Can someone help with number of calories to lose please?

[Calyx72]

Hi I am 52, 5,2", 170lbs. I was 180lbs and started low carbing, lost 10lbs easily. Then plateaud - for about a month now.

My scales say my BMR is 1370, body fat is 40.4%.

My TDEE is 1643. The TDEE calculator and other weight loss sites say to eat 500cal less to lose, so 1143 calories a day, which seems just really low. So I aim between 1200 and 1300 per day, under 50g carbs, increasing protein and fat within the calories.

I walk 45 minutes after dinner on the treadmill and I drink Phizz electrolytes daily.

I fast (dinner till dinner) twice a week.

I drink Prosecco at the weekends.

Why am I still 170 bloody lbs arghhhh

Try the Nutracheck app.

I'm 56, 5'2", now weigh 11st 8lb having lost 2.5st. I have around 1300 to 1400 calories most days.

Simply put...you are eating more calories than you need.
TDE calculators are notoriously inaccurate, and we often wildly underestimate our calories.
I'd aim for consistency at 1200 calories...after tracking, weighing and measuring every single thing that you eat or crucially drink.
Then if you aren't losing weight after 2 weeks you need to drop the calories again.
In another thread this week someone said they weren't losing weight and gave a list of what they ate, not counting the calories in the 4 skinny lattes they drank ..a medium skinny latte has approx 108 calories!
So you can see how easy it is to miss calories in your counting.

I can never understand the obsession with TDEE on here. It's so inaccurate. IMO you should never count exercise calories unless you are doing serious training or lifting.

Agree with PP you are likely eating too much. Portion sizes are distorted and it's so easy to forget things like a latte or to underestimate amounts unless you are weighing each item.

You need to just up the protein and cut the calories until you find what works. Sometimes you need a bit of a feed to kick start again if you plateau. Also drink loads of water - fat is washed out this way.

Given how much thought OP has put into trying to lose weight I’d be really surprised if she hadn’t already realised that lattes have a lot of calories in them!

I feel your pain OP, I am also at a plateau after losing a stone and am a similar age, and height to you. I’m here for when the useful replies come along.

I think TDE is a guide but we all vary a bit in how hard it is for our bodies to shed weight.
According to my TDE I could eat 1500 calories per day and lose a kg per week but in practice I will only maintain at that level or even have a very slight gain.
To lose anything I have to drop to 1000-1200 per day.

I use MyNetDiary to track my weight loss. It does all the maths for me. You need to record accurately, but it has a huge database. You can scan barcodes which makes logging easier.

I would say you need no more than 1200 calories a day to lose weight. Make sure you are being honest about the calories - it's been eye-opening for me, a tbsp of mayo 100 calories? I'd easily have 2-3 with my dinner. And drop the prosecco for a while - I'd rather eat my calories than drink them!

Thanks everyone. I am logging everything and I don't snack. Drinking water with electrolytes (almost 2l daily). Hopefully it's just another plateau. The Prosecco is the only treat I take and I don't eat with it or after dinner. And I drink almost a pint of water afterwards before bed. I don't want to cut that (Friday and Saturday only) unless I have to.

You need to work out what your maintenance calories are and then deduct from that to put you in a deficit. Calories alone can be misleading. You may have 1200 calories a day (as an example) but if those calories are 75% carbs and minimal protein you’re not going to see good consistent weight loss. If you use the free version of my fitness pal you can track calories and macros. If you weigh or measure your food and exercise you should see good progress as long as your diet is good. Look for hidden calories like in drinks etc. good luck x

Have you tried stopping the alcohol for 2 weeks and see if that makes a difference? Regardless of the calories, alcohol stops you burning fat. If you are putting in so much effort with calorie obsession but ignoring this because it's a treat then you might just have to accept you're not losing weight because you need alcohol.

You need to have a deficit of 3500 to lose 1lb.
So if you are only in deficit by 100 calories a day, it will take you over a month to lose one pound. And that's if you are honest with yourself.
That why most people try for a deficit of 500 calories per day and lose about 1lb per week.

I use premium my fitness pal and log everything

I said I am low carb, between 30g and 55g a day for the past week

I wondered if I am eating too few calories actually

Don't think I am eating too many especially as I am one meal a day twice weekly

Need alcohol? I just don't want to eat 1200 calories a day, fast twice a week, treadmill daily for 45 minutes and stop my Friday prosecco on top of all that