What classifies as "too few calories" for weight loss?

nickichambers

Thanks everyone for your comments.... They're equally as confusing but I think I have the just!

My BMR is 1440 and my TDEE is 1770 so if intake 500 from my BMR we're at the 900 mark..
But if I take it away from my TDEE it's 1270.....

Today I ate 1200 or so without being hungry or feeling deprived of anything.

My main issue is literally a ring of flab around my lower tummy which I really don't think any amount of sit ups is going to fix

So thanks for all the advice- I think I'll stick to 1200 but if I feel deprived or exceptionally hungry for whatever reason, I'll max it at 1400.

Any other advice will of course be greatly appreciated!!!

caraiselite

i would say low carb will help you more now than just calorie counting

Bobby_Clerici

For safe, steady and lasting results, set your goals for 1 pound of weight loss per week.
People in a race with nature finish last.

This is how MFP works
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/help/faq/3-how-does-myfitnesspal-work

And Tips for Newbies
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/470367-tips-for-newbies

GOOD LUCK :flowerforyou:

Bobby_Clerici

To few calories = impaired performance, increased fatigue and lack of emotional well being.

^^^^^^^^^
THIS!

Kassielin13

Eat high protein, low carb and exercise your butt off.

Agree totally with this poster! I have had my most success following these simple guidelines!

Magnamus

Simple
Calorie limit is 1200
But cut all sugar from your diet
This means all fruit, but make up the difference with vegetable (cut fructose but not glucose)
No processed cereal (ie Kellogg, general mills, etc...) breads or any processed carb. Homemade is okay but tried to avoid anyways.
No dessert or sweets. None! Your body will thank you.

Eating 1200 of nutritiional foods will keep your belly full no problem and the weight will start coming down again.

Do 10-20 min of intense exercise involving multiple muscle groups (this 20min can be broken into 4 short high intensity workouts over the whole day) tip: stop before you sweat and start over for another 5 min once you've almost completely cooled down.

kayemme

I would simply cut any simple carbohydrate and pack in fiber & water from natural sources. And keep moving.

edit: and what I meant to imply was to not worry about the number too much (while keeping track) because if you're eating from natural sources, your calorie count will naturally be low.

Merithyn

Simple
Calorie limit is 1200
But cut all sugar from your diet
This means all fruit, but make up the difference with vegetable (cut fructose but not glucose)
No processed cereal (ie Kellogg, general mills, etc...) breads or any processed carb. Homemade is okay but tried to avoid anyways.
No dessert or sweets. None! Your body will thank you.

Eating 1200 of nutritiional foods will keep your belly full no problem and the weight will start coming down again.

Do 10-20 min of intense exercise involving multiple muscle groups (this 20min can be broken into 4 short high intensity workouts over the whole day) tip: stop before you sweat and start over for another 5 min once you've almost completely cooled down.

I realize that I'm new and everything, but this just doesn't seem sustainable for anyone. I'm not sure I'd try to follow these suggestions. Low carb/high protein and weight training sounds like your best option.

Good luck!

wahmx3

Watch what you eat and eat somewhere between 1200-1400 but really push the exercise, both cardio and strength training. If you exercise and tone up, you can look even better than losing 10 more pounds. I haven't been losing much weight in the past month but thanks to Jillian Michaels dvd's, my clothes are looser than they were a month ago, new summer clothes at that point.

wahmx3

I totally disagree, there is nothing wrong with natural sugar from fruits, nothing wrong with bread if it is whole grain. I do agree with no processed cereal, most of it is very high in sugar.

Realistically, not many people can cut out ALL sweets and treats.... we all deserve to have some type of treats or sweets (in moderation of course).

Simple
Calorie limit is 1200
But cut all sugar from your diet
This means all fruit, but make up the difference with vegetable (cut fructose but not glucose)
No processed cereal (ie Kellogg, general mills, etc...) breads or any processed carb. Homemade is okay but tried to avoid anyways.
No dessert or sweets. None! Your body will thank you.

Eating 1200 of nutritiional foods will keep your belly full no problem and the weight will start coming down again.

