Calorie Counting- does this sound right or am I giving myself way too many cals?

[GameOn2025]

Hi there.

I am majorly obese and have been most of my life. At the start of November I decided I was going to try and lose weight by cutting back on snacks and cooking from scratch as best as I could (cooking isn't my strong point 😅).

This was working well, so from November to my last weigh in last week, I have lost a total of 16 pounds. Unfortunately though, I like my snacks (this is the main problem) and every time I would eat something "unhealthy" it would make me feel guilty and anxious and would ruin my evening (good old 00's diet culture ingrained).

So, I looked into calorie Counting and decided I would feel a lot better knowing how many cals I was consuming in stead of guessing and worrying every time I reached for a bloody mars bar or bag of skips. I have been using Nutracheck for the past 4 days and, my goodness, I have to say it's really made my life so much easier. I have planned all my meals for the week and put them into the app, and whatever cals I have left I can play around with and fit my treats into them. No guilt, no anxiety, marvellous!

Anyway, as I am new to this calorie counting business. I was wondering if you could help me figure it if I'm eating the right amount? I'm currently 36yo, 5ft 6, I weigh 19st 6lbs (please don't judge me, I know that is horrendous 😢 I'm embarrassed even writing it down anonymously) and I don't really do any exercise. I'm a bloody mess 😩

When I input all this into a TDEE calculator, it tells me my maintenance calories are 2329. I set my daily calorie allowance to 1800 as when I researched it, it said to start off with a 500 cal deficit and gradually lower over time it to avoid a weight loss plateau later along the line. I know a lot of people will think "God, if I ate that much, I'd be the size of a house!", and well I am the size of a house 🙈 but from what I have read, it's very silly to cut your calories too much at the start?

I have been eating between 17-1800 and the scales haven't moved in 4 days 😅. When I was losing weight before calorie counting, the scales went down a little each day or every other day.

Do you think maybe 1800 is way too high, or do I just need to give my body time to adjust and it will even out? Is it just a monitor, assess and adjust as necessary game?

Have you been as active this week as usual ?

I started at 18 stone, BMI was 42 and I didn't lose weight over 1300 cals. I am now 13 stone 7 or their abouts and it's 1100 cals. I can only speak for myself

I guess I have been a bit more of a lazy bugger than usual this week with the holidays 🙈

I don't know the numbers but on a long term diet you shouldn't expect the scales to move every day however low you go calorie-wise. Especially for you as you've lost quite a bit in a couple of months. There are just too many variables, it could just be a bit of water retention or whatever rather than a genuine plateau.

I'd give it at least a fortnight before making a judgement about whether you're going to lose or not at these numbers.

Wow, well done on your amazing loss 👏 that's fab!

See, I'm worried about going to low, because when I eventually do lose a significant amount, I genuinely don't think I can sustain living on 1100 cals 😖 especially if I want to lose 10 stone.

I don't know what to do 🤪

Your calories are right if you are tracking accurately, it’s 20% less than maintenance calories for weight loss. BUT I know if you add exercise to MFP it gives you the exercise calories back to eat, so stalling weight loss. Is that the same with your calorie tracker?
that said, pp is right, weight loss isn’t linear.

Could you have:
Breakfast 300
Snack 100
Lunch 400
Snack 100
Dinner 500
Snack 100

See how you get on? You might not feel so deprived. 0% fage and raspberries is a good snack.

I didn't even think of water retention, and now you mention it, my period is due any day now, so possibly could be contributing.

And oh yes, I know weighing every day is a terrible habit 😬 I need to stop doing it. Easier said than done though, especially when you are an impatient sod like me 😂

That would be too much for me. I am a classic yoyo and have been for 20 years but I the most success I've had with weight loss was when I started at almost 19 stone - I had to drop to 1200 and 4x exercise sessions a week for consistent weight loss. It was strict but worked. At 1800 I wouldn't have gained weight but wouldn't have lost much of anything each month, maybe 1-2 lbs max

But we are all so different - maybe try 1800 for 4 weeks, weighing only once a week and see how you get on. Can then nudge it down a bit the next 4 weeks

1800 is a perfectly fine deficit.

