Can I lose on 1,500 calories?

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I'm starting at 189lb, 5ft 2.5in, office worker with little exercise. WLR has set me 1,340 but I can seem to stick with it and give up every day. I thought about upping my calories to 1,500 but am not sure if I will lose on that many calories. Any advise will be welcome.
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Replies

  • Emily3907
    Emily3907 Posts: 1,461 Member
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    Have you completed your profile here on MFP? If not, start there. Based on your stats, I think 1500 would be an okay goal, but may put you in the 1 pound a week range.

    Second choice is to up it to 1500 for a month or two and see what happens. You may have a *little* gain at first due to water weight, but it will fall off.
  • janiep81
    janiep81 Posts: 248 Member
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    Surely you will, it just may be a slightly slower rate of loss than with 1340. I personally choose to eat more and lose slower because I'm hoping it will be easier to maintain in the long run. I am 5'8", 178 lbs, and have lost almost 40 lbs by eating 1650-ish calories a day. I am pretty active, though.
  • lemonychild
    lemonychild Posts: 654 Member
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    what is your age?
  • eskimohugger
    eskimohugger Posts: 80 Member
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    My highest weight was 175 lbs at 5'5" and I was eating probably around 2,500 a day without exercise. However, I was still generally happy with myself because I worked on accepting my body the way it looked, which had a lot of fat. I knew I had to lose weight because my clothes were starting to not fit, so I first started by eating the same 2,500 calories, but spread out in 2-3 hour intervals throughout the day (without exercise). I would eat 2 cups of cereal at 7:30am, eat a 1oz bag of cheetos and 3 Oreos at 8:45am, eat a sandwich at 10am, eat noodles at 12am and so on and so on. What I began to notice is that I was feeling very full and I had to cut down on my food because I was always so full I would feel nauseous. So I slowly cut down on serving sizes of each meal and sometimes replaces a bag of chips for chicken breast and so forth. I was eating a 2,000 calorie diet and I lost 7 pounds without exercise within 1 month. Then in the middle of the second month, I lowered my calories to 1,600 and incorporated minimal exercise (walking for 30-90 minutes) and have now lost 14 pounds. So if youre having trouble sticking to something, dont try a drastic change of caloric intake, try a slower one. Or maybe pace out your eating every few hours like I did. But yes, its very possible to lose weight at 1,500 calories
  • lemonychild
    lemonychild Posts: 654 Member
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    never mind, with your stats on http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ - you are allowed 1500 cals to lose weight at .5 per week.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    I'm 5ft 2 and I have a full time sedentary office job. I *do* make sure I get around 6000 steps a day (I wear a FitBit) and I weight train 4 times a week. My TDEE is around 1800 - so I do lose weight on 1500. Probably just over half a pound a week.

    Every one is different and your activity/starting weight will be a factor. I'd say try 1500 and record your loss each week. If you are losing at a faster weight than you are happy with, increase by 100. Decrease your calories by 100 if you feel the loss is a little on the slow side. A lot of this is 'trial and error' :)
  • TrickyDisco
    TrickyDisco Posts: 2,869 Member
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    PinkPixie sums it up perfectly - everyone is different and it's a case of trial and error to find out what suits you best. I'm 4ft 11in and would only maintain at 1500.
  • saw1969
    saw1969 Posts: 19 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I'd rather lose slowly than not at all so I'll give it a few weeks and see how I get on x
  • ettaterrell
    ettaterrell Posts: 887 Member
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    I'm 5'2 SW 194 CW 176, 1500 cals, never worked out in the last 7 weeks and eat LCHF
  • SarahxApple
    SarahxApple Posts: 166 Member
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    I'm at 1540 calories a day and I'm about the same height (158cm) and I lose and my current weight is lower 59/60kg (132lbs).
  • angel1244
    angel1244 Posts: 1 Member
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    Most definitely, I am currently on a 1500 calorie diet and I am losing weight steadly. You have to remember that its not the 1500 calories that you have to monitor its what you eat that you have to monitor. I hope this helps a d great luck to you...
  • dianaiku
    dianaiku Posts: 96 Member
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    I maintain or gain weight at 1500. I am six feet and 180 pounds.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
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    angel1244 wrote: »
    Most definitely, I am currently on a 1500 calorie diet and I am losing weight steadly. You have to remember that its not the 1500 calories that you have to monitor its what you eat that you have to monitor. I hope this helps a d great luck to you...
    No. The calories are what matter for weight loss. Nutrient balance is good for overall health but, for weight loss, calories are what you monitor.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    Without exercise, you'll lose on that (if you're being accurate). But I'd guess eventually you'll need to drop down to 1300-1350 to get all the way to goal. (Or add exercise to increase your deficit.) I put your stats into this calculator

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    And 1500 is the amount you'd need to eat to maintain your weight at your goal weight of 139 (if mainly sedentary). Meaning that as you get closer and closer to your goal weight, and your TDEE goes down, the rate of loss will slow down to a crawl. Which is fine, actually, and probably the best for your long-term health.
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
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    Why don't you do the 1500 but then add just a little bit of exercise to your day? If you could burn just 250 more calories from exercise than what you've been doing it would help to speed up your rate of loss a bit.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    angel1244 wrote: »
    Most definitely, I am currently on a 1500 calorie diet and I am losing weight steadly. You have to remember that its not the 1500 calories that you have to monitor its what you eat that you have to monitor. I hope this helps a d great luck to you...

    This isn't correct. If you are at a deficit at 1500 calories, WHAT you eat is not important at all.
  • brb2008
    brb2008 Posts: 406 Member
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    saw1969 wrote: »
    Thanks everyone. I'd rather lose slowly than not at all so I'll give it a few weeks and see how I get on x

    Slowand steady really is best. I like my 1400 calories because I know I *could* reduce it later on if I hit a plateau and need a boost. I could easily cut 100 cals and burn a little more if I want to switch it up. So I prefer a higher start point! Im watching my weight for 30 full days at least (maybe 60- we'll see!) And judge how my plan is working.
  • katrinasalahub167
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    Hi there. I thought I will share, coz our statistics are very close. I'm 5.3, starting weight 189 pounds. I went to dietician back in July, who advised me that I need to eat 1500 calories per day to lose. I have an office job, but work out about 4 times a week, 45 minutes each workout, I do both cardio and strength. I set a plan that seems to be working for me. During weekdays I eat 1200-1500 calories, during weekend 1500-1800 a day. I have lost 35 pounds over the last 3.5 months. Good luck to you. You can lose on 1500 calories, but try and move more to keep your muscles and skin toned.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    It depends ...

    HINT: Not enough information.
  • saw1969
    saw1969 Posts: 19 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I'd rather lose slowly than not at all so I'll give it a few weeks and see how I get on x
    Hi there. I thought I will share, coz our statistics are very close. I'm 5.3, starting weight 189 pounds. I went to dietician back in July, who advised me that I need to eat 1500 calories per day to lose. I have an office job, but work out about 4 times a week, 45 minutes each workout, I do both cardio and strength. I set a plan that seems to be working for me. During weekdays I eat 1200-1500 calories, during weekend 1500-1800 a day. I have lost 35 pounds over the last 3.5 months. Good luck to you. You can lose on 1500 calories, but try and move more to keep your muscles and skin toned.