Energy balance
Moderate caloric restriction (1200-1500 kcal/d) combined with behavior modification produces an average short-term weight loss of 8.5 kg over 20 weeks, though patients typically regain one-third of this loss within one year.
To lose weight using moderate restriction, aim for 1200-1500 calories daily with a focus on behavior change (tracking food/activity). Expect to lose about 8.5 kg in 5 months. To keep it off, you must treat obesity as a chronic condition and engage in ongoing maintenance, such as regular check-ins or exercise, rather than stopping after the initial loss.
Recent studies of the treatment of obesity by moderate and severe caloric restriction show that patients treated in randomized trials using a conventional 1200 kcal/d reducing diet, combined with behavior modification, lose approximately 8.5 kg in 20 weeks. They maintain approximately two thirds of this weight loss 1 year later.
Why this rating
Based on a review of multiple randomized clinical trials and behavioral journals from 1974-1990.
Source
Treatment of Obesity by Moderate and Severe Caloric Restriction: Results of Clinical Research Trials
Thomas A. Wadden · Annals of Internal Medicine · 1993
DOI 10.7326/0003-4819-119-7_part_2-199310011-00012
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- Continuing care (maintenance therapy) and regular exercise significantly improve the long-term maintenance of weight loss after both moderate and severe caloric restriction.Good
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