Hello Dr. Jordan and Dr. Austin
One of my clients, a 34-year-old female with a height of 163 cm and a weight of 60 kg, is currently lifting weights four times a week with minimal cardio. She is losing weight slowly on a daily intake of 1200 calories, losing around 0.5 kg a month with little change in body measurements. However, I’m starting to be concerned that 1200 calories might be too low. Should we continue with 1200 calories, or is it too low?
Abdulla,
First, no, 1200 Calories is not too low for weight loss. Instead, it would produce faster weight loss than a higher intake and smaller deficit. Problem is, your client is not consuming 1200 Calories per day on average. I’d wager closer to 1700 on average with that weight trajectory, e.g. mostly maintenance. I suspect she may benefit from a plan and behavioral support that’s tailored to her. I also think most people should be doing ~ 2 hours of cardio per week total from a health perspective.
This calculator and text resource may be helpful to you: Free Calorie Calculator: How Many Calories Should You Eat?
-Jordan