Anyone have good links to why under 1200 is bad?

Mrs.Mc08 · April 2012

My good friend just started tracking and I was trying to explain why under 1200 is bad- and to eat back exercised calories. Also I think what she's eating is a little low, but she's using myfitnesspal.

Any help?

JW28 · April 2012

Hmm, this is funny - I can find a whole bunch of sites that say that the American College of Sports Medicine recommends a minimum calorie intake of 1200 calories for women (and 1800 for men), but I can't find the original ACSM recommendation. My explanation is that your metabolism can slow down with not enough calories, thus making it more difficult to lose weight. Also if you're exercising and you don't eat enough calories, your muscles won't be able to repair themselves and instead of getting stronger, you could get weaker. I think 1200 isn't exactly a magic number though, for really small/short people it might be slightly lower, and for taller/bigger people it could be slightly higher.

gt7301b · April 2012

I don't have any links, but I know if I go below 1200 I am STARVING. Food is fuel, if you are working out your body needs more fuel to run.

firsttimersluck · April 2012

http://www.weightloss-hq.biz/special-reviews/can-eating-too-few-calories-be-bad-for-your-metabolism.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/497388-is-eating-too-little-bad-for-women/

Sessalee1010 · April 2012

Mrs.Mc08:
My good friend just started tracking and I was trying to explain why under 1200 is bad- and to eat back exercised calories. Also I think what she's eating is a little low, but she's using myfitnesspal.
Any help?

So, my doc put me on a 1200-1300 cal/day diet. I'm 5'1 and 180 right now. I've lost 10lbs in the last 6 weeks or so, which is the first real weight loss in 1.5 years for me. When he put me on the diet, I questioned the low calories and did some research (not just google, I dug into scientific research via my old grad school PubMed account!).

The summary of that research is that you can in fact eat that little per day without long term or permanent harm to your body. What might happen is that your metabolism slows down somewhat to accommodate the lesser amount of food, but you should still continue to lose weight. Starvation Mode, in its truest sense, really only occurs at extremely low body fat percentage, and involves a larger metabolic slow down as well as hormonal disruptions and other really fun symptoms.

I have decided to try the diet and stick to it, but one day/week I eat higher amounts of calories to keep my body confused as to what amount of calories to expect. I do exercise 5-6x/week for 30-60 min each including cardio and strength training, and I do have to make sure my allotted calories include pre-and-post workout food.

It is hard, and possibly not the best way to go about the weight loss, but it's working and I am confident that I am not harming my body in permanent way.

Mrs.Mc08 · April 2012

firsttimersluck:
http://www.weightloss-hq.biz/special-reviews/can-eating-too-few-calories-be-bad-for-your-metabolism.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/497388-is-eating-too-little-bad-for-women/

Perfect! thank you.

Mrs.Mc08 · April 2012

Sessalee1010:
Mrs.Mc08:
My good friend just started tracking and I was trying to explain why under 1200 is bad- and to eat back exercised calories. Also I think what she's eating is a little low, but she's using myfitnesspal.
Any help?
So, my doc put me on a 1200-1300 cal/day diet. I'm 5'1 and 180 right now. I've lost 10lbs in the last 6 weeks or so, which is the first real weight loss in 1.5 years for me. When he put me on the diet, I questioned the low calories and did some research (not just google, I dug into scientific research via my old grad school PubMed account!).
The summary of that research is that you can in fact eat that little per day without long term or permanent harm to your body. What might happen is that your metabolism slows down somewhat to accommodate the lesser amount of food, but you should still continue to lose weight. Starvation Mode, in its truest sense, really only occurs at extremely low body fat percentage, and involves a larger metabolic slow down as well as hormonal disruptions and other really fun symptoms.
I have decided to try the diet and stick to it, but one day/week I eat higher amounts of calories to keep my body confused as to what amount of calories to expect. I do exercise 5-6x/week for 30-60 min each including cardio and strength training, and I do have to make sure my allotted calories include pre-and-post workout food.
It is hard, and possibly not the best way to go about the weight loss, but it's working and I am confident that I am not harming my body in permanent way.

I'm the same height and only about 5 lbs less than you. I was at 200. Even through its slow I'm doing just fine with my weight loss- I'm happy with how slow it is, and that its real. I have a good friend who is very very very obsessed with counting calories and exercising. She does not, ever eat over 1200 calories and wont eat back what she exercises. She is training for half marathon. She keeps changing birth control because her period is jacked up. Her hair is falling out. She faints for "no reason". Yep. If she eats a calories over 1200, she gains weight...

Sessalee1010 · April 2012

Mrs.Mc08:

I'm the same height and only about 5 lbs less than you. I was at 200. Even through its slow I'm doing just fine with my weight loss- I'm happy with how slow it is, and that its real. I have a good friend who is very very very obsessed with counting calories and exercising. She does not, ever eat over 1200 calories and wont eat back what she exercises. She is training for half marathon. She keeps changing birth control because her period is jacked up. Her hair is falling out. She faints for "no reason". Yep. If she eats a calories over 1200, she gains weight...

I'm not trying to convince you that my way is the way to go. I don't know your friend's story, nor did you provide her height and weight and situation, so your anecdote doesn't really help me out there.

I sat at 190 (after having lost 40) for 16 months eating 1600 cal/day and eating back my exercise calories. I increased my exercise, strength training, and ate a very healthy diet, and the scale just plain would not move. I should also note that I have hypothyroidism, which makes my metabolism slower as it is. Therefore, my food requirements are going to be different. Turns out, those 300 calories make all the difference in the world for me.

My point is that everyone is different, and I think that setting a bar at 1200 calories/day as a danger point is really not necessary.

saraeric · April 2012

I've been eating around 1450 cal/day since the beginning of the year, plus eating back exercise calories. I've gone from 155lbs to 138lbs (hoping to lose 8 more!). MFP dropped my calories down to 1300 after I'd lost 10 lbs and I stopped losing. I bumped up my calories to 1450 and that seems to be a magic number for me. Don't think I would have made it (or had been a very pleasant person to be around) if I was only eating 1200 cals.

AugustBrideCO · April 2012

I agree that everyone is different. Weight loss is extremely hard for some of us. I won't lose an ounce (and will actually gain weight) if I eat back calories that I burn and if I want to lose weight, I can't eat more than about 1500 calories. It's really hard because running makes me hungry.

Anyone have good links to why under 1200 is bad?

Re: Anyone have good links to why under 1200 is bad?

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