1200 calories vs a higher calorie/fat diet

Zedeff

I know the principle, but that doesn't change that it's arbitrary. Look, I can make up a bunch of declining-pace algorithms too:

If you have less than 12 lbs to lose, 0.325 pounds per week is ideal
If you have less than 14 lbs to lose, 0.467 pounds per week is ideal
If you have less than 27.4 lbs to lose, 1.777772 pounds per week is ideal

See?

The fact that those numbers are pulled out of thin air is what I take issue with, not the principle of a declining deficit.

The "never under 1200 cal/day" part is not true either. For example if you're a 50 year old, 5'1" tall woman who weighs 133 lbs (BMI 25.1 or slightly overweight) with a sedentary lifestyle, your TDEE is about 1394 cal/day. Even losing half a pound per week puts this person at 1144 cal/day, or under 1200, so that part of the protocol isn't true either.

pickleRH83

@MummyStumpf I'm trying to stick to between 1200 - 1400 (I'm only 5'2 so 1200 is my sedentary recommendation from MFP) I know his plan advocates about 1500-1800 with lots of exercise (though it's tailored per person) - it's easy to follow the food side of things for free but I don't know how much you're meant to work out though he does have exercise videos on youtube. It's basically just high intensity interval training.

MummyStumpf

The more I follow him on Twitter and Facebook and see the transformations, the more I'm inclined to want to sign up..

Helloitsdan

Zero difference in high fat vs high carb diets.
If you like high carb, eat high carb.
If you like high fat, eat high fat.
If you like cycling high fat on rest days and high carb on training, go for it.