lose weight eating 2,000 calories per day??

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kadybug97
kadybug97 Posts: 33 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! I'm curious if any women out there have been able to lose weight eating 2,000 calories per day. When I first started my weightloss journey in January, I was eating 1,400 calories per day with no problem. Since, I've taken a couple diet breaks, and now that I'm ready to lose those last 5-10 lbs, I seem to get hungry eating even 1,700 calories per day. Which has been leading me to binge for the first time ever!! I've lost almost 30 lbs and never once binged until now. Anyone know why this is? I also just started college back up and am taking 17 credits and studying a lot. Maybe it's a possibility that I need to eat more to fuel my brain? Lol I don't know. Just looking for answers here. I go to the gym 6 days per week for an hour, sometimes hour and a half, and 5 of those 6 days are spent lifting. I add 20 minutes of cardio like 3 times per week. I'm not in a huge hurry to lose weight since I'm at a healthy weight, but I know I can do better than what I am now. I'm just hungry and do not want to starve myself to lose those last 5 lbs. any women have success losing fat on a 2,000 calorie diet?

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  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    We can do anything for a while, but starving tends to eventually lead to bingeing.

    How much you can eat and still lose, depends on your TDEE.
  • elizabethcook5
    elizabethcook5 Posts: 39 Member
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    Are you eating the right things. Things high in protein will keep hunger at bay also drinking your water will help too.. I'm needing to loose 108 lbs I've lost 21 in about 3 weeks with 85 mins of cardio/kickboxing 3 days on 1 day off..I eat about 1300-1400 calories a day. I don't really get hungry much cause I eat fiber and protein and drink my water. Maybe try twerking your diet and see how you do with more fiber and protein..good luck
  • kadybug97
    kadybug97 Posts: 33 Member
    edited September 2016
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    I'm 134 lbs so I try to eat anywhere from 100-130g of protein per day. I also hit my fiber goals almost everyday as well. I eat mostly whole foods, but I do follow macros so I allow room for foods such as granola bars and popcorn. My TDEE is apparently 2,193.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    Have you ever figured out what your TDEE estimate is? That would tell you whether or not you can lose eating 2,000 calories per day.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
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    You don't say what your current weight or height is, but when I was your age I could have lost on 2000 calories. Not quickly, but I would have lost. Now that is about maintenance for me.
  • kadybug97
    kadybug97 Posts: 33 Member
    edited September 2016
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    If this helps, I've been able to maintain my weight this whole week and I've had a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's in one sitting, at least half of a large pizza from a local restaurant, and Cold Stone ice cream twice! But besides those things I've been eating healthy.
  • daniip_la
    daniip_la Posts: 678 Member
    edited September 2016
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    If you only have a few lbs to lose, and your TDEE is 2193, then you can definitely eat 2000kcal/day. Your loss will be slow, but that's really what's best when you're at a healthy weight. Just be sure to be as accurate as possible with logging since you'll have a tiny deficit.

    I eat over 2000kcal/day and lose, which is why I came into the thread, but my weight is much higher than yours so it's not really applicable to compare us.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    kadybug97 wrote: »
    If this helps, I've been able to maintain my weight this whole week and I've had a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's in one sitting, at least half of a large pizza from a local restaurant, and Cold Stone ice cream twice! But besides those things I've been eating healthy.

    So how many calories have you been eating and maintaining?
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    kadybug97 wrote: »
    I'm 134 lbs so I try to eat anywhere from 100-130g of protein per day. I also hit my fiber goals almost everyday as well. I eat mostly whole foods, but I do follow macros so I allow room for foods such as granola bars and popcorn. My TDEE is apparently 2,193.

    If your TDEE is actually 2193 (keep in mind it's an estimate based on population averages), you would lose very slowly. And if you weren't VERY accurate in weighing and logging food, you could easily end up at maintenance.

    Instead, try looking at different changes you could do to promote satiety. Look at changing up your macros, maybe eat smaller meals and more snacks throughout the day (or if you currently eat frequently, maybe fewer larger meals), maybe add in some extra activity throughout the day to raise your TDEE, etc.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    kadybug97 wrote: »
    I'm 134 lbs so I try to eat anywhere from 100-130g of protein per day. I also hit my fiber goals almost everyday as well. I eat mostly whole foods, but I do follow macros so I allow room for foods such as granola bars and popcorn. My TDEE is apparently 2,193.

    If your maintenance is 2200 calories then you would lose weight eating 2,000...very slowly.
  • kadybug97
    kadybug97 Posts: 33 Member
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    I'm sure the fact that I haven't gained any weight from all that junky stuff (that I normally do not eat!) is probably my body trying to tell me something. I weigh myself every morning and it's been consistent even after my binges
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    kadybug97 wrote: »
    I'm sure the fact that I haven't gained any weight from all that junky stuff (that I normally do not eat!) is probably my body trying to tell me something. I weigh myself every morning and it's been consistent even after my binges

    "junky stuff" doesn't inherently cause weight gain...excess calories do.
  • firef1y72
    firef1y72 Posts: 1,579 Member
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    Ok, I'm much heavier than you at 194lb and 5'1", but I very rarely eat under 2000 and sometimes eat up to 2500 and am losing at around 0.75-1lb/week. I am, however, very active averaging around 20-25000 steps, compound lifting 2x week, C25K 3x week, Insanity+Boxercise+circuit training weekly, plus 30 day shred 3x week and Wii Exerbeat daily.
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
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    I found that when my lifting intensified, my appetite did as well. I've found it hard to keep to my plan on lifting days. I'm currently eating at just about maintenance and still losing about .5lb per week. MFP says maintenance is 1800 but it's really more like 2200-2400 with exercise. Currently I'm eating between 1800-2200.
  • kadybug97
    kadybug97 Posts: 33 Member
    edited September 2016
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    @cwolfman13 the weeks I notice I'm just maintaining are the weeks I just eat intuitively and don't track anything. I'll also have like 2 cheat meals the weeks I'm just maintaining. So honestly I have no idea how many calories I'm intaking the weeks I don't actually track anything. Probably because I was afraid of how many calories I was eating
  • kadybug97
    kadybug97 Posts: 33 Member
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    @capaul42 that is awesome!! This makes me feel better about being hungrier. Maybe it's due to the fact that I'm mostly lifting instead of splitting my exercise evenly between cardio and lifting.
  • sllm1
    sllm1 Posts: 2,114 Member
    edited September 2016
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    If your TDEE is 2193, then you could theoretically lose 1/2 pound per week by eating 1,943 calories per day. The only thing about that is that, since you have such a small deficit, you would need to be very careful with your logging so as not to "undo" the 250 calorie deficit.

    But, yes, you can totally do it. I am in much the same boat as you. I weigh 144. I'd like to get to 138, but I feel good about where I'm at. My TDEE is 2,050 or so. I'm eating around 1,800 per day.
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
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    kadybug97 wrote: »
    @capaul42 that is awesome!! This makes me feel better about being hungrier. Maybe it's due to the fact that I'm mostly lifting instead of splitting my exercise evenly between cardio and lifting.

    I only really noticed it the last week or so myself. My lifts all increased big-time in the last few weeks and my appetite seems to have increased along with them lol.

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