterday I ate almost of them back cause I had dinner out. Today I will try not to. Its nice to have those calories if I need them....but I cant see myself eating my workout calories every day. That would be somewhere be wteen 1800-2000 total calories intake a day. ... know there will be people out there that will still say eat your workout calories..I say figure out want works for u and do that..... and measure yourself, total body..

TeaBea

Here is the reasoning for 1/2 pound.

To lose 1 pound of fat per week you need a deficit of 500 calories every day (that's 3500 calories divided by 7).

When you get really close to your goal (the smaller) you will require fewer calories to maintain. Let's say for example. The current you requires 1800 calories to maintain your weight. That 1800 calories less 500 ..... or 1300 calories. 1300 calories is perfectly healthy number.

However, if the smaller you, requires 1500 calories to maintain..... that's 1500 less 500 .... leaving 1000 ..... that's not enough for most people to stay healthy. MFP will NOT go below 1200

Clarimusic00

I'm amazed how hard 1200 calories is sometimes if you eat really healthy. I eat 3 meals and even have a snack in the afternoon and sometimes I'm like "What!?!? I'm still not at 1200 calories today!"

I need motivators! Feel free to add me

eclare87

I once tried eating back my exercise calories and didn't lose any weight. So now I eat just a little of them (200 calories max, usually) back when I'm hungry... Not sure if that is right or wrong though. I also want to lose around 10-15 pounds.

vickthedick

1200 is some arbitrary number deemed safe. every body has different nutritional needs. Also be careful eating back the calories you exercise off. i personally never do because the fitness pal over exaggerates them and even HRM have a margin of erro

Knit02

Be sure to eat them mostly back.

lydia9679

What I do is set my weight loss at 1 lb a week, which gives me 1570 calories for my current weight, but I exercise each day and I try to only eat back my calories until I reach around a net of 1200 calories. I'm not too strict about it if I go a little bit over 1200 net, and it's working for me. I do it that way because I like finishing the day under my calorie goal, and it also keeps me from feeling deprived from not eating enough.

kkester63

I've just started MFP yesterday but I've been on a 1200 calorie diet since Dec 1, 2011. Gone from 467 to 416. Not typical for most people but when you are that big it comes off fast at first.

With the small amount of weight you want to lose, exercise and a more moderate calorie intake would get you there. 1200 is pretty restrictive.

However you do it enjoy life, eat well and you will get to your goals.

kiminikimkim

I don't eat the calories I have burned during exercise, the amount of calories burned for each exercise isn't accurate. The majority is too high which gives you a false sense that you can eat a lot of calories back. There are some exercises that claim 700 calories burned in 1 hour, that would put you on a 1,900 caloric diet - if it were true!

The first 2 weeks, I did light exercise and ate 1200calories a day. It allowed my stomach to shrink to a proper size. So now that I exercise more rigorously, I only eat when I am actually hungry (no power bars, just an apple or banana). If I have to go over 1200 calories due to hunger, it would be for healthy, non-processed foods only.

jenniebean1680

^^THIS.

rainbowbow

Yes. 1200 MINIMUM. I know that may sound scary- but trust me you will lose faster and your body will be much more efficient when it has enough fuel.

tinacc1

I am struggling soooo hard to get the 1200 calories in each day. All my life it was 'Eat less calories" now it's "Eat at least 1200". That's a lifetime of misinformation I have to get past! I hope I can do it. Healthy calories take so much more room than junky calories! I can't imagine trying to eat 1200 in carrots!

lola947

I've noticed that when I try to eat back the calaries from exercise, I'm going over my proteins, fats, etc. How can I avoid this or does it make much of a difference? :ohwell:

triathlete06

I'm not sure who decided that 1200 calories was an ok amount to lose weight, but it's really not - unless - you are not exercising. IF you exercise...check your BMR and eat accordingly. I'm 5'3 and before I lost weight I weighed about 145. I set my calories to 1400, but cheated fairly regularly, so I was probably consuming between 1600-1800 calories/day. With that said, once I got down to only needing to lose less than 10lbs, I made my deficit around 500. That means if I burned 2400 that day, I ate 1900. What's weird is that the more I ate the more I lost. So it is true that your body will starve itself if your calories are too low. You can eat more! If you exercise, eat more! I lost 4.5lbs for my final week to hit my goal of 125. Crazy I know, but it did work. I didn't starve myself and I NEVER EVER EVER only ate 1200/day.

padraigin67

This is so true. I would buy a Heart Rate Monitor. You can pick some up on amazon pretty reasonable. That way you have a true calorie count based on your info and not just a general count.

