Should I be at 1200 for calories or my BMI??

kimberly130
kimberly130 Posts: 166
edited December 22 in Health and Weight Loss
OK can anyone tell me if I'm correct in my calorie goal? I did the BMI set up and my calories should be at 1344, but when I plugged in the "recommended" to loose 1lb per week for a total of 15lbs it said 1200. I know lots have asked this question ( I may have myself at one point) but I need a refresher....
Ive been eating OK several small meals throughout the day seems to be good, but I'm always hungry! Someone said I was eating to much protein and sugar and not enough fiber?

This is so frustrating!!!!

Replies

  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    You're eating at 1200 and you're always hungry? How long has it been? Are you 'body hungry' or 'mouth hungry'?

    Biologically speaking, 1200 is a safe minimum for you. But if you're truly miserable at it, you might want to try eating more or eating healthier so you can get more satiation and fullness from the calories you do eat.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    Are you eating extra when you exercise? If so, that will have you eating around or over your BMR anyway.
    MFP calculations assume that you will add (and eat) extra calories when you exercise.

    If you can't cope with this idea, then you might want to find another system to calculate your calories that already include extra for exercise. Otherwise you are depriving yourself unnecessarily.

    The fact that you are 'always hungry' is telling you that something is not right. Maybe re-cacluate your goals for 1/2 pound loss a week which is probably more appropriate when you only have a small amount to lose.
  • danagettinfit
    danagettinfit Posts: 83 Member
    Please do yourself a favor and check out the group eat more to weigh less and read the stickies!!! Not a quick fix though, but definitely an eye opener.

    Personally i don't eat under 1750 cal. (My bmr 1690) because in an average day i burn around 2300 calories. This is still a pretty big deficit. I only lose about a pound every 2.5 weeks, but its steady and i feel ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!

    Im sorry, i know this is so frustrating and there are so many schools of thought on the matter. This group just hit 5000 members, gotta be something to it, right?
  • Linda_Darlene
    Linda_Darlene Posts: 453 Member
    Hi There!

    Don't eat below your BMR. That is the minimum calories you would need to stay alive if you were doing nothing but laying in a bed all day and not moving at all! Your BMR will drop as you lose weight. As will the amount of calories you burn exercising.

    If you mistrust what MFP gives you as numbers, you can double check things here: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
    It is not as nice as MFP, but it has good calculators!
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    Hi There!

    Don't eat below your BMR. That is the minimum calories you would need to stay alive if you were doing nothing but laying in a bed all day and not moving at all!

    Only if you had no other calorie source including body fat would you need to take that in in food calories each day.
  • danagettinfit
    danagettinfit Posts: 83 Member
    Hi There!

    Don't eat below your BMR. That is the minimum calories you would need to stay alive if you were doing nothing but laying in a bed all day and not moving at all!

    Only if you had no other calorie source including body fat would you need to take that in in food calories each day.

    Im not a pt or dietician, what i am is a behavioral neurology student. I just completed my second year toward a PhD and it is my unqualified opinion that this person is spewing unhealthy rhetoric in your direction. Hunger f's with your body malnutrition is not pretty, but hey again thats just how i feel, feel free to take any advice off of a website not knowing anything about said people giving you that advice. I honestly dont really track my food anymore but i have lost a total of 23 lb.s since the beginning of the year 10 since march using mfp.
  • nheilweil
    nheilweil Posts: 82 Member
    The reality is this is not an exact science. No one here knows how many calories you need *exactly* because there are too many variables of your actual daily activity, how close you are to goal, your basic metabolism, the types of food you are eating, etc.

    Start with something like 1,200 calories and then see what happens!

    If you aren't losing much weight after a couple weeks, eat a little less and workout a little more. If you are losing weight too quickly (more than a couple pounds a week), you should eat a little more or exercise a little less to slow your rate of weight loss.

    If you are still hungry after eating 1,200 calories plus eating whatever exercise calories you do (like if you burn 300 cal at the gym, you'd eat 1,200 + 300), then you can also try eating different types of food. Trust me, if you ate 1,200 calories worth of broccoli (40 cups), you wouldn't be complaining still feeling hungry :-)
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    As a Phd student you should be more than versed in backing up claims with authoritative evidence, like studies or recommendations from a reliable authority. Not one person has provided one source that says that eating below your BMR is dangerous (if you can do so without chalking up more than a 2 lb/week deficit level). That doesn't seem odd to you?
  • danagettinfit
    danagettinfit Posts: 83 Member
    As a Phd student you should be more than versed in backing up claims with authoritative evidence, like studies or recommendations from a reliable authority. Not one person has provided one source that says that eating below your BMR is dangerous (if you can do so without chalking up more than a 2 lb/week deficit level). That doesn't seem odd to you?

