is 1600 to lose 1 lb a week too much?

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moneth1331
moneth1331 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am a 5 7 female and I weigh 171, im a dialysis tech so im on my feet for 12 hours 4 days a week with patients and then maybe a 4 or 5 extra hours for a different shift so I put my activity at lightly active. Im not good at this and 1600 just seems so high to me for a calorie intake. And on my off days I have 1460 at sedentary. Does this seem right to you? Im tryin to lose 20 lbs at least.

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  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
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    You could go to 0.5lb loss per week if you find 1600 too restricting... other than that I think it's fine.
  • moneth1331
    moneth1331 Posts: 5 Member
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    Oh I dont feel its too restricting at all I feel like 1600 is a lot because I dont usually eat that many calories but my weight also doesnt ever budge
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
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    moneth1331 wrote: »
    Oh I dont feel its too restricting at all I feel like 1600 is a lot because I dont usually eat that many calories but my weight also doesnt ever budge

    That doesn't make any sense.

    If you're meant to eat at 1600 calories to lose 1lb per week, and you're saying you've eaten less and haven't lost weight... that doesn't work. You probably didn't accurately log your intake of an average day...
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    moneth1331 wrote: »
    Oh I dont feel its too restricting at all I feel like 1600 is a lot because I dont usually eat that many calories but my weight also doesnt ever budge

    Look to your logging, because if you were truly eating this, the weight would be coming off.
    If you're wearing an activity tracker, you should have your activity level set to sedentary and enable negative calorie adjustments.
  • moneth1331
    moneth1331 Posts: 5 Member
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    Well I just started and signed up with this today so my tracking litterally just started today. Ill wait and see what happens after tracking this week
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    moneth1331 wrote: »
    Well I just started and signed up with this today so my tracking litterally just started today. Ill wait and see what happens after tracking this week
    I will recommend you get a food scale. It makes a HUGE difference. Good luck!
  • lindaloo1213
    lindaloo1213 Posts: 283 Member
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    Im 5'6", 177# eating 1800 a day and losing about 1 1/2# a week. I have a similarly active job as u and exercise 3-4 days a week for about an hour (mix of running or biking and weight lifting) If u feel you are eating less than 1600 now you will learn a lot by weighing your food and logging. Odds are you eat far more calories now than you think.
  • moneth1331
    moneth1331 Posts: 5 Member
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    You think that I eat more than 1600 by just eating and not logging anything? @lindaloo
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
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    moneth1331 wrote: »
    You think that I eat more than 1600 by just eating and not logging anything? @lindaloo

    Yes... most people think they aren't eating much... but in reality they eat a lot.

  • sutai
    sutai Posts: 6 Member
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    If you ate 1600 calories every day you'd be like 100lbs. Calculated using TDEE based on the information you gave.
  • lindaloo1213
    lindaloo1213 Posts: 283 Member
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    moneth1331 wrote: »
    You think that I eat more than 1600 by just eating and not logging anything? @lindaloo
    No. The fact that you stated this.
    moneth1331 wrote: »
    Oh I dont feel its too restricting at all I feel like 1600 is a lot because I dont usually eat that many calories but my weight also doesnt ever budge

  • stephanieluvspb
    stephanieluvspb Posts: 997 Member
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    I'm 5'7ish and I eat around 1600 a day. I lose a pound a week that way. I'm a nurse so I work three 12 hour shifts a week and I'm a psych nurse so I'm always running around! lol like said above, weigh your food and see how you do on 1500. You can adjust as you go along. Good luck! :)
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    edited August 2015
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    weigh your food on a food scale that's important, no cups spoons or serving sizes

    i am 5.5
    155 pounds ( lost 106 pound's since October 2014)
    sedentary
    eat 1600

    And lose between 0.5 to 1 pound a week.

    So smaller than you..less active and i lose at 1600 calorie intake...but i weigh EVERYTHING! so i know as accurate as possible what my intake is.
  • moneth1331
    moneth1331 Posts: 5 Member
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    Thanks guys for all your help!!
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    With only 20 lb to lose, aiming for 1 lb per week is not realistic.
    1-2 lb per month would be better.
    Weigh & track accurately for a month, see if you can maintain 1 lb a month on 1600 calories and sustain
    that without feeling awful.
  • Verdenal
    Verdenal Posts: 625 Member
    edited August 2015
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    • Weigh everything you eat.
    • Stick to foods with known calorie counts.
    • Weigh yourself a couple of times a week.
    • Find a way to estimate your body fat percentage (online calculator, calipers, bioimpedence scale, scan, water weighing.)

    Research by the National Institutes of Health finds that the traditional formula of 3,500-calorie deficit = 1 pound of weight loss may not be accurate for many people. The deficit required may be as high as 7,000 calories for some individuals. The only way to achieve success is to carefully monitor your food intake.

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