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.

It depends on how tall you are OP. Do you know what your BMR is?

lougle I don't disagree that 1200 als a day is enough for many people; I prob maintain my weight on 3 meals of 400 cals, or 2 x 200 cals and then 600 plus 2 small snacks.

BUT is this really adding up to just over 600 cals?
-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)

You've got 200 gms ish of roast veg, meat, a pudding and custard. I've have thought the pudding alone was around 300 cals.

1,200 calories a day is quite a lot, for a diet.

No OP, it really isn't. Well, for a crash diet maybe, but not for a sustainable lifestyle change.

Why do you think you need to start with juice? You really don't. If you're looking to lose weight I imagine you're looking to keep it off. It's not necessarily a quick journey.

Like others have said: eat well and track your calories. If you drink juice all day you'll just be starving. I had a colleague at work did a similar diet to this (juice all day and a small evening meal) and on day 3 I came into the work kitchen to find him shaking by the vending machine desperately trying to put money in for crisps. It's not a good look.

On 1200 a day, it would take me a month to lose a lb.
OP really needs to say their age, and height to judge what is a healthy daily intake.
If she's 60, sedentary and 5 foot nothing then 1200 will be maintenance cals at a healthy weight.
Whereas 18, 5 foot 10 and a spot of light exercise would be 2000.

Movingon Try it,. It won't hurt you I don't know why but IME it does. DH is v. overweight as soon as he started drinking decaff he started losing weight.

I certainly don't count calories or weigh food or eat low fat or 'diet' foods and I lost my 3 stone easy peasy on the Paul Mckenna as I said upthread. He addresses the emotional side of weight loss very effectively too.

Sorry Moving It might give you a headache though ! So you need to do it when you can rest for a day or so! Green tea helps the withdrawal symptoms too.

Sounds like a brilliant way to quickly become fatter and unhealthier than before.

You can eat a lot of plant based foods for 1200 calories that would fill you up and not give blood sugar spikes (which will affect your mood and cravings) like a juice not to mention a whole lot more sustainable and enjoyable.

Take a look at forksoverknives.com for recipes, the Nutritarian Diet by Dr. Furhman, and books/websites from Deliciously Ella, Thug Kitchen, Thrive and Oh She Glows for real plant based meals - you're not going to juice forever so why set yourself up for a fall? I also wouldn't restrict calories when transitioning to a plant based diet - count them with MFP or another app so you know how much you're eating but don't restrict until you've settled into the already big dietary change.You may find you can lose weight without restricting.

Totally agree Purplefox.

PollyPerky that was all strictly weighed, yes. I've lost 5.5kg in just over 6 weeks so far. I started at 69.3kg on 28th March and today I weigh 63.8kg. It's a combination of eating healthier foods and eating less.

I did a juice diet for a week

I lost 9lbs and used it to kick start a bit of healthy eating, i did not regain the weight for well over 3 years

Two years ago i lost weight doing 1000 calories for 5 days and 600 calories for two days.

I alwys gain/find it difficult to maintain if my meds arent right

Need to start again. (Tomorrow )

Also: read this. Everyone read this. It addresses the ideas of clean eating etc and empathises the importance of an all round inclusive diet www.vice.com/en_uk/read/ruby-tandoh-eat-clean-wellness

*emphasises, even!

1200 calories a day is probably fine but might be a bit harsh to start with for someone who is 3st overweight. Maybe start on 1500?
The juice diet is a bad idea. It's just going to cause sugar spikes and crashes and you'll feel starving! 1200 of healthy food could leave you feeling satisfied.

I recommend the 5:2.

Perfect for losing weight at a steady rate, getting appetite/portion control in check and still being allowed treats. Most sustainable way of eating I've ever done.

People lose and manage to maintain for the rest of their life.

Have a read of the OP on the thread below. Big choc frenzy looks after everyone really well and gives excellent advice.

5:2 Thread number 63: 7 days without chocolate makes one weak ! On 5:2 you only diet 2 days a week.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/fasting_diet/2620275-5-2-Thread-number-63-7-days-without-chocolate-makes-one-weak-On-5-2-you-only-diet-2-days-a-week

Talking of deliciously ella: angry-chef.com/blog/want-to-see-something-really-scary

You could buy an awful lot of fruit for the £60 or so these preprepared versions cost.

Nothing wrong with having something drastic just for a few days, but quite a lot wrong with paying over the odds for it.

The lnke supposedly about delicisious ella above is abut someoen else actually.
However cooks who ecommend lots of veg are going do to you a lot more good that cooks who want you to stuff cakes down you like bakeoff. I know what food will make you healthier and it's nto cakes and biscuits. It's good stuff. It's all very simple. Eat food which is as natural as possible and you cannot go far wrong.

Wasn't hungry when i juiced

Too much bloody water

Interesting link to the TDEE calculator. It pretty much confirms what I thought. For me, my TDEE is 1408 cals. So to lose weight I'd have to reduce by 500 cals to 900 a day. I feel like thumbing my nose at people who say 1200 cals is a lot- clearly for some people it isn't.

Well, I'm a shortarse and my TDEE is 2046. So there! Oh wait, it's not a competition.

I'm 2stone over weight and I am losing a pound a week on 1500 calories a day. I'm 5ft5. I tried 1200 but I only lost an extra half a pound a week on average and, more importantly, was miserable and starving.

well ive logged todays calories. Ive eaten hardly anything and its already over 1000. No wonder I cant lose weight

bluesky I tried 1300 per day once, on the recommendation of the computer mfp, but I found it really complicated to stay under that and meet my other nutritional requirements (fruit, veg, protein) while eating broadly similar meals to the family.