How low is too low a calorie?

basekidz
basekidz Posts: 3 Member
edited November 22 in Health and Weight Loss
I am trying hard to eat clean and I am not sure if I am eating too little calories. I am eating about 1200 - 1500. Is that ok? I started 2 weeks back and I weigh 205 lbs.

Replies

  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    basekidz wrote: »
    I am trying hard to eat clean and I am not sure if I am eating too little calories. I am eating about 1200 - 1500. Is that ok? I started 2 weeks back and I weigh 205 lbs.

    What is your height and activity level?

  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,188 Member
    earlnabby wrote: »
    basekidz wrote: »
    I am trying hard to eat clean and I am not sure if I am eating too little calories. I am eating about 1200 - 1500. Is that ok? I started 2 weeks back and I weigh 205 lbs.

    What is your height and activity level?

    And are you male or female? 1200 is the minimum for females and 1500 the minimum for males. But not everyone should go that low. 1200 is ok for very short, sedentary or older women. A tall, young active woman can lose weight at a higher calorie goal than that. I'm short, old and started out sedentary (I'm a lot more active now, but still have a desk job) and I lost weigh on about 1400-1600 calories per day.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    I don't know how tall you are or how active. I'm a 5'3" woman with a starting weight of 254 lbs. I logged my activity level as sedentary and was put on 1720 initially. When I weighed 205lbs, I was on a base 1400 or so to lose 1lb/week. But with exercise, I was usually eating more like 1800/1900.

    Have you plugged your stats into MFP and gotten a recommendation?

  • hale03071
    hale03071 Posts: 63 Member
    Sure its techinically ok (if you are a female, little to no activity), but is it sustainable for you personally?? That's the main concern, if you burn yourself out on your "diet" it doesn't help you. Slow and steady should be the pace for weight loss, at sustainable levels of calories and activity level until you learn your new, healthier lifestyle.
  • basekidz
    basekidz Posts: 3 Member
    I am about 5'7". I do snack with fruits and nuts in between meals so I am not going hungry. I am trying to exercise 3-4 times a week. MFP recommended 1860. With TDEE is about 2000. Trying very hard to stick to it in terms of diet. Am in my third week and I failed the second week. I need to be more consistent.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    Well, it's easy for the calories in nuts to add up pretty fast. Are you weighing them?

    How much are you trying to lose? Usually, you shouldn't cut your TDEE by more than 20%, which would put you at 1600.
  • basekidz
    basekidz Posts: 3 Member
    Yes, am weighing them. Not more than 1 serving a day. I will try to take in a little more calories to meet 1600.
  • rickiimarieee
    rickiimarieee Posts: 2,212 Member
    Maybe try different snacks? Nuts can have loads of calories in them. They're healthy in all but you need to watch your calorie budget in order to lose weight!
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