I am new. Do I just ease myself into 1200 calories per day?

i would spend the first week or so eating like you normally do and learning to weigh and log your food accurately. Then you will know where you stand and can ease into your deficit.

1200 is likely too severe. I am smaller than you (height and weight) and eat 1500 and lose just fine.

1200 seems too low for your height. I'm almost 5' tall and I'm set at 1300 calories a day.

If you use to eat 2000 and all of the sudden do 1200 you will be starving. The only way to eat 1200 and feel full is to eat lots of veggies but in a week time you will start to get bored! (I have already done that!) you can do 1400-1500 with exercise it won't be too hard I think. Just my opinion.

Here you go:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/jacklifts

I would eat 1800 calories a day. Keep up your dog walking, make it 60-80minutes if you can. Only decrease your calories when you lose weight.

You can do it and not be hungry. Log your food for a day and at the end of that day take a good hard look at what you are eating. I found that I was consuming empty calories. Meaning calories that did not satisfy my hunger. Then the following day make smarter decisions. Logging your food really does work, it's a great way to see in black and white what you can cut or add daily. I find myself to be under my calorie goal often and not hungry because of all the good low calorie foods I eat all day. Good luck!!

Your goals are too aggressive. That's why you are getting that calorie target and why you think it is unrealistic. It's unrealistic. Slow down. You didn't gain the weight quickly and you won't lose it quickly either. Make lifestyle changes that you can maintain the rest of your life. Then you can keep the weight off and avoid yo-yo weight loss and gain.

mygalsal76 wrote: »

Hi, I am new. Currently, I am 5'4" and have weighed 177 (give or take 20 pounds) for the last year. I tracked my calories last month eating normal (for me) and I average about 2000-2400 calories per day. Other than walking my dog for 30-45 minutes at a brisk pace each day and working out my arms with dumbbells, I really don't exercise much. Really, I should probably weigh significantly more. I am not looking to "cheat" on calories already, but I wonder if instantly cutting approximately 1000 per day is a good idea. I'm too worried I'll stick with that for few weeks, lose a bunch of weight real fast, then gain it right back (like usual). Any suggestions on how many calories I should start by cutting each day, and how much more I should continue to cut each week? My short-term goal is to lose 17 pounds by April 23 (my 40th birthday, eek!) and to be down to 130 (with at least a couple months maintaining that weight) by the end of the year.

Any suggestions would be enormously appreciated. Thanks so much!

Eat the most calories you can while still losing. A 1000 calorie deficit is probably too aggressive to sustain.
I would set your goal to lose 1 lb a week (500 calorie deficit).
I would stick to what MFP tells you to eat to lose 1 lb a week and not lower calories again until you have lost at least 10-15 lbs.

mygalsal76 wrote: »

Hi, I am new. Currently, I am 5'4" and have weighed 177 (give or take 20 pounds) for the last year. I tracked my calories last month eating normal (for me) and I average about 2000-2400 calories per day. Other than walking my dog for 30-45 minutes at a brisk pace each day and working out my arms with dumbbells, I really don't exercise much. Really, I should probably weigh significantly more. I am not looking to "cheat" on calories already, but I wonder if instantly cutting approximately 1000 per day is a good idea. I'm too worried I'll stick with that for few weeks, lose a bunch of weight real fast, then gain it right back (like usual). Any suggestions on how many calories I should start by cutting each day, and how much more I should continue to cut each week? My short-term goal is to lose 17 pounds by April 23 (my 40th birthday, eek!) and to be down to 130 (with at least a couple months maintaining that weight) by the end of the year.

Any suggestions would be enormously appreciated. Thanks so much!

I see many similarities so I will share my system with you!

I am 5'2 and weigh 84.3 kg atm, wanna be 55 kg, at 19/1/2016 I weighed 89.8 kg! I would recommend this

- Choose if you want to ease unto 1200 a day from 2400, 2000 or your BMR amount per day and consult your physician about it. If he/she gives you the go ahead, you can start

I started with my BMR my GP said it was fine!

- Calculate your BMR with the Mifflin St Jeor method (I use an app called Bodycal)

Mine was 1558 I believe

- Round that number up

For me that was 1600

- Eat that amount of calories for one or 2 weeks

I change things up every week. After 3 weeks I up the exercise and freeze my intake for 3 weeks.

- After that week (or those if it's 2) subtract your daily intake with 100 kcal and repeat till you are at 1200 a day. Keep an eye on how you feel if you are not used to the new amount after week(hence dizzy have a hard time focusing etc) , go back to the old one. Keep an eye on your nutrients.

I have been doing this for 2 weeks and I'm now at 1400 a day

- Keep track of everything you eat before putting it in your mouth. Adjust after eating if you ate more than expected. Also keep track of your exercise. With a fitness tracker your expenditure is more accurate than the generic calculations online.

I never forget to do this because my weight loss depends on it.

- Exercise for at least 30 min per day, 5 days per week

Today is day 15 and I've lost 5,5 kg so far (11 lbs?)

- Get yourself a fitness tracker with a heart rate monitor to track if you are actually doing enough of an effort during your exercises

I am waiting for my Xiaomi to be delivered

- Weigh yourself at the same place, using the same scale, on the same day of the week within your chosen period

I do it on Sundays, every week

- After you have exercised 5 times a week for 3-4 weeks add another exercise moment. But always have at least 1 day of rest.

