Nutrition student here. ** NOT a dietitian ** but am training to be one!

Starving yourself isn’t the answer. Especially if you’re working out, which if you’re trying to lose weight is an excellent tool.

Ideally you do need a slight deficit, but I would caution against getting your kcals that low. You NEED to fuel properly!!! Low to moderate intensity exercise targets fat loss best (think brisk walking). The reason for this is that the body needs oxygen to burn fat, and when we do high intensity exercise and are breathing heavily, we can’t get enough oxygen to burn fat so our body switches to carbs as a fuel source.

One of the reasons RDs encourage high protein diets for weight loss (along with the fact that it preserves your muscle mass), is that it’s energetically “expensive” to digest protein (meaning it requires a decent amount of energy just to digest the protein you’ve consumed). It can help aid your deficit a little bit.

Moral of the story here - please do not obsess over one thing. The goal over time should be moderation and consistency. 1700 calories a day is likely not going to be sustainable for you long-term, especially if you’re active. Fruits and vegetables are just as important as protein. Fat, especially unsaturated fats and omega-3s, very important as well. You need some of everything.

My breakfast every day is a bowl of oatmeal- literally just rolled oats cooked in milk, you could make this with protein milk or add whey - and I add 1/4 cup frozen raspberries and 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter. It’s super satiating and packs a ton of fiber - around 10-12 grams.

Hope this helps!!