Do 10-20 min of intense exercise involving multiple muscle groups (this 20min can be broken into 4 short high intensity workouts over the whole day) tip: stop before you sweat and start over for another 5 min once you've almost completely cooled down.

nickichambers

To be honest, if I cut out fruit I would have almost nothing to eat. I already don't eat any bread or sweets or cereals- just eggs, beans, mushrooms, fish, quorn meat and plenty of leafy greens and tomatoes.

I'm gonna keep it at 1200 for another two weeks and see if it makes any difference.

On a side note- has anyone else one a low carb diet noticed lethergy? Today I genuienly feel like I could sleep all day: no energy and a serious desire to just lie down despite 7.5 hours sleep :grumble:

suziecue66

To be honest, if I cut out fruit I would have almost nothing to eat. I already don't eat any bread or sweets or cereals- just eggs, beans, mushrooms, fish, quorn meat and plenty of leafy greens and tomatoes.

I'm gonna keep it at 1200 for another two weeks and see if it makes any difference.

On a side note- has anyone else one a low carb diet noticed lethergy? Today I genuienly feel like I could sleep all day: no energy and a serious desire to just lie down despite 7.5 hours sleep :grumble:

Yeh, low carb can make you feel lethargic until your body adapts. Some don't adapt and do better with more carbs.
I wouldn't cut out fruit either.

cramernh

On a side note- has anyone else one a low carb diet noticed lethergy? Today I genuienly feel like I could sleep all day: no energy and a serious desire to just lie down despite 7.5 hours sleep :grumble:

Im, for medical reasons, doing a low-carbohydrate intake. I didnt have any lethargy at all. It was the easiest transition for me where allergy tests also played a role in my being directed to LC. (cannot digest breads, flours, corn, rice, pasta, most fruits - so they are eliminated).

But if you exercise like crazy and net an extremely low caloric intake, lethargy can definitely set in due to not enough calorie-intake.

LorinaLynn

Low carb is GREAT if you have a medical condition that changes the way your body processes carbs or gluten.

For the rest of the world, it's not necessary. I have breads, pasta, rice and potatoes all the time. I have my macros set to 50% carbs, 25% fat and 25% protein, but really, I just aim for at least 100g of protein and let the rest fall where they may.

suziecue66

Low carb is GREAT if you have a medical condition that changes the way your body processes carbs or gluten.

For the rest of the world, it's not necessary. I have breads, pasta, rice and potatoes all the time. I have my macros set to 50% carbs, 25% fat and 25% protein, but really, I just aim for at least 100g of protein and let the rest fall where they may.

I try to do the 100g protein too but with a low amount of calories that OP will be doing (to enable some more fat loss) her carbs will be lowish say about 100g also then the rest made up of fat. At maintenance can up the carbs as will have more calories to play with.
100g carbs is still a good amount - you can eat quite a bit of veg and fruit. Also some days have your starchier veg or even porridge, rice.

LorinaLynn

Low carb is GREAT if you have a medical condition that changes the way your body processes carbs or gluten.

For the rest of the world, it's not necessary. I have breads, pasta, rice and potatoes all the time. I have my macros set to 50% carbs, 25% fat and 25% protein, but really, I just aim for at least 100g of protein and let the rest fall where they may.

I try to do the 100g protein too but with a low amount of calories that OP will be doing (to enable some more fat loss) her carbs will be lowish say about 100g also then the rest made up of fat. At maintenance can up the carbs as will have more calories to play with.
100g carbs is still a good amount - you can eat quite a bit of veg and fruit. Also some days have your starchier veg or even porridge, rice.

But there's also no need for her calories to be that low. I had a lot more fat loss at a higher calorie (say 1500 plus exercise calories) than at 1200 or less.

suziecue66

Low carb is GREAT if you have a medical condition that changes the way your body processes carbs or gluten.

For the rest of the world, it's not necessary. I have breads, pasta, rice and potatoes all the time. I have my macros set to 50% carbs, 25% fat and 25% protein, but really, I just aim for at least 100g of protein and let the rest fall where they may.

