How much weight could I lose by Jan 10?

xLyric

School starts Jan 10th, so I'm wondering, how much weight could I lose if I ate 1200 a day and stuck to it? (1200 is my calculated goal right now.)

And then, how much could I lose if I ate 1000?

If you need numbers, I weigh around 204, 5'9". Little to no exercise.

aigéan

1000 calories is not enough! You should eat 1200-1600 (IMO) and EXERCISE !!!

MyWishfulShrinking

Eat more than 1200 calories and exercise! Even if it's a little big of working out... it'll help.

Shawnalee0703

Yes, do NOT go under 1200 or your body actually goes into starvation mode and you risk gaining fat and losing muscle. Nobody wants that. Stick with between 1200 and 1500 a day depending on your weight and activity level. Figure out your BMR which is the amount of calories at which you would maintain and each 3500 kcal in food or exercise under your BMR will be a pound. A pound is equivalent to 3500kcal. Doesn't mean that EACH week you will lose exactly that, but it helps you calculate an idea for your goal.

pkgirrl

Okay, straight up mathematical answer (lecture free) to your question. A pound off your body is approximately a 3500 calorie deficit. I calculated your BMR to be 1713 calories a day, assuming an age of 22. (You didn't mention it, but I figured that was probably close looking at your picture.) Therefore, if you laid in bed all day, and only ate 1000 calories per day for the next 25 days, you'd net a loss of 713 calories each day, which work out to approximately a pound every 5 days, so 5lbs.

I should however mention that you probably burn more than 1713, as odds are, you don't lay in bed all day most days. I also assumed your metabolism would stay the same over the course of the 25 days, so those two factors will probably balance out. You'll probably also lose a lot of water weight, not factored in here, but from personal experience I've found I lose at LEAST a pound of water for every pound of body mass.

Soo, I'd estimate you'd lose about 10lbs, but don't get discouraged if you gain at least a few back immediately when you up your intake even a little, as it will mostly be water weight, which is healthy

pkgirrl

And just because I can't resist, leptin, the hormone which controls your entire metabolism, takes about a week of this kind of dieting to decrease by 50%. "Starvation mode" isn't something you have to worry about if your under or around 1000 once in awhile, but if you keep it up, results probably will slow pretty drastically after about a week.

Shawnalee0703

And just because I can't resist, leptin, the hormone which controls your entire metabolism, takes about a week of this kind of dieting to decrease by 50%. "Starvation mode" isn't something you have to worry about if your under or around 1000 once in awhile, but if you keep it up, results probably will slow pretty drastically after about a week.

True, in your first week you have nothing to worry about. But if one plans on losing weight for longer and actually keep it off it is important for you to consume valuable Kcal. I would calculate your BMR including your activity level (that 1,700x 1.2 for low activity, 1.3 for moderate and so on) which would be closer to 2000 and THEN start subtracting the adjusted intake and calorie burn in exercise. It IS possible to lose a good 10 lbs by then. This may also depend on your current commitment and exercise ability. You need to shock your system, BUT not scare it. hehe You will do great! Just stay focused!

OH and there are MANY calculators online that can help you figure it out.

xLyric

Okay, straight up mathematical answer (lecture free) to your question. A pound off your body is approximately a 3500 calorie deficit. I calculated your BMR to be 1713 calories a day, assuming an age of 22. (You didn't mention it, but I figured that was probably close looking at your picture.) Therefore, if you laid in bed all day, and only ate 1000 calories per day for the next 25 days, you'd net a loss of 713 calories each day, which work out to approximately a pound every 5 days, so 5lbs.

I should however mention that you probably burn more than 1713, as odds are, you don't lay in bed all day most days. I also assumed your metabolism would stay the same over the course of the 25 days, so those two factors will probably balance out. You'll probably also lose a lot of water weight, not factored in here, but from personal experience I've found I lose at LEAST a pound of water for every pound of body mass.

Soo, I'd estimate you'd lose about 10lbs, but don't get discouraged if you gain at least a few back immediately when you up your intake even a little, as it will mostly be water weight, which is healthy

THANK YOU. Good lord, people! I've been here a while, I know what you're saying, right now I just don't care.

Also, thank you for the metabolism bit. I don't plan on doing this long term at all, but it's nice to know I'm not starving myself. I'd just like to get down as much as possible without going as drastically as the 500 cal diet or something.