Best calorie intake for weight loss

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  • CarleyMarie83
    CarleyMarie83 Posts: 44 Member
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    scifi81 wrote: »
    I have 4 stone to lose and I want to lose it as quickly as possible.

    What’s the best amount of calories to eat to lose optimum weight a week please?

    It totally depends on your age, height, current weight, goal weight and activity level. Like @terytha said, go through the set-up on this site. It'll give you a calorie target.

    There are some guidelines for how much weight you can safely lose per week.

    75+ pounds = 2 lbs per week
    40-75 lbs = 1.5 lbs per week
    20-40 lbs = 1 lb per week
    Under 20 lbs = 0.5 lbs per week

    useful information, thank you :)
  • ceiswyn
    ceiswyn Posts: 2,256 Member
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    Zhatan wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Terytha wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Terytha wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    I usually go for 1000-1200 kcal when I am trying to loose quickly. Some say that it's too low but it works for me. I get impatient when I don't see results and a low intake like that starts to show pretty fast.

    Of course it works. Nobody fails to lose weight while starving themselves. But its dangerous and unhealthy and advising anyone to do the same is irresponsible.

    I'm not starving myself at all. I am content at that level, I don't feel completely stuffed after a meal but I never feel hungry either. First day or two I feel a craving for sugar but that goes away pretty quickly.

    To each his own of course but OP wanted to loose as quickly as possible and for a woman 1000-1200 kcal is not below the threshold set by myfitnesspal. It is for a man tho.

    1200 is the base minimum. Anything lower than that is absolutely below the MFP threshold, as well as the health and threshold.

    You may feel however you wish, science and reality prove you absolutely wrong and you are going to regret eating this way when you end up in the hospital some day.

    Unless you're like, 4 feet tall anyway.

    This is the message MFP gives you when eating too little.
    "For safe weight loss, the National Institutes of Health recommends no less than 1000-1200 calories for women and 1200-1500 calories for men."

    I think the most important thing is to let your body tell you what works not some person on the internet. If you feel good and have no issues you are most likely fine. Also how much people can eat without gaining weight has been shown in studies to vary greatly from person to person even taking into consideration gender, age, fitness level and activity level so what works for some people might not work for others.

    OP was asking so I gave an answer that works good for me. I am M35 173cm and have active work mostly in construction. If I work out I of course eat more to compensate.

    Problem is that vastly under-eating like that for periods of time will result in you feeling good - until you don't. And by then the damage is already done. I can "feel good" eating too little and eating over my calories. "Feel good" isn't a very good indicator of much of anything. And I think most people would prefer to keep lean muscle mass instead of having to rebuild it later (not to mention that your heart is also a muscle).

    Yeah I don't suggest that you should eat like that for an extended period of time but OP wanted to loose quickly and that will do it. Eating high amounts of protein, like 2x body weight, and doing some weight training will prevent significant loss of muscle mass.

    Fast is never an appropriate suggestion unless the person is 500+lbs, in the care of a dr and it's a literal life or death matter. Just because the OP wants fast doesn't mean it's appropriate to actually give suggestions.

    If you mean fast like fasting then no one was talking about that. If you mean fast like loosing quickly then 1 kg per week is fine.

    No, no it’s not.

    (Except for the morbidly obese).
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Zhatan wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Terytha wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Terytha wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    I usually go for 1000-1200 kcal when I am trying to loose quickly. Some say that it's too low but it works for me. I get impatient when I don't see results and a low intake like that starts to show pretty fast.

    Of course it works. Nobody fails to lose weight while starving themselves. But its dangerous and unhealthy and advising anyone to do the same is irresponsible.

    I'm not starving myself at all. I am content at that level, I don't feel completely stuffed after a meal but I never feel hungry either. First day or two I feel a craving for sugar but that goes away pretty quickly.

    To each his own of course but OP wanted to loose as quickly as possible and for a woman 1000-1200 kcal is not below the threshold set by myfitnesspal. It is for a man tho.

    1200 is the base minimum. Anything lower than that is absolutely below the MFP threshold, as well as the health and threshold.

    You may feel however you wish, science and reality prove you absolutely wrong and you are going to regret eating this way when you end up in the hospital some day.

    Unless you're like, 4 feet tall anyway.

    This is the message MFP gives you when eating too little.
    "For safe weight loss, the National Institutes of Health recommends no less than 1000-1200 calories for women and 1200-1500 calories for men."

