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Why do women need 1200 calories a day?
Your body needs fuel to sustain itself. If you eat less than the minimum burn rate, you
start losing weight.
I’ve heard about diets based on 1,200 calories a day for women.
That’s pretty much the minimum a woman can take without starving herself so much that
she can’t do anything. For example, if caloric intake drops to just a thousand calories a
day, you don’t have the energy to work, do housework or take a walk.
What’s normal intake? For guys or girls?
For guys, normal intake is anywhere from 1,800 to 2,500 calories, depending on how much physical
activity they get. For most women, 1,200 to 1,800 calories is ideal.
That’s quite a cut for women, or the average woman's diet.
The ideal weight for women is significantly less than it is for men. The ideal guy is
close to 170 pounds, while women are supposed to be closer to 130.
Less body mass, less fuel needed.
Something like that. And while men can barely function on 1,500 calories, women can get
by on 1,800.
I’ve heard of diets dropping caloric intake down to 1,000 calories or even 500.
Diets that go down that low, like the HCG diet, cause rapid weight loss because you’re
starving. But you can’t sustain that.
Are there women who need more calories than that?
Pregnant and nursing women, absolutely. Athletes shouldn’t cut back their intake that low,
because they’ll lose muscle as well as fat.
I’ve seen nutrition panels that say 1,800 calories is expected intake. Can you lose
weight on that?
And women who weigh a lot will lose weight even at 1,800 calories. Or if they eat 1,800
calories a day and work out a lot.
So you can’t eat less than that without being unable to sustain the weight loss long
term.
And every girl wants to sustain the gain … well, loss.