1200 cals to lose 2lb a week?

[NorrisToenail]

This is what MFP is telling me I need, it seems very low. I'm also doing intermittent fasting so only 2 meals a day yet going over the calories every day. Surely with an 809 cal deficit you'd lose more than 2lb a week?

Not sure, but feed it into an online calorie calculator for a second opinion.

2lb a week is a lot of it’s more than a couple weeks or you have an awful lot to loose

If it takes as a rough guide 3500 cals to burn one pound of fat. This actually makes sense.

It's also very annoying.

Are you short? I'm 5ft2 and over 40 and to lose 1-2lbs per week I need to stick to 1400 cal, run x 3 and lift weights x 3 each week. I only eat back one day's exercise calories. It sucks but otherwise I am feel unhealthy.

Try the James Smith calorie counter. 1200 is low, it isn’t sustainable.

I'm on Noom and that's 1320 calories a day, 10000 steps, 1.5l of water and I struggle to lose 2lbs a week. Sometimes it's only a pound

@NorrisToenail , I feel your pain. I’ve been checking the accuracy of calorie calculators recently and they seem fairly accurate. Different people have different metabolisms though. Generally it’s accepted that for each 3500 calories in deficit you are you will lose 1Lb.

2 pounds a week unless you're seriously morbidly obese is an unsustainable rate to lose fat. Anyway the faster you lose weight the bigger the rebound out the other side, it really is slow steady and gradual to make lasting changes.

1200 is way too low! You'll be starving then have a sugar craving and it won't be sustainable. Try more like 1500, 1400 at the absolute lowest!

Make sure you concentrate on your macros as well. Protein is very important. If you go online you can do a calculator on James Smith's website!

Thanks all. I'm not short, I'm 5'8 and need to lose around a stone so not obese either. It just seemed extreme, I definitely can't sustain 1200 per day so I'll have to play the long game!

Work out your maintenance (TDEE) calories using an online calculator.

Mine are 1326. So 1200 calories wouldn’t even see me losing a pound a week.

Your age and activity levels are crucial, so it’s hard for posters to tell if it’s right for you or not. I have to drop to 1000 if dieting. I’m post menopausal and disabled though.

I think that amount of calories will be too low if you're 5ft8. I'm admittedly overweight but the same height as you and my maintenance calories are nearly 2000... It's worth doing an online calculator. The long game and small changes are definitely more sustainable

My maintenance calories are 1980 per day

Don't trust mfp.

Google tdee calculator and go from there.