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 coulsnt manage on 1200 eating. I did cambridge instead which is fewer calories but wasn't as hard. Not sustainable tho.

Doesn’t sound like it. All those ingredients are food, yes. Combined like that they look more like a punishment.

Eggs and spinach as part of a recipe - yes.
As ‘a filler’ together? Nope.

It all depends on your BMR, mines only 1650 so I need to go down to 1200 before I lose weight. But if you're taller and fitter, you can eat more and still lose.

Walking for an hour makes you ravenous? Wow....

No you don’t. Anything under 1650 will lead to weight loss. It just won’t be fast.

Still no one is getting the real point here. Yes you can eat less calories, yes you may temporarily lose weight but you’ll also lower your metabolism into needing less -
so what then if you get hungry and/or can’t stick it the diet longer term.
Weights - cardio AND weights. Any woman in her thirties onwards is losing calcium from their bones each year. The only way to slow this down and change how your body uses calories efficiently is with some resistance in your exercise plan to build lean muscle and raise your resting metabolic rate.
This and a healthy diet will get you your best body. Take it from a PT.

This is exactly what I’ve been arguing for the whole thread.

Your metabolism doesn’t need less it’s just that you need fewer calories as you lose weight

I think you've muddled BMR (basal metabolic rate) and TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). BMR is the calories burned by your body to keep you alive even if you didn't get out of bed. My BMR is around 1650kcal but I am unusually tall for a woman. My TDEE is more like 2200kcal.

Weight loss jab is your friend if you can afford it.

Hunger is not an issue on that.

I went from size 16 to size 10 in 8 months.

Apparently lots of other health benefits too reported in press this week.

1200 is quite strict. Do you know what you actually need to be in a calorie deficit? What are you eating? Focus on protein which is satiating and other foods (veg and fruit) you can eat in bulk with minimal calories and make sure you're drinking plenty of water.