1200 calories?

I've been going through some of the sticky posts in the forums, trying to get answers to some questions. A few of them seem to suggest that 1200 calories as the target is low, and that's because of how you filled out the initial goals. Some of these posts are helpful, like this one http://fit101.org/the-step-by-step-guide-to-losing-weight-with-myfitnesspal/. I went back like it said, and re-entered goals etc., but I'm still at 1200 calories. I'm looking to lose 30-40 (ideally at least 40, but I'm setting achievable goals) lbs. Is this a reasonable beginning?
So far, I'm hungry much of the time!

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sijomial wrote: »

OP - what rate of weight loss did you select?
That's the biggest influence on your calorie goal.

Don't make it harder than it has to be - aim for sustainability not fast results.

at first I put in 2 lbs per week but it stays at 1200 calories even if I put in 1 pound per week instead

kittynat wrote: »

Can I ask a silly question?
Using one of the calculators my TDEE is 2064 - 20% is 1651. I currently do 1-3 hours of exercise a week.
So do I eat to that calorie goal every day, even if I don't exercise on that day? Also, what happens when I can't exercise as much in a given week?
v confused?!

MalineVD wrote: »

I eat 1200 a day too and if you pick your food right, it's perfectly doable.

For example what I ate today:
Breakfast: a pancake made of two eggs, a banana and some cinnamon.
Snack: an apple
Lunch: roasted veggies with chicken and some rice (60gr rice, 100gr of chicken and almost 400gr of veggies cause I like quantity/big meals for the feeling of being full) with a bit of cream cheese
Snack: 125gr greek yoghurt
Dinner: homemade spaghetti with loads of vegetables

Weighed everything (and double checked the kcal and always went with the heighest input) and it's a total of 1189 kcal. And believe me, not hungry whatsoever. If you want some inspiration, you can always look into my diary. Might want to ask for translations, cause everything is in dutch

Thanks that's helpful

SigridKayaAndersen wrote: »

I don´t think it´s too little...but then again, I burn between 1000 and 1800 calories on excercise every day. So I get A LOT extra and am never hungry. My opinion....the healthy way to go down to that low calory goal is through excercise. You can burn a whoooole lot of calories just by working out twice a day. And that may seem a lot for some of you (I didnt work out at all just some months ago and if someone had told me to work out twice a day I would have thought they re crazy), but if you implement excercise slowly and then step it up, set prioritys, it is very achievable and doable. Side effect...I feel fantastic and can see my body transform! Not only I lose fat, I gain muscels

That's impressive - what do you do for your 2 workouts per day, and do you do one super early before work?

hmck123 wrote: »

I'm on a 1200/day goal because I'm short and about 140 lbs. It's so annoying, particularly eating with friends because you can't have anything like they can! On the upside, one lb of weight loss on a shortie (which I'm assuming you are!) looks like a lot more than on a tall person - I have to keep reminding myself that!

It's really difficult but I try and stick to really fibrous and protein-rich foods to keep me full, and try to have three 300-400cal meals a day which gives me a little room to graze on trail mix where I need to. Examples of this are:

- Greek yoghurt with a banana and pumpkin seeds
- wholewheat couscous with turkey breast, kale and pesto
- a kipper, poached egg and crispy kale
- low fat meatballs, lentils and spicy tomato marinara sauce

I've had to ban cheese, bacon, chocolate and beer in the most part which is really difficult, but it tastes so much better when you only have it as a treat!

Three of these a day can keep me quite full, and I walk at least 6 miles a day and do an hour of cardio/weight training a day too. Obviously losing weight is a case of calorie deficit, but making that calorie deficit (especially for poor people like us where our goal is so small!) is so much easier when you pay a lot of attention to your nutrition

Thanks. What device do you use to me monitor how many miles you're walking, and are you happy with the device you chose?

