To ask how many calories you eat in a day to lose weight?

[talomon]

I was told by my PT to eat around 1000-1100 to lose weight. I find it almost impossible to function properly - I am losing weight very slowly, but always hungry and frankly quite miserable.

I am also told by a GP friend that this is ridiculously low.

But when I increase the calories to 1500 or so I gain weight.

I measure and weigh everything, eat healthy, lots of water and lean protein.

For reference I am 5 3' and 69kg.

My PT advised me to eat around 1850 calories a day. I'm 5'7" and currently 106kg. I find it's doable, but challenging.

I'm age 54 and 5'5" and have been on and off diets all my adult life. For most of that time my weight has fluctuated between 9 and 10.5 stone.
I can only lose weight if I eat less than 1100 calories per day, slightly more if I've been for a run. If I eat 1500 calories gradually gain weight.

You just eat less calories than you burn so that’s different for everyone.

Thats far too low! Especially if you’re doing a lot of exercise. If you want to calorie count use a TDEE calculator, get some kitchen scales and log everything. I’ve lost 5kg this way and I can still eat what I want as long as it’s my calorie limit. For reference I’m 75kg 5’9 and eating 1812 calories and do a minimum of 4 weight sessions a week.

What qualifications does your PT have? That's far too low, mine recommends 1500 as a minimum. Are they giving you advice about protein?

I’m 5 ft 6, weigh a little less than you and I lose weight slowly on 1500 cals. BMI about 23. My maintenance calories are about 1700-1800 roughly. I find it too difficult to stick to 1200 or less, I would probably lose weight quickly on that.

I would like to lose half a stone, but I need some treats!

I calculated for me to lose around two pounds a week I had to commit to 4 workouts and maintain calorie deficit with a daily allowance of 1346. It’s working for me. Just under 5lbs in two weeks

I recommend the 'Lose It!' app - very reasonable price (you don't have to subscribe) and extremely sensible calorie allowance.

You need to think about what you are eating too. So 1100 calories of crisps and bread and pasta for example won’t be a filling as 1100 calories of fruit/veg/jacket potato/ beans/lentils/ meat for example.

Posts like this make my eyes bleed.

In simple metabolic terms, insulin is required for fat storage and therefore lower insulin means fat metabolism.

Don’t lower calories especially not to 1000, that’s criminal. Lower carbs and eat till you’re full.

Ask any lean person how they work up an appetite and they’ll say eat less and move more. Ergo eat less move more makes you hungrier.

Fire your PT for lack of nutritional education and basic physiology and metabolism knowledge.

It's all well and good people coming on here to tell you it's too low, but if you're gaining weight on 1500 then obviously it's not too low. I am your height and am active (walking, running, weights etc) for about 3 hours a day, but that makes my tdee still only about 1850.

Have you been on many diets in the past? It's likely your metabolism has lowered over time. I would encourage weight lifting to build some muscle which will help, and up your calories to about 1200, you'll lose weight even more slowly (sorry) but your metabolism won't be as affected.

Totally depends on how active you are.

I can lose weight slowly on 1800 a day

I lose weight on 1500 calories

5ft3
62kilos.
I eat about 1800 a day and maintain.
I do a lot of running and weight lifting

It's not one size fits all.

It sounds like you are not eating enough calories as you definitely should not be feeling awful and hungry all the time.

I would be telling the PT this isn't working for you & come up with a new plan.

I only lose weight (about 1lb a week) if I eat under 1200 per day.

That's without exercise though. If I add in daily exercise for 300 cals or so (eg a 30 min run) I can eat about 1500.

I find that if i'm not feeling hungry, at least for the first few days, I don't lose weight, but i do adapt over time.

I am 5ft 7 and 11st.

500-800 and I lose about 2 lbs per week. It’s working well at the moment and once I get into the swing of it I feel fine. One large nutrient dense meal a day.

5'4" 10 stone 1350kcals a day, lift weights 2/3 times a week

1700 and I'll lose about 1-2lbs a week if I also increase my walking to at least 8000 a day. I'm tall and post menopausal.

It's far too low. At one point I realised I don't burn much more than that without exercise, so I've got to add a walk a day to be able to eat enough to feel ok, create a calorie defecit and loose weight incredibly slowly.

However, then I started a low carb high fat diet with very relaxed intermittent fasting - I eat first in the day once I'm properly hungry, rather than aiming for a set time. So I end up going 14-18 between last meal in the evening and first of the day. I don't count calories. The weight comes off easily and I feel great.
I do quite an active sport, so started playing with this because the spikes and dips in blood sugar became really troubling.

The standard reference daily intake for a woman is ~2000 cals, to "stand still".

I would aim for ~1,500 but on top of that also make sure you are getting the recommended 12,000 steps in per day. Activity levels are a big part of the equation.

That activity will burn off a few hundred more cals and then you should be doing well.

The feelings of hunger and misery are more psychological. Of course we get hunger pangs and things when trying to shed weight. But you can overcome that - focus instead on the reward when you reach a healthy weight and can then enjoy food more.

Who is in charge here? You, or your appetite?

5ft 10 and exercise 4 times a week (spin classes mostly)
I try and stick to 18:6 fasting and eat lunch and a small snack, so maybe 1000 cals a day. Am losing 1lb a week

Depends on so many things, as PPs have pointed out, including how quickly you are expecting to lose weight.
If you're fine with a slow steady loss over many months, you definitely don't need to restrict as drastically as that.
Cut down on carbs and try some intermittent fasting. Once I cut out bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and high sugar fruit, and ate between 12:00 and 18:00, I could pretty much stop thinking about how much I ate. The weight has melted off easily (without adding any exercise bar a fortnightly swim and just everyday business) and a diet high in protein, fat and vegetable fibre meant I have never felt hungry.
Be a tortoise, not a hare if possible, OP, and good luck!

I was 68kg, I'm 5ft 4 (barely) so very similar to you. I started low carb on 10th August and have already lost 11.5lbs. I am not hungry and I've been so busy studying that in those weeks since I started I have been to the gym once. I also live somewhere that is currently too hot to walk or exercise outside without melting. I have a sedentary job and my average step count is less than 5000/day. I think it's not so much about calories but about macros - when I track my calories it's about 1400 average but without the carb and sugar crashes I am simply not as hungry as I used to be.

According to an online calculator I had a look at just now, assuming you are quite active and mid 30's, about 1450 calories should result in loss of about half a kg per week. 1100 is very low indeed and as for the person who mentioned 500 to 800, I felt faint just thinking about it!

I didn't measure calories religiously when losing weight but I think it was an average of about 1700 - less Mon to Thurs and more the other days as then I had wine! I am 5'8" and started at 85kg. Lost 15kg steadily over 6 months at which point I was happy enough, although due to the eating habits I'd established another 4kg have come off without actively trying. Seems stable at 66kg now.

From my own experience I'd say viewing it as "a diet" isn't helpful - for me what worked was eating a bit less volume, and lower calorie options, at almost all meals and having very few snacks. One a day, a low calorie option like a skinny whip bar or similar.