is 1200 enough?

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Replies

  • alikonner
    alikonner Posts: 67
    I have been eating around 1200 calories a day (according to MFP guidelines) and doing the 30 day shred for about a week and have actually gained a 1.5lbs! Am I doing something wrong? I have been reading about people upping their calorie intake but I'm not sure I know what's right and what to do!


    1. GET YOUR 8 CUPS OF WATER - Your muscles are constantly repairing themselves now that you're doing 30 Day Shred. If you don't get enough water, you will RETAIN water and it makes your weight go up. Also staying hydrated keeps away muscle soreness.

    2. MUSCLE WEIGHS MORE THAN FAT - If you've been doing it for a while, maybe you've gained 1.5 lbs of muscle already, maybe you're really good at it, who knows!

    3. EAT YOUR CALORIES - But don't go by what MFP is telling you. SO many people complain that the calories are off for them. I got a heart rate monitor and I learned that I was burning over 100 calories more during 30 DS than what MFP was telling me. And if you're netting only about 1000 calories a day, that is not enough, you need to eat more than that if you want your mussels to grow and your fat to go!

    This is from my own experience actually and it's my best advice. But form what you're saying I'm willing to be that extra 1.5 lbs is water weight. Drink more water and it'll be gone within a day or 2, I promise :)

    Thank you! I am going to look into a heart rate monitor to get for myself. Also, the water thing makes sense, I haven't been drinking as much water as I should be... I will definitely be doing more of that.

    Thanks!
  • glennam1
    glennam1 Posts: 172 Member
    when I did the 30 day shred back in Jan (there was a group of us) .... quite a few women actually gained that first couple of weeks....so don`t worry about the slight gain (I myself lost 3 lbs , but 11 inches or something like that in the month) as for the calories it really depends on you....... if you`re starving up them if not then don`t , BUT make sure you are netting at least 1200.......I finally upped mine from 1200 to 1410
  • girl6_nyc
    girl6_nyc Posts: 37
    In my humble opinion MFP settings aren't sacred. You're a young mom? You workout? In my opinion no. It's not enough. I'd suggest calculating your TDEE and BMR and then eating somewhere in between there. Futz with the exact numbers til you start losing.

    Don't forget the water.

    THIS!

    A MFP pal had me look at this website

    http://calorieline.com/tools/tdee

    OMG thank you for this site! It very clearly explains a lot that I was a bit confused about!
  • Orient_Charm
    Orient_Charm Posts: 385 Member
    In my humble opinion MFP settings aren't sacred. You're a young mom? You workout? In my opinion no. It's not enough. I'd suggest calculating your TDEE and BMR and then eating somewhere in between there. Futz with the exact numbers til you start losing.

    Don't forget the water.

    THIS!

    A MFP pal had me look at this website

    http://calorieline.com/tools/tdee

    Thanks you for this site....

    The difference between MFP and this site is ( 119 ) cals....The new site gave me 1939 while MFP 1820.
    Still MFP have the advantage of giving the calculations without any workout, and when I do some workout it will be calories credit for me....
    I mean for me it’s useless to tell me ( If you do 3 workouts per week so your calories level is 2200 ) and what if I did only 2, and what if I did 5 ???? I have to go to more estimations and reduce or increase my calories……
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    In my humble opinion MFP settings aren't sacred. You're a young mom? You workout? In my opinion no. It's not enough. I'd suggest calculating your TDEE and BMR and then eating somewhere in between there. Futz with the exact numbers til you start losing.

    Don't forget the water.

    THIS!

    A MFP pal had me look at this website

    http://calorieline.com/tools/tdee

    That site looks good. I liked the explanations. Also you can log your goal calories and goal exercise for the week. Let's you know if you made goal. If you ate a little more you could then exercise a little more to make it up etc.
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    In my humble opinion MFP settings aren't sacred. You're a young mom? You workout? In my opinion no. It's not enough. I'd suggest calculating your TDEE and BMR and then eating somewhere in between there. Futz with the exact numbers til you start losing.