If rice it is brown rice is the only viable stuff. White rice is nutrients deficient. If you're hungry try to eat veggies and fruit it helps. If it pasta - use wholewheat one. generally eat food with lot of nutrient, don't eat for calories. Eat for nutrients.

hncary wrote: »

Try using a TDEE calculator and eating at a 15-20% deficit of your TDEE. Is that still showing around 1200?

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

My exercise isn't very consistent daily but I'll have a look at the TDEE again

hncary wrote: »

Try using a TDEE calculator and eating at a 15-20% deficit of your TDEE. Is that still showing around 1200?

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

This^

Older, petite women will get a lower number. Keep in mind that 1200 is before exercise....TDEE will want to include it.

I'm at 1200 calories and currently eat back about half of the calories my Fitbit affords me. You can make 1200 calories last you all day if you pre plan and are eating half way decent things.

LisaMighton wrote: »

hncary wrote: »

Try using a TDEE calculator and eating at a 15-20% deficit of your TDEE. Is that still showing around 1200?

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

My exercise isn't very consistent daily but I'll have a look at the TDEE again

For Mifflin-St Jeor It says BMR is 1512 (what is that? I can't find it explained?)
and TDEE is 2050

I couldn't use Katch-McCardle because I don't know my body fat %.

I'm 49 and 5' 2".

LisaMighton wrote: »

LisaMighton wrote: »

hncary wrote: »

Try using a TDEE calculator and eating at a 15-20% deficit of your TDEE. Is that still showing around 1200?

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

My exercise isn't very consistent daily but I'll have a look at the TDEE again

For Mifflin-St Jeor It says BMR is 1512 (what is that? I can't find it explained?)
and TDEE is 2050

I couldn't use Katch-McCardle because I don't know my body fat %.

I'm 49 and 5' 2".

BMR = Basal metabolic rate. If you stayed in bed all day your body would use this number of calories.

2050 is maintenance....so you want to eat less than this. How much lower is up to you. Keep in mind the bigger the deficit the harder it is for your body to hang onto existing lean muscle. I'm over 50, have lost weight (and muscle) before...so this time I aim to keep a small deficit so I can keep more lean muscle.

This chart may help:
Pound per week goals
75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range

TeaBea wrote: »

LisaMighton wrote: »

LisaMighton wrote: »

hncary wrote: »

Try using a TDEE calculator and eating at a 15-20% deficit of your TDEE. Is that still showing around 1200?

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

My exercise isn't very consistent daily but I'll have a look at the TDEE again

For Mifflin-St Jeor It says BMR is 1512 (what is that? I can't find it explained?)
and TDEE is 2050

I couldn't use Katch-McCardle because I don't know my body fat %.

I'm 49 and 5' 2".

BMR = Basal metabolic rate. If you stayed in bed all day your body would use this number of calories.

2050 is maintenance....so you want to eat less than this. How much lower is up to you. Keep in mind the bigger the deficit the harder it is for your body to hang onto existing lean muscle. I'm over 50, have lost weight (and muscle) before...so this time I aim to keep a small deficit so I can keep more lean muscle.

This chart may help:
Pound per week goals
75+ lbs set to lose 2 lb range
Between 40 - 75 lbs set to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs set to lose 1 lb range
Between 15-25 lbs set to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs set to lose 0.5 lbs range

Thanks for that chart.
I also found an online body fat percentage calculator so by using that and the Katch-McCardle TDEE calculator, that one says TDEE is 1809 calories/day.

PS TeaBea in your profile, just curious what does 'Recently started 5:2' mean?

5:2 means intermittent fasting...eating 500 calories for 2 non-consecutive days per week, then at maintenance the remaining 5 days.

LisaMighton wrote: »

PS TeaBea in your profile, just curious what does 'Recently started 5:2' mean?

5:2 is where you eat maintenance 5 days a week and eat 500 calories for 2 days. I get my weekly deficit in these 2 days. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100058-5-2-fasting

I struggle with maintenance, so logging maintenance days is good for me.

IvanOcampo wrote: »

The other day I had 1420 calories for breakfast....
I felt so happy.

I like your style Ivan!

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