Update. Been almost 2 weeks since I started. Down about 4-5 pounds. No added exercise besides walking 2 miles to+from work as usual. I do think the weight loss rate is slowing. Was most dramatic the first week
^First week is generally water weight. After that, you should aim to lose about 2 lbs a week (or a 7,000 cal deficit per week).
In typical CFA fashion, I created a spreadsheet of detailing my daily starting weight and net calories/cal deficit and kept tabs for about four months. Over the long-term (average three weeks or so) the science checks out. Went from 205 to 175 like clockwork.
Then I decided I looked like an AIDS patient and started eating pizza again.
Jenny Craig targets 1200 for women and 1500 for men I believe. Works for everyone that sticks to the plan. I know people that use their food one or two weeks a month just to stay in a weight range. Whatever works.
Good luck. I’ve always found it much easier to lose weight without exercising. But I am normally fluctuating weight to get stronger, so if I don’t exercise I lose my strength. So when I diet, I try to do the most weight I still can and realize I won’t have the energy for lots of reps and sets. I’ve never looked to see if its been studied, but this seems to reduce the amount of strength I lose. But if you are just trying to lose weight and don’t care about strength, seems like not exercising makes it much easier. Both from hunger and psychological pitfalls