To think 1200 calories a day isn’t enough?

[Tigerwhocamefortea]

I have always been slim and been lucky not to carry weight, however after having my second DC I am at least a stone heavier than I want to be and need to do something about it.

I tried using Myfitness plan to log things and based on losing 2lb a week, which I thought was a sensible slow amount, it it tells me I can only eat 1200 calories a day! Surely this is far too few?

i dont know why we are still advising on how to lose weight for this op when clearly from most there are signs she shouldnt be or has been slightly disrodered in her thinking on this.

This thread is really upsetting. Encouraging a woman who is breastfeeding a 4 month old and has a history of ED to cut to 800-1200 cals a day is so fucked up. I’m honestly disgusted.

8.5st is way at the lower end of the healthy BMI range for your height. I know that because my stats aren’t far off your current ones. Of course it’s your body and I’m not criticising your de idiot to lose weight - I only mention it because it might be quite difficult to lose (not impossible, but harder than an overweight person would find it). Btw you’re not overweight at all - in fact you’re miles away from the technical definition.

1200 calories per day is what I aim for when I’m trying to lose weight. It’s tough and you’ll be hungry but you won’t starve. Eat lots of veg.

I hate these blanket ideas
It depends
I'm only 5ft4 but I'm very muscular (martial arts, running, weights). I exercise intensely four times a week.
Muscle needs more calories than fat even at rest.
1200 would be too low for me, even to lose weight.
I tend to indulge a bit more at weekends so I'll have a couple of lower calorie days during the week

@LeeScoresbysBalloon Didn’t realise OP has a history of ED but that explains the ‘not massively overweight at 10st’ comment.

Encouraging a woman who is breastfeeding a 4 month old and has a history of ED to cut to 800-1200 cals a day is so fucked up.

Precisely. And not only that, a woman who is actually a perfectly healthy weight for her height at the moment.

It is too low but this is MN, home of competitive orthorexia.

I am consistently losing 1 to 1.5lbs a week on 1750 calories a day. I am nearly 40, 5 foot 5 and started out at 18 stone. I am now 11 stone 11lbs.

I have been doing this for 60 days using fitness pal. At first I was eating the calories I exercised, so if I used 100 calories from walking I would allow myself 1300 calories... It didn't seem to work that great. I then started to stick to 1200 and the weight has started to shift. I am 5'5 and was 65kg I'm now 59.5kg. I tend to eat something really small in the morning, like crackers and then save my calories to eat in the evening as I find the evening is when I'm most prone to snacking. Zero sugar drinks have helped the process not be as bad and I don't count the calories from tea or coffee.

I’m a size 8 and just had a huge cooked breakfast. I don’t even count calories. I eat what I want and go to the gym twice a week

This was me before I had children - except I could never be arsed to go to the gym. I just didn't put weight on.

However we aren't all alike - and we change at different periods of our lives. My metabolism changed after I had children, and I put weight on easily. It changed after I went through the menopause - now I not only put it on, I can't get the bugger off!

Don't be too smug until you are 60 with at least one child.

I think if you ate 1200 cals a day while breastfeeding, you may find your milk dry up, that's not many cals to consume. Whats more sustainable is a higher number of cals and a real gradual loss, especially if you want to not risk the milk

MFP's calculator is pretty crap - a lot of people recommend getting your numbers elsewhere and then sticking MFP on maintain so you can record but it doesn't mess with your numbers. Whether 1200 is enough will depend on a lot of factors, but it's pretty much the minimum default MFP has and for a lot of people, to get all the nutrients and healthy fats and maintain healthy hormone functions and all that, 1200 is pretty low. I'd only recommend going that low or lower when alternating with closer to maintenance days to prevent issues.

Also, with a stone to lose, 2 pounds a week is probably unrealistic. Someone with 10 stone to lose might be able to do that for a while, but for most people, after the initial water weight drop, .5-1 pounds is probably more realistic, sustainable, and safer. The body just doesn't want to lose that much of its total that fast and, while possible, it will effect recovery time, desire and ability to move, and many other things that will make it harder to lose fat. Honestly, I'd focus more on gaining muscle that will help burn fat and maintain health than just trying to drop to a particular number.

I can't believe so many posters are still coming on here encouraging the OP to eat 1200 calories a day, and completely ignoring the fact that she is already the perfect healthy weight, she gave birth 4 months ago and is breastfeeding. FFS. Is it any wonder so many women have a messed up view of their bodies if this kind of thinking is so prevalent?

It amazes me how little people know about health and nutrition and the safe, sustainable, healthy way to lose weight. Advocating 1200 calories per day is utter nonsense. Honestly, the 'advice' that is dished out on any thread on here about weight is shocking. It's downright dangerous and i'm surprised so much of it is allowed to stand.

I had to eat 1000 calories per day to lose 2lb a week.
I think (unless someone is very overweight) that rate of weight loss is too much, aiming for 1lb a week is better.

In your situation with breastfeeding I wouldn't aim to lose weight at all. IN all honestly it doesn't sound like your weight is the problem, it sounds like you're hung up on shape which is a different thing. Someone could be 10 stone and 5 '7 with a totally different weight distribution. So maybe rather than losing weight, looking into strengthening and that kind of thing would be better? For example doing core work, light weights, strengthening positions/poses, maybe swimming, circuit training (there is also HIIT online, on youtube, that you can do in your lounge) and seeing what results come from that.

My BMR is 1311 and my daily calories to maintain is 1900, I’m trying to eat between 1200-1300 a day I have a lot half a stone to lose. Sometimes I think oh sod it it’s only half a stone though.

Please don’t go on a 1200 calorie a day diet whilst breastfeeding a 4 month old. You will make yourself ill. Wait until the baby is on solids then cut back calories gradually.

When I lost weight I did it on 1200 NET calories a day. So essentially I just made sure a had a 500 cal deficit each day as that will result in 1lbs per week. I didn’t need to weight I just wanted a six pack. Found out I have a crazy metabolism and burn way more than is normal for my height and weight (5ft2 and 50kg) Now I’m bulking. I power-lift 4 times a week and eat about 3000 calories, most gets turned into muscle. There’s no way you need to lose 2lbs per week. Go for 1700 and you’ll lose one lbs a week.

@Basketofkittens That’s a tiny breakfast! 🍳

Ah mumsnet the home of competitive undereating
It's bollocks
But fucking dangerous bollocks

Who's trolling? I just can't see the point of an egg white omlette hence the eye roll.

I've found it almost impossible to not gain weight whilst breastfeeding Benjispruce I hold on to all baby weight and add more to it. My diet isn't bad but my metabolism tends to slow. I lose it fine once I stop though.

OP I am currently a stone heavier than you and breastfeeding. Same height. I am on about 1400 cals a day and losing 1-2lbs a week, I do 3 HIIT sessions a week too though.

Oh, but I am eat VOLUME, so loads of veg and lean meat, if I cut the volume but keep the same calories I find my milk supply reduces.

But an egg white omelette is a thing. First time I heard of one was in Seinfeld in the 1990s so they're not even a new thing. You can buy cartons of egg whites so you can make them without wasting the yolks.

@Sakura7

I’m not encouraging her to diet. I am just saying I can understand how she feels. I have never dieted in my life - in fact I spent many years eating about 2500 a day calories in order to gain weight, with no real result. So it feels unusual to me to be slightly bigger than I have been most of my life, so I can empathise with the OP.

That is not enough. Definitely too low to get adequate nutrition. OP just try cutting out all sugar and simple carbs. I doubt you should be eating less than 1500. Really can it understand how people can live healthy lives eating so little