To think 1,200 calories a day is enough?

[MissDallas]

I am 3 stone overweight. I have also been thinking about moving to a plant-based diet for health and ethical reasons.

I am considering a 5 day Juice Cleanse to kickstart some weight loss and break some old habits. There is a company locally who supply 5 days worth of juice and I asked them how many calories a day that is. The guy worked it all out by each ingredient and told me it was 1,200 calories per day.

I know that juice cleanses generally get a bad press and are considered 'starvation', but I think 1,200 calories a day is fine for someone who is trying to lose some weight.

What does everyone else think? Thank you.

[AyeAmarok]

One pound of feathers weighs the same as one pound of butter. It's a myth that muscle weighs more than fat. A pound is a pound is a pound.

When people say this, what they mean is "a cubed inch of fat weighs less than a cubed inch of muscle.

Obviously a kilogram of muscle weighs the same as a kilo of fat! The point is, if you have two people the exact same size, but one is all muscle and the other has no muscle, the fat person will weigh less.

Or if you have two people the same weight, one with muscle and one fat, the muscled person will be smaller in size.

[HelenF35]

If I were you I'd calculate you bmr (the number of calories required for your body to carry out its essential functions) and eat at least that number. There are online calculators that do it for you. That will save you feeling like crap.

[MorrisZapp]

I'm trying to lose weight just with cutting out snacks and crap just now. It works, slowly.

A big part of it for me is juice smoothies. I make them with whatever fruit salad are in the reduced section. I put in almond milk and some Chia seeds.

I have the smoothie instead of evening snacks. It's like a dessert in a glass, but I'm getting every bit of goodness from the fruit, including the much needed fibre.

I personally don't recommend a 1200 calorie diet but if you're determined to do it, make smoothies not juice.

[KeepingitReal2]

Unless you change your diet long term you'll pile all the weight back on when you start eating normal again

Being vegan is not the answer to everything though in general most tend to lose weight
I've been losing by eating more protein and less carbs and zero carbs in the evening and it's how I eat now
I still have treats too like chocolate but I've managed to lose over 2 stone need to lose 1-2 more but I've also built a lot of muscle mass which makes me burn more calories anyway... Muscle also weighs more

[MissDallas]

Just to clarify, it is a "juice" diet, not a "fruit juice" diet. Most of it is liquefied vegetables.

[GarlicShake]

You know, Jon, I nearly typed "The toned muscle takes up less space but weighs more by volume. Then I thought, that's overcomplicating a thing any fule can see.
Or, as PPs have amply described, feathers/butter :)

[ppeatfruit]

We are ALL different; some lose weight with the paleo diet , some get ill on it etc. etc.

I lost nearly 3 stone reeducating my body with the help of Paul Mackenna. I eat very healthily, it wasn't the food I ate it was the "not overeating ". Learning when I
'm hungry , eating slowly and really enjoying the food and STOPPING when I'm full. That works.

I have never counted calories but I do probably eat less than I did before. I have a homemade seasonal smoothie every morning ( I include ground almonds and linseeds in it so it doesn't spike my blood sugar levels).

To kick off your weight loss I would

1. cut out caffeinated drinks and alcohol
   

1. Drink plenty of filtered water and herbal teas.
   

3, Eat fruit on an empty stomach and don't mix proteins with carbs. at the same meal.

This works too Good luck !

[Bumpsadaisie]

Surely the problem with "juices" is that all the fibre is taken out?

So you are just getting the natural sugars that are in the fruit and veg without the fibre.

Fibre has an important role in maintaining blood sugar levels - it is like a bag in the stomach which prevents the sugar being absorbed too rapidly into the blood. This helps keep blood sugar stable.

If your blood sugar is going up and down and up and down you'll get cravings and feel rubbish in the lows.

To me a juice diet sounds dreadful, both in terms of your experience on it and how it will work in your body.

I would try to eat smaller portions, three times a day, with small amounts of carbs, plenty of protein and veg/salad. Cut out wine/alcohol.

I would also try and exercise every day - not going crazy, even a brisk 30 min walk or cycle would do the job. The exercise won't make you lose weight (it will probably build muscle) but it will make you feel zingy, give you energy and help you cope with the demand of a busy life.

I always notice that if I do exercise regularly I feel much less hungry - I think exercise helps metabolism and smooths out the spikes in blood sugar highs and lows.

[araiba]

caffeine boosts metabolism so can be useful trying to burn fat

[lougle]

I'm confused by all these people saying that 1200 calories is unsustainable and still make you miserable. I've been on 1200 calories since late March. I'm a nurse, with 3 young children, so fairly active, and I'm often scrabbling around at 10pm for something to eat because otherwise My Fitness Pal will display the red screen of doom, telling me I haven't eaten enough calories and will surely die! For the record, it's my first ever diet, having always tended to bring underweight in the past. Post-children 30's metabolism changes caught up with me after Christmas.

A typical day might be
-Greek yoghurt with strawberries in the morning (220 cal)
-a large king Prawn salad at lunch (60g salad leaves, 70g mozzarella, 65g cucumber, 85g beetroot, 80g baby plum tomatoes, 75g king prawns, 40g strawberries, 2tsp balsamic dressing) (335 cal)
-a roast dinner in the evening (70g topside beef, 65g roast potatoes, 65g roasted sweet potatoes, 67g roasted parsnips, 40g boiled carrots, 45g steamed black cabbage, 1 slice of cloutie dumpling, 1 serving custard) (638 cal)
Total 1193 calories.

