To not understand weight loss TDEE equation? Eating 900 calories can't be right?

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That's far too little so I must be misunderstanding something?

Depending on if I put in light or moderate exercise my TDEE comes out as needing 1600 or 1700 ish calories a day to stay the weight I currently am. Say I'm trying to lose 2lb per week, that needs a deficit of 7000 calories a week. If I burn off 200 calories of exercise, that still would mean I'd have to eat only 900 calories a day to lose 2lb.

Wut?! I don't get it.

Clearly I'm being seriously dense with my maths because I know that sounds wrong but can't figure it out

I could never, and would never, eat just 900 calories a day on an ongoing basis! I need 3 good meals a day to be a nice agreeable human being, let alone any negative health aspects.

What mistake am I making with the TDEE thing?

It means that 2lb a week is not achievable! Aim for less and get more to eat.

Like Again says - it's just not feasible to lose 2lb a week.

I'm 5' tall - I feel your pain, low calories for others are maintenance amounts when you're a small person.

Are you very short or do you weigh very little maybe you don't have any weight to lose? Otherwise I think it's been calculated wrong.

Aim for a slower weight loss. You’re more likely to keep it off that way too.

Aim for 1lb a week - 2lbs of actual fat to lose (not water, or muscle, which is what most people lose when they say they have lost 5 lbs in a week) is unsustainable for most people, unless you are very overweight in the first place.

You definitely can’t live off 900 calories a day!

I'm afraid that sounds right to me. I'm 5'8" and mine is 1000 calories. I did stick to it for 6 months before I got pregnant and lost 2lbs a week regularly.

Ah, okay!

I'm fairly small and not much to lose. Just thought it would be nice to shed a few pounds for summer.

I read about this TDEE thing years ago but never really bothered checking it with my own numbers, so was surprised. You always hear that 1 or 2 pounds a week is a sensible goal, however I think for me 1 would definitely be the max!

Your TDEE is what your body needs to keep you alive. You will burn more than 200 calories from moving around. My TDEE is 1350. I burn around 2200 - 2300 per day (more at weekends) from a combination of walking (about 3-4 miles), pottering around the house and exercise. I eat about 1600m- 1700 and am losing about 1.5lbs per week.

You absolutely can, live off 800 calories a day, without feeling hungry, for 12 weeks on the Blood Sugar Diet (as the food suggested is very nutrient dense).

Have a look in the BSD thread to see all the people happily doing so.

Your TDEE is what your body needs to keep you alive. You will burn more than 200 calories from moving around. My TDEE is 1350.

You're thinking of BMR. The OP is talking about her TDEE, which is BMR plus daily activities.

TBH 1,600 isn’t too bad. A small (but not tiny) post menopausal woman in a sedentary job has a TDEE of less than 1,300 calories.

I think 2lbs a week is only normally manageable if you’ve got a fair bit to loose. If you’re at a BMI of 24 and trying to lose half a stone to get into your favourite jeans again then it’ll probably take you 7 weeks.

1 or 2 lbs/week is plausible if you start out with a quite large body. I guess you can be pleased that you don't have a huge amount to lose.

I have a fantasy about losing 4 kg so I could run faster. Am intrigued if I could be satisfied on 800 kcal/day! Trying to find vegetarian meal plans on that diet.

If you want to lose 2lbs by the summer you have got several months to do it in. If you aim for losing half a pound per week you will have lost you will have lost 2lbs by the end of next month!