1200 calorie diet help?

Question

ok i need some help people. my doctor put me on a 1200 cal diet, which isn't to hard to do....but the problem i am having is this. i am told that you have to burn more calories than you intake to lose weight....well you see there in lies my problem. burning over 1200 calories a day will take me forever...so i dont know what to do.

Answer 1

You will not need to burn 1200 calories through exercise because you burn calories throughout the day naturally through other activities. Even while you are sitting or sleeping, you burn calories. 1200 calories is very low and is likely already set for you to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week. If you were to exercise enough to burn off an additional 200 to 300 calories everyday, then you will lose more weight. But if your doctor put you on a specific calorie diet, then he is probably already calculating that you will lose weight without any exercise. You should consult your doctor to answer your questions. He will probably be very happy to explain everything to you.  

Answer 2

The average person burns 1400-2000 calories per day sitting around.

At your weight, you burn closer to 4000. 1200 is WAY too low for you. But then again 300+ lbs is dangerously obese. I would get away from your doctor's plan and get to a real nutritionist.

Answer 3

Calculate your bmr here:

Harris Benedict Formula

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2

If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375

If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55

If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725

If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

Total Calorie Needs Example

If you are sedentary, multiply your BMR (1745) by 1.2 = 2094. This is the total number of calories you need in order to maintain your current weight.

Once you know the number of calories needed to maintain your weight, you can easily calculate the number of calories you need to eat in order to gain or lose weight:

Answer 4

You're not supposed to burn the same amount of calories you eat!  Then it would cancel out to 0.  Just do 30 minutes  or an hour of cardio exercise three or four times a week, and you should lose weight.

Answer 5

Your body burns calories without you doing anything as it is.  This alone will probably be around 1200 to 1500, or higher, depending on age, height and weight.  

I think what your doctor means is that if you eat more than 1200 calories a day you need to burn off the extra.  So if you eat 1500 calories, you need to burn 300.