Ask Mary

Your personal nutritionist

By Mary Hartley, RD
Director of Nutrition

Can I eat 1200 calories if Calorie Count tells me to eat 2080?
Asked by anonymous on Jun 11, 2008 in Weight Loss

Calorie Count says I need to eat 2080 calories per day!  That seems like so much. My mom says, to lose weight, stick to 1200 calories a day.  Even doctors have suggested that. I’m a little confused because if I take the risk in eating more, I might gain weight. I have done 1200 calories before and have lost 10 lbs but it took me two months. I’m just a little confused about which path to take.

Answer

I entered your information, which I can see behind the scenes, into the Calorie Target calculator in the Tools section.  It showed that you need 1350 calories a day to lose 1.5 lb per week to meet your goal weight by December, 2008.  I assumed your activity level was “Light”, but you can change it to “Moderate” if you move a lot at work or school and you exercise for 45-60 minutes almost everyday.  To insure adequate nutrition and to prevent the breakdown of muscle that comes from eating too few calories, stick to the 1350 calorie goal.