Mine are Mondays and Tuesdays

- Eventually you will be exercising in the morning and evening, thus sandwiching which will help you lose weight faster

I hope this helps!

mygalsal76 wrote: »

allenpriest wrote: »

Your goals are too aggressive. That's why you are getting that calorie target and why you think it is unrealistic. It's unrealistic. Slow down. You didn't gain the weight quickly and you won't lose it quickly either. Make lifestyle changes that you can maintain the rest of your life. Then you can keep the weight off and avoid yo-yo weight loss and gain.

Is 17 pounds in 11 weeks and 47 pounds for the year unrealistic? I am not trying to be a jerk. It seemed sensible to me., but I could be wrong. What goals do you suggest?

It is not unrealistic it just takes a lot of discipline. You will have to exercise a lot weigh your food including measuring cooking oils and condiments. You will have to reject food that contain uknown calories or designate one day a week/month in which you are a bit free. If you want it all gone within a certain time you will need to stick to a certain plan. It can be done with protein, loads of non starchy veggies (1 kg à day) and 0.5 kg of raw vegetables, 3 L of water, a soup a day and 6 meals or more instead of 3. IMO that's it in a nutshell.

mygalsal76 wrote: »

mlinci wrote: »

I have very similar stats to you (40 yrs old, starting weight 185 lbs, current 168 or so - losing steadily 1 lb per week on abou 1500-1600 calories a day). I wouldn't last a day on 1200.

How much exercise do you get?

I walk on average about 7000-9000 steps a day, which brings my calorie expenditure to about 2100 calories a day on average. I don't do any other exercise, other than regular stretching exercises at home.

I set my activity level to sedentary, and I measure my step count through my Fitbit. If I'm completely sedentary, for example when I'm at home with a cold, my basic expenditure is about 1,600. On days I walk a lot, say 15,000 steps, it tells me my expenditure is about 2,500 calories. Overall, I think both Fitbit and MFP have been quite accurate, as I've been losing exactly as predicted.

MsObesityRehab wrote: »

mygalsal76 wrote: »

allenpriest wrote: »

Your goals are too aggressive. That's why you are getting that calorie target and why you think it is unrealistic. It's unrealistic. Slow down. You didn't gain the weight quickly and you won't lose it quickly either. Make lifestyle changes that you can maintain the rest of your life. Then you can keep the weight off and avoid yo-yo weight loss and gain.

Is 17 pounds in 11 weeks and 47 pounds for the year unrealistic? I am not trying to be a jerk. It seemed sensible to me., but I could be wrong. What goals do you suggest?

It is not unrealistic it just takes a lot of discipline. You will have to exercise a lot weigh your food including measuring cooking oils and condiments. You will have to reject food that contain uknown calories or designate one day a week/month in which you are a bit free. If you want it all gone within a certain time you will need to stick to a certain plan. It can be done with protein, loads of non starchy veggies (1 kg à day) and 0.5 kg of raw vegetables, 3 L of water, a soup a day and 6 meals or more instead of 3. IMO that's it in a nutshell.

There really is no need to do all that. You can eat no raw veg, eat starchy carbs, drink no plain water or soup a day. And you can eat just 1 meal a day if you like.

All that matters is eating less than you burn off.

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

MsObesityRehab wrote: »

mygalsal76 wrote: »

allenpriest wrote: »

Your goals are too aggressive. That's why you are getting that calorie target and why you think it is unrealistic. It's unrealistic. Slow down. You didn't gain the weight quickly and you won't lose it quickly either. Make lifestyle changes that you can maintain the rest of your life. Then you can keep the weight off and avoid yo-yo weight loss and gain.

Is 17 pounds in 11 weeks and 47 pounds for the year unrealistic? I am not trying to be a jerk. It seemed sensible to me., but I could be wrong. What goals do you suggest?

It is not unrealistic it just takes a lot of discipline. You will have to exercise a lot weigh your food including measuring cooking oils and condiments. You will have to reject food that contain uknown calories or designate one day a week/month in which you are a bit free. If you want it all gone within a certain time you will need to stick to a certain plan. It can be done with protein, loads of non starchy veggies (1 kg à day) and 0.5 kg of raw vegetables, 3 L of water, a soup a day and 6 meals or more instead of 3. IMO that's it in a nutshell.

There really is no need to do all that. You can eat no raw veg, eat starchy carbs, drink no plain water or soup a day. And you can eat just 1 meal a day if you like.

All that matters is eating less than you burn off.

For 17 lbs in 11 weeks or more. It is necessary. And raw veggies are good for you. And I didn't say "no starchy carbs" I said 0.5 kg of non starchy veggies. It helps stay fuller when eating less and less calories while exercising more.

JanetYellen wrote: »

If I had to eat only 1,200 a day, I would be eating paint off the walls.
I'm your height. Do not exercise. Consider 1,400 to 1,600 until you get used to weighing food.
Little daily calories sets me up for bingeing (each and every time).

I want to respectfully disagree with the advice not to exercise. For me it's an important part of the picture. I want to feel stronger, healthier and more energetic, not just weigh less. Go ahead and eat more to compensate for that exercise, but absolutely add some strength training and cardio in.

And absolutely eat more than 1200 calories a day! Sounds like 1600 would have you losing a pound a week.