Is 1200 calories diet equally good for men and women?

1. 53

   lifeistomileposted 12 years ago

   i have my opinion and i need experts opinion
   
   so lets discuss
   
   as metabolic needs of men is about 2400 calories on average and women is 1800 calories on average, so lets discuss

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   1. 60

      HoopBotposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Daily calorie recommendations printed on foods in the UK suggest that men should eat 2500 calories daily, and 1500 for women. Although for some films such as 300 and Ryan Reynolds' Blade, they (as men) stuck to a 1300 calorie day.

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      1. 58

         truparad0xposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         A 1200 calorie diet is not sustainable in the long term, especially for men who are bulking up for a movie such as Blade 3.

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2. 84

   donotfearposted 12 years ago

   I'd starve on that. I could do 2000 a day.

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3. 71

   relacheposted 12 years ago

   Your caloric theory seems to completely skip any relevance for age, overall health of the person, activity level or lifestyle. 
   
   The whole problem with general daily recommendations is that caloric needs vary great from person to person.

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   1. 59

      vydyulashashiposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      even when a person is at complete rest at home without any work needs a minimum calories to sustain bodily functions
      
      so when male and female are compared in such situation
      male requires 2700 calories per day and female 2000 and this is an average value for persons who just do day to day work without any strenuous works

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4. 95

   habeeposted 12 years ago

   True, Relache. My husband consumes about 4,000 calories a day and is not overweight.

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5. 71

   relacheposted 12 years ago

   I've been trying to drop a few pounds myself, and figuring out how many calories you actually expend in a day is a good way to start.  Because you either will need to make sure you burn off more than you eat, or eat less than you expend, if you are going to lose weight.

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6. 61

   Suzie Parkerposted 12 years ago

   Consuming too little calories (no matter if you are a man or a woman), will make your body think that it is in a famine. What then happens is that it holds on to any thing that it can, because it don't know when it will be getting in more food.
   
   That slows down your metabolism and your body lets go of the heaviest thing to maintain (muscle) and holds on to the lightest thing (fat). So when you go on a 1200 calorie diet and you need way more calories, you will slow down your metabolism, lose muscle and hold on to your fat. This will lead to you having more fat than muscle and also having problems to lose weight in the long run.
   
   What's best for women and men is to follow a healthy,balanced diet that contains enough calories to be healthy and to allow the body to let go of the fat.
   
   1200 calories are definitely too little for men (I would say). But for some small framed and inactive women, 1200 calories may be OK. It all depends on your metabolic rate.

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7. 64

   Mishaposted 12 years ago

   Equally bad rather

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8. 40

   jacobkuttytaposted 12 years ago

   Honestly I don't know

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9. 59

   vydyulashashiposted 12 years ago

   so averagely a male needs 2700/day and female 2000/day and this is an average only and is for people who do their day to day work without any extra hard work
   
   people who do strenuous works daily may require higher amount of calories.

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   1. 58

      The Futureposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      The amount of calories you need depend on how much you weigh, not your gender.

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      1. 59

         vydyulashashiposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         its an average of all stats, male and female have separate requirements

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10. 75

    cathylynn99posted 12 years ago

    minimum medically recommended calorie-restricted diets for women are 1200 cals and for men are 1500 cals. less than that and you won't get enough of a balanced diet to sustain good health. though whoever said your weight plays a role is correct, too.

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11. 49

    healthy chikposted 12 years ago

    Hi, this is a great post, thanks for sharing it xxxxx

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12. 49

    healthy chikposted 12 years ago

    Hi, sorry, i should have said, 'these are great answers' -) Very imformative
    xxxxx

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13. 70

    jenblacksheepposted 12 years ago

    I've been trying to do a 1200 calorie diet but I'm not great at working out portion sizes because I haven't been as hungry as I thought I should be. I've also been eating a lot of crap. On the plus side I did lose 3lbs last week. I don't think i did as well this week.

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14. 60

    Supercellbaebeposted 12 years ago

    Calorie counting is totally flawed and it is unnatural.  Did our ancestors used to count calories?  No.  Where they healthy and able to function?  Yes. 
    
    Calorie counting is a viral marketing tool, which the health industry has come up with and is now raking in the cash from. 
    
    A human body cannot be thought of as a calorie burning machine, because frankly, it isn't!  Its a human body with an enormous array of chemical, physical and neurological reactions...  I could write an encyclopedia on the subject. 
    
    But in a nutshell, calorie counting is total garbage and without it, the world would be a much better and healthier place. 
    
    xxx

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    1. 49

       steve.plumeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       In general we don't need to count calories, as our bodies are normally quite good at knowing how much we need to eat.  Although the way the body works is complicated though, there is a simple fact, which is that if you consume just slightly more energy than you need, every day, for many years, you can eventually find yourself overweight.
       
       About 4 months ago I realised that this had happened to me, gradually over 15 years, and I was perhaps quite a bit larger than I really should be. Calorie counting, as a temporary measure, has worked very well for me. I've lost over 3 stone since then, and am much closer to being a good healthy weight.
       
       I don't intend to keep counting calories. Just need to be aware if I start getting a bit larger again, and then maybe eat a bit less, but it has been an incredibly useful tool to get me to where I am now.
       
       To answer the original question. Yes, it does depend on your size etc. but what I did was stick to 1800 calories a day (I'm a man). No rules about type of food - anything permitted.  Now that I'm less fat and more confident, I'll soon get back to just eating a good balanced diet, without the need to count everything.
       
       I'd actually go as far as to say that most of the diet industry, far from using calorie counting as a marketing tool, actually goes the other way and tries to tell us that it doesn't work, and what you really need is their product.  Weight Watchers do sell calorie counting, with smaller numbers, but much of the rest of the industry wants to sell supplements, special diet plans, etc. and they would rather not have you know that simple do-it-yourself calorie counting does actually work!
       
       All for the world being a better place though, I'm with you on that! :-)

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15. 62

    cobrienposted 12 years ago

    The human body needs, per day, a minimum of 11 calories per pound of weight for basic functions. Anything less is damaging to the body. A 100 pound person needs 1,100 calories a day PLUS whatever he uses for physical activity.

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16. 60

    ncuxapa_posted 12 years ago

    1200 is too low number for both women and men. When you lose weight eventually, you will gain it back because you have chosen to take less than 1900 calories per day. It is metabolism and you can not change it.

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17. 60

    Looze_It!posted 12 years ago

    The more important factor is what you feed yourself, not the actual quantity. There have been studies that show the over-eating capabilities of people on different diets.
    People who ate the most nutrient dense foods, such as meats and veggies, could only consume 20% over their recomended caloric intake. The people who were fed junk-food and carb loaded nutrient deficient food were able to consume well over double, with some reaching 4x the recommended caloric intake by the end of the study.
    In summation: If you are eating good food for your body, you won't have to worry aboout the # of calories.
    
    *please read the other comments on this forum regarding the dangers of calorie restriction

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18. 58

    Andrew Gubbposted 12 years ago

    I think it's very subjective. I know someone who probably eats about 500 calories a day. She's been doing so for the last two years and seems okay.

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19. 57

    cnn8192posted 12 years ago

    Many people confuse calories burning with fat burning.
    
    Make sure that your diet is apropriate before counting calories. And standart calories as you've entioned 2700 and 2000 is OK, do not need to dicrease to 1200. Just Choose right diet.

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20. 57

    ftclickposted 12 years ago

    you can always eat the right calories at the right time. more breads in the morning so yo work it off as the day progresses.

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