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I've heard that plateauing is normal and that the solution is to increase the caloric deficit. If you're going to lose a lot of weight you'll hit a number of pl

I've heard that plateauing is normal and that the solution is to increase the caloric deficit. If you're going to lose a lot of weight you'll hit a number of plateaus. But as others have pointed out, 1200 calories sounds like a massive deficit. For the average, moderately active woman (requiring 2,000kcal per day) that would be a deficit of 800kcal, obviously way too high. I've seen 3.2kcal/lbs or 7kcal/kg of bodyweight recommended as a good deficit, which equates to 420kcal for a 60kg/132lbs person. As somebody else said, are you sure you haven't make a mistake in the calculations? This is very common mistake. I think https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/wiki/faq#wiki_diet_details https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/wiki/faq#wiki_diet_details is a good starting point for more information, and then the whole of /r/fitness for more specific answers.

leshow 11y ago
There are vast differences in caloric requirements between individuals. While I agree starting with an 800 cal deficit is severe; unless the woman had been tracking her food consistently and remaining weight stable you've know way to know if that was the actual amount of deficit she was in or not. As a competing bodybuilder that has gotten to the extreme lows of body fat multiple times, I can say the best strategy is to just always be in a moderate deficit and diet for long periods. for example, start with a 100 calorie deficit, when you've stopped losing weight (because you have less body mass and thus a lower maintenance intake), cut another 100 calories or so. This way you're never in more than a 100 calorie deficit for the duration of the diet. It's a mistake to make assumptions about her maintenance intake and assume she's in an 800 calorie deficit. If she was she'd be losing weight very very quickly.
- frankzinger 11y ago
  It's a mistake to make assumptions about her maintenance intake and assume she's in an 800 calorie deficit. Agreed, but I think it was quite clear that I was speaking about a hypothetical person when I said "For the average, moderately active woman (requiring 2,000kcal per day) that would be a deficit of 800kcal" (emphasis added). If she was she'd be losing weight very very quickly. That's why I suggested re-checking their calculations.
- Evgeny 11y ago
  There are vast differences in caloric requirements between individuals. Between a 2m tall man and a 150cm tall lady, yes. Between any two persons of same gender, similar height and mass, not that vast. One study[1] noted that one standard deviation of variance for resting metabolic rate (how many calories are burnt by living) was 5-8%; meaning 1 standard deviation of the population (68%) was within 6-8% of the average metabolic rate. Extending this, 2 standard deviations of the population (96%) was within 10-16% of the population average. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15534426 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15534426

leshow 11y ago

There are vast differences in caloric requirements between individuals. While I agree starting with an 800 cal deficit is severe; unless the woman had been tracking her food consistently and remaining weight stable you've know way to know if that was the actual amount of deficit she was in or not. As a competing bodybuilder that has gotten to the extreme lows of body fat multiple times, I can say the best strategy is to just always be in a moderate deficit and diet for long periods. for example, start with a 100 calorie deficit, when you've stopped losing weight (because you have less body mass and thus a lower maintenance intake), cut another 100 calories or so. This way you're never in more than a 100 calorie deficit for the duration of the diet. It's a mistake to make assumptions about her maintenance intake and assume she's in an 800 calorie deficit. If she was she'd be losing weight very very quickly.

frankzinger 11y ago
It's a mistake to make assumptions about her maintenance intake and assume she's in an 800 calorie deficit. Agreed, but I think it was quite clear that I was speaking about a hypothetical person when I said "For the average, moderately active woman (requiring 2,000kcal per day) that would be a deficit of 800kcal" (emphasis added). If she was she'd be losing weight very very quickly. That's why I suggested re-checking their calculations.
Evgeny 11y ago
There are vast differences in caloric requirements between individuals. Between a 2m tall man and a 150cm tall lady, yes. Between any two persons of same gender, similar height and mass, not that vast. One study[1] noted that one standard deviation of variance for resting metabolic rate (how many calories are burnt by living) was 5-8%; meaning 1 standard deviation of the population (68%) was within 6-8% of the average metabolic rate. Extending this, 2 standard deviations of the population (96%) was within 10-16% of the population average. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15534426 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15534426