Has anyone upped their calories from 1200 cals?

So I am upping my calories, not because I am feeling hungry, but because I am feeling weak, tired, lethargic - and with losing no weight - slightly depressed too!

I would look into getting your thyroid checked. I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroid and I am now also looking into adrenal fatigue which may explain dark circles under eyes. I had the same symptoms... Weak, tired, not losing weight, depression and brain fog.

hell ya! I'd starve on 1200... but thats just me

double check your settings, make sure that your weight loss goal is set to only 1 lb per week, and your activity level needs to be set correctly. Mine wasn't for a long time and I had trouble losing.

I'm 5.2 and also increased my calories to 1500. My body feels more sane and satified at that level. I'm still losing, it suits my body perfect.

Yes!

At 5'1 with about 25 lbs. to lose, MFP started me at 1200 cals. After about 5 lbs, I hit a brick wall and could not move the scales. A friend of mine suggested adding calories, because that is what worked for her.

I changed my weekly goal from 1 lb/week to 0.5 lb/week, effectively raising my calorie limit by about 180 cals per day. I also started eating back all but 100-200 exercise calories, giving me between 1500-1700 calories on most days.

I have lost almost every week since then!! Not only do I get to eat like a normal person in moderation, but I have passed the 25 lb. mark and I'm still losing.

My mom has been unable to move the scales and just raised her calories in the past couple weeks and happily reported losing a pound yesterday!

For anyone who is eating 1200-1300 calories and not able to lose, I would definitely recommend trying it for 2 or 3 weeks to see what it does for you.

I've just put mine up from 1200 to 1450 per day. I was starting to feel really hungry all the time.

A friend of mine is a biochemist.. she is a book of knowledge and I pick her brain all the time. I was on 1200 cals for a long time and lost nothing. She recommended a good rule of thumb.. eat your weight + 0 (so for me, I'm in the 160's weight wise, so I eat 160+0 = 1,600 calories a day. So if you're 170... 1,700 calories would be good, and yes, this is to LOSE weight. Also, she recommended eating 60-80% calories if you do strenous workouts like lifting weights, running, Spin class, etc... in turn, don't document every little thing you do throughout the day like cleaning the kitchen, making dinner, grocery shopping LOL (lots of people log this as exercise but it's just daily living activities).. only gym time should be factored into those calories you "eat back"

Since I've made this switch I've lost almost 10 pounds since 1/1/12.

Really? I'm 230lbs....2300 cals seems like a lot to me. Hmm...

i also kind of disagree with this. i am 123 lb and taht means 1230 calories... that is way too few for me! of course i'm not trying to lose weight either.

My BMR is at 2194, MFP has my calories set at 2190, I try to stay below that limit. I exercise daily burning 300 to 500 calories daily, so that is where my weight loss is coming from, the exercise.

If you don't take in enough calories, your body goes in starvation mode and takes nutrition from your muscle, bones, organs and wherever else your body can find it. Raise your calories to your BMR and see the pounds fly off.

i was on the 1,200 when i joined fand had no more than 1,200 for 13weeks (upto nov 2011). i also was doing 140min training a day and not eating back anything. as yopu can imagine i became poorly, tierd ! my GP then told me to stop it eat around 1500-1700 each day with only 60min daily exercise. since then i have lost 33lbs. if you eat little your body gets scared and hold onto as much as the food as possible, you feel weak and its really not a long term fix. today ive done near 300mins exercise. i could not cope on 1,200. its not even enough for basic body functions mostly. i am however taller tham you (5'9). upping it has been the best thing i could have done. i didnt even have energy for when my son finished nursery. Good luck!!

Absolutely, I ate at 1200 total including excercise calories for 4 months and lost a pile of weight, allot of that in the form of muscle.

I now am eating 2,300 average and losing 1 lb a week. it took 3 months for my body to stop freaking out about the increase. now it is easy to maintain at 2700 and easy to lose at less.

Good luck. Trust the science and the numbers.

Hi I have been on MFP since the beginning of January and have lost only 1lb in weight! Prior to that I had been on Weight Watchers for 3 months and lost 16lbs!!

I left WW because I wanted to know how many calories I was eating rather than following their mysterious points system.

MFP put me on 1200 cals - I am 172lbs currently and want to get down to 133lbs. I am 5feet 2inches tall, age 46, and mainly sedentary. I am a vegetarian on a strict plant based diet. I never struggled 1200 cals anda lot of the time did not use all that allowance. I have also now started going to the gym a couple of times a week and do not always eat back my exercise calories.

Anyway for the longest time, I have been on this plateau of not losing weight, which was bad enough. But now I find I have hardly any energy, I have dark circles round my eyes, and basically feel really lethargic and de-motivated. So I have upped my intake to 1500 cals starting today.

I was just wondering whether anyone else has had similar experiences on 1200 cals, what did you do and what results have you had? Did it get you off your plateau?

Well, WW "mysterious point system" is just counting calories and watching macros, just made easy to do without a calculator. SInce everyone has a calculator or the like with them these days anyway, or could, cheap and easy, it's not so necessary anymore. But it's really not so mysterious.

I lost my first 97 pounds in about 9 months without counting anything. I just started measuring portions. It's amazing how you eat three portions of soup from the pot if you don't pay any attention to how much you're eating. I'm now eating 250 calories less that my estimated burn for the day, and eating back any exercise calories as well and am losing the expected half pound a week. For me, that comes to about 2075 calories/day. I suppose I could lose faster if I cut another 250, or even 500 calories, and I'd still be in a very safe range. I don't choose to. I am dealing with a cancer diagnosis and disability and I don't need the stress of being hungry. But I don't think you'll do yourself harm if you increase your calories to something between your estimated burn and your BMR, and it might actually help you lose weight. If it doesn't work out--try something else. This is a long-term project!

A friend of mine is a biochemist.. she is a book of knowledge and I pick her brain all the time. I was on 1200 cals for a long time and lost nothing. She recommended a good rule of thumb.. eat your weight + 0 (so for me, I'm in the 160's weight wise, so I eat 160+0 = 1,600 calories a day. So if you're 170... 1,700 calories would be good, and yes, this is to LOSE weight. Also, she recommended eating 60-80% calories if you do strenous workouts like lifting weights, running, Spin class, etc... in turn, don't document every little thing you do throughout the day like cleaning the kitchen, making dinner, grocery shopping LOL (lots of people log this as exercise but it's just daily living activities).. only gym time should be factored into those calories you "eat back"

Since I've made this switch I've lost almost 10 pounds since 1/1/12.

Really? I'm 230lbs....2300 cals seems like a lot to me. Hmm...

i also kind of disagree with this. i am 123 lb and taht means 1230 calories... that is way too few for me! of course i'm not trying to lose weight either.

Right. The question was re: weight loss, not maintaining.. My information was specific for losing weight.. when I get to a maintenence weight then I will re-consult my friend ha

ask your friend for me about maintenace if you get a chance. i am interested in what it should be because i feel like mfp underestimates it.

I try to stick to the 1200 but when my exercise props up my calories I try and take advantage of those extra calories. I am on thyroid meds so it is difficult for me to lose anyways and I am always hungry. I say just keep up the work and if you need to and had better results with WW you should stick to that... I have yet to try them but if I don't start seeing major results in a few more weeks I might bump over to something ;like that.