Can I lose weight on 1500 calories a day?

AngelaAwesome97

when i log my weight, height and goal weight into mfp, it says i should be eating 1200cal a day to lose 1.4lb a week but i just cant seem to keep it up when only eating 1200 cal a day. so i tried to up the calorie intake, to 1500, and its much easier this way. and I think i could maybe keep that up long term. but will i still lose weight this way? is there anyone who eats 1500 a day and has lost weight? btw my height is 5'1 and my weight is around 180lb.
thx!

itzCoffeeTime

Try to add an exercise into your daily routine, maybe a 30min jog or gym activities etc to burn off extra calories. Also remember to drink lots of water, this helps curb appetite.

sargessexyone

I am 5'2" 173 and I average 1400-1600 and still lose. You should find out what your BMR and TDEE is. You then eat somewhere in the middle of those numbers and you should be golden.

http://www.fat2fittools.com/

bellevie86

It's not a question of will you still lose, cause you will for sure. You will just lose slower, which is not necessarily a bad thing. If you punch that into the MFP goals page it should tell you what rate that is and what you can expect to lose in the next 5 weeks. If that is too much it would also tell you what you would gain. I would say that would probably still lose not quite a pound a week, which isn't bad. That being said, I've had weeks where I lost more or less, depending on my activity level. Set it and see what happens! It just makes it a lot more enjoyable for sure if you have problems sticking to 1200, which I did for sure. Good luck!

ashesfromfire

The majority of my weight loss on mfp has been from eating around 1500 calories a day, completely and totally possible. Now that I'm less active I've dropped it back down, but while working out fairly regularly and working on my feet, 1500 worked just fine for me.

cwolfman13

If 1200 is your goal to lose 1.4 Lbs then that means MFP is estimating your non exercise maintenance to be around 1,950 calories. if you eat 1500 calories you should lose at a rate of roughly 0.5 - 0.75 Lbs per week WITHOUT exercise being included in your activity.

Do you exercise? If so then you can eat more and still lose...for example, if you burned 300 calories per day with exercise, that 1200 calorie goal now becomes 1,500 to still lose that 1.4 Lbs per week because now your maintenance increases as well due to that exercise was previously unaccounted for...so maintenance now becomes 2,250 calories (1,950 + 300 = 2,250).

toddka1

I am 5'2" 173 and I average 1400-1600 and still lose. You should find out what your BMR and TDEE is. You then eat somewhere in the middle of those numbers and you should be golden.

http://www.fat2fittools.com/

This is the key. Find out your BMR and TDEE. 1500 sounds reasonable and do-able. It just may take longer depending on your activity level. The key is to burn more calories than you consume. It may sound more imposing than it is. Use the link provided. Your body burns a certain amount of calories just by being alive and any given day. Add even a simple activity to that and you can easily burn more than you eat if you are monitoring what and how much you eat.

Most important thing to remember is this is lifestyle change to be more healthy in both what you eat, how much you eat and your activity levels. This is not a crash diet. Lifestyle changes take a little time.

You can do this!

McKenzieLeigh

I am 5'3" and eating about 1500 per day. I have been logging 65 days and I have lost 16 pounds so I would not call that slow! It can be done it will just vary for you in how fast. I also do not exercise regularly so if you add that in you can eat more!

kelli_panzera

I'm 5'4" and I have my calories set at 1510 per day. I've been doing this since February 1, and I'm having great luck so far. I used the calculator on scoobyworkshop and found my bmr and tdee, then went about 200 calories lower per day. Even before I started adding exercise to the mix, I was happy with the numbers on the scale.

Carmenbraun55

Read this and find your number you can lose, just slower and more sustainable.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13

WaterBunnie

If you've just started here immediately jumping down to a low calorie goal isn't going to be easy. If you go to goals and set not to lose weight it'll give you your estimated TDEE calories per day and anything you eat less than that should see you losing weight over time. Setting to lose half a pound and then a pound a week for your first few days will help you ease down into it.

GBrady43068

I am 5'2" 173 and I average 1400-1600 and still lose. You should find out what your BMR and TDEE is. You then eat somewhere in the middle of those numbers and you should be golden.

http://www.fat2fittools.com/

This is the key. Find out your BMR and TDEE. 1500 sounds reasonable and do-able. It just may take longer depending on your activity level. The key is to burn more calories than you consume. It may sound more imposing than it is. Use the link provided. Your body burns a certain amount of calories just by being alive and any given day. Add even a simple activity to that and you can easily burn more than you eat if you are monitoring what and how much you eat.

Most important thing to remember is this is lifestyle change to be more healthy in both what you eat, how much you eat and your activity levels. This is not a crash diet. Lifestyle changes take a little time.

You can do this!

This^

ELM70CA

I wouldn't go for the 1200 calories a day. That is low , hard to manage long term and you will be hungry. If you bump them up to 1500 hundred a day and get some form of exercise in each day, I think you will do well.

ELM70CA

I wouldn't go for the 1200 calories a day. That is low , hard to manage long term and you will be hungry. If you bump them up to 1500 hundred a day and get some form of exercise in each day, I think you will do well.

Yes, do the above as GBrady mentioned.

monstergirl14

Calorie intake is different for everyone, but I agree that if you're just starting out, 1200 is very low. You're just starting to gather information on health and nutrition, so going over 1200 might seem really easy right now. I'd go 1400 or 1500, you may lose slower but in the process you will learn something new. Do you exercise? That will help immensely, in allowing yourself to eat more, shape up in a better way, and genuinely feel good. Don't forget to drink lots of water, like someone previously mentioned.

changing4life

great thread

easjer

I'm losing just fine on 2100-2300 per day, but I do eat exercise calories (to a certain point). I'm bigger and taller than you though, so my actual rate is different, but sustainability is very important. Just make sure your expectations are in line.