Generally to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more than you consume each day, through a lower calorie diet and regular physical activity.
For example, to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week — a rate that experts consider safe — your food consumption should provide 500 to 1,000 calories less than your total weight-maintenance calories. If you need 2,325 calories a day to maintain your current weight, reduce your daily calories to between 1,325 and 1,825.
But the average weight loss that most people see on the 1200 calorie diet is about one to two pounds per week.”
Medical studies have proven that if a person reduces their calorie intake by 500-1000 calories per day, they are likely to lose 1-2 pounds of weight per week (3). For most women, this comes down to an intake of 1200-1500 calories per day and for men, 1500-1800 calories per day to promote weight loss at a healthy pace.
One lb of body fat contains about 3,500 calories. For a person to lose 1 lb of fat in a week, they would need a deficit of 3,500 calories, or 500 calories per day, over that time. To lose 2 lb, a person would need a deficit of about 7,000 calories.
Over the long term, it's smart to aim for losing 1 to 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kilogram) a week. Generally to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, you need to burn 500 to 1,000 calories more than you consume each day, through a lower calorie diet and regular physical activity.
People may try this diet to control their food intake and lose weight. Some research suggests that the average female can limit their daily caloric intake to 1,500 calories or less to drop 1 pound per week. The average male may consume up to 2,000 calories a day to lose the same amount of weight.
Many studies have shown that following low calorie diets, including 1,200-calorie diets, can promote weight loss. For example, a study in 2,093 people with obesity demonstrated that a medically supervised 1,200-calorie meal replacement diet resulted in an average fat loss of 4.7% over 12 months ( 6 ).
You can't lose weight on 1200 calories a day because you're no longer in a calorie deficit. Your body has adapted to what it's been doing and plateaued. If you start your diet with a 500 calorie deficit per day, your body adapts to this in various way so that over time your energy requirements are reduced.
It is possible to lose weight in a healthy way by consuming 1400 calories a day, but you should carefully design all your meals so as to not to miss out on indispensable nutrients. A deficit of 500 calories per day might yield a healthy 1 pound a week in weight loss.
For example, it would take one 3 to 6 months on average to lose 30 pounds on a 1200 calorie diet. It is based on CDC; one can lose 1 to 2 pounds per week on average.
1 pound (around 0.5 kg) is about 3500 calories (5), so if you stick to a 1000 calorie meal plan, and your normal needs are 2000-2500 calories per day, you may burn as much as 7000-10 500 calories per week, thus losing from 2 to 3 pounds (1-1.5kg) a week.
However, other studies show that while consuming 1,000 calories a day may result in significant weight loss, most people cannot sustain it and often experience significant weight regain . The reasons include regaining lost muscle mass and increased appetite. Also worth noting is that the human body can adapt.
A low-calorie diet for men is an intake of between 1200 calories and 1600 calories, while for women it is between 1200 calories and 1400 calories. Low-calorie meals help an individual lose between two to four pounds weekly; hence a 1300 calorie food plan is enough to lose weight.
So a 200-pound person who wants to lose two pounds a week will calculate that they need to cut out 1,000 calories a day. Keep this up and you could lose 50 pounds in 25 weeks! Always eat at least 1,200 calories a day. If you need to cut out more calories to meet your goal, do so by burning them through exercise.
Women should not consume less than 1,200 calories a day for safe weight loss, while for men, the lower limit is 1,500 calories per day, according to the Harvard Medical School publication,"HEALTHbeat." However, the National Institutes of Health notes that most women can safely lose weight consuming 1,000 to 1,200 ...
Lummus says that when your body goes into starvation mode, your metabolism slows to a crawl, burning calories as slowly as possible to conserve its energy stores. This is why people who cut their calories too much may reach a plateau and stop losing weight.
You've gained muscle.
And here's an often overlooked fact: Muscle tissue is more dense than fat tissue. So as you gain more muscle and lose fat, you change your overall body composition, which can result in a higher weight, but a smaller figure and better health.
The amount of food we consume daily has a significant impact on bodily function. Most adults need a minimum of 2000 calories to sustain metabolism, muscle activity, and brain function.
As a general rule, people need a minimum of 1,200 calories daily to stay healthy. People who have a strenuous fitness routine or perform many daily activities need more calories. If you have reduced your calorie intake below 1,200 calories a day, you could be hurting your body in addition to your weight-loss plans.
For example, a 300-calorie breakfast could be two eggs, 1 slice of multigrain bread, and 1 large apple which comes out to about 282 calories. What are some low-calorie breakfast foods? Low-calorie breakfast foods include eggs, egg whites, fruit and yogurt, high protein waffles, vegetable frittatas, oatmeal, and toast.
How long does it *really* take to lose 15 pounds? “The safest and most sustainable timeline to lose about 15 pounds would be about two to four months,” says Jonathan Valdez, RDN, towner of Genki Nutrition and spokesperson for New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
The diet doesn't have enough calories
Eating too little — say, 1,000 calories a day — can prevent you from losing weight, too. "When you don't eat enough, your body is starving and it's not going to lose any extra weight" because it needs those energy stores to keep you alive, Fakhoury said.
It Can Cause Fatigue and Nutrient Deficiencies
Regularly eating fewer calories than your body requires can cause fatigue and make it more challenging for you to meet your daily nutrient needs. For instance, calorie-restricted diets may not provide sufficient amounts of iron, folate or vitamin B12.