    Truth is i dont care enough to find reputable studies to back up my claim, that takes alot of time reading/evaluating... and im not a forum troll who has these things at hand. I know what ive lived through, what many people i know have dealt with and im well versed in the nutrients it takes to make the cells of your body work, especially neurons. Also, i did direct the OP in the direction of a group tjat has a ton of info, dont know if its all reputable, because for me it doesnt matter im happy with where im at, i figured out that i feel better when i eat before i found the group, who woulda thought eating healthy and exercising worked for me and many others!!!!!!!!!!! This isnt neuroscience you know :)
  • VitaBailey
    VitaBailey Posts: 271 Member
    Well, that is the same calorie count that they set up for me. Truth be told, I have not been able to stay within that range in the two days I've been here. I'll have to start exercising regularity to get the extra calories I need to make this work.
  • almc170
    almc170 Posts: 1,093 Member
    As a Phd student you should be more than versed in backing up claims with authoritative evidence, like studies or recommendations from a reliable authority. Not one person has provided one source that says that eating below your BMR is dangerous (if you can do so without chalking up more than a 2 lb/week deficit level). That doesn't seem odd to you?
    And to categorically state that 1200 calories is a suitable minimum for someone without considering physical activity, long term goals, or lifestyle is irresponsible. Just because something is adequate does not mean it's optimal. Do some research of your own.

    OP: MFP's recommended guidelines for determining your calories are posted here:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

    There's also a lot of good info in the stickies posted at the top of this section.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    As a Phd student you should be more than versed in backing up claims with authoritative evidence, like studies or recommendations from a reliable authority. Not one person has provided one source that says that eating below your BMR is dangerous (if you can do so without chalking up more than a 2 lb/week deficit level). That doesn't seem odd to you?
    And to categorically state that 1200 calories is a suitable minimum for someone without considering physical activity, long term goals, or lifestyle is irresponsible. Just because something is adequate does not mean it's optimal. Do some research of your own.

    OP: MFP's recommended guidelines for determining your calories are posted here:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

    There's also a lot of good info in the stickies posted at the top of this section.

    I didn't say 1200 was optimal. I said it wasn't going to hurt her, if that's what the calculators here suggested, in response to someone else warning her that she could not safely do so.

    The calculators recommend 1200 for a lot of us. There's a reason they're not set to not go below your BMR.

    I can't find studies to back up my assertion that eating below your BMR is not dangerous because it'd be like finding studies that not eating a lemon a day isn't dangerous. No one's studied it because in reality no one in the field suggests that it is.

    I also can't find any credible source that it IS dangerous and I've scoured academic libraries. And apparently no one else here, even those convinced it IS dangerous, can find actual support for the theory either.
  • kimberly130
    kimberly130 Posts: 166
    Hello all that have responded...

    Thanks everyone for your input, didn't mean to start a debate :ohwell: but I will take a cumulative approach at what everyone is saying. I had been doing really well and lost about 15lbs but fell off the wagon and now am back on after about 4 months with a little weight gained back. I just dont remember it being so hard! I just cant seem to stay full and motivate to exercise.

    Thanks again!!
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    Don't eat below your BMR. That's how much your body needs in order to function properly while resting. Eating less than that, regardless of how much body fat you may have, is not healthy as it deprives your body of nutrition.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Eat more than 1200... that's the minimum pretty much anyone should eat without doctor supervision. You don't have much to lose... you'd be better off with the half pound a week goal. Eating a little bit more means that a greater percentage of your weight loss will be from fat instead of a combination of fat and muscle, which means you'll likely reach your goal body even before you reach your goal weight.

    Going to 1200 calories is like using a sledgehammer to swat a fly. You don't need to go to those extremes.
  • mom2mozart
    mom2mozart Posts: 307 Member
    I find that when I'm eating sweets and nutritionally insignificant foods I'm hungry. When I'm eating a good balance of protein, fiber, carbs and fat I am satisfied.
  • Kandi150
    Kandi150 Posts: 167 Member
    I just did my calorie intake on freedieting.com and it said 1600 for extreme weight loss. But MFP gave me 1200. What do I do?????
  • 70davis
    70davis Posts: 348 Member
    bump
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