Will I lose weight with 1600-1700 calories per day?

[PrincessBananaH]

I am 5.2 ft tall and weight just over 10 stones, have gained a lot of weight over the past 2 years (had a DC, little time to work out, sedentary job).
I want to lose weight and go back to how I used to be, my aim is to lose at least 1 stone but am not in a rush and am looking for a lifestyle change rather than a very restrictive diet that will work in the short term but not in the long run (been there).
The way I reached the current weight was mainly by eating pretty much whatever I fancied at any given time and not exercising. So I'd say that in average, I used to eat about 2000-2200 Kcal per day with a sedentary life. Based on myfitnesspal I'd have to eat 1300 kcal per day to lose weight but for me it is simply not sustainable. So I wonder if limiting my daily intake to 1600-1700 kcal per day (plus a heavier meal in the weekend if eating out or having a take away) and doing a quick 25-30 min workout 3 times a week I can expect to lose weight over the next few months?
I have started a few weeks ago and already feel better, I can see that from my jeans etc but not sure if it will continue in the long run or whether I'd have to cut calories further in order to properly shed weight.

As I said, I am aiming for a sustainable lifestyle change, I'd rather get there slowly in 6 months than restricting myself too much to lose all the weight in 2 months.

Oh stop it. 1300 calories is NEVER a lot of food. It might take up a lot of space, if you only eat lettuce and carrots, but it's not a lot of food.

Do whatever works for you sustainably. There's evidence that there are health benefits to an 'eating window' of between 8-12 hours.
You may find that you aren't really hungry in the morning till later on if you start doing this.

This is why fasting works for me. I can still enjoy a good sized meal of things I like (though I prioritise protein and fats, no carbs) – I just fast until I get to that meal so my calorie intake is lower.

This is why fasting works for me. I can still enjoy a good sized meal of things I like (though I prioritise protein and fats, no carbs) – I just fast until I get to that meal so my calorie intake is lower.

I think it can also help with managing sugar/insulin response. If you're having fewer sugar peaks and troughs you'll tend to feel less hungry.

'Carbs' aren't all equal - the carbs in legumes, seeds, and many veg aren't going to behave the same as sugars and those which are rapidly converted to sugar - flour (even wholemeal), rice, white pasta are particularly unhelpful. I'd definitely ditch the rice cakes for instance, they may not have many calories but they don't really add much positive to a meal. We've been swapping rice for quick cook pearl barley, meaning to get some quinoa too.

Yes absolutely @ErrolTheDragon – I still eat legumes, vegetables, seeds, quinoa etc – by “carbs” I mostly mean pasta, potatoes, bread etc. (God I miss bread.)

Well thats me buggered then seeing as my body only needs 1600 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight as a moderately active woman :(

Theoretically you should lose weight (albeit slowly) with any calorie deficit, even a small one. I think the problem is, when the calorie deficit is small, it's too easy to eat it back. If you only cut back 1-200 calories a day, one take away, one day you don't exercise, one bottle of wine, one chocolate bar or one miscalculation of calories can blow a week or more worth of dieting.

That assumes you are treating it like a diet though rather than a way of life. If it is a way of life, having one week where you don’t lose is no big deal as long as you don’t gain.

@suki1964 what I’d like to understand though is whether I can lose some weight by sticking to 1600 for a while and then just continue around this amount and maintain. I was eating much more than that so I’d assume if before it was 2000, 1600 now makes me shed some weight?

You said in your op 'I have started a few weeks ago and already feel better, I can see that from my jeans etc' - that sounds like you are now losing some weight. So I'd have thought you could carry on like that for a while and see how it goes?

Your da to day intake looks very reasonable but your Indian takeaway could be 1000 calories or more so that's something to have less often.

You need to go to a calorie calculator to see how many calories you personally need a day to maintain or lose. A loss of 1lb is a deficit of 3500 calories

For my height and weight 1600 calories a day will maintain my weight. I wont lose.

Right, but one of those things is going to happen every week. So every week you aren't going to be losing, and some weeks you'd be gaining.

