Eating over the 1200 calorie limit. Will I still lose?

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  • Anna800
    Anna800 Posts: 637 Member
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    (I do not eat exercise cals as that is already figure in when I chose "active lifestyle". You can choose sedentary lifestyle and eat back your exercise cals instead.

    I'm not sure I agree with that.

    I was told by a nutritionist once that if you don't want to exercise you eat 1200 a day, otherwise eat 1500 calories a day and burn 300 at the gym daily to lose weight.
  • rosiewantsaburger
    rosiewantsaburger Posts: 30
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    well i eat around 1300- 1400 sometimes more...i love chocolate!!and exercise around 4 times a week (500cal a go) and that works for moi! 2 a week!! :)
  • Linbo93
    Linbo93 Posts: 229 Member
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    You have 17 pounds to lose, which is not much.

    Quit this 2 pound a week crap and set MFP to one pound a week. You will see your calories go up a bit, which means you can eat more and still lose weight.

    I'm not much taller then you(5'9) and through out my journey I ate between 1500-1700 calories per day while losing. Maintaining, I eat between 1800-2000 calories a day.


    I second this. I've lost 45 pounds this year alone eating a MINIMUM of 1700 calories a day, with only a few days here or there where I ate less. I averate between 1700-2000 each day. Find out your TDEE, add in your estimated exercise calories burned and subtract the number of calories per week from that number to get your desired rate of loss. There's an easy way to calculate:

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    That will give you the number of calories to never eat below, and how many to eat based on how active you are. 1200 is way too few!
  • The_New_Christina
    The_New_Christina Posts: 818 Member
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    My BMR shows over 1700 calories, but I have hypothyroidism. Shouldn't I be eating less than what the BMR shows since my metabolism is slower?
  • jamielr1987
    jamielr1987 Posts: 4 Member
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    I have almost identical stats to you. I have set my goal to lose .5 lbs a week and my goal is 1680 calories a day. I tried to set it at 1 lb a week and I couldn't function on that amount of calories. I have been doing this for only a week and have lost two pounds, so I would definitely set my calories higher than 1200. I know that will go down the longer I do this, but my metabolism skyrockets when I am regularly working out. You may have to play with your calorie limits for a while to figure out what works for you!
  • JuneBPrice
    JuneBPrice Posts: 294
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    Yes. In all likelihood, you will still lose weight. You're tall and normally eat 2000 calories a day, so yeah, I'd say you're good.
  • mzhokie
    mzhokie Posts: 349 Member
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    I'm with the others.... set it to 1 or .5 lbs a week. Work out so you get some extra calories to eat. No need to struggle.

    I have more to lose but I try to go with a 500-700 calorie deficit a day. that way I lose 1 lb to 1.5 lbs a week. But I get that deficit from keeping active.

    Lately I use my HRM to report the calories burned during my workouts. I will eat 50-75% of those calories back. I don't worry about the calories I pick up from doing every day activities. So if I burn 400 calories on the treadmill... I will eat 200-300 of them back on top of the number MFP gave me. It's nice to have the extra fuel in my system and sometimes it's good for a little splurge once in a while. I hate to feel like I'm depriving myself.
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    (I do not eat exercise cals as that is already figure in when I chose "active lifestyle". You can choose sedentary lifestyle and eat back your exercise cals instead.

    I'm not sure I agree with that.

    I was told by a nutritionist once that if you don't want to exercise you eat 1200 a day, otherwise eat 1500 calories a day and burn 300 at the gym daily to lose weight.

    One-size-fits-all advice usually doesn't fit all very well :P

    If you exercise for *more* than 300, due to loving the exercise, 1500 will be an awfully low number.
    If you don't have much to lose and are quite tall, 1200 will be an awfully low number.

    If you have a maintenance of 2000, anything under that (assuming calories are tracked accurately) will result in a loss. It's not like some magic switch gets turned on at 1200.
  • FitLink
    FitLink Posts: 1,317 Member
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    Hi all, basically I am 143lbs and would like to be 126lbs. Im 5'7". I asked MFP to lose 2lbs per week and it gave me 1200 as my calorie total per day. However, I find it hard to stick to this even though I am eating much less than the 2000 calories I normally eat and am eating really healthy food. My question is whether I will still lose weight if im averaging about 1400 calories per day and not the suggested 1200? Surely I will because I am eating less than my usual 2000. Does MFP give you 1200 as a way of you getting to your desired weight in a set time and therefore I will still lose weight just more slowly? Thank you.