    I think the most important thing is to let your body tell you what works not some person on the internet. If you feel good and have no issues you are most likely fine. Also how much people can eat without gaining weight has been shown in studies to vary greatly from person to person even taking into consideration gender, age, fitness level and activity level so what works for some people might not work for others.

    OP was asking so I gave an answer that works good for me. I am M35 173cm and have active work mostly in construction. If I work out I of course eat more to compensate.

    Problem is that vastly under-eating like that for periods of time will result in you feeling good - until you don't. And by then the damage is already done. I can "feel good" eating too little and eating over my calories. "Feel good" isn't a very good indicator of much of anything. And I think most people would prefer to keep lean muscle mass instead of having to rebuild it later (not to mention that your heart is also a muscle).

    Yeah I don't suggest that you should eat like that for an extended period of time but OP wanted to loose quickly and that will do it. Eating high amounts of protein, like 2x body weight, and doing some weight training will prevent significant loss of muscle mass.

    Fast is never an appropriate suggestion unless the person is 500+lbs, in the care of a dr and it's a literal life or death matter. Just because the OP wants fast doesn't mean it's appropriate to actually give suggestions.

    If you mean fast like fasting then no one was talking about that. If you mean fast like loosing quickly then 1 kg per week is fine.

    If they have 75+lbs to lose, yes 1kg/2lbs would be fine. If they have less than that, then no it's not fine.
    ceiswyn wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Terytha wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Terytha wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    I usually go for 1000-1200 kcal when I am trying to loose quickly. Some say that it's too low but it works for me. I get impatient when I don't see results and a low intake like that starts to show pretty fast.

    Of course it works. Nobody fails to lose weight while starving themselves. But its dangerous and unhealthy and advising anyone to do the same is irresponsible.

    I'm not starving myself at all. I am content at that level, I don't feel completely stuffed after a meal but I never feel hungry either. First day or two I feel a craving for sugar but that goes away pretty quickly.

    To each his own of course but OP wanted to loose as quickly as possible and for a woman 1000-1200 kcal is not below the threshold set by myfitnesspal. It is for a man tho.

    1200 is the base minimum. Anything lower than that is absolutely below the MFP threshold, as well as the health and threshold.

    You may feel however you wish, science and reality prove you absolutely wrong and you are going to regret eating this way when you end up in the hospital some day.

    Unless you're like, 4 feet tall anyway.

    This is the message MFP gives you when eating too little.
    "For safe weight loss, the National Institutes of Health recommends no less than 1000-1200 calories for women and 1200-1500 calories for men."

    I think the most important thing is to let your body tell you what works not some person on the internet. If you feel good and have no issues you are most likely fine. Also how much people can eat without gaining weight has been shown in studies to vary greatly from person to person even taking into consideration gender, age, fitness level and activity level so what works for some people might not work for others.

    OP was asking so I gave an answer that works good for me. I am M35 173cm and have active work mostly in construction. If I work out I of course eat more to compensate.

    Problem is that vastly under-eating like that for periods of time will result in you feeling good - until you don't. And by then the damage is already done. I can "feel good" eating too little and eating over my calories. "Feel good" isn't a very good indicator of much of anything. And I think most people would prefer to keep lean muscle mass instead of having to rebuild it later (not to mention that your heart is also a muscle).

    Yeah I don't suggest that you should eat like that for an extended period of time but OP wanted to loose quickly and that will do it. Eating high amounts of protein, like 2x body weight, and doing some weight training will prevent significant loss of muscle mass.

    Fast is never an appropriate suggestion unless the person is 500+lbs, in the care of a dr and it's a literal life or death matter. Just because the OP wants fast doesn't mean it's appropriate to actually give suggestions.

    If you mean fast like fasting then no one was talking about that. If you mean fast like loosing quickly then 1 kg per week is fine.

    No, no it’s not.

    (Except for the morbidly obese).

    1-2 lbs or 0,5-1 kg is considered healthy and faster weight loss has been shown to give greater weight loss and more health improvement. Over 1 kg per week gives increased risk for gallstones.

    "What is known? (i) Faster weight loss is associated with greater overall weight loss than slower weight loss. (ii) Weight loss of faster than 2 lb/wk (∼1 kg/wk) is associated with increased risk for gallstone formation. What does this study add? (i) Faster weight loss is associated with greater weight loss and health improvements than slow weight loss. (ii) Fast and slow weight losses are associated with similar improvements in metabolic health after adjusting for the absolute weight loss attained."

    https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2019/3609642/
    Zhatan wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Terytha wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Terytha wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    I usually go for 1000-1200 kcal when I am trying to loose quickly. Some say that it's too low but it works for me. I get impatient when I don't see results and a low intake like that starts to show pretty fast.

