Is 1200 NET calories suitable for all ŵeights?

Agathist

I have an allowance of 1800 calories a day, and have read a few posts about sticking to around 1200 net calories a day which I have been doing. I average about 16,000 steps a day on my fitbit mainly through walking but also 3x 5k runs a week which adds between 400 and 800 exercise calories a day. I am currently losing around 2.5 lb a week which I am thrilled with obviously, but I'm concerned it's not sustainable and my bubble will burst at some point!

So I guess the question is , are 1200 net calories right for someone who needs to lose around 5/6 stones?

SezxyStef

If you can eat 1800 calories a day why eat so little? You will lose weight on 1800...

1.5lb a week is a good loss for someone with 5/6 stone (or 70-84lbs) to lose.

And eat back some of your exercise calories...

Your calorie goal will change as you lose weight esp when you check in...make sure you change your goal to 1lb when you are down to 50lbs to lose and again change it to .5 when it's under 20-25lbs...

And yes your bubble will burst cause you will be starved.

Agathist

Thank you for that Stef - I do eat my full 1800 calories, but I found it confusing when searching on net calories as it seemed everyone was agreeing that 1200 was a magic figure!

I will carry on as I am but ignore the net and eat back some of my exercise then. I really want this to work long term not just as a quick fix

Lld320

Your weight loss isn't sustainable. No one can keep losing weight forever and the more you lose the more difficult it becomes. It really comes down to whether it is healthy or not, 2.5 a week is a lot to lose per week, but reasonable if you are very overweight. Your body can only burn so much fat per week/month before the weight loss becomes muscle cannibalism.
Appreciate your fast loses when you are starting, but realize you can't speed up a natural process without destroying your body. And most importantly know that if you do not eat enough food you will not look like you want to when you reach your goal number. Weight is just a number, worry about how you look and feel.

ashielauren

I think 1200 is more suitable when you have less weight to lose, and it's better in the long run to lose weight in a slow, healthy manner. If you can eat 1800 calories and still lose weight, do that because it will make transitioning into a maintenance diet easier.

AlongCame_Molly

I think 1200 is more suitable when you have less weight to lose, and it's better in the long run to lose weight in a slow, healthy manner. If you can eat 1800 calories and still lose weight, do that because it will make transitioning into a maintenance diet easier.

This is wrong. The closer you are to goal, the smaller your deficit should be.