What's the most calories you've based a diet on and still lost weight?

[Singingtherapy]

I've (still!) got around 4 stone to lose. If I select lightly active then mfp gives me 1700 calories a day to lose 1lb a week. This feels doable but too good to be true. I've got a fitbit and if I do around 8000 steps a day it says I've burned 2200 so that should give me my deficit of 500 a day. It's a whole new appoach for me as I tend to try and eat way less but then I feel deprived and start binging. So minimum 8000 steps and 1700 cals. Can it possibly work?

I'm sure you'll lose - slowly and steadily - if burning 2200 calories and consuming 1700.

56 pounds, so you need to expect to maintain a (reducing*) calorie deficit for 13 months with no slip-ups. If you're likely to indulge of over Christmas, birthdays, holidays etc then set your mind to 18 months - so by March 2020.

• your calorific expenditure will reduce as you get lighter, if you maintain the same level of activity. Do expect to need to reduce your calorie intake over time in order to keep losing a pound a week.

Yes it works like that, I’ve lost three stone eating 2000 calories a day as I burn between 2600-2800. It’s slow but as I can eat plenty I don’t fall off the wagon and binge, it’s sustainable long term.

Yes it can work, test it out and see. After a couple of weeks you’ll get an idea how accurate your Fitbit is, mine is about 10% under. I do a fair bit of exercise so can lose a pound or two a month eating to maintains as per Fitbit which is around the 2200 -2300 mark.

Yes test it out for a week and see if you lose anything. At worst you would maintain your weight and if the figures are correct it will be easier to stick to than going too low.

Be careful with the estimated calories burnt, it was really inaccurate when i "ate back" my calories burnt, so i was either maintaing or slightly gaining weight. That's just me, but something to keep an eye on!

Ive worked up to running rather than walking and that's helped alot,so perhaps slightly more intensive exercise. Remodelling the garden, painting fences and walls has been exercise too.

I have a Charge 2 and found it took a few weeks to sort itself out which I read is fairly common.

You might be surprised.
I've been logging my calories since 1st June and I average probably around 1700 a day - I tend to have around 1800 most weekdays then around 1200 at the weekend... I've had 2 or 3 days where I probably had double or more and 2 or 3 where I ate next to nothing due to illness).
I've lose nearly 3 stone since then, so in about 10 weeks. No exercise other than making an effort to walk more but very rarely do I manage 10,000 steps.

Ok that's reassuring, starting right now! Yes I know I'll need to reduce further when I lose weight. Haven't lost for ages so I'll be happy to!

Of course it'll work. I lose on 1800 as long as I'm active. It's a lot more sustainable than crash dieting because you lose less muscle and can establish eating habits that it's possible to keep up, long term.

Check out teamrh - I was eating 2000 and losing.

I've always turned to much lower calorie "crash" diets in the past to lose weight, and of course it works but I'd inevitably binge and end up giving up and putting all the weight back on... just having a higher calorie limit and being flexible with it has helped me stick with it because I can still have what I want.

I'm not recommending this as obviously it's not the healthiest thing to do but a couple or three days a week I'll eat much less through the day so I can have a bit of a binge on chocolate or a more indulgent meal in the evening and still come in under 2000 calories... so I don't feel deprived or like I have to stop after a small amount of what I want, but I'm also still counting so it stops me thinking "sod it" and eating everything in sight. Persistence really is key.

I have to be on 1200 a day or less to lose.

I am a little under 10st currently, but my ideal weight is 9st. I know that to get down to 9st, realistically I couldn’t have more than 1000 calories a day, and would have to up my exercise back to running again.

My “normal” is 15-20,000 steps a day anyway and I have a naturally low heart rate, so to lose I actually need to significantly exercise - walking just doesn’t cut it for me I think because it’s normal for me anyway. I have run a lot in the past but have been out for a few months due to injury and haven’t even walked a great deal either in the last few months. I know that to lose the 10-12lbs or so I would like to lose, it would likely take about 6-8 weeks of 1000 cals a day, a minimum of 20,000 steps a day of brisk walking, and preferably 15-20k running a week too.

Everyone is different. My DH’s heart rate is naturally high so all he has to do it go for a walk and he is in “fat burning” mode. My Garmin only give all me “active minutes” when I have done a decent run - my DH on the other hand, gets his just from walking to the post office and back!