    Of course it works. Nobody fails to lose weight while starving themselves. But its dangerous and unhealthy and advising anyone to do the same is irresponsible.

    I'm not starving myself at all. I am content at that level, I don't feel completely stuffed after a meal but I never feel hungry either. First day or two I feel a craving for sugar but that goes away pretty quickly.

    To each his own of course but OP wanted to loose as quickly as possible and for a woman 1000-1200 kcal is not below the threshold set by myfitnesspal. It is for a man tho.

    1200 is the base minimum. Anything lower than that is absolutely below the MFP threshold, as well as the health and threshold.

    You may feel however you wish, science and reality prove you absolutely wrong and you are going to regret eating this way when you end up in the hospital some day.

    Unless you're like, 4 feet tall anyway.

    This is the message MFP gives you when eating too little.
    "For safe weight loss, the National Institutes of Health recommends no less than 1000-1200 calories for women and 1200-1500 calories for men."

    I think the most important thing is to let your body tell you what works not some person on the internet. If you feel good and have no issues you are most likely fine. Also how much people can eat without gaining weight has been shown in studies to vary greatly from person to person even taking into consideration gender, age, fitness level and activity level so what works for some people might not work for others.

    OP was asking so I gave an answer that works good for me. I am M35 173cm and have active work mostly in construction. If I work out I of course eat more to compensate.

    Problem is that vastly under-eating like that for periods of time will result in you feeling good - until you don't. And by then the damage is already done. I can "feel good" eating too little and eating over my calories. "Feel good" isn't a very good indicator of much of anything. And I think most people would prefer to keep lean muscle mass instead of having to rebuild it later (not to mention that your heart is also a muscle).

    Yeah I don't suggest that you should eat like that for an extended period of time but OP wanted to loose quickly and that will do it. Eating high amounts of protein, like 2x body weight, and doing some weight training will prevent significant loss of muscle mass.

    If an adult male is only eating 1000 calories and exercising to lose weight quickly, no amount of protein or weight training will prevent muscle loss and other damage.

    Considering the many unknown variables involved, giving this kind of advice to random internet strangers is potentially dangerous. If someone asks for the best way to jump off a cliff, the excuse "I was just answering their question" doesn't make up for helping someone potentially hurt themselves.

    1000-1200 calories is not counting exercise as I said before but it is even possible to gain muscle mass doing this and still loose weight if you have fat to burn. It has been shown to work in studies and I have had those results myself as well. Im gonna guess you have never tried it for yourself.

    I agree it's better for OP to use the tools and figure it out herself but she asked so I answered. Comparing cutting a few calories to jumping off a cliff is like compating a nail to an ICBM.

    1200 calories is barely enough for a toddler let alone a grown adult.

    Thats the point. If it was enough you would not be losing weight. To lose 1 kg of fat you need to be around 1000 kcal deficiancy per day.

    We don't have the OP's stats yet. You don't know whether she burns 2000 calories a day or 2500 or 3000. 1000-1200 cals/day might be reasonable or it might be a 2.5-3 pounds/week deficit. You don't know. I don't know. And this thread is so far derailed that I would be surprised if the OP comes back to it (if they log in again).
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,014 Member
    Options
    4 stone is 56 pounds.

    OP put your stats in to MFP, tell it you want to lose 1.5 lb per week at most ( more than that is too aggressive for amount you have to lose - faster might be appealing at first glance but safe and steady is the way to go) and then eat accurately to the calorie allowance you are given.

    Remember this is a net amount - you should also eat back at least some excercise calories if you do any additional excercise.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    Options
    In my experience fast has never been sustainable. Because I started quite heavy I was always able to lose 20 to 30 pounds pretty quickly (some of which was water weight) but by going fast that is usually as much as I lost.

    So the question is which is better? To lose some of the weight you want to lose fast or lose all of the weight you want to lose a little slower and much more mindful of your health?
  • Zhatan
    Zhatan Posts: 45 Member
    Options
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Terytha wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Terytha wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    I usually go for 1000-1200 kcal when I am trying to loose quickly. Some say that it's too low but it works for me. I get impatient when I don't see results and a low intake like that starts to show pretty fast.