I try to do the 100g protein too but with a low amount of calories that OP will be doing (to enable some more fat loss) her carbs will be lowish say about 100g also then the rest made up of fat. At maintenance can up the carbs as will have more calories to play with.
100g carbs is still a good amount - you can eat quite a bit of veg and fruit. Also some days have your starchier veg or even porridge, rice.

But there's also no need for her calories to be that low. I had a lot more fat loss at a higher calorie (say 1500 plus exercise calories) than at 1200 or less.

Yeh but that's you. OP needs to determine what works best for her.

RuthieCass

To be honest, if I cut out fruit I would have almost nothing to eat. I already don't eat any bread or sweets or cereals- just eggs, beans, mushrooms, fish, quorn meat and plenty of leafy greens and tomatoes.

I'm gonna keep it at 1200 for another two weeks and see if it makes any difference.

On a side note- has anyone else one a low carb diet noticed lethergy? Today I genuienly feel like I could sleep all day: no energy and a serious desire to just lie down despite 7.5 hours sleep :grumble:

Frankly, I have no idea why you want to go on such a restrictive diet (both in terms of calories and in terms of food selection). You don't feel well, you're tired, and you're stressed out. How much longer do you think you're going to last? What do you think will happen once you fall off the wagon or end this diet? Also, when you are stressed, your body tends to hold on to more weight. There's no need to do this kind of restriction.

I have very similar stats as you: 5'6, 147, looking to lose maybe another 10 lbs. At this point, you kind of do have to accept that the rest of the weight will probably come off slowly. I tried 1200 for a little while (with "eating back" exercise calories), felt ok for the first couple weeks, and terrible after that. I do exercise more than you do, though. Now I am up to 1500 net calories and losing about half lb per week. So I think you can definitely get close to your goal with or without cutting your calories to 1200 (assuming you're able to eat only 1200 for that long).

If you do really want to stay near 1200, I'd recommend that you take a vitamin supplement, and make sure that you eat enough protein. A good breakdown of your macros would be something like 120 g (39%) protein, 40 g (29%) fat, 100 g (32%) carbs which brings you to 1240 calories. Eating at least 100 g carbs will help you avoid ketosis, which many people cannot adopt to on low carb diets. On such a diet, you will probably not be able to do much cardio, but you should do some weight training to prevent muscle loss.

Good luck and congrats on your upcoming wedding!

myfitnessnmhoy

Now, it doesnt take an accountant to work out that my TDEE (1778) and BMW (1446) are fairly close together. In fact if i eat 500 less than my TDEE we're on 1278- which I am constantly told is too few calories to lose weight.

You stated earlier that you had 17 weeks to lose ten pounds-ish.

If you carefully eat a total NET (eating back exercise calories, and with a reasonable balance of fats, carbs, and proteins) of about 1450 (right about your BMI), you will have a caloric deficit of 332 calories daily. If you sustain this very healthy plan for weight loss, you will lose an approximate average of 1 pound every 11 days. You have 119 days to lose your weight. In your 119 days, you should be able to lose somewhere in the vicinity of 10.8 pounds.

It'll be a little close, but you should be able to come pretty darned close to losing your 10 pounds within the guidelines of this site and within your deadline.

More importantly, you will be more likely to approach your goal more fit (because you can support better workouts for fitness), feeling better about life in general (because you aren't running a constant deep deficit) and healthier. If you're three pounds short of goal but feeling energetic and healthy, isn't that better than 2 pounds over goal and feeling like deep fried poo?

The Scale Does Not Tell All.

myfitnessnmhoy

Yeh but that's you. OP needs to determine what works best for her.

While that's true, dropping calories should not be the FIRST resort to figuring out what is right, in my opinion. First make an attempt to follow the guidelines and recommendations of the site, THEN experiment with that experiential data as a baseline.

And given the American tendency to equate suffering = good when it comes to weight loss, my usual bias when people ask is to eat a little more. Not a lot, just a little. Because most people are too impatient, push themselves too hard, and end up stalling because they aren't feeding themselves enough.

I've been on that treadmill for 30 years. It's familiar territory to me.