I think that's plenty of food for one day.

[PerpendicularVincent]

The thing is, none of us know your body weight or type. You need to weigh yourself, plug that and your goal weight into my fitness pal and get an idea of the daily calories you need for sustained weight loss.

It may be 1200, it may be far more. To give you an idea, I was so overweight when I started that to lose 1lb a week I was on 2000 calories per day .

That, coupled with a cheap fit bit, healthy eating and exercise will be far better than a quick cleanse. The juices may taste lovely, but I imagine you'll be hungry and lacking in energy.

Jon, my personal trainer is fully qualified, has helped me drop 2 dress sizes so far and I'm training for a tough mudder. I'm very happy with his advice, which in each instance has been proved, for me, spot on.

Good luck OP, you sound very determined which is a great start

[araiba]

everyones calorie intake varies depending on age, sex, size, lifestyle etc

thats why you need to work out your own personal requirements, not just read a random facebook post

[ppeatfruit]

araiba IME Only if it's not consumed on a daily basis. I gave up one daily freshly ground coffee, no sugar, and lost weight! But If I have one occasionally it does speed up my metabolic rate.

[WhatALoadOfOldBollocks]

Surely in order to determine how many calories you need to lose weight you first need to know your basal metabolic rate and your activity level? The NHS isn't doing anyone any favours by saying women need 2000 calories per day when I worked out I only need just under 1800 for my weight to stay stable. I'd get fatter if I ate 2000!

[AuroraBora]

This: www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bmr_calculator.htm

Came up with approx 1,400 kcals a day for me. I'm 5ft 7inches and a size 10, around 9 and a half stone. I'm going to check what MFP suggests for me in a sec.

I also agree you need more than juice, otherwise you will be ravenous all day! Get some protein in you and fresh veg. Diet changes should be sustainable, juicing really won't be.

[LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726]

I'm really surprised that people are still quoting 'muscle v fat weight'. A pound of muscle weighs exactly the same as a pound of fat - it will just look better, more toned than fat does. Muscle also burns calories so is obviously better to have.

People have lots of different ideas about weightloss, OP, just find something that works for you and stick to that because if it works, you'll be motivated to carry on with it. Good luck!

[Breadandwine]

As Mooey said, get yourself over to the 5:2 thread. Check out all the posters happily losing weight and giving each other support.

Or check out the scientifically based Blood Sugar Diet, recommended by Dr Mike Mosley, which allows you 800 cals per day for 8 weeks. Here's the Mumsnet forum.

Or, if you really want to go down the juicing route, search online for "Fat, forty and nearly dead". Very inspirational.

Please don't go down to 1200cals per day - you'll last a week or so, then you'll find yourself binging.

[timeforheroes]

I'm the same lougle, some days I don't hit 1200 and have nuts or something to bring it up. I don't feel like I am being hard done by or am starving myself.

OP said she was thinking about a plant based diet for ethical reasons didn't she? I don't think she saw it as a diet did she? It's not a diet, it's really easy to eat vegan junk food and pile on the weight, heck you can eat loads of healthy vegan choices like avocado and nuts etc and find you don't lose weight. That's why I use MYFitnessPal to track calories.

I wouldn't personally do the juice thing as I'd far rather eat my calories than drink them. I'd take it one thing at a time, if you are serious about veganism as an ethical choice rather than dietary I would look in to that in more detail. I'm biased but I think the transition is pretty simple if it's for ethical reasons, I didn't crave previous food choices because they no longer sat well with me.

I've watched Joe Cross documentary with the juice diet and it was eye opening, however I don't think that it is necessary over just basic healthy eating and calories in/calories out.

[timeforheroes]

Sorry, my mistake, hadn't seen the health part of the plant based choice. Ignore me.

[AuroraBora]

Just checked MFP and my suggested intake on there is 1,420, and I have myself down as doing light exercise. I would get the app, it's a really useful tool, and very revealing about how many calories are in certain foods you can also scan food from it, so if you buy a salad you can just scan the barcode and you've recorded it. So easy.

[Mov1ngOn]

How does giving up coffee /caffeine help with weight loss? (I drink tea and coffee and am huge but need to work on emotional stuff around eating rather than calorie counting)

[RonaldMcDonald]

Do the blood sugar diet. 800 cals and fantastic

[MummyBex1985]

1,200 calories is the bear minimum that anyone should take in whilst seeking to lose weight. If you're three stone overweight then it's unlikely to be enough and could actually mess up your metabolism - ie, you may not lose weight at all and if you do, you'll probably put it all on again when you start eating normally.

[JonSnowsBeardClippings]

There is no evidence that the blood sugar diet has any scientific backing, it's just a starvation diet. 800 calories isn't enough.

[user1463231665]

Whata, yes mine is 1700 a day to maintain my weight the same due to my age etc. So to lose a pound a week I'd need to eat 1200 calories a day (3500 calorie deficit for each pound lost) . Other women who are younger or heavier or more active need more calories. People need to work out their basal metabolic rate. Also it's all very personal - what works for you.
For me eating foods in their natural state - which would be the real deal veg not juicing it to remove half the good bits, works better but I recently bought one of my teenagers a juicer at his request and every morning before school he's there with his carrots and grapefruits and all sorts making a pint of juiced stuff. (which is better than his full tub of haagen dazs ice cream he used to eat in bed every night so I'm not complaining and he's got no weight to lose either)