How many calories should I be eating?

[infinitediamonds]

So I'm about 3 stone overweight. The app I am using to lose some weight says consume 1200 calories a day. The combination of not eating much and not sleeping well is making me really stupid. I'm having to concentrate hard to talk normally, don't want to get out of bed and I managed to shut my hand in a door earlier. I need to work as well as homeschool next week so need my brain to work, so how many calories should I be eating? Will increasing to 1400 calories make a difference - or do I need to focus on making myself physically tired so I sleep even if I can't switch my brain off?

You basically need to burn more calories than you eat.
The average amount of calories burned in a day is about 2000 for a woman, so try eating more like 1800 for a few weeks, if you find weight plateaus add more exercise or reduce to 1700 or similar. You could contact GP for weight loss support or join a weight loss group?

First of all calculate your BMR, you can do so here:

www.calculator.net/bmr-calculator.html

This is the absolute minimum number of calories you should consume per day.

Then calculate your TDEE

www.calculator.net/tdee-calculator.html

In order to lose weight you should consume somewhere between your BMR and TDEE

The 1200 need to be 'good calories' and not junk. Eat lots of vegetables, fruit, protein etc. Things that are low calorie but nutritional and filling. Limit carbs and bread as much as possible.

How long have you been on that? Short term 1200 cal shouldn't have this big effect on you. I would say it must be rather the sleep.

Both pps gave good advice btw.

I will just add that when I stopped exercising when I felt ill recently, I eneded up with really bad sleep. Try to do some, any, workout. And make sure you are not missing anything from vitamins and minerals. Are you topping up D? It's needed in a winter.

seems like consuming only 1200 calories a day may not be sustainable for you, as it's negatively impacting your ability to function normally. Increasing your daily calorie intake to 1400 calories may be helpful in giving your body more fuel to operate, and may in turn improve your brain function and overall energy levels.
However, it's important to remember that weight loss is a gradual process and it's not always necessary to drastically reduce calorie intake. You may want to consider incorporating more physical activity into your daily routine, which can help you burn calories and improve your sleep quality. This, in turn, may help you feel more alert and focused during the day.

Calculator Tdee calculator