Generally its not recommended to go under 1200. What I would do is try it at 1200 daily and see if you loose. Its really hard to get everything you need nutrient wise below 1200. 1200 is tough actually.

Personally I go quite a ways below the recommended for my size. My goal is between 175 and 140 lbs. So I multiply my goal weight X10 and thats where I think my calorie intake should be. That way I get used to eating like that and maintenence won't be so hard. Currently I'm 5 ft 11" and 245 lbs. The recommended would be closer to 1900 calories.

So far I've been loosing weight pretty good. It does fluctuate rather wildly and I go more by measurements to gauge whether the diet is working or not. My activity level will be going up considerably in a month or so and I may have to increase the calories to keep from going into starvation mode and stalling the weight loss. I take a fair number of supliments. When I did 1000 Calories a day I did have electrolyte/mineral deficiencies that were symptomatic.

Most doctors will tell you not to go under 1200 calories, although I know it's more of an individual thing. Considering you don't have THAT much to lose, (I'm sure it feels like a lot to you...), you may not lose 3 pounds a week regardless of how many calories you eat, but if you are exercising a lot, you'll need to be careful to give yourself enough fuel or you won't lose anything at all. Pay attention to how you feel and eat if you need to!

Some things to consider:

~The human body does not work like clockwork. You will not lose 3 pounds each and every week, no matter what you do. An average healthy weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week. Even with this, 1-2 pounds per week might look like this:

~Week 1: 3 pounds lost

~Week 2: nothing

~Week 3: 1 pound lost

~Week 4: 2 pounds lost

It all averages out, over a month, to be 1-2 pounds per week. I am just saying this, to let you know that even if you aim for 3 pounds per week, you aren't going to see that exactly on the scale.



~The more you weigh, the more calories your body needs per day. The less you weigh, the less. If you are just starting out, I don't recommend starting out at the lowest level of calories. Most don't recommend going under 1200 a day without medical supervision. (Height has nothing to do with it...)

For most people, you start off at a higher calorie level, and when you hit a plateau where your weight loss stops, then you have some wiggle room to drop your calories down a bit, to get things moving again. If you start out too low, you have nowhere to go. (except malnutrition...)



~Make changes that you can stick with for life, for lifelong weight loss. It isn't a race. Many people gain back their weight when they get too extreme with their diets and exercise-because they went to strict and can't keep it up. It is better to lose 1 pound a week with a reasonable exercise regime and diet, than it is to overexercise and limit your food too much...and end up gaining back the weight later. Think of the long term.


~Losing weight too quickly on too low calories can cause health issues.

I agree with Aphil - the problem with your ambitious plan is not just your calorie level - are you going to live like this for the rest of your life?

I know you'd like to lose 3 pounds a week - wouldn't we all? - what will happen when you don't? You'll spend a week eating well, in your calorie limit, exercising every day - and you don't lose a thing - then what? Is your willpower made of solid iron??

Your goals are fine, but the method of getting there needs some re-thinking. What's the rush? The time will pass whether you lose weight or not, remember that. And in, say, seven weeks - you'll still weigh less than you do today!

Good luck - be sensible.

I too think you are setting yourself up to fail. Goals need to be realistic and it is not realistic to expect a 3lb a week loss. Might happen first couple of weeks but after that? What's the rush anyway?

Kitty

I agree a loss is a loss. For me I just want to keep losing..whether its a half of pound a week or 2lbs,at the end of a month its still a loss. I didnt get this big overnight and i cant expect to loose it fast and keep it off. My main diet problem has always been keeping it off,,,i realise now its becasue i dieted wrong and couldnt keep it up for maintance. This is the last time I will ever loose weight...It may take me years to loose but i will never weigh this in the future. Go slow and keep it off!!!

Why don't you try having 1500 a few more days a week, or every other day? (isn't that called calorie cycling, or something?) Some people do find eating more and maintaining exercise customs helps.

Thanks for the advice.

I dont see why you think im "setting myself up to fail" If I was doing that, I wouldnt have posted here for advice, I had an idea it was too low. I posted "I'm considering"

There is no rush to lose the weight, and no I didnt put it on overnight (I put most of it on in 3 months) I'm not expecting to lose it overnight either.

After looking into this more, I've decided to not go below 1200.

HeatherAngel"And in, say, seven weeks - you'll still weigh less than you do today" This is what I need to focus on, thanks.

I was looking at your ticker that said you had 22 lbs to go, that's why I said it wasn't THAT much weight. Of course 84lbs is a lot. sorry!

One other consideration when considering a calorie level that is too low, is that it often leads to binging. When you eat at a calorie level that is too low for your current weight and activity level-basically, you are hungry. After a week of being hungry like that, your willpower eventually fails-and that is how you end up eating a pint of ice cream and half a bag of chips in one sitting.

It starts the cycle of starve-binge-starve-binge. It's a nasty habit to break.


One other thing to consider when calorie counting, is not starting out at the low end, especially if you have a lot to lose. (over 50 pounds) If you start out at 1200 now, you don't have much room to play with it 20 or 30 pounds down the road. I honestly would start out at 1500 per day. This way, when you have a plateau 20 or 30 pounds down the line, you can then adjust it to 1400 per day and get things going again. Most people aren't at the 1200 marker unless they are older (post menopausal), have issues that make exercise difficult, or they have less than 30 pounds to lose/left to lose.

I think you'll see that phrase here frequently and what it means is this: You're setting unrealistic goals that you simply CANNOT meet. That means you WILL fail to meet your goals - even though it's not YOU failing, but a bad goal. Even more, it's probable that when you don't meet those goals, you'll get so frustrated that you give up or binge or sabotage yourself somehow out of anger and despair.

That's what everyone means by "setting yourself up to fail".

3lbs a week consistently is simply not realistic and not doable. You might lose that much at first. Or you might not. I didn't actually see the scale move until over a month into my plan, although I knew I was losing fat and building muscle. Currently I've been at 172 for about a month - with fluctuations of 2-3 lbs up and down either way.

But as I've said here before - your body is not a calibrated mechanical object. How much weight you lose will depend on so many factors including your hormone levels, the amount of water you drink, the amount of salt you consume, the changes in the weather and temperature, even how much sleep you get. You have to give yourself wiggle room for the fact that you're HUMAN!

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Another thing is that you said above that:

"I'll also have to exercise ALOT"

What do you mean by "a lot" and it that something that you can reasonably maintain over the long term? Is "a lot" more than an hour a day? Is that something that you can fit into your schedule every single day? Is "a lot" high intensity? And have you been working out at high intensity before? If not, your body will need recovery time and time to build a level of stamina to allow you to put in a large quantity of exercise every day.

Instead of going to extremes with super low calories and lots and lots of exercise, plan a moderate schedule and ramp it up from there if you feel the need to.

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