Why is 1200 the magic number.............?!?

No doubt this has been asked before, but why do I see so many people saying that they only eat 1200 calories per day, and that 1200 is the optimum number of calories to eat in order to lose weight?!?

Because anyone with a BMR of 1760 or less, who selects Sedentary activity level, and 2lb loss per week, will receive 1200.

1760 x 1.25 = 2200 - 1000 = 1200!

And you know most women are going to select Sedentary, "just to be on the safe side".
And most women are going to select 2lb loss per week, "because I want to lose it fast".

Now matter how many of them have yo-yo dieted this way in the past and are here for their 3, 4, 5th time because it never works in the long term.

The above math of course shows that if the BMR is less than 1760, you actually can't get 2lbs week weight loss.

The starvation mode myth has actually been disproved - it was something that Weight Watchers used to always tell their clients but had to turn around about a year ago I think to say it was not true.


From a google search:

A diet based on 1200 calories daily is the recommended minimum for safe and healthy weight loss. This is because 1200 calories will generally provide an adequate nutritional intake for most individuals, yet still allows the reduction of calories to the level that most dieters require in order to lose weight.


I actually think for guys the number is 1800? But I may be incorrect

No doubt this has been asked before, but why do I see so many people saying that they only eat 1200 calories per day, and that 1200 is the optimum number of calories to eat in order to lose weight?!?

Because anyone with a BMR of 1760 or less, who selects Sedentary activity level, and 2lb loss per week, will receive 1200.

1760 x 1.25 = 2200 - 1000 = 1200!

And you know most women are going to select Sedentary, "just to be on the safe side".
And most women are going to select 2lb loss per week, "because I want to lose it fast".

Now matter how many of them have yo-yo dieted this way in the past and are here for their 3, 4, 5th time because it never works in the long term.

The above math of course shows that if the BMR is less than 1760, you actually can't get 2lbs week weight loss.

Okay this has confused me......I'm new to all of this. Only found MFP 2 weeks ago. I'm five months post natal (first baby) and have about 50lbs to lose. I selected all of the options you mentioned above "sedentary, 2lbs wt loss etc etc" lol. Although I work out for half an hour about 5 days a week and walk for two hours at least 3-4 times a week, I have put myself at sedentary as my day-to-day life with my baby is just this. Instead I log my walking, cardio and weight lifting under the exercise section......Am I doing this all wrong???? I'm exclusively breastfeeding btw if this affects anything (although I found this logged under breakfast, so therefore get an extra 500 cal allowance). Any insight would be much appreciated! Ps. I'm happy with reaching target in a year, by my 30th birthday, so no rush - I'm aware it needs to be a long term goal for health reasons etc etc Ta

As far as I've been able to figure out, it's a semi-arbitrary number that was originally set by the ACSM as a nutritional guideline for the bare minimum number of calories for women- not because that's what most women need, but because it is very difficult to meet all of the individual nutritional guidelines (like iron, calcium, protein, folic acid, vitamin C etc etc) with less than 1200 eating actual food, not supplements. So they sort of backed in to that number. Interestingly enough, that same minimum for men is 1800 calories- but you don't see that number so widely used.

That is my understanding also - its more of a nutritional than weight loss minimum.

The starvation mode myth has actually been disproved - it was something that Weight Watchers used to always tell their clients but had to turn around about a year ago I think to say it was not true.


From a google search:

A diet based on 1200 calories daily is the recommended minimum for safe and healthy weight loss. This is because 1200 calories will generally provide an adequate nutritional intake for most individuals, yet still allows the reduction of calories to the level that most dieters require in order to lose weight.


I actually think for guys the number is 1800? But I may be incorrect

It depends on the definition of 'starvation mode' which is pretty much the most mis-understood and over-used term on here

The starvation mode myth has actually been disproved - it was something that Weight Watchers used to always tell their clients but had to turn around about a year ago I think to say it was not true.

Starvation mode as a survival mechanism for folks on here - yes, not going to happen, not without some hard work and dedication and stupidity.

But I can give you a diet/exercise routine that will starve your body of glucose stores and help burn muscle, and cause great weight loss for awhile.

And absolutely terrible re-entry into normal maintenance level.

Depends on what starving the body means.

Because you could eat 4 Little Debbies for almost 2000 calories daily, and be starving for nutrients after a while, even if it made you gain weight.

You could also eat 600 calories and get all your nutrients in, but be starving for energy for your level of activity.

Depends on what the body is starving for

MFP doesn't let you choose how fast to lose the weight

Oh yes it does. The 1200 minimum may get in the way but when you set your goals there re at least three weight loss rates to choose from.

Regardless of your weight loss requirements, 1200 cals/day is the lowest you can conceivably go on a 'balanced' diet and lose weight while remaining healthy - in other words, if you eat fewer than 1200 calories/day you will always be missing out on vital vitamins, minerals or will be in protein deficit ..... any of which will have repercussions for your health in the long run. If you have loads of weight to lose it's absolutely ok to go more slowly and eat MORE calories - but never FEWER! Having said that, it's not ALL about the calories - you can eat 1200 cals/day of carbohydrate and you'll end up very ill, too It's all about knowledge and balance. I hope that helps.

No doubt this has been asked before, but why do I see so many people saying that they only eat 1200 calories per day, and that 1200 is the optimum number of calories to eat in order to lose weight?!?

Not to appear sarcastic here but if somebody who is trying to lose weight tells you that he/she cannot eat more than 1200 calories per day, take it with a grain of salt. If that were true then how did they became overweight in the first place. Unless you're a very small woman, 1200 calories is way too low for both men & women. With my 5'2' height & 120 pounds, my BMR alone is at 1315 cals & putting me at 1,200 calories/day diet won't do good for my body. The downside of this site is that it doesn't account the individual's body when you want to lose 1 lb/week. Perhaps you can get away with it if you're severely overweight or obese but otherwise you should go with your BMR when calculating the minimum amount of calories you need to eat. Which is why when I was trying to lose weight, I didn't set my goals fo 1 pound/week because that will give me a 1200 cals/day which is too low.

My goal cals is 1200 and admittedly yes, I set 2lbs per week loss and sedentary. HOWEVER, I wanted to experiment with this amount and it has paid off. I do not feel hungry on this cal amount, and still manage to eat 3 sensible meals and fit in snacks into this cal amount. My exercise changes week by week as I do not always have time for the gym, but if it works, it works. I am losing weight, but at a sensible pace where I'm not finding myself feeling weak or anything! In fact, my weight yo yo's a bit but generally I am pretty darn impressed.

So, 1200 is working for me, and may well be working for many others. We're all different.

I set 2lbs per week loss and sedentary

These settings give many people a 1200 goal, as 1200 + 1000 = 2200 estimated TDEE, divide 1.2 = 1833 BMR will catch a big part of the audience.

That should say 1/2lb a week at the moment lol

What is BMR?

I wasn't too sure about that either, so I Googled it lol. It means Basal Metabolic Rate, it is the amount of calories you burn during rest. That's what Wikipedia says anyway lol