But say I eat 1300 a day and lose the weight, surely that isn’t sustainable? So if I then go back to 1600 do I not start gaining again?

How does that contradict what I said? If you're a small, light, not very active person then you don't need to eat much food. That fact doesn't turn 1300 calories into a lot of food.

You need to understand your TDEE. If it's currently 2000 and you eat 1600 you will lose weight. As you weigh less your TDEE will go down slightly. Probably not that much if you don't have a lot to lose. So you'll need to maintain your weight on slightly fewer calories than you currently do.

@MiltonNorthern Looks like my maintenance calories are 1800 based on a TDEE calculator. This is if I input a sedentary lifestyle. If I select lightly active, I'd be 2000. Would I be considered lightly active if I have a desk job and do small workout sessions (ie 25/30 min of barre or total body) 2-3 times per week + lots of walking in the weekend?

Ah no, ignore the above. I didn't select the correct gender. So it's 1600 to maintain if sedentary and 1800 if lightly active. Which one am I?

I don’t like the MyFitnessPal calculator, because I find it goes down very low. Have a look at one of the TDEE calculators online and then just shave and bit off your maintenance. Use that as your target and gradually -100 calories each week until you get there, just to get yourself used to it.

Yes, it seems unfair doesn't it. I guess that's why most of us are overweight. Because it's not easy.

I’d say you’re lightly active. I have to warn you that the TDEE calculators don’t work for everyone. I would gain rapidly on my maintenance suggestion. I do think one’s metabolism plays a part too.

When you were eating 2000 ish, were you maintaining or slowly gaining? If the former then I think you could lose on 1600, but if the latter I think 1600-1700 would be more maintenance and you would need to go a bit lower to lose.

Definitely slightly active , Im only moderately active and Im a waitress so on my feet all day running around and carrying heavy loads

Tell you something, it was a HUGE shock to me to find out that those 2000 calories per day for an adult meant some other adult, and not me :)

Maintenance is a tricky line for me.its just so easy for the lbs to creep on again when upping the calories. What I tend to do is keep to the losing calories most days, plan meals around those, but then if a curry sneaks in or a trip to Mcd's or a night on the lash, I have the spare calories to absorb it and not get the gain. Yes it does mean Im on the scales twice a week and I will be for as long as I want to keep at a healthy weight. Im not strict, Ive cut the sneaky calories , like if I have a sandwich - no spread/butter, swapped to skimmed milk for my cappuccino , drink a lot of green tea ( who knew - I actually like it ) cut visible fat from meat and made the swap to wholemeal when it comes to the starchy carbs- pasta and bread. Just little changes mean I get quite a lot of food for my 1400 calories, certainly never sit here with a rumbly tum thinking about food. Im also not that person who says no not for me, Im watching my weight, if someone has gone to the trouble of cooking me a meal, Im going to eat it, SIL done a roast with the roasties done in beef dripping and I ate my fill - a - cos they were bloody lovely and b, a once in a while treat isnt going to kill me :) Sure I think about food, but as in a healthy plan ahead way, not omg Im starving I need chocolate. Sure I eat chocolate and crisps and chips and cakes, but not every day

@ColdButSunny when I was regularly eating 2000-2200 cals I was slowly gaining. I hadn't checked my weight for months and was shocked when I checked the scale eventually, although I could already see it in the mirror and my clothes. Which is why I am hoping that 1600 should help me loose a bit

I’m 5ft6 and around 11 and a half stone, losing 1-2 pounds a week on 1400-1600 calories. I think they recommend calculating both your BMR and TDEE, then you reduce your TDEE by 200-500 a day but never lower than your BMR.

The difficulty I have is that anything below 1300 just isn’t sustainable for me at all, no matter how much protein I add, because I’m just starving and miserable the whole time, and I’m sure I’ve heard doctors say that women should never be below 1200.

I think one thing that can help is strength training, as your metabolism goes up the more muscle mass you have so whilst strength training sessions might not burn a massive amount of calories, building muscle would mean you burn more calories on a daily basis.