Hello. Is 1300 cal doable? and how long should I stick with it?

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j8jatse4
j8jatse4 Posts: 1 Member
edited July 2023 in Health and Weight Loss
I am 93 kg/205lb I am starting weight loss today. so far yesterday and today I was on 1300 sub diet. is it doable and how long can one safely continue.
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  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,114 Member
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    Doable? That will depend on you, but personally I would find that very, very low. I started out at your weight (female, 166cm/5ft5) and lost weight just fine eating 1700 calories (plus exercise calories).

    I know it's tempting to want to lose weight more quickly, but hunger is rarely a good strategy long-term.

    As for safely, that will depend on your personal stats: are you very active in daily life? Do you exercise? Male or female? Height?

    Generally, it's recommended to lose max 1% of your bodyweight per week (preferably 0.5% getting closer to a normal BMI). And minimum 1200 calories per day for women or 1500 for men, to ensure adequate nutrition (but only really appropriate for short/sedentary and/or older people.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,389 Member
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    For me it would not be doable and I'd be chewing my arms off. Also, whatever weightloss goal you chose, on MFP you're supposed to log exercise and eat those calories (or at least a part) back.
  • zebasschick
    zebasschick Posts: 910 Member
    edited July 2023
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    how tall are you?

    i'm 5'4", and i usually eat 1250 calories or less per day; as long as i exercise, i maintain at 1400 to 1500 calories per day, so the only way i can lose weight is to eat under 1300. if i could lose weight eating 1500 or 1700 calories, that's what i'd do.
  • BarbaraHelen2013
    BarbaraHelen2013 Posts: 1,940 Member
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    zebasschick wrote: »
    how tall are you?

    i'm 5'4", and i usually eat 1250 calories or less per day; as long as i exercise, i maintain at 1400 to 1500 calories per day, so the only way i can lose weight is to eat under 1300. if i could lose weight eating 1500 or 1700 calories, that's what i'd do.

    This is the crucial question - ‘how tall are you?’ Also how old are you?

    I’m 62 years old, 5ft and 1300 would mean very slow loss. Like less than half a pound per week.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,127 Member
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    I'm 67 years old, 5'5", and 1200 calories plus all exercise calories made me weak and fatigued at age 59-60 (it still would). I lost fine on 1400-1600 net calories, which was 1600-2000 gross intake most days once I ate back the exercise calories. Everyone's needs can be different. Someone else's individual experience says little or nothing about you.

    My best advice You start with a reasonable weight loss rate goal, 0.5% to no more than 1% of current weight per week. Eat the number of calories MFP tells you to eat for that loss rate. Do that for 4-6 weeks, whole menstrual cycles if you have them. Look at average weekly weight loss over that time period. Slower than your reasonable target? Eat a little less. Too fast, so health risk looming? Eat a little more.

    Use the assumption that 500 calories a day is a pound a week, and do the arithmetic to figure out fractional pounds, when you decide how much more or less to eat from that point forward. Keep paying attention from that point forward, and adjust when needed, based on multi-week weight change averages.

    If you seem to be losing quite fast at first, and start to feel weak or fatigued, eat a little more, enough to feel better. Other than that, stick with your initial calorie goal until you have enough experience data to look at that 4-6 week average.
  • Nephelys
    Nephelys Posts: 27 Member
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    Is it doable? Yes. I've been doing it for months and months, I've even gone lower.

    Is it a good idea? Not really.

    It's really hard to keep. But I got to such a low calorie intake when I was/ am (I'm again in that phase) trying to lose the last few pounds of fat. And my body had already been through a lot of restrictions and wasn't responding as well as it had to the first calories deficit.

    In your case, I don't think it's worth going so low right from the start, not to mention that it's going to make the end of the weight loss extremely difficult, since the more weight you lose, the less calories your metabolism will require (assuming you don't change your muscle mass).
    Frankly, at the start of my diet (I was 90kg for 1m67), I was on 1600/1700 kcal per day (I could even indulge in 1900 on Saturdays), without really exercising (maybe 30/40 min on the elliptical at a very moderate speed 4 days a week, so yeah nothing crazy) and I lost almost 500g per week.

    Honestly, like I said, anything under 1,400 starts to be complicated to maintain. You didn't say how much you're eating now, but if the difference between the two is big, it'll be even more difficult to go so low suddenly. You didn't mention anything about this, but the best thing is still to include some physical exercise (moderate/vigorous cardio, and ideally combined with strength training).
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 8,991 Member
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    I think it is both do-able and a good idea - for some people.

    Whether OP is one of those people we dont know since we don't have all her stats ( presuming OP is female, it not, then definitely not good idea)

    and if it is good idea ,then this means 1300 NET - ie, as others have said, eating back excercise calories
  • michdblanchard
    michdblanchard Posts: 10 Member
    edited July 2023
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    Male 54 YO.
    I’m a disciplined calorie deficit practitioner.

    Dropping your total daily calories can slow your loss and can be unhealthy.

    I recently tried going from 1800 daily to 1300 then 1500.
    It was a bad idea. I first started experiencing light headedness , muscle loss, dizzy spells when I stood up and a complete lack of energy.

    I raised my calories to 1800 and it has worked well for me , I haven’t been hungry at this level and I’m not dealing with issues.
    I’ve lost 10 pounds in a short amount of time.
    I want to be healthy but not at the expense of setting my losses and gains back.

    It’s about finding that sweet spot that works for you.

    I apologize for using the word “I” so much.
    It’s not meant in a self centered way.
    It’s merely meant to share my story.

  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,449 Member
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    michdblanchard wrote: »
    Male 54 YO.
    I’m a disciplined calorie deficit practitioner.

    Dropping your total daily calories can slow your loss and can be unhealthy.

    I recently tried going from 1800 daily to 1300 then 1500.
    It was a bad idea. I first started experiencing light headedness , muscle loss, dizzy spells when I stood up and a complete lack of energy.

    I raised my calories to 1800 and it has worked well for me , I haven’t been hungry at this level and I’m not dealing with issues.
    I’ve lost 10 pounds in a short amount of time.
    I want to be healthy but not at the expense of setting my losses and gains back.

    It’s about finding that sweet spot that works for you.

    I apologize for using the word “I” so much.
    It’s not meant in a self centered way.
    It’s merely meant to share my story.
    We’re all here sharing our stories. “I” for one am very grateful when others do, especially when it’s intelligent and useful! Hope we’ll see you around the boards some more!

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