Success stories from CICO ?

900 calories is not enough women need at least 1200 calories. Also, CICO does work. It is based off of physics. Your body needs energy (calories) to do work. When your body is overfed it will store energy in the form of fat. When your body is slightly underfed, it will tap into its stored energy

typically the minimum is 1200 for a female. unless you are under the care of a medical professional, you should not eat under that.

eating at a calorie deficit...i've lost 18ish lbs in that many weeks. i also eat ice cream nearly every night.

Use this website to get a figure on the calories you should consume to either lose weight, maintain or bulk up (https://tdeecalculator.net/). It is just one tool you can use just like MFP. I started at 380 lbs and am now down to 226 since July 10th of last year with it mostly being CICO. I weigh my food, drink lots of water, count my calories every day. CICO works. The only exercise that i added was going for a half hour walk a day to up my steps closer to 10,000. Now that i am closer to a healthy weight i am doing more exercise like rowing, bike riding and aerobics.

adomingo426 wrote: »

Anyone have any pictures to motivate me to stick with the idea of calories in vs. calories out. I barley exercise but I started eating 900 calories a day. For someone who works out occasionally, only 5 feet tall I feel like 900 calories is enough. I eat carbs and processed food and food that is bad for me but I heard if I stay under the amount of calories I burn off I will lose weight I just don’t believe it. Anyone else eat whatever but at a deficient and not exercise if you do pics ?? Thx guys

No pictures to share, but I can say that when I'm counting calories (I assume that's what you mean by CICO), that my weight loss is consistent with my calorie deficit. Not on a day to day basis, but over time. When I stop paying attention, or get sloppy with my logging, I lose slower.

Others have mentioned the 900 calories. It really isn't enough. You can't get basic minimum nutrition on 900 calories. Your body needs a certain amount of fat and proteins, not to mention micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). You might feel fine now, but that is because malnourishment takes time. You will likely feel fine until you don't. Hair loss, sallow skin, brittle nails are just the external signs of damage. There is a lot going on inside that you can't see. Please be kinder to your body and feed it well. It's the only one you have.

Did you hear of those diets that say "eat only x food 5 times a day and you will lose weight in 1 week"? These are usually very low calorie foods and it's unlikely you could eat so much that you'd eat more than you burn in a day. Is it healthy to to follow these? No. Is it sustainable for a lifetime? No. Will you stay hungry everyday when you eat like that? Probably yes. Does it work? It does, because of CICO (+initial water weight loss), but you will gain all of the weight back in a few weeks when you switch back to your regular diet. Why? Because of CICO... You can eat 900 calories of anything you want and lose weight, but it won't be sustainable for a long time. Follow a balanced diet, eat at least 1200 calories (but it's best if you follow the MFP suggestions) a day, have treats if it fits your calorie goal, and don't starve yourself.

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