1200 cals/day - anyone else calculated this low number using CC?

Hi everyone

I am female, 5'9", 186lbs, small frame (I think) and 30 years old.  I want to get down to 136 lbs (a weight loss of 50lbs). 

When I use the CC daily calorie requirements, it states I should eat 1200 calories per day to lose this weight.

I listed myself as sedentary (I have an office job, but I do walk about an hour or so maybe a bit more most days to and from work).

My question is - why is my daily calorie allotment so low, when everyone else seems to calculate at 1600 per day or even 1800 per day?  And I keep reading posts which say "1200 is the very lowest you can go and that's if you're 5'1" and totally immobile".

And what about alternating high days with low days if I am not ever supposed to go below 1200 per day as a general rule?

My plan is to eat 1200 per week day and then more on the weekends, which will slow my weight loss according to CC, because I'll be taking in on average more than 1200 cals per day.

Can anyone help please??

Thanks 

You're right, it IS too low! What was your average calorie intake before diet? My suggestion is to cut down 500 kcal of what you've been eating recently, not more.

Hi Mia - as a rule, there needs to be between 500-1000 calorie deficit between your burn meter and your food meter, if you are to loose about 0.5 kilos per week, which is considered safe! Your daily cal. intake is 1200, which is the minimum requirement for women - mine was the same, but i raised it to 1300 a day by increasing my burn meter level (i'm currently following the 12-week beginners excercise program on here and went from sedentary to light, and will most likely move that up next week when the work-outs get longer!), so that i can still leave a buffer of 500-1000 cals (depending on my social life!)

With your 1 hr walk a day i would not say you're sedentary, so you'll probably loose what you are looking to anyway.

You should redo the CC calculations based on your statistics and enter 'light' activity to allow for your hour walk each day.  Set a realistic goal date based on 1.5lbs a week loss.  About 30 weeks from now... October 20th or so.  If you set the target date too early it affects the allocation.   I think you'd then find you were advised to keep to around 1500-1700 cals a day.  1500 would be a low day... 1700 for the weekends.

Cool - thanks.  I'll try changing from sedentary to light (wasn't sure I qualifed for light because it says "up to two hours exercise a day"). 

Also, CC set my goal date for me - it said I could lose 50 lbs by January 2009 by eating 1200 cals/day.  I thought that seemed quite far away, but I guess slow and steady wins the race...! 

But do you guys think it's okay if I go for 1200 throughout the week and say 1800 or 2000 on the weekends?  This would give me an average of say 1450 or 1500 per day - which sounds very reasonable...?

mialondon... I think that would be fine.  It's easier for me to watch my calories while at work (everything is structured).  On the weekends I tend to eat more because I never know what or where I will be eating.

Also it is probably telling you 1200 because your goal date is too stringent.

I agree - it's so much easier at work!  I am able to plan my whole day.  On the weekends I have to go with the flow a bit more at restaurants etc.... Unfortunately I think the reason I might be overweight is because I've been going with the flow a bit too much if you know what I mean.

And yeah, my goal date is too stringent - and my goal 136lbs - is quite a lofty goal.  As long as I am losing steadily and I can see progress I am happy. 

I am that 5 ft. 1 inch woman that is supposed to do 1200 cals.  I can't eat that few calories for more than a couple of days without being way too focussed on food.  I find that I would rather increase my burn/activity level a bit and go to 1300-1350.  I started 7 weeks ago, wanting to lose 10 pounds.  I have dropped 7 with a calorie to burn difference averaging 400-500 calories.  Not too much work, either.

My calorie allotment is at 1200 as well.  I'm 5'6 1/2". 

Like Ivana, I'd rather up my activities so I can go higher.  I started out with a much higher calorie allotment (1550) but that's been lowered as I've lost.  I pretty much stick with 12-1300 during the week and 13-1400 on the weekends.  I'm also set at sedentary but diligently log any extra activities.

