LaShrebeka_BeastMode's Journal, 07 April 2018

I’m 5’1 women and slightly active....the lowest amount of calories I ate was 1500, but I lost most of my weight eating 1600 calories a day 

I’m almost a midget, so my guess 1200 is too low 

I used the formula Current weight multiplied by 12 or 13 =calorie deficit 

I heard u can also use (if ur bigger ) goal weight multiplied by 12 or 13=calorie deficit 

But I don’t know much about that, that’s what I used and I have heard is a normal range 

For me.. to get to an RDI I started by figuring a rough Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). There are many sites out there that can make that calculation. So if for example you want to shoot for losing 1 pound a week you would take your BMR number - 500 to get to an RDI. (500 comes from the about of cals to save to lose a pound (3500) divided by 7). But no matter how you get there, RDI is a rough bench mark and not the only component to a plan. What you eat and what you do (activity) play as big of a role in it all as well. My personal RDI is aggressively low, but I also watch for signs that I'm not taking in enough fuel (excessive fatigue/feeling lethargic, etc) 

I just use sex, age and normal activity level here. Mine came out to 1900 per day. But admittedly I’m pretty active but used sedentary when asked in the query. Many calorie and activity counters out there I’m sure an average of those should be close. Rock on!😎 

I let this site determine my RDI. For a 63 year old male at 5'8" and sedentary activity level my RDI is 2,000 calories/day. (Earlier on I was using the next level up from sedentary as my activity level and my RDI was 2,300. That didn't quite seem to be getting me the results I wanted so I kicked it down to sedentary/2,000 calories/day and I've been losing weight steadily ever since.) 

Use 1200 calories to establish a baseline, track your progress at that level for a month, reevaluate, and adjust as you see fit.  

A nutritionist told me never to go below 1200. I am 5'4" and was 45 at the time. An anecdote: As a teen my daughter wanted to lose weight, so she tried eating 600 calories per day. Instead of losing weight, she gained weight. When she tried to exercise, she fainted on the mat. I upped her calories to 1500/day by adding foods with concentrated nutrition. She lost ten pounds. Now in her twenties, she is doing quite well on vegetarian keto. (yes it is possible.) 

I agree with Phil. I have to stay at 1200 to lose weight but many can go up to 1400 or 1500, and still lose. 

Peasy but u exercise? I lift weights  

LaShrebeka, I’m male, almost 50, and kinda active. Most RDI calculators put me in the 2600-2900 calorie range (I usea variety of online and app-based RDI calulators since they all report things just little differently). That said, I'm of the opinion that a 1200 daily limit is unsustainable and, depending on one’s disposition, conducive to dizziness, muscle loss, and depressive eating. I was able to maintain a 1200 a day for several months - until I snapped and tried to eat the neighbor's cat. Even under the best of circumstances, if you’re at all social, all it takes is one office party or social event and *poof* you’re now over the limit. And once you blow it, it becomes wayyy easy to keep breaking it. My solution was to increase my daily limit to 2000 - but not necessarily come anywhere near it. It worked out that I average about 1400 calories daily. And since I work out, I try expend 3500-5000 calories in a day, so there's always a substantial deficit. Hope this helps. 

I don't know why anyone would say 1200 is too low. I fast on a regular basis, daily IF, and sometimes 2-3 day fasts. It won't hurt you.  

I eat well under 1200 on most days - in fact averaging under 1100. You could look up the Katch-Mcardle BMR Calculator and learn what may work for you - but I always calculate at sedentary even though I workout hard. 

I agree with sam1955. And I also forgot to ask about your activity level, something not really talked about here. Seems we only talk about foods and eating here. I believe that regardless of your weight, singling out only diet or only exercise would take much longer to achieve goals. Over the years I’ve learned that our bodies love to burn food! Feed it up and burn that healthy fuel until gone! Then do it again🏎🏎🏎 

body weight x 11