how dangerous is it to drop below 1200 cals

[Sinaku5]

Hey guys,

I was wondering, my gf is thinking about dropping below 1200 cals. Her maintenance is about 1600 id say (shes 152lbs, 27 years old, 5'5").

She wants to lose weight and has been at 1200 cals for about 2 months, and now she wants to lose weight faster. I told her that I dont think taht dropping below 1200 would be ideal, but what kinda advice do you guys have for her?

Thanks so much!

[charliesschevy]

...

[illiniStrive]

Typically going bellow 1200 cals sends your body into starvation mode, so instead of losing weight it stores whatever you eat as fat because it doesn't think it's getting enough to eat. therefore instead of losing weight you keep weight.

No...

[sonti]

Her maintenance is not 1600 - she would be steadily losing at 1600 Your girlfriend needs to keep in mind that when she stalls/plateaus, she will not be able to drop any further. She needs to start slow & steady and drop from there as time goes on. Have you seen the counting calories sticky in the nutrition section here? She can start there, if she wants any real lasting results, of course

[wamberella]

Do you mean that she's currently consuming 1200 cals a day, or that she's currently netting out to 1200 at the end of the day?

One of the reasons she's not losing weight "fast" enough might be if she is actually not consuming enough calories to support basic body function, so her body is clinging to the fat more than it has to. I wouldn't suggest letting the end of day net cals drop below 1200 (or whatever her BMR is - i've done 1000, but i was smaller and actually had better results with 1200+). If she's having constant weekly loss, then don't change anything. There is no shortcut, unfortunately, especially once you're down around 150 or less.

[sonti]

Sit her down to read these:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703921
Counting Calories & Macros

Top Important Threads:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=122789461

[wamberella]

^^^ Yes, that. Much better said.

[Sinaku5]

She's consuming 1200 calories.

Also Where'd you get that she would be losing at 1600? That seems wrong to me but ill happily take any advice.

Thanks for the articles I need more advice guys we steady read those

Thanks

[mavrick77]

Her maintenance is not 1600 - she would be steadily losing at 1600 Your girlfriend needs to keep in mind that when she stalls/plateaus, she will not be able to drop any further. She needs to start slow & steady and drop from there as time goes on. Have you seen the counting calories sticky in the nutrition section here? She can start there, if she wants any real lasting results, of course

Oh do you know his GF? sorry I have been doing this many many years, and been writing contest diets for many many years... 1600 is not so hard to believe of a untrained athlete.

Hey guys,

I was wondering, my gf is thinking about dropping below 1200 cals. Her maintenance is about 1600 id say (shes 152lbs, 27 years old, 5'5").

She wants to lose weight and has been at 1200 cals for about 2 months, and now she wants to lose weight faster. I told her that I dont think taht dropping below 1200 would be ideal, but what kinda advice do you guys have for her?

Thanks so much!

if she is still loosing keep her on 1200, after all this is the same level of jenny craig and weight watchers (bet you didnt know that).... once her weight stalls out, take her slowly back up to maitenence for a month or 2.. she will gain some WATER weight her, but nothing to be concerned with. Once your metabolism stabilizes, drop her back down to 1200 again untill she stalls out again. THIS IS A PROCESS, not a quick fix.

[Freak4Fitness]

Hey guys,

I was wondering, my gf is thinking about dropping below 1200 cals. Her maintenance is about 1600 id say (shes 152lbs, 27 years old, 5'5").

She wants to lose weight and has been at 1200 cals for about 2 months, and now she wants to lose weight faster. I told her that I dont think taht dropping below 1200 would be ideal, but what kinda advice do you guys have for her?

Thanks so much!

Whoa!

First, does she exercise at all? if so, what?
cardio, how much, how long? any HIIT
WT?????

[Echo814]

I burned 1776 cals yesterday just sitting on my butt playing a video game all day, I walked like 1200 some odd steps. On days that I move its closer to 2000 and when I workout its 2300. I am only 10lbs lighter and carry a high BF%. There is no way that her maintenance cals are 1600, unless she has an underlying medical issue.

[greesemuunkie]

Please make sure she eats...
A common misconception is undereating. This is why people will get "skinny" and then once they go back to maintenance they get fat again. If she's at a plateau, like the above post said, put her back on maintenance--This doesn't mean she gets to eat whatever she wants and gets lazy again. This can still be a good time to gain muscle. Just like he said, she isn't going to gain fat, just water. Then after a couple of months, go down to say, 1300 (no lower), get her to continue her cardio, cut a little carbs, no sugar and really watch what she eats. It's not always about calories but what we are eating too. Remind her that she only gets one body and going this low on cal intake can hurt her metabolism.
What's her diet like? Is she one of those salads and rice cake people or does she really eat protein, fats and good carbs?