    Don't forget the water.

    THIS!

    A MFP pal had me look at this website

    http://calorieline.com/tools/tdee

    Thanks you for this site....

    The difference between MFP and this site is ( 119 ) cals....The new site gave me 1939 while MFP 1820.
    Still MFP have the advantage of giving the calculations without any workout, and when I do some workout it will be calories credit for me....
    I mean for me it’s useless to tell me ( If you do 3 workouts per week so your calories level is 2200 ) and what if I did only 2, and what if I did 5 ???? I have to go to more estimations and reduce or increase my calories……

    You enter your goal calories and goal exercise and it tells you if reached goal. I think if say you missed an exercise session of say 300 cals you make up for it by eating 300 less calories or doing an extra exercise session next week or so. I think it has a free trial for month.
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    I'm really liking calorieline.com

    It worked out that at my current weight of 165 if I stayed in bed all day my REE would be 1350 calories - I would maintain my current weight eating this calorie amount.
    If I was 165, sedentary, no exercise, burned some calories just being out of bed, I would have to eat 1620 to maintain my weight.

    For my goal weight of 120 if I stayed in bed all day my REE would be 1146 calories - I would maintain my current weight.
    If I was 120, sedentary, no exercise, burned some calories just being out of bed, I would have to eat 1350 to maintain my weight.

    So once I get to goal of 120 unless I include some exercise I would only be able to eat 1350 to maintain my weight. If I included daily exercise with a calorie burn of say 300 I would be able to eat 1350 + 300 = 1650 calories daily and maintain my weight of 120.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    I'm really liking calorieline.com

    It worked out that at my current weight of 165 if I stayed in bed all day my REE would be 1350 calories - I would maintain my current weight eating this calorie amount.
    If I was 165, sedentary, no exercise, burned some calories just being out of bed, I would have to eat 1620 to maintain my weight.

    For my goal weight of 120 if I stayed in bed all day my REE would be 1146 calories - I would maintain my current weight.
    If I was 120, sedentary, no exercise, burned some calories just being out of bed, I would have to eat 1350 to maintain my weight.

    So once I get to goal of 120 unless I include some exercise I would only be able to eat 1350 to maintain my weight. If I included daily exercise with a calorie burn of say 300 I would be able to eat 1350 + 300 = 1650 calories daily and maintain my weight of 120.


    How tall are you and how often do you work out?
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    It has calculations, the more you exercise the higher your caloric amount.
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    A dietician just put my mum on 1200 calorie diet, she is 4' 11" and 187 pounds.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    A dietician just put my mum on 1200 calorie diet, she is 4' 11" and 187 pounds.

    Lets see...if she is 65ish her BMR would be 1305 and TDEE about 1794 with Light Activity mod.
    It will work for a little while.
    She would lose better at 1400-1500 though.
    Thats 1 extra snack a day.

    Is this a 4 year BA Dietician or 128 question dietician?
  • getrip1
    getrip1 Posts: 16 Member
    bump
  • Hopingforchange
    Hopingforchange Posts: 108
    In my humble opinion MFP settings aren't sacred. You're a young mom? You workout? In my opinion no. It's not enough. I'd suggest calculating your TDEE and BMR and then eating somewhere in between there. Futz with the exact numbers til you start losing.

    Don't forget the water.

    THIS!

    A MFP pal had me look at this website

    http://calorieline.com/tools/tdee

    Oh wow! this is way different. I think I should try and up my calories for a little bit. Thanks so much!


    I am definitely not eating enough which must explain the stall. I am only netting 1000 if I am lucky!
  • alikonner
    alikonner Posts: 67
    I'm bumping this again for more insight!! Thanks everybody... you have all been so helpful! I just purchased a HRM (yay!!) and I am anxiously awaiting it's arrival! I think then I will be able to really know what to eat back after I exercise.
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    A dietician just put my mum on 1200 calorie diet, she is 4' 11" and 187 pounds.