    1200 calories is considered the lower limit, not the upper limit. At 143, losing 2 pounds a week really isn't feasible. You're too close to your goal. Try 1 pound/week or half a pound/week for long term success.
  • kateschneider64
    kateschneider64 Posts: 1
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    Weight loss is not all about how many calories we consume. It is how often we eat, whether those calories are carbs, fats, protein, or fiber. It is also how we combine them and how they react in our body. If I ate 52 grams of fat and 215 grams of carbs as suggested even though I stayed within the 1200 calorie limit I would GAIN weight. If I ate 1200 calories in 2 meals instead of 5 (even though it is the exact same food) I would gain weight. If I ate 1200 calories and 30 grams were fiber I would lose much more weight than if those same 1200 calories had only 10 grams of fiber. These same scenarios applied to another person would yield very different results. For quickest weight loss on any frame use these guidelines: 1) aim for 30 grams of fiber instead of the recommended 18 grams. 2) eat every two hours and keep each meal 100-300 calories depending on your height and activity level 3) quit eating after 4 pm unless you plan on exercising 4) keep your carbs at less than 30 grams per meal (with my hypoglycemia I aim for 15 g) 4) exercise every day - but find the routine that your body reacts to best. If I use the equipment at the gym I never lose weight but if i lift dumbells at home for 20-30 minutes a day the inches and pounds fall off. Swimming makes me hungry but yoga peels inches off if I spend 20 minutes a day doing that. Running 2 miles a week was all I needed when I was 18 but at 48 I need 10 miles a week to produce the same result. I don't have time to run so I stick with dumbells and yoga for the same great results. When I started my exercise program it took 2 weeks to see a slight difference but after 4 weeks I could really tell a difference. I aim for 20-30 minutes 5 days per week.
  • JanSmelly
    JanSmelly Posts: 143 Member
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    What happens at 4:01?
  • bikinisuited
    bikinisuited Posts: 881 Member
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    bump
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    Is there a way of finding out the maximum calories I could consume and still lose weight?
    Read the first post in this thread - do the calculations and you'll have everything you need:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
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    Is there a way of finding out the maximum calories I could consume and still lose weight?

    To up your daily calorie goal ...re-set to lose only 1/2 to 1 pound a week. That will give you more calories to work with. 1200 cals (for a 2 lbs loss per week) is too low, especially for someone who is not really overweight.
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
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    Weight loss is not all about how many calories we consume. It is how often we eat, whether those calories are carbs, fats, protein, or fiber. It is also how we combine them and how they react in our body. If I ate 52 grams of fat and 215 grams of carbs as suggested even though I stayed within the 1200 calorie limit I would GAIN weight. If I ate 1200 calories in 2 meals instead of 5 (even though it is the exact same food) I would gain weight. If I ate 1200 calories and 30 grams were fiber I would lose much more weight than if those same 1200 calories had only 10 grams of fiber. These same scenarios applied to another person would yield very different results. For quickest weight loss on any frame use these guidelines: 1) aim for 30 grams of fiber instead of the recommended 18 grams. 2) eat every two hours and keep each meal 100-300 calories depending on your height and activity level 3) quit eating after 4 pm unless you plan on exercising 4) keep your carbs at less than 30 grams per meal (with my hypoglycemia I aim for 15 g) 4) exercise every day - but find the routine that your body reacts to best. If I use the equipment at the gym I never lose weight but if i lift dumbells at home for 20-30 minutes a day the inches and pounds fall off. Swimming makes me hungry but yoga peels inches off if I spend 20 minutes a day doing that. Running 2 miles a week was all I needed when I was 18 but at 48 I need 10 miles a week to produce the same result. I don't have time to run so I stick with dumbells and yoga for the same great results. When I started my exercise program it took 2 weeks to see a slight difference but after 4 weeks I could really tell a difference. I aim for 20-30 minutes 5 days per week.

    Perhaps for you it's that's complicated. For most it's just finding the right calorie deficit (use MFP as a guide) and making healthy choices, watch those portion sizes and exercise!
  • blackmantis
    blackmantis Posts: 165 Member
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    Just walk off the extra calories you desire to eat.
  • kaervaak
    kaervaak Posts: 274 Member
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    Weight loss is not all about how many calories we consume. It is how often we eat, whether those calories are carbs, fats, protein, or fiber. It is also how we combine them and how they react in our body. If I ate 52 grams of fat and 215 grams of carbs as suggested even though I stayed within the 1200 calorie limit I would GAIN weight. If I ate 1200 calories in 2 meals instead of 5 (even though it is the exact same food) I would gain weight. If I ate 1200 calories and 30 grams were fiber I would lose much more weight than if those same 1200 calories had only 10 grams of fiber. These same scenarios applied to another person would yield very different results. For quickest weight loss on any frame use these guidelines: 1) aim for 30 grams of fiber instead of the recommended 18 grams. 2) eat every two hours and keep each meal 100-300 calories depending on your height and activity level 3) quit eating after 4 pm unless you plan on exercising 4) keep your carbs at less than 30 grams per meal (with my hypoglycemia I aim for 15 g) 4) exercise every day - but find the routine that your body reacts to best. If I use the equipment at the gym I never lose weight but if i lift dumbells at home for 20-30 minutes a day the inches and pounds fall off. Swimming makes me hungry but yoga peels inches off if I spend 20 minutes a day doing that. Running 2 miles a week was all I needed when I was 18 but at 48 I need 10 miles a week to produce the same result. I don't have time to run so I stick with dumbells and yoga for the same great results. When I started my exercise program it took 2 weeks to see a slight difference but after 4 weeks I could really tell a difference. I aim for 20-30 minutes 5 days per week.

    This is not backed up by science. Calories are calories. 1lb of weight loss = 3500 calorie deficit. The composition of that weight loss depends on the composition of your diet and exercise, but the actual amount of weight you lose does not.
    Also, eating frequently has no net effect on metabolism. Intermittent fasting may actually work better, but the differences are slight. High meal frequency is good if you're normally a grazer and don't like to eat large meals or if you're very insulin insensitive and you have large swings in blood sugar after meals which trigger cravings.

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