[sonti]

Oh do you know his GF? sorry I have been doing this many many years, and been writing contest diets for many many years... 1600 is not so hard to believe of a untrained athlete.

Do you always mean to sound like a dick when you talk about your expertise and how you know more than anyone else about calories/metabolism of the female figure? Or is it unintentional? Just wondering, because it would probably be better form to just state that you have a different opinion and offer your reasons why. If you want to claim knowledge superiority based on your professional background then maybe you should speak like one too.

The average woman at 5'5 and 157lbs, chances are she eats a heck of a lot more than 1600 calories to maintain that weight.

[Sinaku5]

Im 160 6 foot male and my maintenance is round 2500. Im confused as to why hers can't be 1600 it seems reasonable...please explain.

Echo - And regardless of how many calories u burn through regular activity there's a maintenance level of cals. There's also no way u burned 1700 calories playing a video game...

[illiniStrive]

At 5'5 and 157lbs she could definitely CUT on 1600 cals. That's not her maintenance.

[Sinaku5]

Thanks illini.

But that means that her maintenance is only about 400 less than mine?! That doesnt make sense to me. Explain that plz?

[Sinaku5]

Oh do you know his GF? sorry I have been doing this many many years, and been writing contest diets for many many years... 1600 is not so hard to believe of a untrained athlete.



if she is still loosing keep her on 1200, after all this is the same level of jenny craig and weight watchers (bet you didnt know that).... once her weight stalls out, take her slowly back up to maitenence for a month or 2.. she will gain some WATER weight her, but nothing to be concerned with. Once your metabolism stabilizes, drop her back down to 1200 again untill she stalls out again. THIS IS A PROCESS, not a quick fix.

Oh and thanx so much to you. You seem knowledgeable, especially with ur credibility in terms of your body speaks for the fact that you seem to know what to do.

[kimm4]

Hey guys,

I was wondering, my gf is thinking about dropping below 1200 cals. Her maintenance is about 1600 id say (shes 152lbs, 27 years old, 5'5").

She wants to lose weight and has been at 1200 cals for about 2 months, and now she wants to lose weight faster. I told her that I dont think taht dropping below 1200 would be ideal, but what kinda advice do you guys have for her?

Thanks so much!

I don't care if she lies in bed all day, with those stats her maintenance is somewhere close to 2200. 1600 calories would be a good place for her to start with steady fat loss. Give it a good 4-5 weeks and adjust accordingly.

Good luck!

[Echo814]

Im 160 6 foot male and my maintenance is round 2500. Im confused as to why hers can't be 1600 it seems reasonable...please explain.

Echo - And regardless of how many calories u burn through regular activity there's a maintenance level of cals. There's also no way u burned 1700 calories playing a video game...

Wanna see my Body Media data? That was my burn for the total day. Are you confusing BMR with maintenance?

BMR is the amount of calories needed to lay in bed all day and do nothing, hers is probably around 1350- 1400ish ( did not do the math but this would be very close), after that you add on an activity factor of 1.2-2.0, depending on what she does every day.

Maintenance cals need to take into account the activity you do per day. So if you take a moderate activity factor 1.3-1.4 (lightly active moderate exercise or sports 1.3 times a week) and times it by 1400 her maintenance to keep her current weight is 1820 cals-1960. To get a more accurate number read this sticky, its full of awesome information
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703921

[oregonchick76]

Thanks illini.

But that means that her maintenance is only about 400 less than mine?! That doesnt make sense to me. Explain that plz?

Maybe your maintenance level is higher than you thought?

[womanoid]

Im 160 6 foot male and my maintenance is round 2500. Im confused as to why hers can't be 1600 it seems reasonable...please explain.

Echo - And regardless of how many calories u burn through regular activity there's a maintenance level of cals. There's also no way u burned 1700 calories playing a video game...

It seems reasonable that someone with 3 lbs less mass than you needs 900 calories less?!

Your weights are almost identical, the only difference then would be age & gender, and even then 900 calories is twice as much as what is probable.

[juliacheh]

Do you always mean to sound like a dick when you talk about your expertise and how you know more than anyone else about calories/metabolism of the female figure? Or is it unintentional? Just wondering, because it would probably be better form to just state that you have a different opinion and offer your reasons why. If you want to claim knowledge superiority based on your professional background then maybe you should speak like one too.

The average woman at 5'5 and 157lbs, chances are she eats a heck of a lot more than 1600 calories to maintain that weight.