It also depends on what amount of time you entered into the formula... faster weight loss equals fewer calories per day. If you aimed for 1 pound per week (the slower you lose it the easier it is to keep off) then it would take you a year to lose 50 pounds. There's 3500 calories in a pound of fat so when you calculate it out, you need to have a daily calorie deficit of around 480 calories. If you figure out the amount of calories you burn in a day using the burn meter plus activities and reduce it by 480, theoretically you should lose a pound a week. The "experts" say you should aim for 1-2 pounds per week.

I plugged your stats into the Burn Meter and it says you burn 1900 cals per day at a sedentary activity level. Then I used the Calorie Target tool and to lose 50 pounds in one year you would eat 1420 cals per day.

Of course that's not factoring in the weight of muscle vs fat and if you are working out and replacing fat with muscle then you will lose fat but maybe not see it on the scale..

Hi I'm really glad I found this post!!!

i have the exact same problem!!!

I'm 5''8 and 19 years old. I weigh 132 pounds and am aiming to get down to 126. My burn meter is set at sedentary as I work in an office.

I'm burning an average of 1700 calories a day just being alive but also 1700 per week including walking to work (100 calories a day, 5 times a week) and in the gym (3x 400 calorie work outs). making a total burned 13600.

My eat meter thinks I should eat 1200 calories and I usually eat about 1300 in the week and 1600 at the weekend. Thats a total of 9700 for the week.

When I subtract 13600 - 9700 i get 3900 and divide that by 3500 I get 1.1lbs loss a week.

Is this safe and am I eating enough?

Hi Jennytu - Yep those are my exact status, my burn meter is at 1900 per day on sedentary.  I'm not quite sedentary (I walk alot) so I am probably really at about 2000 per day, but you are right - if I have an average deficit of 500 per day, that's a pound per week and about 50 pounds per year.  I had CC calculate my goal date for me and they chose January 2009, with a weight loss of 1.4 lbs per week.  Ans  I stepped it up to 2 lbs a week I could do it in 6 months (although CC said this was too agressive - which doesnt really make much sense?).

I eat 1200 per average week day, but I have lots of social/work events (where I go quite a bit above 1200 - and often above 1900) and I don't count on weekends.  I tried to very accurately estimate exactly what I ate this week - and it came out to an average of 1900 per day - which means I won't lose anything!  

I think I need to cut back at the weekends and at social events and start EXERCISING!   That should hopefully up my deficit to 500 per day.  A thousand per day might be a bit harder!

Thanks for all of your help by the way

I personally think calorie count's calorie suggestions are way too high.  I know there will be many posts after me that argue.  But, they suggested I eat like 2,200 to lose weight.  My goodness that's about what I was eating to begin with.  I'm certainly not going to lose any that way.

Years ago I lost like 65 pounds and I logged my calories and fat grams everyday.  Very similar to on here, except I did it on paper in a journal.  I ate about 1200 a day on average, 1200-1400.  I lost weight steadily and never had any problems. 

Calorie count can say what they want, but I'm going with this same calorie intake this time as well.  One thing these programs never take into account is people's differing metabolisms.  I don't think I burn anywhere near what they are indicating that I do. 

I do 1,200 calories, too.  I do cardio workouts 3 times a week.  I am 5'2" and started at 160 lbs.  I'm at 139 today.

I completely agree with spoookee. I think CC is way too high for me too. It is suggesting something like 1500 calories for a day. Well, I was already on a losing track before I came on to CC and I was eating about 1200-1300 cal a day.

Keep going girls!! I started at 196 lb and now I am 151 lb!! I started May 2007. I do Tae bo about 4 -5 times a week for an avg of about 45 minutes a session and I eat a lot of veggies and some fruit. I have also increased my fibre to about 30g a day and I drink about 3 litres of water a day (about 12 glasses). I only use CC as a good way of tracking. I do not follow their suggestions...