Quick question about caloric limit.

gelormini473

Hi again everyone!
I normally consume a lot of calories (upwards of 2000 calories) and am pretty much sedentary for the majority of the day. How should I go about losing 1lb a week? Should I deduct 500 calories from my average or should I limit my consumption to 1200? If yes to the former, do you think I should begin by removing 100 calories every few weeks or just remove 500 outright?
What would you do?

Thank you,
Gelormini473

juggernaut1974

Well...first step would be to figure out EXACTLY what you're currently eating..."upwards of 2000" is pretty vague.

Once you've got that figured out, then yes, a 500 calorie deficit off that number should give you about a pound a week loss on average (assuming you were maintaining your weight at whatever you were eating before).

Finally - if that 500 deficit puts you below 1200, then likely you don't have that much to lose, and 1 lb a week is too drastic of a cut. In that case, change your goal to shoot for 1/2 lb a week (250 calorie per day deficit). Under no circumstance, absent a doctor advised/monitored diet, should you go below 1200 calories per day or you risk malnourishment and other potentially bad side effects.

oolou

If you are sure of the number of calories you currently eat daily - and you are also maintaining at your weight (not gaining or losing), then yes, deducting 500 calories from your current consumption should equate to a weight loss of a pound a week.

What I would advise is try a week of logging your ordinary intake so you are sure of your current average calories.
Then go for deducting 500 calories.
After a month, review and adjust as needed.

gelormini473

What happens if I was gaining? How much would I have to cut?

TavistockToad

gelormini473 wrote: »

What happens if I was gaining? How much would I have to cut?

Depends how much you're gaining?

gelormini473

I see! I wasn't gaining, but just wanted to know if there was a number that would apply. Thank you!

juggernaut1974

gelormini473 wrote: »

What happens if I was gaining? How much would I have to cut?

Then I'd probably go the other route you described. Cut a hundred for a few weeks, and see if you maintain. If not, cut a hundred more til you find your maintenance.

Alternatively, if you don't want to take the time to do all that, you could use the MFP tools or another online calculator to enter your stats and activity level, and have it estimate a good caloric intake goal for you. It won't be as accurate, since it's just an estimate based on population averages instead of actual data you accumulate, but it would give you a good starting point for now, and you can tweak a few calories here or there as you go

TavistockToad

gelormini473 wrote: »

I see! I wasn't gaining, but just wanted to know if there was a number that would apply. Thank you!

Everyone's number is different, so you just need to figure yours out.

gelormini473

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

gelormini473 wrote: »

What happens if I was gaining? How much would I have to cut?

Alternatively, if you don't want to take the time to do all that, you could use the MFP tools or another online calculator to enter your stats and activity level, and have it estimate a good caloric intake goal for you. It won't be as accurate, since it's just an estimate based on population averages instead of actual data you accumulate, but it would give you a good starting point for now, and you can tweak a few calories here or there as you go

The problem with this is that in limited to 1200 calories and get VERY hungry

juggernaut1974

gelormini473 wrote: »

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

gelormini473 wrote: »

What happens if I was gaining? How much would I have to cut?

Alternatively, if you don't want to take the time to do all that, you could use the MFP tools or another online calculator to enter your stats and activity level, and have it estimate a good caloric intake goal for you. It won't be as accurate, since it's just an estimate based on population averages instead of actual data you accumulate, but it would give you a good starting point for now, and you can tweak a few calories here or there as you go

The problem with this is that in limited to 1200 calories and get VERY hungry

May I ask what your current height & weight is? Like I said - if it's giving you 1200, perhaps 1 lb per week is too aggressive of a goal for you.

The other note, is that using MFP's tools, exercise is not taken into account. So if (for example) on a day you do a 3 mile run and burn 300 calories in exercise, you'd add those calories back in (eat your base 1200 + the 300 you burned doing exercise or 1500 total)

gelormini473

I am 5'5" and 150 lbs

juggernaut1974

gelormini473 wrote: »

I am 5'5" and 150 lbs

Yeah you're already pretty close to a healthy weight. I'd suggest making 1/2 lb per week your goal, and if you happen to beat that, just consider it a bonus

TavistockToad

gelormini473 wrote: »

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

gelormini473 wrote: »

What happens if I was gaining? How much would I have to cut?

Alternatively, if you don't want to take the time to do all that, you could use the MFP tools or another online calculator to enter your stats and activity level, and have it estimate a good caloric intake goal for you. It won't be as accurate, since it's just an estimate based on population averages instead of actual data you accumulate, but it would give you a good starting point for now, and you can tweak a few calories here or there as you go

The problem with this is that in limited to 1200 calories and get VERY hungry

If you eat 2000 cals at the moment you don't need to cut back to 1200 to lose weight