What do people think about..?

So recently I've decided to get more serious about weight loss. I've lost 30 pounds but recently put more back on and I'm kinda tired of the fluctuating. There's always been the debate between eating clean and how many calories I should eat a day and blah blah blah. So I got to thinking what if I aimed for 1200 calories a day, worked out and ate calories back. But if I didn't hit 1200 everyday it wouldn't necessarily be a huge deal because I'd still be at a deficit. I don't want to constantly starve myself and then binge but at the same time I want to be serious and try my hardest. So give me some feedback.. Bad idea or what?

Thanks!

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unknown

lbmarshall23 wrote: »

So recently I've decided to get more serious about weight loss. I've lost 30 pounds but recently put more back on and I'm kinda tired of the fluctuating. There's always been the debate between eating clean and how many calories I should eat a day and blah blah blah. So I got to thinking what if I aimed for 1200 calories a day, worked out and ate calories back. But if I didn't hit 1200 everyday it wouldn't necessarily be a huge deal because I'd still be at a deficit. I don't want to constantly starve myself and then binge but at the same time I want to be serious and try my hardest. So give me some feedback.. Bad idea or what?

Thanks!

I think you are on the right track.

My main question is whether 1200 is the right amount for you to target. It is pretty low for most people and not the best place to start. If you want to share your weight, age, height, and activity level we could give you some feedback, or there are sticky/announcement threads that can help you calculate a good calorie target.

I have lost most of my weight with a bit of that flexibility in my calorie target. So instead of trying to always hit 1800 exactly, I aimed for 1800-2300 (usually getting the extra through exercise, but not always). I like the flexibility of a calorie range rather than an exact target.

unknown

You need to run your info to get your correct number of calories to aim for-unless you're short and don't have a lot to lose, you'll probably get more than 1,200 calories. And yes, weight loss has absolutely nothing to do with eating 'clean', it's about eating less calories than the amount your body needs to maintain its current weight. Eat the foods you enjoy, fit them into your calorie goals, and you will succeed

unknown

I'm shy of 5'3 with a desk job and I weight 194. I try to be active. Like last week I worked out every day but this week I haven't had a chance to. So MFP says I should eat 1200 which is pretty difficult. So I was thinking maybe I could shoot for that but if not a deficit is still pretty good right?

unknown

lbmarshall23 wrote: »

I'm shy of 5'3 with a desk job and I weight 194. I try to be active. Like last week I worked out every day but this week I haven't had a chance to. So MFP says I should eat 1200 which is pretty difficult. So I was thinking maybe I could shoot for that but if not a deficit is still pretty good right?

1200 is challenging and if your weight loss stalls you don't have any where to go. I might suggest starting with a higher goal, e.g., 1500-1800 kcals. Find the number that feels pretty sustainable to you. Then you can keep track of your weight loss over time. When you see how fast you are losing you can decide if it is worth it to cut back a bit more to lose faster or to give yourself a few more per day in order to feel better and be more able to stick to it long-term.

unknown

As long as you eat less than your TDEE, you'll lose weight, but the bigger the deficit the faster you will lose.