1200 Calories a Day and Exercise

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dinosgirl
dinosgirl Posts: 157 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a question, I am trying to keep my calorie intake to 1200 a day. I am also exercising for 40-60 minutes, 6 times a week. My question is, if I still try to keep my calorie count to 1200, will that affect my metablolism in a negative way? I know you earn extra calories for exercise but I have been trying not to use them.

Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks! :flowerforyou:

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  • sjmay
    sjmay Posts: 386 Member
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    Here is a link for a post that has many more great links in it:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

    Hopefully it will help and answer any questions you may have :flowerforyou:
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
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    if you're talking longterm, yes there will likely be negative effects to your metabolism, which will eventually cause your weight loss to slow, not to mention, if you are burning a LOT during your workouts, we're looking at caloric levels that are seriously depriving your body of nutrients, which can over long periods of time lead to organ failure and even death. To start with, 1200 calories a day is NOT a lot of food. It's simply not enough for most people. (excluding the very obese, as they have a lot of fat reserves to draw energy from). If you're exercising on top of it all, you're expending way to much energy (ie burning too many calories) to be so severely restricting your calories.

    Think of the calories you eat in terms of NET amounts. You want to be taking in 1200 net calories. if you eat 1200 cals, and then burn 500 through exercise you're down to just 700 calories, which is much much too low. So then you get to eat back those 500 calories.

    I know it's kind of a weird concept but I promise you, it does work :flowerforyou:
  • SpazyK
    SpazyK Posts: 17
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    You should eat your exercise calories. Since you're working out 6 times a week, you don't want to feel like you aren't eating enough.
  • krissymlit
    krissymlit Posts: 5
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    To keep your metabolism up, make sure you are eating lean protein. Also, I was told that you should not go below 1000 calories a day.
    I would suggest to keep your metabolism up, doing more weights and eating a lot of protein. Still do cardio at least 3x a week but mix it up w/ weights, yoga, pilates..this really seemed to help me. I lost 4 inches off my waist in a matter of weeks:) I tend to go by measurements more than what the scales says!
  • dinosgirl
    dinosgirl Posts: 157 Member
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    Thanks everyone!

    I am currently doing Slim in 6 which is a combo of cardio and resistance training. I wanted to do the 6-Day Express plan they have but I don't have the time to continually be preparing the food and they want you to eat a LOT of salad. Not very appealing to me - I can't stand lettuce. :tongue: So I was just trying to follow the calorie count which they have set at around 1200 period - no extra alotted for the exercise you do. But then again, I am only supposed to do this for a six day period. I am on day four and was wondering how much I should up my calories by after day six. I guess it looks like I should at least be replacing all calories from exercise.

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