Is losing weight on 1800 calories a day realistic?

Probably not a pound a week, but it depends on age, height, what "active" really means.

Assuming you're around 5'6" with a lightly active lifestyle, your TDEE is around 2000 calories per day. If you eat 1800 calories per day, you'll be creating a 1400 weekly deficit. One pound of fat is equal to about 3500 calories, which means you will lose (on average) 0.4 pounds per week. This is also assuming that you're completely accurate with what you eat -I'm shooting for a loss of about a half pound per week (250 daily deficit), and it's very easy to wipe out that deficit if I am not logging accurately.

I'm also 5'8" but I tend to eat closer to 1500 calories per day, with some days being higher and other days being lower. I was losing 2 lbs per week until I got to a normal BMI, I have recently been eating closer to 1800 and have had my weight slow to about 1 lb per week.

You can lose on 1800 per day but 1500 per day would cause faster weight loss. Perhaps give yourself a window, some days are up to 1900 and others can go as low as 1400, then eat to how you feel.

imarie3 wrote: »

I am currently 214 and find that I can't seem to feel like 1500 calories is enough food..I am active each day but don't formally exercise but I am hoping once I lose around 20 pounds I will feel comfortable enough to get back into the gym. Is it realistic to drop about a pound a week on 1800 calories.... and any success stories would be fantastic!

That would completely depend on your TDEE. For example, a 6'2 male would easily lose on that, as would a 5'8 250 lb woman, but a 5'2 150 lb woman would gain on that.

Best suggestion is to run your numbers through MFP's calculator. Home > goals > guided setup. Please note that MFP does not include exercise when calculating activity level.

[/quote]That would completely depend on your TDEE. For example, a 6'2 male would easily lose on that, as would a 5'8 250 lb woman, but a 5'2 150 lb woman would gain on that.

Best suggestion is to run your numbers through MFP's calculator. Home > goals > guided setup. Please note that MFP does not include exercise when calculating activity level.[/quote]

Blankiefinder is correct. If you want to eat at 1800 calories, you need to offset with expendature. Exercising doesn't have to be grueling. However, low impact exercising doesn't burn much. You can eat back your worked off calories if you choose. Also, better food choices are less calories. You can get plenty full on lots of veggies and lean meats.

It would really depend.
Without knowing your stats it's really hard to guess if it would even be feasible for you.

My average total intake usually falls around that (not NET; my NET is a lot lower than that), but I've had to increase my activity as I've lost weight to keep it there. It doesn't equal an average of 1 lb per week anymore though. Well okay, if I keep to the lower end of my average range (1750-1900) I can lose about a 1lb per week on average. I have a hard time doing that recently (1900-2100) and it's been equal to about a 0.5 lb per week on average. This however is coming from someone who lifts 3 x a week (ICF 5x5) and run/walks 2-3 x a week. I also aim for 12k steps per day at least and will occasionally throw in a workout dvd at home. I'm 5'4.5" and this morning the scale read 126.5 lbs (with my trend being 127.5 lbs). I'm actually expecting to gain a bit of water weight on the scale within the next week or so as I ease myself back into my workout routine (spent most of September recovering from bronchitis).

depends on your TDEE (which will factor in your height, age, weight & physical activity), but probably yes.. you could probably just do some light walking to help things along?

I started at 215 lbs at 5'5 and ate around 1500 calories a day. 10 months later and nearly 40 lbs down and I'm still eating around 1500 a day, sometimes less and sometimes more. I lost about a 1 lb a week but now I'm slowly starting to peak off so I may have to adjust my intake.

imarie3 wrote: »

This is all great advice thank you! I am 5'4 but I think I will try my best to stick between 1500-1800 and start to incorporate more exercise. I am on my feet for most of the day working and taking care of my family as well. It is an adjustment to eating appropriate amounts and logging food ...

You are so right. Give it time, trial, error - but don't quit!! And don't be in a rush. You'll see success.

It totally depends. I'm losing on 2200 per day. But I'm male, 6'4" and started in the mid 400s and presently in mid 300s and walking 3 miles 3-4 days per week.