1220 calories too low???

the easiest way to figure it out is to determine what your basal metabolic rate would be. This is what it would take do lie on the couch all day. This is only helpful for the knowledge...most people are much more active than this. Then google how many calories you burn a day if you are lightly active. Whatever that number is subtract 500 calories as that would be 1 lb loss a week. (3500 calories = 1 lb)

For me I burn 1900 a day, and I want to lose 2 lbs a week. However, I could not possibly eat 900 calories a day. So I eat roughly 1250 a day and try to burn 500 calories 5 days a week or around 250-300 6 days a week. That equals the 1000 calories deficit I need to lose the 2 lbs per week. If you want to eat more you can but then you need to work out more. I would not eat the calories you burn, as that does not produce quick results.

I also started with a bit more calories (about 1350) and reduced by 25 for a few weeks. That made it a bit easier to transition. Good Luck!! The lowest I would ever eat is 1200!

just get on the protein rich foods that are mostly low in calories,, it seems low but with the exercise its reasonable hey.

I was wondering about that too so I had my boyfriend look it up and a lot of things he found said that 1000- 1200 calories is a good goal for women trying to lose weight but if you feel like that just not enough you can raise it some. So far, I've kept under 1,200 calories with exercising and I've felt fine. I'd try to drink the recommended water intake and finding foods that are filling for you though because it definitely makes it easy to keep to your calorie goals-- if my meals are particularly filling (for me that means oatmeal, potatoes, or a nice chunk of fish or chicken), I can't even break 1000 calories a day because I physically can't eat anymore without feeling sluggish.

the easiest way to figure it out is to determine what your basal metabolic rate would be. This is what it would take do lie on the couch all day. This is only helpful for the knowledge...most people are much more active than this. Then google how many calories you burn a day if you are lightly active. Whatever that number is subtract 500 calories as that would be 1 lb loss a week. (3500 calories = 1 lb)

For me I burn 1900 a day, and I want to lose 2 lbs a week. However, I could not possibly eat 900 calories a day. So I eat roughly 1250 a day and try to burn 500 calories 5 days a week or around 250-300 6 days a week. That equals the 1000 calories deficit I need to lose the 2 lbs per week. If you want to eat more you can but then you need to work out more. I would not eat the calories you burn, as that does not produce quick results.

I also started with a bit more calories (about 1350) and reduced by 25 for a few weeks. That made it a bit easier to transition. Good Luck!! The lowest I would ever eat is 1200!

Your calculation is off. You dont form a deficit from your bmr, you do it from your tdee. You need to multiply your bmr by 1.2 for sedentary, 1.375 for lightly active, 1.55 for moderately active, etc for you lifestyle. For example, if you are a nurse you have a hugher multiplier as you burn more than a person with a desk job.


Op, generally 1200 caloriea is not enough for a perosn that workouts out. Also considering no one maintains a 2lb per week weight loss, its better to aim for 1-1.5 lbs and fuel your body more. Also doing this with a high protein diet will prevent the loss of lean body mass (muscle, tissue, bone density, etc)

MFP has set my calories as 1220. I am 5'4'' and was 215.5lbs when I started two weeks ago. I earn extra calories through exercise and eat these. I feel that 1220 is a bit low for a long term eating plan although it is definitely working. Should I stick with 1220 and eat my exercise or should I change my initial settings from sedentary now that I have started to move more? Bit confused about this as I always thought 1500 calories was roughly what should be eaten when losing weight and 2000 when maintaining?

The 1500 value you cite would include the exercise calories that you are adding on through the MFP method - so it's roughly equivalent.

With respect to whether you set yourself as sedentary or not, most people use this to refer to their level of activity away from work outs. So if you have a desk job, you'd describe yourself as sedentary (and record your exercise), if you walk to work you might set yourself as lightly active etc.

You will not need to eat that little in the long term, but from your stats it is safe for you right now. As you get closer to your goal weight, you should increase your calories anyway.

the easiest way to figure it out is to determine what your basal metabolic rate would be. This is what it would take do lie on the couch all day. This is only helpful for the knowledge...most people are much more active than this. Then google how many calories you burn a day if you are lightly active. Whatever that number is subtract 500 calories as that would be 1 lb loss a week. (3500 calories = 1 lb)

For me I burn 1900 a day, and I want to lose 2 lbs a week. However, I could not possibly eat 900 calories a day. So I eat roughly 1250 a day and try to burn 500 calories 5 days a week or around 250-300 6 days a week. That equals the 1000 calories deficit I need to lose the 2 lbs per week. If you want to eat more you can but then you need to work out more. I would not eat the calories you burn, as that does not produce quick results.

I also started with a bit more calories (about 1350) and reduced by 25 for a few weeks. That made it a bit easier to transition. Good Luck!! The lowest I would ever eat is 1200!

Your calculation is off. You dont form a deficit from your bmr, you do it from your tdee. You need to multiply your bmr by 1.2 for sedentary, 1.375 for lightly active, 1.55 for moderately active, etc for you lifestyle. For example, if you are a nurse you have a hugher multiplier as you burn more than a person with a desk job.


Op, generally 1200 caloriea is not enough for a perosn that workouts out. Also considering no one maintains a 2lb per week weight loss, its better to aim for 1-1.5 lbs and fuel your body more. Also doing this with a high protein diet will prevent the loss of lean body mass (muscle, tissue, bone density, etc)

I wanted to add one more comment. Time and time again, do I see people plateau at 1200 calories and the majority of women I have developed calorie plans for succeed more often at 1500-1800 calories.

Also considering no one maintains a 2lb per week weight loss, its better to aim for 1-1.5 lbs and fuel your body more.

Dieters don't regain everything if they lost at 2 lbs/week and regain nothing if they lost at 1.5. It's splitting hairs. 95% of dieters regain because it's hard to not return to bad habits.

If people lose better at 1500 than at 1200 it's because they're more patient and stick to their program better at 1500. 1200 doesn't really induce plateaus, it's just that some people are miserable at it so they watch that scale like a hawk and 7 days with no movement feels like 3 weeks, so then the plateau ranting starts. Just my opinion.

What I was trying to say, I have yet to see anyone consistently lose 2 lbs per week.So if you know it's not easy or almost impossible to maintain a 2 lb per week weight loss, why shoot for it? Also, you have to consider where they are in their stage and how much body fat a person has to supply energy without catabolizing lean body mass. And I know tons of women that couldn't lose on 1200-1400 even though they said they had tons of energy. And many of these same people saw immediate weight loss when upping calories. I am not saying you can't lose on 1200 calories, I just think (from personal experience) that it's better to aim small and push yourself harder in your workouts in hopes of increased fat loss. Unfortunately, too many people think 1200 calories is a godsend and believe it's a major way to lose weight. But in reality, our bodies reject it as it may be too little for our bodies to function off of.

Additionally, I have yet to see any super fit person (low body fat, healthy weight, etc..), on this board or in personal life eating 1200 calories. This is not to say you can't do it, but I thoroughly believe that if you want to look like an athlete, then you need to eat and train like one.

On a side note, have you ever look at a program like P90X or Insanity or been on the beachbody site? If you look at the millions of success stories from those programs, you will notice one thing is common, they all eat 1700+ calories. This goes back to my previous statement, you should train like the person you wan to be.

These are my thoughts, not an attack on you. I have seen weight loss from all calorie sets, but rarely see huge success on 1200 calories.