RoxiCanDoIt's Journal, 22 February 2020

You know the drill. Set a realistic weight goal. Use the FS program to determine your calorie needs and your recommended calorie intake. Adjust your diet and work on increasing your activity level. It would be best to not wait till you are literally dying to make this change. Wishing you the best and look forward to following your progress and watching you succeed. How bad do you want to stay alive? 

Kenna, your comment sounds like you are somewhat shaming me. I don't "know the drill". That is why I asked my question. 

I would think Roxi that if you are able to take the 1500 calories per day and maintain it then it is a good number for you.  

You don't want to go too low and make it impossible to keep it up and of course you want to eat less than you were eating to be at your current weight. What is good is if people track their calories when they first start they have an idea of how much less they should eat in order to lose. I hope it works out for you! 

And yes that was harsh Kenna, please be supportive! 

If you eat at 1500 calories you'll probably lose a little faster, but you'll probably lose at 1800 as well. I'd try to aim for between the two to start and cut back as you become accustomed to eating less. As you adjust your meals to have healthier ingredients, more moderate portions and cooking differently....baking food instead of frying for ex....you should be able to feel satisfied in that range.  

I average 1500-1600 calories per day and that works well for me. I log every bite I eat (even when I eat too much) and I weigh EVERYTHING. I like to measure in grams as I find it more accurate than ounces. I don't have any forbidden foods, I eat whatever I want as long as it fits into my RDI (recommended daily intake). I've averaged about 6 pounds a month, not fast, but steady (about 65 pounds in 11 months). I don't exercise much because of various health issues. Good luck on your journey, this is a great community. 

I calculated my BMR based on my height and weight, and use that as my minimum calorie intake. In theory I believe then if I actually eat that amount and burn an additional 500 cal a day with activity, I should be able to lose a pound a week. 

The app calculated 2000 for me at first, but I changed it to 1900. After a few months I lost about 8 pounds and then hit a standstill, so I lowered it to 1800. Now I've been able to maintain a .5-1 lb loss per week. It's slow, but for me it was more manageable than eating super low calories. I am very tall for a girl though, so it has always been a higher limit for me.  

My mom has been using this app also and she set a 1400-1500 limit for herself. When she sticks to the limit she does lose like 5 pounds a week, but it is a really low limit so she seems to struggle with going over more than I do. Just use the first few weeks to experiment on what will work best for you, and you'll do great! Weight loss is great whether it's slow or fast, so chosing a path that makes you most comfortable is most important. 

It looks like you chose a great calorie goal friend that will keep you in a deficit 🤗💜💚