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?

I eat 5hos3 foods, of course. But not like that. Microwaved frozen veg with some lemon juice? Eggs and spinach as a meal? No thanks.

No, you dont need to pick this up and run with it with such angst. Its clear what the other poster meant, that in order to lose weight by cutting 500 cals a day, their intake needs to be around 1200. For me it would be 1047

I lost 3 stone on 1800 a day (fairly active, very short). Everyone is different so I’m sure it works for some but in my experience 1200 is way too low to have enough energy or to be sustainable or enjoyable. I had many years of trying different diets but the change for me was changing my relationship with food, improving my overall health, nourishment and wellbeing and moving away from the belief that I needed to be starving for any ‘diet’ to be mworkong’.

Surely the answer is to not be sedentary then…

1200 calories sounds utterly miserable and unsustainable. Under eating can slow your metabolism and mess with your hormones.

Just eat healthily and exercise more. That is sustainable for life then without yo yo dieting which never works.

Have you never heard of eggs Benedict (correction) Florentine?
Ok, microwaved veggies are vile but also, I would imagine, it's not the entire daily food diary we are presented with here.

I have. That’s not what the poster said though. She said ‘boiled eggs and spinach’.

OP, I too get told by the strictest calorie calculators not to eat more than 1300-ish calories to lose half a kilo a week. I'd massively struggle with that, and I lose weight at about 1700-1800 kcal a day. I'm 36 years old and in a fairly sedentary job but a very physically active hobby several times a week. If you're struggling and feel like you're starving, I'd advise you to eat a little more, especially if you've just taken up running as well.

we are talking about losing weight though, and some ‘slim’ women will want to lose. People would say I am slim, but I carry a lot of weight around my middle (which isn’t that visible wearing clothes) and visceral fat around organs (I know that as a consultant pointed it out as he thought he had the wrong patient details up and he said ‘your stomach isn’t that big’. Sadly it is. So losing weight is the only way to lose that extra fat around the middle. So for me to lose I need to eat 1200 absolute max, preferably closer to 1000. 1200 is the reality for many short women, especially if aiming for 2lbs a week. Even if some think its the calories for a toddler.

If your maintenance is 1890 then 1200 is too low to lose. Not necessary. Try 1300-1400

I'm 5"3 and 39 and have to eat around 1200 to lose anything, and that's with a decent amount of exercise.

That is true in practice and is what MFP recommends

It's so hard!

If I ate anywhere near 2000 regularly I'd be piling the weight on, and yet quite a few men recently have informed me that's what is should be eating.

An extremely sedentary one perhaps.

Same here, technically I think Im a few pounds over the BMI maximum for a health weight, so 'slim', I look slim, no one would say Im overweight.

However, Im too big for what I know my stomach should be, its sticking out over my trousers at the moment, disguised cleverly of course

Once I get half a stone off again, I will feel less bloated and chunky and then my BMI will be around 23.5 I think it was.

These questions always bring out undereaters who insist they can only lose weight on one bite of food a day. Some of the tips and hints belong on pro-ana sites.

There are some extraordinarily unusual metabolisms on MN.

Yep. I really need to learn not to engage.

I’m 6’ so I appreciate that I’m at the other end of the normal range but my BMR would blow their minds.

You aren’t chunky at that BMI (or half a stone over it). Stop pushing unhealthy body ideals.

Calorie counting rarely helps. Cut out ultra processed foods and try to eat 30 different fruit/veg/nuts a week

Aiming for 1lb a week is much more sustainable. My daily allowance is around 1680 but I find if I eat enough protein, fruit and veg I have around 300 left to use or not.

The problem with eating little (1200kcal) is you’re more likely to binge at the weekend because you’re hungry. That will blow your deficit over the week.

You’d be much better off starting at 1700/1800kcal and doing this for a few weeks - as long as the scales are dropping, then stick with it. Then once you haven’t lost for a few weeks, slightly decrease your calorie intake.

I think it’s important to eat enough, especially as you’re doing c25k you’re going to feel more hungry as your body is using more energy.
As others have said - protein is important & will keep you fuller for longer.

I second the James Smith calculator. It gives you higher calories but also a higher protein target to reach. It works great.

I went from 10.9 stone to 8.8 stone in 6 months using Nutracheck, 1400 calories and literally no additional exercise. I still ate pizza and cake but much smaller portions than before.

I dont think its unhealthy to aim for a BMI of about 23 plus, dont be so ridiculous. I also know what I feel better at
I am chunky at the current weight, I didnt say I would be chunky at my goal, my stomach is completely out of proportion for the rest of me at the moment, the half stone sits there and is bloated, you dont know anything about me.

Its also unhealthy to have a waist size as big as mine and the asociated health risks of weight being big on the stomach and waist not only do I know this myself and dont need to be told but my doctor and nurse have also said this.

Calorie counting is brilliant. You can eat anything, and enjoy all food within your calorie targets

The MFP calculator is rubbish. Go James Smith

1200 is hard. I found my sweet spot to be 1400. It was still a deficit and I still lost weight.

I think I was more successful because it fit better in my life and it wasn’t overly restrictive. It also allowed me to be more consistent.

Also make sure you are averaging… A 1600 day doesn’t ruin everything if you are a little lower on other days.

‘’My last bit of advice is to be careful about eliminating things… have the biscuit, eat the candy. Have pasta if that’s what you’re craving… just eat sensible amounts.

Lift weights

That sounds like a great approach