1300 calories surprise!

lillola96

So I'm a first time calorie-counter on 1300 calories with the goal to lose 20kg @ 1kg a week (start weight 85kg, heigh 176cm). I'm an intermittent faster, first meal at 11am last at 7pm, also a recovering emotional binge eater which is pretty much how I got overweight. I'm a mostly sedentary office worker and since starting this new routine walk the dog most days and cycle an easy 5-10 kms 3-4 times a week. My meals are focused on lots of veggies, legumes, eggs, protein and good fats.

My question is - apart from feeling more tired and a bit less energy than usual, I feel fine on 1200 calories; I'm not getting any intense cravings or feeling real hunger. I'm losing consistently .8-1kg a week. So... is this too good to be true?! I think any minute I'm going to wake up and binge eat all day and go back to square one. I am honestly in shock that it is working and I'm managing because I thought this would be so much harder. Could it just be that calorie-counting is finally the thing that ”works” for me? Has anyone else had such a positive experience on a similar plan to mine and had success to their goal? *praying this is not just a phase!*

tinkerbellang83

lillola96 wrote: »

So I'm a first time calorie-counter on 1300 calories with the goal to lose 20kg @ 1kg a week (start weight 85kg, heigh 176cm). I'm an intermittent faster, first meal at 11am last at 7pm, also a recovering emotional binge eater which is pretty much how I got overweight. I'm a mostly sedentary office worker and since starting this new routine walk the dog most days and cycle an easy 5-10 kms 3-4 times a week. My meals are focused on lots of veggies, legumes, eggs, protein and good fats.

My question is - apart from feeling more tired and a bit less energy than usual, I feel fine on 1200 calories; I'm not getting any intense cravings or feeling real hunger. I'm losing consistently .8-1kg a week. So... is this too good to be true?! I think any minute I'm going to wake up and binge eat all day and go back to square one. I am honestly in shock that it is working and I'm managing because I thought this would be so much harder. Could it just be that calorie-counting is finally the thing that ”works” for me? Has anyone else had such a positive experience on a similar plan to mine and had success to their goal? *praying this is not just a phase!*

Congratulations on your consistent loss so far.

Many people do have a "honeymoon period" where they feel fine on a steep deficit, although feeling tired and lethargic is not exactly what I would call feeling fine, particularly when you've increased your exercise/activity substantially.

1kg per week might be a bit too much of a deficit given your stats, you're only 20lbs/10kg above the top end of a healthy weight range for your height, so perhaps consider dropping your rate of loss to 0.5-0.75kg per week and fuel that exercise.

It's far better to take things slowly and let the better habits stick and be able to maintain your loss, than lose weight faster, burn out and regain.

lillola96

Thank you for the reply, I did wonder whether maybe it was a kind of honeymoon phase. I'm hoping to lose the first 5 kilos then add more calories and aim for .5 a week. Will see how it goes!

Lobsterboxtops

It could be a honeymoon phase or it could be the new you... I kind of thought the same thing, but I’m 3 months in and 10lbs down and still going. I started this as an experiment, that way if it didn’t ‘take’ then it wasn’t me it was the ‘experiment ‘ being over. I’ve had a few weeks where things didn’t go to plan (last week, I’m looking at you) but it’s been easy for me to treat each day as it’s own thing and get back on track.

My advice, even if this is a honeymoon phase, go with it and then reevaluate and tweak if you find it isn’t working for you. I always say, there’s a dangerous point between novelty and habit...but knowing that lets me be on guard a bit more.

nexangelus

Being on a diet does not address the eating disorder, that is in your head, that needs work too, cutting calories just loses the fat/weight...and at 1kg a week that is going to feed into that binge/restrict cycle like crazy, so be careful, more calories, slower, more realistic weight loss...

scarlett_k

I would be very careful restricting your calories so much as a recovering binge eater. Restricting leads to binges. I would decrease the goal for losing per week to 0.25 to 0.5 kg a week.

Dontkillbill

After I got half way to my goal I dropped my weekly expectation to 1 pound or roughly .5 kg. I would think about adding a few calories and offset it with a walk or a bit longer of a workout. You know your body better than anyone and last thing anyone wants to hear is have patients

pamhardwick8899

I am middle-aged with a slow metabolism but found what finally works...limited fasting. For 3 months I have been on 1280 calories daily and have cut out breakfast. My first meal of the day is usually 11 or 12noon and I don’t restrict the last time I eat in the evening. I also exercise daily, and have not felt sluggish or tired. I try to keep carbs on the low side. Most of the time I am not hungry but if it happens in the evening then I just drink broth or have decaf coffee or dark chocolate and that curbs my hunger. I also drink a cup of strong French roast coffee first thing in the morning.

Strudders67

You haven't said how long you've been doing this, but do say you're feeling tired and have less energy. That could well be because you're not eating enough. You may feel fine now and it's great that you've been consistently losing, but you may also find that one day you don't feel quite so fine. MFP set you 1300 calories to lose 1kg (2lb) a week so that's what you should be eating, not 1200 calories. Eat 1300 and you should regain your energy again.

Also, as others have said, that's too aggressive a rate with only 20kg (~44lb) to lose. The general advice on here is that a rate of 2lb a week is for those with a lot to lose. I can't remember if the suggestion is more than 50, 75 or 100lb to lose but, regardless, you're a long way below that. Change your goal to lose .75kg a week then, when you get down to the last 5kg or so, change it to .5kg a week. The extra calories will help your energy levels but also mean you're less likely to fall off the wagon and binge. Going slowly means you'll learn to manage your food intake sustainably and there's more chance of long term success.

Also, are you logging your exercise and eating (at least some of) those calories? Or are you burning a bunch of calories from your cycling and walking that effectively means your net calories are way below 1200?