To find it too hard to stick to 1200 calories a day

[Lilacdreamowl]

I’m two stone overweight. I’ve started calorie counting and upping up my steps and on couch to 5k in my third week.
i can’t stick to 1200 calories :( i find it very tough. I have one meal a day where i allow carbs that i like such as bread, rice or pasta as whenever I’ve tried very low carb it just doesn’t work. The other two meals I don’t have carbs.
im ranging between 1205-1500 this week.

Can I still lose weight if i do a smaller deficit instead? Wanted to hear other experiences on a smaller deficit and how long it took?

How did you work out the 1200? If you put your stats into my fitness pal and aim to lose half a pound a week, that’ll be more realistic.

God. Sounds miserable.

Calculate your BMR and use that as your calorie deficit intake.

Have you read the Fast 800 books? I find their ideas really helpful, like a big bowl of soup is pretty filling but if you cook a low calories soup like miso, you then have 2 decent meals worth of calories left.

Some people will lose weight with a smaller deficit. I don't seem to, for some reason. I seem to do well on the fast 800 but it isnt 800 - more like 1000 - 1200.

Finding things that fill you up like veg, water etc should help.

1200 seems a bit low tbh.
Could you increase it by 200, increase your daily steps which in turn means you are moving your body more and maybe do strength training as well as the cardio you are doing. It sounds a lot but it's just weeks. I've found that's has worked for me as I found 1200 wasn't sustainable gor me.

What age are you OP?

1200 is what a toddler should eat. I ate 1800 a day and still lost nearly 9 stone.
Use James smith pt calculator online to work out what you should have

I’m late 30s

Oh wow well done!
I’ll take a look

I lost 2 stone - went from 11 to 9 stone in just under 4 months in this amount of calories OP.

but one thing that definitely kept me going was weighing in Boots once a week on Saturday - psychologically - that was important to me

and I did one form of exercise a day - be it swimming, treadmill or aerobics

I can't up my exercise and cut my calories at the same time. The exercise makes me ravenous and I eat far more.
It works better for me to cut down calories and to do gentle exercise- walking etc. Then, once my body is more used to fewer calories and I've lost a fair bit, I can up my exercise slowly without feeding it too much.

Frozen veggies heated up with salt, pepper, lime juice is my simplest filler.
Boiled egg and spinach or brocolli keeps me going for ages.
Try it. Low calorie and filling.

What is your TDEE?

MFP puts 1200 for 2lb weight loss a week. Maybe I need to lower it. 1lb a week puts me at 1600

Aim for 1200 - 1600 for a 1-2 lb lose, sometimes you will be under sometimes over.

Says maintenance is 1890, I put sedentary as I have an office job

I lost 2st on 1200-1400 / day in my late 40s, with fairly limited exercise, eg just steps as opposed to proper workouts or swimming.
Intermittent fasting was a great help as was LCHF.
Good luck!

I lost 4 stone in 6 months on 1600-1700 use James Smith or Sean Casey for TDEE calories.

Oh i’m 45 as well.

1200 is what a toddler should eat

Or a short slim adult...

As long as you have a deficit you will loose weight.

I swear by spicy food. Add chilli flakes or chilli sauce to all my veg and it's more palatable and then I can eat more low calorie veg and need less carbs.

If you are struggling make a change. If it's too hard you won't maintain it

Make sure you're hitting your protein goals. This is super important.

Also, 1200 is unrealistic. Even 1500 would make life so much easier for you.

1200 is too low (compared to your tdee and because you can't maintain it).

You'd be better off increasing your calories and increasing activity, particularly weight training for muscle gain.

Generally, what works for you is the right decision. Whether that's 1200 or 1500, it doesn't matter as long as it's a deficit.

Also, if you aren't already, I found that calorie counting over a week worked much better for me than over a day. I was less focused on the ups and downs.

Could you walk us through a typical day's eating, I used to believe all calories were created equal but god, it's so much more bearable on certain foods!
How much water are you drinking, and are you exercising at all?

I'm 5 foot and 57. The only way I lose weight is to stick to 1000 cals a day and I lose 1lb a week at that.
Over the years I have tried every diet.
Recently I used injections which helped me lose 2 st. I still only lost 1 lb a week and ate 1000 cals a day. The injections made it easier to stick to it.
What helps I find is to do 8/16. So I have 2 meals between 12 midday and 8 pm. I can get through to 12 easily, have 250 ish for lunch which leaves scope for a proper dinner.
I can live without alcohol, bread and sugar which helps.

If your maintenance is around 1900 I would aim for 1700 and up steps/ exercise.

1200 is too low and insustainable IMO.