    Of course it works. Nobody fails to lose weight while starving themselves. But its dangerous and unhealthy and advising anyone to do the same is irresponsible.

    I'm not starving myself at all. I am content at that level, I don't feel completely stuffed after a meal but I never feel hungry either. First day or two I feel a craving for sugar but that goes away pretty quickly.

    To each his own of course but OP wanted to loose as quickly as possible and for a woman 1000-1200 kcal is not below the threshold set by myfitnesspal. It is for a man tho.

    1200 is the base minimum. Anything lower than that is absolutely below the MFP threshold, as well as the health and threshold.

    You may feel however you wish, science and reality prove you absolutely wrong and you are going to regret eating this way when you end up in the hospital some day.

    Unless you're like, 4 feet tall anyway.

    This is the message MFP gives you when eating too little.
    "For safe weight loss, the National Institutes of Health recommends no less than 1000-1200 calories for women and 1200-1500 calories for men."

    I think the most important thing is to let your body tell you what works not some person on the internet. If you feel good and have no issues you are most likely fine. Also how much people can eat without gaining weight has been shown in studies to vary greatly from person to person even taking into consideration gender, age, fitness level and activity level so what works for some people might not work for others.

    OP was asking so I gave an answer that works good for me. I am M35 173cm and have active work mostly in construction. If I work out I of course eat more to compensate.

    Problem is that vastly under-eating like that for periods of time will result in you feeling good - until you don't. And by then the damage is already done. I can "feel good" eating too little and eating over my calories. "Feel good" isn't a very good indicator of much of anything. And I think most people would prefer to keep lean muscle mass instead of having to rebuild it later (not to mention that your heart is also a muscle).

    Yeah I don't suggest that you should eat like that for an extended period of time but OP wanted to loose quickly and that will do it. Eating high amounts of protein, like 2x body weight, and doing some weight training will prevent significant loss of muscle mass.

    Fast is never an appropriate suggestion unless the person is 500+lbs, in the care of a dr and it's a literal life or death matter. Just because the OP wants fast doesn't mean it's appropriate to actually give suggestions.

    If you mean fast like fasting then no one was talking about that. If you mean fast like loosing quickly then 1 kg per week is fine.

    If they have 75+lbs to lose, yes 1kg/2lbs would be fine. If they have less than that, then no it's not fine.
    ceiswyn wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Terytha wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Terytha wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    I usually go for 1000-1200 kcal when I am trying to loose quickly. Some say that it's too low but it works for me. I get impatient when I don't see results and a low intake like that starts to show pretty fast.

    Of course it works. Nobody fails to lose weight while starving themselves. But its dangerous and unhealthy and advising anyone to do the same is irresponsible.

    I'm not starving myself at all. I am content at that level, I don't feel completely stuffed after a meal but I never feel hungry either. First day or two I feel a craving for sugar but that goes away pretty quickly.

    To each his own of course but OP wanted to loose as quickly as possible and for a woman 1000-1200 kcal is not below the threshold set by myfitnesspal. It is for a man tho.

    1200 is the base minimum. Anything lower than that is absolutely below the MFP threshold, as well as the health and threshold.

    You may feel however you wish, science and reality prove you absolutely wrong and you are going to regret eating this way when you end up in the hospital some day.

    Unless you're like, 4 feet tall anyway.

    This is the message MFP gives you when eating too little.
    "For safe weight loss, the National Institutes of Health recommends no less than 1000-1200 calories for women and 1200-1500 calories for men."

    I think the most important thing is to let your body tell you what works not some person on the internet. If you feel good and have no issues you are most likely fine. Also how much people can eat without gaining weight has been shown in studies to vary greatly from person to person even taking into consideration gender, age, fitness level and activity level so what works for some people might not work for others.

    OP was asking so I gave an answer that works good for me. I am M35 173cm and have active work mostly in construction. If I work out I of course eat more to compensate.

    Problem is that vastly under-eating like that for periods of time will result in you feeling good - until you don't. And by then the damage is already done. I can "feel good" eating too little and eating over my calories. "Feel good" isn't a very good indicator of much of anything. And I think most people would prefer to keep lean muscle mass instead of having to rebuild it later (not to mention that your heart is also a muscle).

    Yeah I don't suggest that you should eat like that for an extended period of time but OP wanted to loose quickly and that will do it. Eating high amounts of protein, like 2x body weight, and doing some weight training will prevent significant loss of muscle mass.

