1200 that is a small number

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davistheresa
davistheresa Posts: 6
in Introduce Yourself
I am on a goal to lose 20pounds in a month so I am useing this as a guideline.... I know that I can do it ...... I have done it before but now it just seems like I eat one meal and dang my 1200 is up and I have do alot to earn some more ........... Is it just me or is everything that we eat bad for us and hopped on cals, fat and carbs........... or is just me
:explode:
:mad:
:noway:

Replies

  • davistheresa
    davistheresa Posts: 6
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    I am on a goal to lose 20pounds in a month so I am useing this as a guideline.... I know that I can do it ...... I have done it before but now it just seems like I eat one meal and dang my 1200 is up and I have do alot to earn some more ........... Is it just me or is everything that we eat bad for us and hopped on cals, fat and carbs........... or is just me
    :explode:
    :mad:
    :noway:
  • foxfire9372
    foxfire9372 Posts: 184 Member
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    Do you have to lose 20 lbs in a month? You say you have before which means you gained it back and then some? Shoot for 10lbs and losing inches. Much healthier
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
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    foxfire is right, you can't lose 20 lbs in one month in a healthy way. I have been on 1200 cals for a month and a half now and have proudly lost 11 pounds and many inches. I never go over my calories and I excercise everyday....
  • ChubbyBunny
    ChubbyBunny Posts: 3,523 Member
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    You may want to take a look at what you are eating too. I mean I am sure you know that....but if you are eating unhealthy food, yeah...you are gonna get one hit and be done for the day. That's why a lot of us are here. We need to be accountable for what we consume. I don't know about you but I want to eat more then once (starving is what got me here in the first place).

    You can load in lots of veggies and fruit for not tons of calories but even those add up (mushrooms shocked me this afternoon). I am usually eating a ton during the day (which took a LONG time to get used to). I have my little stash of fruit, celery, reduced fat PB, Babel cheeses and reduced fat crackers all at work. That way when my kids are cooking unhealthy stuff or I get the munchies I have a supply right on hand and don't have to put off snacking (which increases my munchies and makes me run to the nearest fast food joint...= tons of calories!)
  • kobrie17
    kobrie17 Posts: 106 Member
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    i get 1200 cals a day and never eat the calories that i get from working out, i feel like i would'nt loose if i did that. im trying to loose 15lbs in a month and already lost 7 by eating 1000 calories a day and working out 3days 20min 3 days 60min. i dont think you're going to loose that 20lbs if u eat more than 1200 even if you do workout to earn the cals. all the food you eat definitely is hopped up with cals and fat if u can only get 1 meal out of 1200 calories! i eat 4-5 times a day for about 200-300 cals a meal its keeps u full and 200-300 cals is decent; a lean pocket, a yogurt and a banana, a salad with cheese or dressing, quesadilla made with 1 tortilla and fat free cheddar... i find its more difficult to stick to the small amount if calories if you just eat and then add it up later. plan it out, so you can eat more often and figure out things that will satisfy you at a lower amount of calories. that way you can also plan around something you really want to eat thats like 500-600 calories. it helps me to allow myself a 'cheat' day each week where i allow myself to eat the extra calories i earn from working out, but i really don't think you'll loose eating them everyday.
  • ChubbyBunny
    ChubbyBunny Posts: 3,523 Member
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    So you are starving yourself? Hmmm....I tried that once....it's why I am here. My body refuses to let go of ANY of the weight cause it's afraid I am starving it.
  • kobrie17
    kobrie17 Posts: 106 Member
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    hardly! if u eat often your body won't think your starving. you dont have to eat to your calorie limit everyday!...i've lost 7lbs so, my body must know whats up
  • Cassia
    Cassia Posts: 467 Member
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    Read the post called "Newbies read me second addition" (just type NEWBIES into the search bar) That will tell you a lot more than i can :wink: but basically if you don't eat enough calories then your body will not like that and try to save as many as it can OR IT MIGHT EAT THE MUSCLE which is a calorie burning component!!! :noway: If you have A LOT of weight to lose then it might just burn the fat but normally this is only in extream overweight cases :smile:
  • Thinkpositive
    Thinkpositive Posts: 9
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    Hate to burst anyones bubble here, but at 38 yrs old, I can only eat 1300 calories a day if I expect to lose two pounds a week. Factor in some good workouts I can bump it up to 1400. Sad to say but if I continue to yo-yo diet, my metabolism could conceiveably, with age, go down to 1200 a day to lose.
    These aren't numbers i came up with. I did the metabolic testing at a physical therapists office with the 12 minute breathing apparatus. 1300 I lose, 1500 I maintain, and 1700 I gain.
    1200 is not that low. When I am trying to lose weight, my food diary is depressingly slim.
  • gonezobean
    gonezobean Posts: 154
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    As I read some of these posts I had a mental red flag pop up. I agree that you can eat a small amount of calories and loose a large of amount of weight but it doesn’t make it right.