    Lets see...if she is 65ish her BMR would be 1305 and TDEE about 1794 with Light Activity mod.
    It will work for a little while.
    She would lose better at 1400-1500 though.
    Thats 1 extra snack a day.

    Is this a 4 year BA Dietician or 128 question dietician?

    This is her qualifications:
    Accredited Practicing Dietitian (APD)
    nutrition degree and Graduate Diploma in Dietetics
    PhD
    http://daa.asn.au/for-the-public/find-an-apd/what-is-an-accredited-practising-dietitian/

    I was surprised she put her on this amount.
  • hsimrank
    hsimrank Posts: 1
    I started Today and got a shock when i came to know i have to eat only 1200 calories per day......m i doing it ryt.......
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    Bump
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    A dietician just put my mum on 1200 calorie diet, she is 4' 11" and 187 pounds.

    Lets see...if she is 65ish her BMR would be 1305 and TDEE about 1794 with Light Activity mod.
    It will work for a little while.
    She would lose better at 1400-1500 though.
    Thats 1 extra snack a day.

    Is this a 4 year BA Dietician or 128 question dietician?

    This is her qualifications:
    Accredited Practicing Dietitian (APD)
    nutrition degree and Graduate Diploma in Dietetics
    PhD
    http://daa.asn.au/for-the-public/find-an-apd/what-is-an-accredited-practising-dietitian/

    I was surprised she put her on this amount.

    It does work but the chance for plateauing is greater at a higher deficit.
    What do I know?
    *shrugs*
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
    A dietician just put my mum on 1200 calorie diet, she is 4' 11" and 187 pounds.

    Lets see...if she is 65ish her BMR would be 1305 and TDEE about 1794 with Light Activity mod.
    It will work for a little while.
    She would lose better at 1400-1500 though.
    Thats 1 extra snack a day.

    Is this a 4 year BA Dietician or 128 question dietician?

    This is her qualifications:
    Accredited Practicing Dietitian (APD)
    nutrition degree and Graduate Diploma in Dietetics
    PhD
    http://daa.asn.au/for-the-public/find-an-apd/what-is-an-accredited-practising-dietitian/

    I was surprised she put her on this amount.

    It does work but the chance for plateauing is greater at a higher deficit.
    What do I know?
    *shrugs*

    We'll see how she goes as gets dizzy when dieting. Don't think she can maintain that low amount.
  • mhuch110
    mhuch110 Posts: 130 Member
    I didn't read the entire thread so I apologize if this was already addressed....but what if your TDEE - 10% to 15% is below 1200? Is it ok to eat below 1200 in that case?
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    I didn't read the entire thread so I apologize if this was already addressed....but what if your TDEE - 10% to 15% is below 1200? Is it ok to eat below 1200 in that case?

    I highly doubt that.

    Read this for info:
    >>>>>IMPORTANT!!! To get your numbers right please visit---> http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 <---read the instructions. I lay everything out to help you have a true fat burning diet.<<<<<<<
  • mhuch110
    mhuch110 Posts: 130 Member
    I didn't read the entire thread so I apologize if this was already addressed....but what if your TDEE - 10% to 15% is below 1200? Is it ok to eat below 1200 in that case?

    I highly doubt that.

    Read this for info:
    >>>>>IMPORTANT!!! To get your numbers right please visit---> http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 <---read the instructions. I lay everything out to help you have a true fat burning diet.<<<<<<<

    It's just frustrating because your site above tells me my BMR is 1307 and calorieline.com tells me it's 1156. Right now I am not working (I'm a teacher...summers off!) so I am not as active as when I am walking around all day and then exercising during the school year. I usually net around 1100 each day. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I'm losing about a lb a week so it's working. For now. Thanks for the info!

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