    Fast is never an appropriate suggestion unless the person is 500+lbs, in the care of a dr and it's a literal life or death matter. Just because the OP wants fast doesn't mean it's appropriate to actually give suggestions.

    If you mean fast like fasting then no one was talking about that. If you mean fast like loosing quickly then 1 kg per week is fine.

    No, no it’s not.

    (Except for the morbidly obese).

    1-2 lbs or 0,5-1 kg is considered healthy and faster weight loss has been shown to give greater weight loss and more health improvement. Over 1 kg per week gives increased risk for gallstones.

    "What is known? (i) Faster weight loss is associated with greater overall weight loss than slower weight loss. (ii) Weight loss of faster than 2 lb/wk (∼1 kg/wk) is associated with increased risk for gallstone formation. What does this study add? (i) Faster weight loss is associated with greater weight loss and health improvements than slow weight loss. (ii) Fast and slow weight losses are associated with similar improvements in metabolic health after adjusting for the absolute weight loss attained."

    https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2019/3609642/
    Zhatan wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Terytha wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    Terytha wrote: »
    Zhatan wrote: »
    I usually go for 1000-1200 kcal when I am trying to loose quickly. Some say that it's too low but it works for me. I get impatient when I don't see results and a low intake like that starts to show pretty fast.

    Of course it works. Nobody fails to lose weight while starving themselves. But its dangerous and unhealthy and advising anyone to do the same is irresponsible.

    I'm not starving myself at all. I am content at that level, I don't feel completely stuffed after a meal but I never feel hungry either. First day or two I feel a craving for sugar but that goes away pretty quickly.

    To each his own of course but OP wanted to loose as quickly as possible and for a woman 1000-1200 kcal is not below the threshold set by myfitnesspal. It is for a man tho.

    1200 is the base minimum. Anything lower than that is absolutely below the MFP threshold, as well as the health and threshold.

    You may feel however you wish, science and reality prove you absolutely wrong and you are going to regret eating this way when you end up in the hospital some day.

    Unless you're like, 4 feet tall anyway.

    This is the message MFP gives you when eating too little.
    "For safe weight loss, the National Institutes of Health recommends no less than 1000-1200 calories for women and 1200-1500 calories for men."

    I think the most important thing is to let your body tell you what works not some person on the internet. If you feel good and have no issues you are most likely fine. Also how much people can eat without gaining weight has been shown in studies to vary greatly from person to person even taking into consideration gender, age, fitness level and activity level so what works for some people might not work for others.

    OP was asking so I gave an answer that works good for me. I am M35 173cm and have active work mostly in construction. If I work out I of course eat more to compensate.

    Problem is that vastly under-eating like that for periods of time will result in you feeling good - until you don't. And by then the damage is already done. I can "feel good" eating too little and eating over my calories. "Feel good" isn't a very good indicator of much of anything. And I think most people would prefer to keep lean muscle mass instead of having to rebuild it later (not to mention that your heart is also a muscle).

    Yeah I don't suggest that you should eat like that for an extended period of time but OP wanted to loose quickly and that will do it. Eating high amounts of protein, like 2x body weight, and doing some weight training will prevent significant loss of muscle mass.

    If an adult male is only eating 1000 calories and exercising to lose weight quickly, no amount of protein or weight training will prevent muscle loss and other damage.

    Considering the many unknown variables involved, giving this kind of advice to random internet strangers is potentially dangerous. If someone asks for the best way to jump off a cliff, the excuse "I was just answering their question" doesn't make up for helping someone potentially hurt themselves.

    1000-1200 calories is not counting exercise as I said before but it is even possible to gain muscle mass doing this and still loose weight if you have fat to burn. It has been shown to work in studies and I have had those results myself as well. Im gonna guess you have never tried it for yourself.

    I agree it's better for OP to use the tools and figure it out herself but she asked so I answered. Comparing cutting a few calories to jumping off a cliff is like compating a nail to an ICBM.

    1200 calories is barely enough for a toddler let alone a grown adult.

    Thats the point. If it was enough you would not be losing weight. To lose 1 kg of fat you need to be around 1000 kcal deficiancy per day.

    We don't have the OP's stats yet. You don't know whether she burns 2000 calories a day or 2500 or 3000. 1000-1200 cals/day might be reasonable or it might be a 2.5-3 pounds/week deficit. You don't know. I don't know. And this thread is so far derailed that I would be surprised if the OP comes back to it (if they log in again).

    Can't argue with that. Don't think alot of people burn 3000 calories, not counting exercise, without being very fit or very overweight tho.