    Your body is a smart piece of machinery and in the end you body will prevail. You body will go into starvation mode or perhaps you will notice you are weak or considerably tired.

    Please keep I mind that a healthy body is something you want around for a long time not a month or a minute. In the end we all make decisions about what is right or wrong for ourselves but I hope the bigger picture is that a healthy lifestyle is not a trend but a life style. Luck!
  • REB89
    REB89 Posts: 493 Member
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    seriously a lot of you need to read the post for newbies, it really is full of GREAT information which explains everything including why you SHOULD eat your exercise calories!!
  • ChubbyBunny
    ChubbyBunny Posts: 3,523 Member
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    I love my exercise calories they make me happy....even if it's tough to munch them in. :)
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
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    hardly! if u eat often your body won't think your starving. you dont have to eat to your calorie limit everyday!...i've lost 7lbs so, my body must know whats up

    This isn't really the recommended way to lose weight as put forth by most Registered dieticians, doctors and health professionals. You can't judge achieving a healthy body by weight loss alone or otherwise, that 7 pounds might work for you, but it also could be muscle mass you are losing, which isn't a good thing. Not saying it is, just saying it's a real possibility depending on your deficit.
    1200 calories is a meaningless number devised by people based on averages, you need to go by YOUR deficit. If your maintenance calories are 2800 like mine are, then eating 1200 would put you WELL below starvation mode. But if your a small person and your maintenance calories are only 1600 then you can eat less then 1200 and still be relatively safe, it all depends on your personal body.

    here, read these posts:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/12250-1000-calorie-deficit-not-for-people-with-healthy-bmi
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

    Hope this helps
  • beep
    beep Posts: 1,242 Member
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    :smile:
  • beep
    beep Posts: 1,242 Member
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    :smile:
  • yellow_pepper
    yellow_pepper Posts: 708 Member
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    According to your profile, you only want to lose 16 pounds ... was this a joke post?
  • yellow_pepper
    yellow_pepper Posts: 708 Member
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    Didn't mean for that to sound insensitive, but if I may elaborate ... only people with say 100+ pounds to lose should even be able to lose 20 pounds in a single month HEALTHILY.

    However, if you really do have only 16 pounds to lose, I highly doubt that you really eat 1200 calories in one meal.
  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
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    i get 1200 cals a day and never eat the calories that i get from working out, i feel like i would'nt loose if i did that. im trying to loose 15lbs in a month and already lost 7 by eating 1000 calories a day and working out 3days 20min 3 days 60min. i dont think you're going to loose that 20lbs if u eat more than 1200 even if you do workout to earn the cals. all the food you eat definitely is hopped up with cals and fat if u can only get 1 meal out of 1200 calories! i eat 4-5 times a day for about 200-300 cals a meal its keeps u full and 200-300 cals is decent; a lean pocket, a yogurt and a banana, a salad with cheese or dressing, quesadilla made with 1 tortilla and fat free cheddar... i find its more difficult to stick to the small amount if calories if you just eat and then add it up later. plan it out, so you can eat more often and figure out things that will satisfy you at a lower amount of calories. that way you can also plan around something you really want to eat thats like 500-600 calories. it helps me to allow myself a 'cheat' day each week where i allow myself to eat the extra calories i earn from working out, but i really don't think you'll loose eating them everyday.

    Hate to disagree with you but I'm 45 years old, have been overweight most of my life, and have tried EVERYTHING to lose weight, except anoxeria practices (which you seem to support somewhat in your profile). NOTHING WORKED--I'd lose, then get hungry, get fed up or whatever and gain it all back plus some.

    Since I've been using MFP, it's helped me most of all by keeping track of what I eat and exercise. I am learning a life style not a diet! Until last week, I ate all my exercise calories and lost 14 pounds in a month; so I know it can be done. Last week, I laid off SOMEWHAT of eating them because I was afraid MFP was over estimating my calorie burn. Now that I have a HRM, I know it's not off by very much at all.

    The trick here, as many have said, is not to simply "lose weight" but to do so in a healthy manner so you can become healthy--not just lose weight.
  • GrnEyz
    GrnEyz Posts: 360
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    I agree with all the previous posts, losing 20 pounds in one month is NOT healthy. When you drop weight that fast it screws up your metabolism (which is why you gain it back as easily and quickly as you lost it in the first place!) For weight lost that is going to last you should only lose about 2 pounds a week..no more. So just push that goald to two months instead of one, and you'll be happier in the long run because it'll actually stay off, and you won't screw up your metabolism (as in slowing it down).

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