Did this REALLY work for anyone??

Veil5577

I've been reading a lot on the forums lately and more and more I've been seeing that people who are eating more are more successful at losing weight.

I've been at 1200 calories for a month. Sometimes gone over, mostly been under. Now like almost everyone else the idea of eating more to lose weight makes no sense to me. But I also know that once I reach goal, I'd have to increase my calories anyway. I'm beginning to wonder if 1200 really was too low and that is why I've not seen much progress over the last month. I've increased the calorie limit to 1400, but wondering if even that is too low.

I really wanted to lose this 60 lbs in six months but maybe that was an unrealistic goal?

And please don't quote "starvation mode" to me because I absolutely hate that myth.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

60 lb in 6 months is unrealistic, sorry.

But yes, it does work. I am only 5 feet, and I lost 40 lbs (all my baby weight plus 10 lbs) eating 1600-1800 calories (I am eating slightly less right now due to a strict competition prep diet, in case you check my diary and were wondering why it's lower).

1400 is better than 1200 for sure, but it would be best to find your TDEE, and eat just below that.

JTick

I really wanted to lose this 60 lbs in six months but maybe that was an unrealistic goal?

This.

1Cor1510

Go to IIFYM.com, they have a calculator there to help with the numbers.

Veil5577

I checked out IIFM or whatever it was. BMR is 1499 and TDEE is 1798, it says I should be eating 1520 calories for weight loss. So maybe 1400 would be all right?

leggup

A few things. Yes, in general, you can see great weight loss results when eating more than 1,200 calories. What’s important is that you figure out what a reasonable deficit is and stick to it.

You say you have been at 1,200 calories for 1 month. One month is not long enough to see an accurate picture of your losses. Any loss in 1 month is a good loss, especially if you’re starting a new routine.

I do not think you are actually eating 1,200 calories every day, or even most days. Your dairy is mostly empty. When it has entries, it’s very inaccurate. “Generic - Regular Coffee - Cream and Sugar, 2 oz: 48 calories.” What? What brand of coffee creamer are you using? How much sugar are you putting in? You use that entry a lot, so it’s important that it’s correct. Are there really days where you ate 4 granola bars, some chicken and olives, and only netted 673 calories? You also have a lot of things counted in quantity instead of weight. Using “14 baby carrots” is inaccurate, but will probably only be off by 10-30 calories, depending on the size of the baby carrots. Things like “3 slices of cheese” can get you into trouble fast.

Finally, 60 lbs in 6 months is very unrealistic. That’s 10 lbs a month, more than 2 lbs per week. You will only really see the 2 lbs a week losses in the very early stages of your weight loss. As you approach your goal, you can safely/easily lose less and less weight per week.

Ninkyou

Yes, it worked fantastic for me. Lost 57 lbs before getting pregnant (as planned), in about 10 1/2 months. I ate between 1500-1900 calories, depending on how much I exercised. I weighed everything I ate. I didn't cut anything out. I still eat pizza, cookies, etc along with veggies and lean meats. Whatever I ate, I logged it. BAM. Lost weight.

Losing weight doesn't mean you have to be starving or miserable.

Make sure you have a realistic goal... 60 lbs in 6 months is pretty unrealistic unless you're very obese.

JoRocka

There is no reason to force a 1200 calorie diet when 14-1500 will cause weight loss as well.

You're just making yourself miserable for no reason.

60 pounds in 6 months- is <drum roll> 10 pounds a month. That's 2.5 pounds a week- and that's extreme outside of extremely obese folks who can typically drop weight extremely quickly when they start. I would settle on 1-1.5 at most and move forward- allow yourself a few hundred extra calories. You'll be much happier with it.

Veil5577

I've increased the calories to 1400. I don't have a food scale and I can't afford to buy one right now, so I have to go with the foods in the MFP database. I'm on a serious budget so my food diary may look a little weird.

rachelrb85

I checked out IIFM or whatever it was. BMR is 1499 and TDEE is 1798, it says I should be eating 1520 calories for weight loss. So maybe 1400 would be all right?

If your TDEE is 1798, a moderate weight loss would be less 20% so 1440. You would also lose weight at a 10% deficit so 1618. If you chose sedentary when calculating your TDEE, make sure to eat exercise calories back. If you already factored in your exercising (i.e. 3x light, moderate, etc) then you don't need to eat them back.

For several months I was eating 1200 calories and did not lose any weight. Decided to do the TDEE less 20% with heavy lifting, and I ended up losing weight. You also have to be accurate with your logging. I don't care if it's science or voo doo witchcraft, but it works.

Cardio4Cupcakes

You can probably lose 60 lbs in 6 months with keto (at least, i've seen it be done) but I'm not one to advocate that diet.

Otherwise, no.

leggup

I've increased the calories to 1400. I don't have a food scale and I can't afford to buy one right now, so I have to go with the foods in the MFP database. I'm on a serious budget so my food diary may look a little weird.

I found a food scale on Amazon for $4.36 + $2.98 shipping : http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Kitchen-Scale-Compact-0-04oz/dp/B009CQZB66/ref=sr_1_12?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1405444595&sr=1-12&keywords=digital+food+scale

I think the one I bought was $12.