1000 calories a day

amcook4 wrote: »

KaytiWindham wrote: »

So should I up it to 1200? I wanna lose at least 3 pounds a week

3 pounds a week is too fast, unless you are severely obese, like a couple hundred pounds to lose. Generally speaking, 2 pounds aw week is the maximum you should shoot for. The weight didn't come on overnight, so you can't expect to lose it overnight. You should up your calories to at least 1200, go through MFP's guidance to figure out where you should be.

This. I lost 3 pounds a week when I was 340 pounds (I'm also 5'9"). That is a goal that is extremely difficult to manage. Going for a more reasonable goal, like 2 pounds or even 1.5 pounds, will help you maintain this until October and beyond.

To get a calorie amount for that, simply put your info into MFP and then select the amount you'd like to lose per week. MFP will give you the calories to eat every day. If you exercise, add those calories and eat them, at least some of them. Your deficit is already built into your calorie goal, and cheating yourself of food won't do you any good.

If your DR is saying 1,000 calories a day - you need to find a new DR! It would take more than 1,200 calories for you to just lay in bed each day and breath. I'm more in agreement with boredlimodriver (1,750). Go to the scoobyworkshop.com calculator and see what it gives you. Also check out IIFYM.com calculator to see what number you get there. I did years (and years) of 1,200 calories a day and 1 1/2 to 2 hrs of cardio a day and didn't see any progress...sure lose a few pounds and then gain it back again because your body thinks you are trying to starve it and it is going to hang onto all of the weight you have.

Also, even if you never exercise or even walk around at all, doing a quick estimate it looks like you can lose 2 pounds a week eating about 1500 calories. 1750 calories to lose 1.5 a week.

I am in the same boat you are in. I desperately want to lose 50 pounds by May. That is what I want, but I know I need to do it the right way. MFP said for my height and weight that 1560 a day is what I need to lose 2 pounds a week. I feel if you do it slow, you are learning a new way to eat which is the best way to do it. Also, I am a heart patient and you will be stressing out your body if you only do 1000 a day. Be safe, remember you have kids that need you. Good luck.

Just for the heck of it I went to both sites I mentioned in my post and for a ballpark I entered your height as 5'4" & 25 yrs. cuz I needed to enter something (sorry if I insulted you...congrats if I complemented you, LOL). Anyways, the scoobyworkshop site says 2,213 calories and the IIFYM website says 2,160 calories. Of course, it will change according to your actual stats and activity level.

A lot of doctors have fat bias so they will recommend ridiculous things to their overweight patients. I had one that wouldn't take my asthma seriously and suggested that I get bariatric surgery every single visit. It took years to find one that takes me seriously. Just to compare, I started at 325 and my doctor asked me to work on losing a pound a month after I'd been seeing him for 2 years already.

That said, if he's intending to monitor your progress closely doctors will recommend a VLC diet (1200 cals/day or less) just to start with or as a precursor to gastric bypass. But usually they make it clear that it's a short term diet.

Maybe a better thought process would be "I am going to lose .5-2 lbs per week, change my eating habits and be more active, my weight will adjust over time." No time limits or hard weight loss limits. It took a while to add the weight, it will take time to remove it properly. The goal is to lose the weight and learn new eating habits so the weight stays off. You can do it !!!!

Your goals are unrealistic and you are setting yourself up for failure. Have your doctor refer you to a nutritionist or registered dietitian to determine a realistic and sustainable plan.

I'm looking to lose around 70 pounds as well, but in the past I've learned that I give up if I realize at any time I won't reach my goal at a certain time that I had originally wanted to lose it by. This time I've decided to try my hardest and not give up and if the time comes and I don't have the weight off. At least I am healthier and I'm sure I will be much happier. After spending the last 3-4 years trying to lose weight and then failing and giving up because there was a tiny hiccup in the way, I've realized I just need to keep going even if I'm sick for a few weeks, or I have an injury. You can always work around these things and find other ways to inspire yourself.

If you aim to lose 1.5 to 2 pounds a week you can have 60-80 pounds off by October 26th. I wouldn't try to do it any faster than that. I am currently on a 1200 calorie diet and to be honest, most days I go over, even when all my meals and snacks are super healthy. That being said, I try not to punish myself for this and move on to the next day, starting fresh and not dwelling on the mistakes I made the previous day.

I know that I would never be able to eat anything under 1200 and I only aim to eat 1200 on a particular day if I know I won't be exercising. I also believe that if I did eat 1300-1400 I would still lose so going over a bit doesn't discourage me too much. As long as I don't go too far with it I'm happy as I try to consider 1200 the lowest I should go.

I always factor in extra calories(around half of what I burn) if I workout so I can fuel my body adequately enough so I don't over do it and get so tired I have to give up.

Good luck!