2000 calories a day to lose weight?

[SaraJS216]

Hi, I've been trying to lose weight for a while since having DD 8 months ago and I'm really struggling, have around 3 stone to lose.
My Fitbit suggests I burn around 2600 cals on an average day (I know this probably isn't very accurate). If I don't eat around 2000 cals a day I'm really hungry and then often end up binging in the evening. I read about people eating 1200 cals a day and I just feel like I would find that impossible. I'm vegetarian but do try and eat lots of protein and fibre to stay full.
Has anyone found they've been able to lose weight eating around 2000 cals a day?!

No, I think this would be really difficult, unless you upped your activity levels and found a way to burn an extra 500 calories a day.
To be honest, I think I would gain weight on 2,000 calories a day and I’m pretty active and walk approx 9km a day.

Are you eating enough protein? That keeps the munchies at bay for me. 2000 calories sounds pretty high. How are you tracking? Mfp is pretty good.

How much do you weigh? 2000 calories is high if you're trying to lose weight.

I think it's best that you calculate your TDEE to find out what calorie intake you should be aiming for as what works for one person won't for another. 2000 would be too many for me but may be fine for you.

I think it would be really difficult too. You can’t rely on fitness trackers to be 100% accurate in their calorie usage estimates.

I’m 5’8”, 142lbs and exercise hard for 30-60 minutes most days on top of my normal activity levels. I eat around 1500-1700 calories a day to maintain that.

Yeah I've lost 25lbs and loads of us have on around 2000 cals (Teamrh fitness, its online and honestly brilliant). Its all in vs out 😊 sounds really sensible the way you are doing it. Slow and steady rather than big losses and bigger gains again. Good luck 👍 😁

Are you breastfeeding?

I'm on about 1200 calories a day and it's not been massively difficult but does require discipline. I'm fairly active but not done exercise other than walking since the leisure centre closed for COVID. I'm doing:

Porridge in the morning
Big salad at lunch or 300 calorie meal from Cook
Piece or two of malt loaf
Usual tea without the carbs (no oven chips, rice, pasta, just protein and extra veg).
One chunk of dark choc (my favourite)
No alcohol

The weight is coming off about 1-2 lbs per week

@Mad6kids

Yeah I've lost 25lbs and loads of us have on around 2000 cals (Teamrh fitness, its online and honestly brilliant). Its all in vs out 😊 sounds really sensible the way you are doing it. Slow and steady rather than big losses and bigger gains again. Good luck 👍 😁

I'm also doing Teamrhfitness and as I'm a big fatty I'm on more than 2000 calories and I'm losing weight!! It's brilliant 😁 It's all about using more calories than you consume = caloric deficit. So yes, depending on what your body burns, it could be perfectly possible for you to lose weight on 2000 calories a day.

No, bearing in mind that you need to be disciplined to change your calorie intake, but that’s about the body adjusting. At the moment your body is burning what you eat rather than burning the fat you want to lose, so when that food isn’t there the body feels hungry until it adapts to having less food and having to take its energy from other sources...

You need to meal plan where possible, count your calories you want to eat and try to stick to that.

Replace drinks with water, you will eliminate a huge amount of calories that way depending on what you drink, but e.g. fruit juice contains far more calories than we realise.

Try TeamRH, I'm on 1900 cals a day and I've lost 7lbs this week (first week but 2lb a week and over seems the norm). And I'm only averaging about 3000 steps a day.

I don't know how people can manage on 1200 without being starving and missing nutrients. On Team RH you can eat what you like within your macros.

My dc is 9 months and if I eat 2000 calories a day I loose weight. I'm breastfeeding though which will make quiet a difference. I reckon when I stop BFing I'll have to go down to 1600 a day 😕

Honestly unless you are very obese, most women will find it difficult to lose weight eating 2000 calories .
I need to eat 1200 calories a week to lose a pound and I'm 11 stone.

As long as you burn more than 2000 calories a day you should be able to lose on that.

Try it for a couple of weeks and see whether the scales are moving. I'm currently eating around 1700 calories a day but making sure I'm active enough so that I'm burning more than that. The weight loss isn't fast (I maintained on my third week but hoping for a loss tomorrow), but it's going down and for me this is sustainable. I don't feel as if I'm on a 'diet'. I'm in my late thirties so I have spent many years trying to lose weight. If it take me 2 years at this speed but the weight loss is for life, it will still be far more successful than any other method I've tried.

What would your usual diet be?

I wouldn't lose any weight at all op. Don't eat your exercise calories.

I'm 5ft4 size 12, and I do 45 mins on the treadmill 4 days a week.

I absolutely need to stay under 1400 calories to lose weight at all. Anything over 1800 I gain.

I am 5ft 9ins, currently weigh just over 12stones and I can comfortably lose on 1700 calories per day without any exercise.

In normal times, when I’m weight lifting and doing hot yoga a couple of times each per week I need to eat a little more - probably 1900 and would still lose (albeit slowly).

For me 1200 would only be achievable with 2 x protein shakes and one decent meal per day, as I like one big meal, usually dinner. I’d never stick to it.

What is your current weight/height/activity levels and are your BF?

@BasinHaircut and others thanks for your advice and replies.
I'm 5'7" and currently weigh around 14st 7. No longer breastfeeding. My pre pregnancy weight sat around 12st which I maintained on around 2000 cals a day, however was working out 4x per week. Currently my exercise consists of never ending house walk and a few walks a week.

House work I meant! And for context I was fairly happy with my ore pregnancy size and wore size 12 clothes, currently squeeze in to size 16 and don't feel comfortable at all.

Yes, I lost over a stone at 2000 calories a day. I went from 15st 4 to 14 stone. I exercised 3/4 times a week and walked 10000 steps a day minimum. Average calorie burn was 2400 a day. If your average calorie burn is 2600 then you'll lose weight on 2000, basic maths.

Another recommendation for Team RH. O started on 2100 calories as I was burning 2600+ a day. As you lose weight you'll naturally burn less so start reducing calories. Work out your TDEE and go from there. I've lost 3 stone and am now on 1800 which is plenty and I eat very normally within that calorie limit.

A calorie defect of 500 a day equates to roughly half a pound a week loss. You can go for a bigger defect but going slowly makes it easier to stick to.

Another vote for Team RH. I'm on 2100 calories and down 7lbs since the start of the month. I'm doing 15000 steps a day and 3 workouts a week. I usually find when I start counting calories that I'm constantly thinking about food and trying to eat everything but trying to hit the protein goal has really helped me to feel full!

Your tdee is around 1950 at that height and weight, unless you are very active.

Reach 1lb Weight loss requires a deficit of 3500 cals, so to lose 1lb a week, 500 calorie deficit a day would give you a calorie budget of 1450 per day. At 2000 you will stay the same weight.

You're lucky, i get 1200!

Agree with the points about eating protein to feel full. And be really precise about your counting, don't guesstimate or forget about drinks. You will definitely get results.

I have lost over 4 stone just from calorie counting this way and it costs me nothing. I love it

*each 1lb weight loss. Not reach.