Debbie Cousins's Journal, 26 January 2021

Keto might actually help make you feel fuller for the same amount of calories, if you do only 2 meals a day, you might actually be able to do Keto AND hit your calorie goals (or at least come close!)  

I am not an expert, far from it, but just for myself I would worry about going so low with calories over a long time period. Hopefully there is a good balance in there.  

Debbie, why don’t you try 1200 for a couple weeks first? You can always go lower if it’s not working for you. I hate to see you get in that cycle. 

When I did keto it was pretty easy to stay within that calorie range without being hungry. That's how I lost the majority of my weight back in 2015. The negative of it was I lost a lot of lean muscle (and I didn't have much to begin with). I ended up with a high bf%, the dreaded "skinny fat", even though I was at a normal weight. Make sure to get enough protein 😊 

Thanks for all the kind and thoughtful comments. @Pixie68, my problem is that I don't actually GET hungry because of having had my vagus nerve severed when I had gastric bypass 16 years ago. Even though I don't get hungry I WANT TO EAT pretty much constantly from the time I get up around 5:30am until about 3:30 in the afternoon. After that, I do better. Yes, @liv001, I don't want to get TOO low with my calories and put my body into starvation mode where it will stop releasing fat. I think I'll go along with you, @Katsolo and strive for 1,200 a day for at least a week to see how that fares for me. I know it's not good to go much below that. @Rckc, when I was doing Keto, I pretty much didn't care about calories at all and just ate to keep the net carbs under 30g and the fat over 60%. Never paid much attention to Protein, but a lot of people have mentioned that lately. Is there a "rule of thumb" for how many grams of protein or what percentage of protein a person should have in a day?  

Have you checked out ketogains? I wish I had known about them back then.... https://www.ketogains.com/calculator/#body-composition 

What Katsolo said! Just me thinking that’s too low too. I like KETO too. 50 pounds in 20 weeks is 2 pounds + per week! Wow. Good luck! 💪 

I shoot for at least .5g x body weight, so around 75g a day. Often I'm over that, sometimes under... 

What’s the website? Only 1087 calories a day for 5 months does sound challenging 😥 

1087 cal sounds challenging even for one day. 

Good luck you’ve got this! Stick to it and don’t give up. 1087 calories ain’t nothing if you want to achieve your goals. 

@bondgurl, the website is: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/bwp This tool uses an algorithm created by an MIT mathematician to predict weight gain / loss over time with specific caloric intake. You put in your current weight, height, age and activity level, and your goal weight and the time you want to reach it. Then it tells you how many calories to eat every day in order to reach your goal on time. 

I know you are on a time crunch but I have found that slow n steady wins the race. I lost 50 lbs by sticking to a 1,000-1100 calorie diet and exercise. I've kept weight off for 3 years now. Good luck with your journey! 

PS. I'm in maintenance mode now so I have increased my daily intake. 

I looked at the calculator. Looks good. They only thing i would question is your choice to use sedentary activity. If you move a bit at home just doing normal stuff and chasing grand kids etc. You are probably more active than that 

I am with Katsolo too. I can never usually totally eat what FS recommends in calories for me. I believe it’s too high, but look - I’m losing weight and I’m healthy and happy. What it does is just keep me conscious of how much I’m putting in my mouth. 😊😋👍 

what website is it 

Check out Dr. Jason Fung on sustained calorie reduction and metabolism adjustment  

Losing 50 lbs in 5 months is a lot. It makes sense that you’d have to eat very little. 2.5 lbs per week means a 1285 calorie per day DEFICIT. No need for MIT, that’s a big mountain to climb. Good luck and don’t be hard on yourself. Every little bit counts. 

without piling on, if you're describing yourself as sedentary, there's an easy fix for that. start counting your steps and take more of them.