Yeah, I hate how everybody makes these blanket statements.
I dropped 3.5 pounds in 5 weeks by eating 1800 calories and 190 grams of carbs. Zero cardio, lifting 4 times a week.

I read on these boards that no 122-pounder will ever lose fat on 1800 calories, well I disproved that. My current pictures are in my bodyspace - the ones in the blank top, estimating myself to be at 17% bodyfat right now.

[PinkWeights]

Yeah, I hate how everybody makes these blanket statements.
I dropped 3.5 pounds in 5 weeks by eating 1800 calories and 190 grams of carbs. Zero cardio, lifting 4 times a week.

I'm missing something here. What is it? I'm not sure why you're proud that it took you over a month to drop 3.5 pounds. The average is 2 pounds a week. For that matter, I can workout really hard and restrict calories and lose 5 pounds a week--and do it for months if I have to, I'm just not happy about it once I start and it takes an enormous amount of willpower. So what's am I missing? Did you...gain 20 pounds in muscle while you lost the 3 pounds? What?

[womanoid]

I'm missing something here. What is it? I'm not sure why you're proud that it took you over a month to drop 3.5 pounds. The average is 2 pounds a week. For that matter, I can workout really hard and restrict calories and lose 5 pounds a week--and do it for months if I have to, I'm just not happy about it once I start and it takes an enormous amount of willpower. So what's am I missing? Did you...gain 20 pounds in muscle while you lost the 3 pounds? What?

I'm not sure whether to neg you or patiently explain everything wrong with your comment...

[Echo814]

I'm missing something here. What is it? I'm not sure why you're proud that it took you over a month to drop 3.5 pounds. The average is 2 pounds a week. For that matter, I can workout really hard and restrict calories and lose 5 pounds a week--and do it for months if I have to, I'm just not happy about it once I start and it takes an enormous amount of willpower. So what's am I missing? Did you...gain 20 pounds in muscle while you lost the 3 pounds? What?

Umm, did you even look at her pictures? She is extremely lean for a female and dropping more than that would tap into lean mass. I am not sure if I should neg this as a troll...

[juliacheh]

I'm missing something here. What is it? I'm not sure why you're proud that it took you over a month to drop 3.5 pounds. The average is 2 pounds a week. For that matter, I can workout really hard and restrict calories and lose 5 pounds a week--and do it for months if I have to, I'm just not happy about it once I start and it takes an enormous amount of willpower. So what's am I missing? Did you...gain 20 pounds in muscle while you lost the 3 pounds? What?

I just saw this, what a gem)

[gobbles23]

Oh dear....

[toodlepip]

I just saw this, what a gem)

Too funny. Can't be arsed to actually correct her.

You've done a great job - looking fantastic in your new pics!

[Linds33]

Wanna see my Body Media data? That was my burn for the total day. Are you confusing BMR with maintenance?

BMR is the amount of calories needed to lay in bed all day and do nothing, hers is probably around 1350- 1400ish ( did not do the math but this would be very close), after that you add on an activity factor of 1.2-2.0, depending on what she does every day.

Maintenance cals need to take into account the activity you do per day. So if you take a moderate activity factor 1.3-1.4 (lightly active moderate exercise or sports 1.3 times a week) and times it by 1400 her maintenance to keep her current weight is 1820 cals-1960. To get a more accurate number read this sticky, its full of awesome information
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703921

This is what I was thinking. A lot of people confuse BMR with maintenence. As stated above, your BMR is the amount of calories your body needs to perform it's essential functions in order to maintain homeostasis. If you were comatose and in bed not moving your body would still be performing certain functions to keep you alive and this requires calories.

My BMR at 5'4" 117lbs is around 1300 give or take. When i take my activity levels into account my maintenence calories can easily go as high as 2500 or more depending on the activities i perform.

Unless she is wanting to do a figure competition or is in training for some sort of competition, there is no need for her to cut her calories down to 1200. If she isn't loosing she may want to actually look at what she is eating. Does she keep a food diary of everything that she eats? Many of us grossly underestimate how many calories we take in on a given day.

Also, there is no need for her to drop her calories low to loose weight fast. I know that many of us want to look good and need immediate gratification but this is not healthy and usually ends up with people bouncing back an gaining their weight back. Aiming for a caloric deficit of 500 calories a day or 3500 in a week based on her maintanence is the best way to start. See how she does on that.

And in regards to PinkWeights response I was kind of shocked at that too...considering that Julia is already pretty darned lean that sort of fat loss is great in that amount of time!

[juliacheh]

I liked the response of Linds33 very much.
Better take it slowly and dropping calories to drastically low levels is not the best solution for anyone.
Thanks, girls, and what can I say - there will always be ignorant people