calorie deficit

[SunsetRunner]

 I am eating about 1200 calories a day but burning over 4000 with exercise. Im not hungry or tired but is it ok to have such a big deficit??? I have a lot of weight to lose about 40kg.

[A_Lurker]

@SunsetRunner- everyone will have a different opinion on this.  My opinion is eat more.  I burn somewhere between 3500-4000 each day and I eat about 2500 calories.  If I have a really slow day I will eat less, but usually I just exercise more.  This gives me a relatively nice, consistent weight loss.  (over 90 pounds / 41 kg since Feb).  In fact I'm eating more now than when I started.  Unless you increase your exercise you will naturally burn less as you lose weight.  Don't be in such a hurry to eat lower calories yet.  You risk burning out, slowing your metabolism, etc.  Some people can maintain lower calories for quite a while, others cannot.  A normal reaction to a weight loss plateau is to lower calories or increase exercise.  Do you really want to eat less than 1200 calories partway through your weight loss?

Also, the longer you eat considerably lower than your BMR (basal metabolic rate) the more likely your body will adjust to that new level and set it as normal.  Do you want to have to eat at that level for long after you reach your goal weight?

To find out what your BMR is and roughly what you should be eating based on your exercise level go to this site and put in your information.  You'll need to pick an in-between weight as your goal weight to get useful numbers.  Personally, I just work on 25 lbs at a time (little over 11kg).

[Dominique]

I would follow @A_Lurker’s advice (it’s been working very well for her). "Crash diets" can only be sustained short-term. In order to lose 40 kg, you need an approach that works in the longer term.

[AndyDandyPandy]

Listen to your body. Don't worry too much about counting calories if it's making your journey complicated. If you eat healthier foods you will have lower caloric intake but feel as full as a person who eat more calories than you. Just make sure you are always full from your meals and you're not starving, feeling miserable, weak, etc. 

Don't force food down your throat just so you can hit a certain calorie for the day. If you're full then I'd say stop there. Anything less or more would be bad. Remember calories are just numbers. It won't tell you how full it can make you feel.

[SunsetRunner]

Thank you this has helped me because i am full. I have just been doing alot
of work outs and keeping moving so im burning heaps more then i am eating.
Today was only a 1000 calorie deficit so thats a bit less. But most days it
can be a 3000 deficit.

[emili]

You know how you feel and you know how well you are losing with what you are doing. Whether we agree with your approach or not, you are going to do what feels right in the moment. My only advice or word of caution to you is in order for you to sustain and then maintain you have to be incredibly disciplined. The caloric difference is going to eventually catch up with you, you won't be able to live your life at such a low intake. You aren't really learning calorie maintenance now, you are focused on the deficit, you may not know "how to eat" later. Meaning, you are on a diet- there isn't a sustainable life change- diets end and that's when people gain back. Do what feels right, but I would encourage you to figure out what happens when the diet ends..