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 didn’t say it was. I said you weren’t chunky at a hair over 25.

Go low carb and eat loads of protein op. Drink shed loads of water.

You only need to lose two stone. With a small deficit it can happen in a more natural and healthy way.

When I've put weight loss goals on my fitness pal it tells me 1200 calories too but it's a real struggle so I tend to fail. I think part of it for me is being so short so the put mine down to the minimum (they don't suggest below 1200). Maybe a different strategy is needed

That's the same number of calories as a 2-3 year old needs. Not an adult woman. No wonder you're finding it hard.

5’3, 50s, BMI just in the healthy range, long days on my feet all day but not many steps.
If I eat more than 1600a day I gain.

Been on 1000 cals a day for 2 weeks and actually loving it. I am/was a sugar junky and currently enjoying the absence of carb lulls and over eating guilt! Clothes fitting better and scales kinder are a bonus
I’m drinking lots of water: A pint as soon as I wake up and a litre or more before lunch, then as and when after. Two meals a day - either protein meals or carb meals - rarely both together.
Couple of chocolates after my tea. Not getting hungry, enjoying food again and full of energy. Approach is loosely based on The human being diet.

Low call for a while doesn’t have to be miserable, and it’s not going to kill anyone!

That's really low, you'll have some awful side effects. I've found intermittent fasting to be really good and it's also reduced bloating and cravings for me. I basically stop eating between 8pm and noon Monday - Friday. I don't overdo it at the weekends. Reduced alcohol and sugar.

Do you know me and have you seen me?

Not to my knowledge you havent.

Who do you think you are to tell someone about themselves as if you know better than them!!!

Bizarre.

Target weight in lbs x 12 = calorie target a day.
My DS6 eats more than 1200 calories.

That's your issue. 1lb is quite enough. Any more from diet alone is unhealthy. Low GI carbs (but fewer than you expect), high protein, some fats, lots of vegetable bulk and I can eat in deficit and not get hungry.

Facts speak for themselves. Nobody at a healthy BMI is ‘chunky’ in any objective sense. Health outcomes are actually better for those 8n the ‘overweight’ category, incidentally

unless you’re incredibly short that’s a very small amount for someone your age for weight loss. 1200 which MFP kicks up for most people isn’t sustainable for most people.

kick it up to at least 1500. You can spread it over the week too - a day at 1200 which isn’t much fun you get to then have 1800 the next day. Unless you’re training for a marathon don’t eat back all calories you’ve “lost” from exercise - they’re meant to be an addition - subtract circa half.

we don’t put the weight on overnight we won’t lose it overnight too. Best advice I ever after a year of restrict then binge which left me no lighter actually having realistic patience is what worked.

1200 sounds pretty low and it might lead to bingeing if you get really, really hungry.
Can you incorporate weights into your routine somehow?
Muscle burns lots more calories than fat, even when resting. This would mean you could eat more than 1200 cals which could be tough to stick to.
You will not get bulky with weights (unless you up your calories) you will get lean and burn more fat. This is what you want. YouTube has some great weights videos. Kettlebells are good too.

My last post to you as why you're so arrogant as to think you speak for someone else or override health advice and monitoring that I have is incredible!!

Im not at a 'healthy' BMI that is the point. I know what weight suits me and my personal health outcomes are better when Im at the weight I need to be at

'overweight' health outcomes have in some studies, only some studies, have been more positive than 'healthy' weight outcomes in the very elderly. In a number of studies (look up bluezones and the research around that) the outcomes are the absolute opposites to that and longevity and expectancy and health is maximised at underweight weights. The picture is not cut and dried

Each person needs to do what is right for them. You dont get to decide how good or healthy someone feels at particular weights.

You’re unreasonable to keep eating “white carbs.” Substitute huge amounts of vegetables - eat more broccoli or courgette than you ever think possible. They’ll fill you up for about a quarter of the calories of bread or rice.

Re not being sedentary , I wish. Desk bound 8.30 to 5. Get home 6. Too knackered and time poor to do any exercise other than my walk to work. Add in plantar fasciatus and osteo arthritis and sedentary it is.

My 22kg dog eats 1200 cals.

I think some grown ups are doing it wrong.

This is what you said technically I think Im a few pounds over the BMI maximum for a health weight
Thats not a ‘chunky’ person.
I didn’t say you should feel good at it. I didn’t speak to feelings at all.

I’ve just used the James smith and it says I should aim for 1850 for fat loss, how can that be right?!

Have a read (or listen) to ultra processed people by Christmas van tulleken. It's really interesting. It's not a weight loss book but it has lots of information about how food is made and why we have such problems with eating too much (it's actually designed that way). I've changed the way I eat and weight is slowly coming off. 1 stone so far without feeling hungry and miserable.
I would pass out if I ate as little as you. I'm 50 and 5.4. Exercise is good for us always but losing weight is almost entirely about food and eating good whole real food is definitely the right way for me (after a decade of unsuccessful dieting). Good luck

MFP tells everyone 1,200. It’s wrong.

I’ve lost a stone on 1,700 ish per day.

I’m 60 and I put on weight if I eat 1200 calories a day. It’s very silly to say that is what a toddler should eat - while that may be true, it’s also too much for people who are very short or who are forced to be sedentary and who need to lose weight as a result.

It sounds cliche but the best diet is one that you will stick to.

If you are struggling on this, then you’re not going to stick to it and you’ll end up not losing or putting on weight.

It is much better to give yourself more calories but stick to that over the week (if you overeat one day then eat less over the next few days) because you’ll still be more likely to stick to it.

My friend was doing 800kcal a day but lost weight doing 2000kcals.

She would go really low for a a couple of weeks and not be able to stick to it and then overeat/binge and then a few weeks later feel guilty and starve herself again.

She then did 2000kcals but didn’t binge and so over the week/month she actually ate less calories overall.

Increase it and stick to it and see how you get on for the next couple of months.

I guarantee unless you are tiny and underweight that you will be consuming more than 1,200 calories per day if you are gaining weight. You will be underestimating your calories somewhere. The most common causes are spreads, drinks, sauces & oils.

1200 cals is maintenance for me. I'm five feet 1, I've lost 3.5 stone in 7 months on Mounjaro, eating between 800 and 1100 cals.
I've upped a bit recently over xmas and put on a few pounds so having to reduce intake to belo 1200. Anything more and I'd be back up to 15 stone in a year. Depressing but unfortunately that's how my metabolism is.