Agree its very low. I'm a sedentary middle aged man, and my tracking puts me at about 2800 cal/day requirement. But here's my philosophy:
1: If you are overweight, you will not die of starvation until you are underweight. Genuinely, if you're fat and crazy enough, you can eat nothing for a year: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_Barbieri's_fast
2: It is very easy to get calories, and very easy to overeat.
So if you want to lose weight, forget "lifestyle changes" and "consistency". Just lock the fuck in and get it done. The trouble with small (500-ish) deficits, is that you can undo a week's progress with 1 big meal. Or you do small deficits, but a big meal fills up your intestinal tract for a few days, making you feel like you're not making progress. Running a big deficit for a shorter period gives you something to focus on, and gives you enough progress to stay motivated.
After the thread about calorie counting a few months ago, and me hitting 245 lbs at Christmas, I decided it was time. Since Jan 7, I've been averaging 1000 cals a day (979.5 by the spreadsheet), and losing 0.52 lbs/day. This has allowed me to stay locked in and push through the tough days, AND allowed me to go out once a week for a decent restaurant meal while still staying on track. My ultimate goal is to get to 170, which puts my BMI JUST inside of normal. Doing it this way, I'm on track to hit that by June 1. Do I feel hungry a lot? Yes. Is it uncomfortable sometimes? Yes. But I figure 6 months of pain and then figuring out how to get BACK to normal eating is way better than 3 years of missing out on things. And any medical risk I'm taking losing the weight (there aren't any) is more than offset by living more time at a normal weight.
So a typical day is:
1: Coffee with 1 tsp milk, 1 tsp sugar, 1 scoop creatine. I've never taken cree before, and I think it's a big part of pulling this off. I feel way worse on days I don't take it.
2: 10:30 or 11: 1/2 cup cottage cheese or yogurt.
3: 2:30-3: Banana & 1 tsp peanut butter
4: As late as possible: Sensible dinner - 4-600 calories. Vector cereal, Healthy Choice frozen meal, rice/beans/ground pork fry-up, genuinely whatever.
Some days I'll have an extra fruit/yogurt/cottage cheese as a snack because I'm too hungry to sleep. I drink a lot of water (hot water, see below), and another coffee or 2 throughout the day.
Thursdays are wing night at my local, so I'll go for a cesar salad/10 wings and a beer, which kills hunger pangs for the weekend.
Overall, I'm way less tired. I'm probably sleeping less. I am cold all the time, hence the hot water. I have noticed my focus isn't great all the time, but whatever. It'll be over in a few months and I can get back to living.
