Calories to lose

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tobefit100
tobefit100 Posts: 7 Member
in Getting Started
I’m 5’6” and 184 lbs. I want to lose 2 lbs per week.is this doable with a 1200 calories diet?

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  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    Possibly not, it depends what your TDEE is. Considering your stats, 2 lbs per week would be a quite aggressive rate of loss. Even if you could, you would be better off going slower. Personally, I would say 1 lb per week, but you could probably get away with 1.5 lbs in the beginning. Just understand that as you lose weight, your rate should slow down.
  • texasredreb
    texasredreb Posts: 541 Member
    edited July 2019
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    Plug in your stats and see. I'm 5'6" and weigh185. My stats say that if I eat 1200 calories a day the most I can lose is 1.8lbs/week. I started in March at 225lbs. I was losing 2-3lbs per week in March and April on 1300kcal/day. I dropped down to 1200/day when I "only" lost 5lbs in May. June was -5lbs while eating 1200/day. July is now 1/3 of the way over and I've already dropped 5lbs on 1200/day.

    Weight loss is weird.
  • tobefit100
    tobefit100 Posts: 7 Member
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    You all make this sound so easy! I’m just starting today day one following calorie counting. I’ll take 1.5 per week as long as it’s going in the right direction.

    Thanks

  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    edited July 2019
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    tobefit100 wrote: »
    You all make this sound so easy! I’m just starting today day one following calorie counting. I’ll take 1.5 per week as long as it’s going in the right direction.

    Thanks

    Good luck. one day at a time. it's not "easy" but we all start somewhere.
    Trying to lose more faster can also make it harder to stick to. Weight loss is a LONG GAME. a marathon. trying to sprint can often lead to tripping and not finishing the race at all. Better to make it sustainable and not painful so you can succeed and actually get to your goal.

    Remember MFP gives you the calories to eat for the requested rate of loss ASSUMING ZERO purposeful exercise. eat back a reasonable estimate of those exercise calories
    texasredreb wrote: »
    Plug in your stats and see. I'm 5'6" and weigh185. My stats say that if I eat 1200 calories a day the most I can lose is 1.8lbs/week. I started in March at 225lbs. I was losing 2-3lbs per week in March and April on 1300kcal/day. I dropped down to 1200/day when I "only" lost 5lbs in May. June was -5lbs while eating 1200/day. July is now 1/3 of the way over and I've already dropped 5lbs on 1200/day.

    Weight loss is weird.

    Are you exercising/active? MFP gives you calories assuming selected activity level (and note that sedentary is VERY sedentary) and ZERO purposeful exercise. So if you are active beyond the selected activity level or exercising then you have in fact increased your calorie deficit even more.
  • Luv2eatSweets
    Luv2eatSweets Posts: 221 Member
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    You might want to up your calories a bit. 1200 is pretty hard to maintain. When I tried this I was ready to eat cardboard!! I guess it works for some people that are sedentary, but if active could be hard. Plus my mood was not the best. I actually had the best results by not eating after 6pm. Oh and a food scale. Good luck, and wish you all the best.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    tobefit100 wrote: »
    You all make this sound so easy! I’m just starting today day one following calorie counting. I’ll take 1.5 per week as long as it’s going in the right direction.

    Thanks

    I would start with 1 pound per week. Once that feels comfortable and doable then decide if you want to be more aggressive. Remember that almost anyone can lose 10 or 15 pounds but most people fail to lose all the weight they want. It is not how fast you can lose, it is how long can you lose.
  • tobefit100
    tobefit100 Posts: 7 Member
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    I’ll tweak and shoot for 1.5 per week. I only walk and trying to incorporate more walking into my day. I’ve lost 50 pounds two years ago but have put back on 30 due to surgery and just LIFE. However super strict diet of no carbs dairy sugar etc. I want to stay away from that type of extreme. Thank you
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
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    tobefit100 wrote: »
    I’ll tweak and shoot for 1.5 per week. I only walk and trying to incorporate more walking into my day. I’ve lost 50 pounds two years ago but have put back on 30 due to surgery and just LIFE. However super strict diet of no carbs dairy sugar etc. I want to stay away from that type of extreme. Thank you

    Sounds good. YOu can also adjust as you go. Here are some helpful links. A food scale is key.


    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10636388/free-customized-personal-weight-loss-eating-plan-not-spam-or-mlm/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1399829/step-by-step-guide-to-losing-weight-with-myfitnesspal


    and get a FOOD SCALE, crucial tool for most of us here
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1
  • texasredreb
    texasredreb Posts: 541 Member
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    I'm going to drop my weight loss expectations down to 1 pound/week after a week of a diet break/refeed in August.

    I started with a weight loss goal of 85-90lbs, so 2 pounds a week was reasonable. Now that I'm at 185, it's "aggressive" and I intend to ease up a bit for the remainder of my weight loss--after August 8th. I'm going to push through with my current deficit until August 1st; at which point I'm going on vacation and doing a refeed.

    I've set myself as lightly active and still am.

    BUT alas, this is not my thread. Don't mean to hijack it--just answering someone's questions.

    TO THE OP: Weight is as easy or as hard as you make it. The theory is ridiculously simple: eat less than you burn, but that can be difficult. Get a digital food scale and weigh all solid foods. Accuracy is important. Measure or weigh all liquids with calories. Be honest with your tracking and kind to yourself if you mess up.
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
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    tobefit100 wrote: »
    You all make this sound so easy! I’m just starting today day one following calorie counting. I’ll take 1.5 per week as long as it’s going in the right direction.

    Thanks

    It's as hard (or easy) as you want it to be. Managing weight doesn't have to be a struggle and it doesn't have to be a punishment.

    Pick a suitable calorie deficit = easy
    Pick an aggressive calorie deficit = hard

    Eat foods you genuinely like and want to eat = easy
    Force yourself to eat foods you don't really like = hard

    Being flexible and inclusive in your food choice = easy
    Being restrictive and eliminating food groups = hard

    Getting exercise by doing an activity you enjoy = easy
    Doing an exercise program you don't like = hard

    Weighing and measuring your food so you can accurately track your calories = easy
    Guessing at your calorie intake and logging inaccurately/incompletely = hard

    I'm not going to say that it doesn't take conscious effort because of course it does. But you decide if it's an easy, sustainable effort or a constant struggle.

    At it's most basic, when all is said and done, as long as you're maintaining a calorie deficit you'll lose weight regardless of how hard (or easy) you make it for yourself.

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