You mostly need to get your head around the fact that weight loss takes time! Like months. Don’t start something you won’t be able t
maintain for a year.

I would go with 1800, track everything and see where you are in 4 weeks. May have to adjust again. If you go too low it’s likely to be unsustainable and you’ve got nowhere to go if you plateau. Best to lose slowly and consistently. Don’t get bogged down with timelines and trying to go too fast. Good luck!

Use an app like Lose it or My Net Diary. They work it all out for you

Nutracheck basically gave me the same calories and TDEE did, just trust that site.

I stick to between 1700-1800 cals p day and lose weight with it.
Anything lower for me and I'd be starving!
Been doing this now for 1.5 yrs and have lost 3.5 stone with another 2 to go.
Also-tike of month can have huge impact with water retention, something to beat in mind!

1800 sounds reasonable, so I’d stick with it for 2-3 weeks then reassess.

I tracked for 18 months while dieting and always gained 1-2lb in the run up to my period. Then would have a really big drop the week after my period.

You're worrying about 4 days!!!

Put the scales down and come back to them in a couple of weeks

As long as you work out your TDEE, stick to that minus whatever you want to lose (500 for 1lb, 1000 for 2lb) and largely it will correlate over time

Be careful of exercise, it makes me ravenous personally and I eat more than I use up. Exercixe is good for health but not shown to be that effective for weight loss in studies, but just see how it works for you.

Yes 1800 sounds about right. Would stick to that for 4 weeks and focus on moving more.

That sounds about right to me.
Did the calculator make any adjustments for your activity level?
I'd say keep to tracking accurately and stick within you'd allowance for at least 2 weeks before judging if it is working for you.
And I can gain several LB before a period, fluctuations of several lbs are totally normal for women.

I think it’s really tricky to have lower than 1700-1800 long term. It’s simply not enough food, particularly if you aren’t much of a cook and aren’t used to feeling a bit hungry.

I average my calories out over a week, so that I can have a bit less one day if I’ve gone over another.

Weighing every day but taking a weekly average is best, imo. If you only weighed once a week but weighing day was after a big meal, or you have your period, you’ll be really disheartened if you don’t see progress after a week.

Advice you’ll see everywhere, because it really helps: try to build activity into your routine, starting with upping your step count gradually towards 10,000 per day.

1800 sounds perfect, as people have said stick to that for 4 ISH weeks and see if you make progress.
You can always lower by 100cals a day for the next 4 weeks after that if you want faster results. I find it's easier to make those small adjustments than set them too low too soon.

Another great thing is to try and increase your steps, so first 4 weeks your target might be 4000 steps a day, and then next 4 weeks after that up it to 4500 steps. (No idea how many you do at the moment!)

It sounds about right, and I’d really suggest not going lower. I lost three stone in 2024 (another stone to go) and what made the difference for me this time was working on my mindset, not expecting quick results, blocking out the ‘diet culture’ bollocks etc. This helped me to be consistent which really is key. I have worked with a weight loss coach too to which has helped, but initially just followed a load of them (the ones that resonated with me) online and that really helped keep me on track.

I lost weight very successfully with Nutracheck - and have maintained my target weight for 6 months now. I think 1800 sounds about right for now. As you lose weight, the app will recalculate your daily calories, as smaller people need fewer calories. I think I started at 1600 and was at 1200 by the end. I did eat back my exercise, so ate 1400-1500 calories each day. It takes time and is not linear - some weeks are big losses and others small losses or even gains. I imagine festive eating is still playing havoc on our bodies - we might need a week or two to get back to normal! Stick will it. 16lbs loss since November is great!

1800 is a good amount. It's achievable and sustainable. Remember it takes time, so yes you would lose plenty on 1100 or 1300 calories but it will be hard to maintain, weight will go back on easily and it will wreck your metabolism as well as be hard to get the right nutrition.

Also I weigh each day. It's not linear as others have said. My weight will not shift the week before my period no matter what I do, you can even weigh more the day after intense exercise, a salty meal etc so getting a more average figure over a week is less disheartening