Mom0fTwo

This^^

I also have 12 lbs left to lose and i plateaued, so i raised to .5/week waiting on results...

jenniebean1680

Wow, where to begin?

Some exercise does, in fact, burn 700 cals in an hour (Gasp!) and many MANY of us are losing eating more than 1900 cals a day (DOUBLE GASP!). So I take issue with the undertones of shock at this level of calorie intake. The smaller and more active we are, the more we need to feed our bodies or our metabolisms will slow down. I don't know about anyone else, but I'd rather lose at 2000 cals a day than 1200. Creating too much of a deficit will mean that your body gets very efficient at maintaining at lower and lower calorie intakes, to the point where eating even up to your BMR (GASP again!) will cause a gain. Please, people, I speak from experience. Don't do this to yourselves.

Also, stomachs don't shrink or expand. They are the same size when empty, about the size of your fist, no matter how much you usually eat. You just get used to stretching it out to a certain amount when you eat more, and it takes that stretch to reach a feeling of satiety. At least, that's my understanding behind it. But you certainly don't change the size of your organs. They are what they are.

LuciaLongIsland

I eat 1000 calories a day. I never count exercise calories. It has been my experience when I was young like you, that I exercised and the weight flew off. One of the benefits of being young.

Mom0fTwo

this too!!

i am 134 but i look worse than i did the last time i was 134 cause mama needs more muscle!!

jenniebean1680

^^THIS THIS THIS!

Stephanie2167

This has been really helpful. I workout usually in the evening (after work). Then I come home and have dinner. I usually have about 400 calories for dinner plus the calories I burned off. Last night the elliptical machine said I burned 533 calories in 45 minutes. That would give me almost 900 calories to eat after 7pm.

Recommendations for ways to get those calories (I don't plan to eat 900 calories) healthily without eating a Snickers bar?

jenniebean1680

^^^This just proves the point we're trying to make about creating too much of a deficit and stalling your metabo. Yes, metabos slow as we age, but why make that happen before it needs to? 1000 calories a day + exercise = starving body.

ETA: I take issue, also, with saying "you're young, the weight will just fly off". It's 1) not true, and 2) belittle's a young person's struggle w/ the last 10-15lbs. This is not easy, no matter how old or young you are.

ashleycarleton

I started at 213lb and I am 5'5.

From the outset I had a goal of losing 2lb a week with a 1200 calorie intake. I have been working with a personal trainer who recommended MFP.

Since June 2011 I have lost 63lbs and am approaching my optimal weight (My goal was to get to a normal range with my BMI). I very rarely eat my exercise calories and if I do it's maybe 25%. My trainer actually told me I should not eat back my excersie calories if I can help it. I tend to eat some back if my day ends up being longer than I intended (i.e. late to bed) and my body is telling me I am hungry, not just eating to eat.

It has been working for me, but everyone is different. Good luck with your weightloss, the last 10lbs is always the hardest!

engineman312

this.

also, strength training.

Lawler111

I just started too and I'm also 5 foot four with 10 pounds to loose. I typically eat my extra workout calories, but only after I work out to make sure I rebuild the muscle tissue. Look for foods high in protein, such as Greek yogurt and tuna fish.
Hope this helps!

Msjcooper

I agree that you should eat back most of the exercise calories. I am also on 1200 calories per day, but I also exercise about 800 calories, and have a hard time eating it back. I eat super healthy, and no carbs after 4:00, fruits only in the morning except for apple which I eat in the afternoon. No dairy, no red meat, no flour, no sugar, no alcohol. I eat range free, antibiotic free chicken and turkey, fish (except shellfish), cage free eggs occasionally, and lots of organic produce, homemade soups, stews, quinoa porridge, steel cut oats.. so I never eat empty calories. Only sprouted grain breads too. I use xylitol in place of sugar in most recipes, and spelt or brown rice flour. So much more but don't want to be too lengthy. I agree that you have to lose slowly as to not lose muscle and eat when you're hungry so your metabolism stays revved up. Also, if you are not hungry three hours after a meal, then you over ate.