1200 cal a day people please answer this...

BUMP FOR LATER

I eat 1200 and I don't eat my exercise calories (most of the time, sometimes I go over 1200 when I exercise). I'm usually under 1200 but not purposely, I eat when I'm hungry, it just doesn't add up usually. I'm losing about a lb per week.

I can barely eat 1200 a day. I'm getting better but most days MFP still tells me I need to eat more.

I am trying to eat around 12-1600 calories a day and I never eat back my exercise calories if I can help it. In two weeks that I have been a member I have lost 14lbs.

I don't eat my exercise calories. I eat 1200 calories or less a day . . you should do what feels comfortable for you though. Some people need to eat some of those calories back. . . . But, i personally dont, or i try not to. :happy:

That 1200 calorie a day formula, believe it or not, usually doesn't cut it for most active people. Logic seems to indicate the less you eat and the more you workout, the more calories you lose. Unfortunately, our bodies aren't built that way. We need calories to efficiently expend calories; and when we work our bodies without providing it the fuel it needs on a daily basis, the body, through centuries of evolution where food was scarce, will simply hold on to it. You may be losing weight now, but it won't stay off.

My goal is 1200 a day, usually if i skip a day exercising i eat about 1200 but when i do exercise my body obviously needs more energy so i eat a little bit more but i dont eat back all of them, just enough to make me not hungry, i usually end my day with 1350

bump

Difinitely eat back your exercise calories! Never ever go under 1200! A 150 pound woman needs 1300 calories just to sit on the couch and watch tv all day. Add daily activity and exercise and only eating 1200 calories and your body goes into starvation mode and your matabolism goes way down. Eat your exercise calories and you will be surprised, you will actually find it easier to lose.
My one complaint about Myfitnesspal.. Everyone's daily calorie count is 1200...I actually lose best when eating 1500 per day.
You can go into your settings and reset the daily calorie amount. I did!

5'3"
123 lbs
I net 1600
and still lose.

I reached my goals in September.

Here's why:

I workout most days and I need to NET 1260 to lose 1 pound per week or 1460 to lose .5/week.

If I DID NOT EAT BACK MY EXERCISE CALORIES I would be FUELING MY BODY with...wait for it...760 calories.

Show me a healthy 35 year old woman that lives HEALTHY on 760.

^^^ THIS ^^^ I reached my goal TODAY!!! And I always eat back my calories - ALWAYS!!

I don't eat back my excess calories, generally speaking. There are days when I have over 1200 and I figure it will all come out in the wash.

For the most part, my eating is for fuel and nutrition. I have excess fat to burn. I'm no expert but what I've read about the science of weight loss is that you consume fewer calories than you burn and you lose weight. Well, I have a very sedentary lifestyle - behind a computer or sewing machine most days - and I make time to run a few times a week. My goal is to eat what I would burn through normal everyday stuff - that 1200 calories - and let anything extra I do go to burning fat. I know the rule of thumb is that you need to burn approximately 3500 calories over and above what you already burn doing daily activities in order to lose one pound of fat. Well, that is NOT going to be easy to do with a desk job and 1200 calorie diet. Especially since I don't have any idea other than general guides how many calories I actually burn.

Obviously, when I'm done losing weight and want to sustain, I'll have a different approach.

You're great and I totally agree!

I've been doing this 2 weeks and I started by exercising a lot, and eating less than the net 1200 calories. However, the last few days when I submitted my diary I was predicted to reach a plateau. The phone app actually said that if I kept eating too few calories my body would go into starvation mode, meaning it would be harder to lose weight. That makes sense, because if you don't give your body enough food, it'll start hoarding everything it gets. That's why you should try to get the net 1200, so that you have just enough fuel for your body to run, but will be losing excess weight as your body burns that to make up for what you didn't give it. That's how I think it works anyway. I'm now trying to reach the 1200 net daily by eating back my calories, and hopefully I'll keep slowly losing weight.

Def do not eat back your exercise cal. That makes no sense to me...why work out if you're just going to eat the calories again ...I don't know ...I'm doing pretty good on a weekly average that totals around 1200 net per day! Good luck!

Thats exactly how I feel, especially since I go to the gym late at night I def dont want to come home and eat at 11 right before bed.....

I am grossing around 1200-1300 calories a day, and been posting at least 2lbs a week. Granted, I was 290lbs at the start and looking to get down to 260 by August.

At my heaviest, in May 2010, i was 370lbs. I lost 105lbs From May 2010 - June 2011, I lost 105lbs. My mom died and I gained 25lbs back. Looking to lose that 25, and another 5 to start. Eventually want to get under 250lbs.

I am working out 5x weekly with burning roughly 500 calories a day. My net is around 500-800 a day.

Once in a blue moon, I give myself a cheat day and not think about it.

The key for me is smaller meals with snacks. I take in food 6x a day.

- Oatmeal, half a bagel, or egg whites with fat free cheese for breakfast

- 2 reduce fat cheddar bars mid-morning (about an hour before i workout)

- A lean cuisine for lunch

- Some pretzels or fresh fruit mid afternoon

- Normal dinner (usually chicken or fish with veggies or these low cal hot dogs i found in pita pockets with some veggies)

- Skinny cow ice cream bar, air popped popcorn or fruit for a snack around 8:00-9:00

Something my MD told me "if you can hear your stomach, you need to put something in it.