Dietary Changes: CICO, 1,200 calories each day

I started eating 1,200 calories/day.

MyFitnessPal weekly report showing approx. 1,200 daily caloric intake

Weight loss is pretty simple when you get down to it: Calories In - Calories Out = Weight Change. “Calories out” are a combination of TDEE (at-rest daily caloric expenditure), exercise and metabolism, while “calories in” are solely impacted by what you eat. The most accurate math I’ve seen shows that a 3,555 caloric deficit leads to the loss of 1lb of body fat.

As an engineer-at-heart the decision seemed straight-forward: cut caloric intake beyond any healthy limit so I could lose the weight I wanted. As a 5'6" 275lbs male, I would need to consume 3,000+ calories daily to maintain my current weight. According to my calculations, If I reduced my daily caloric intake to 1,200 calories/day I would experience a 3lbs a week weight lose. Well, that’s what I did and that’s the rough average I got.

At this point I should say that I’m not a healthcare professional and I’m not recommending my dietary changes to anyone. I was in intense emotional pain every single day and made the decision to capitalise on it.