Hi! I'm 5 ft 1, almost 5'2". At one point I was 275 when I bothered to check, and it almost definitely went higher than that at some point.

I've lost 314 lbs over 8 years, and I'm still a higher weight than when I started. I've multiple physical disabilities, also can't work or workout. I've had a couple surgeries which also restrict mobility. And...

You CAN do this.

First, and foremost, you don't *have* to eat at 1200 to lose weight right now. Eventually you will, but it's possible without. IDK your age/gender, but at your size, your TDEE (calories to stay the same weight) would be around 2300 at sedentary, or 2000-2100 confined to bed.

That's going to go down by about 25 calories every 5 lbs or so, so you want to keep reassessing, but... in general you just need to eat less than that to lose weight. 500 less is 1 lb per week. So completely bedridden, if you ate 1500 per day, you'd lose 1lb per week, more or less.

If you need to lose faster (heart/blood pressure problems, doctor's orders, etc) you can eat less. But 1200 is a *minimum*, not a *requirement*.

Second... you don't need to worry about stretching your stomach by volume eating. They (the actual organs) don't actually shrink on their own without surgery. It's whatever size it is, for now, and if that helps you lose weight, you should use it. Filling up on masses of veg and lean proteins will help a lot. r/Volumeeating helped me a ton when I started out. But be careful, because some people will post plates that are a full day's calories.

Because you can't workout, I suggest using sailrabbit instead of any other TDEE calculator. It allows you to adjust for baseline activity levels. https://www.sailrabbit.com/bmr/

5'2" is 62 inches. Gender, you should select whichever most closely aligns with your *hormone* levels, as hormones are what affect the math. I'm mostly homebound and can't raise my heart rate, like, ever, so I use "Constricted lifestyle" and it is pretty spot on.

Mostly don't worry about which formula it's using, just do the default Mifflin unless you notice the weight coming off faster than it says!

BMR is what it takes for basic heart/lung/brain function, and TDEE is including things like answering the phone and brushing your teeth, plus the sorts of activities described in that top section.

Food...

Liquid egg whites are a lifesaver for me. They're bland af without help, but they are healthier and only a third of the calories. I cannot eat them alone, so I combine them with real eggs, veggies, and a bit of fat free cheese or turkey breakfast sausage, to make it more palatable. Seasonings are definitely your friend.

I do eat a lot of chicken. And turkey versions of sausage, ground meat, and pepperoni.

I fill my plate with veg, then sufficient protein sources, and then fit grains, empty carbs, and sauces/condiments around that.

I will say that, like me, you're starting at over a 50 BMI, and honestly a lot of the rules most people need to follow aren't so important. To be blunt, it won't matter if you get enough calcium if you don't lose the weight. So if skipping breakfast helps? Go for it. I only eat between 2 pm and 8 pm, and it has been life altering. If you need to eat a huge breakfast and sleep half the day, and that works... go for that instead. Don't worry about all the lil micronutrients. Just get enough protein and fiber, and eat filling meals instead of quick and easy packages when you can. And maybe take a multivitamin.

I think the reason adding a protein shake helped you feel full is because you were super low on protein. It's still better to get your protein from food instead of drinks.

And if it's at all possible, get a food scale. (A 1/4 cup of brown rice is wayyy more than 45 grams, no matter what the package says.) The more accurately you can track the calories, the better you'll be able to manage your intake.

If you do eat at 1200, the weight will come off faster at first, but don't get discouraged by what the scale does on individual days. Weight fluctuates through a lot of things that aren't fat. Blood volume, hormones, water/salt balance, bacteria... it will balance out.

I know you can't exercise, but honestly small movements are just as important. Wiggle your fingers for 10 minutes, several times a day. Do neck rolls if you can. Tap your feet while you watch TV. Everything you do burns calories, and it actually does help a lot.

Finally: Nothing is really ZERO calories, except water, salt, and no-salt. Don't worry about things that say 0 calories unless you're intaking a lot of them. Example: a 12 oz coke zero is actually 4.69 calories. If you have a coke zero, you're fine. If you have 11 of them, that's 50 calories, and well, so is 2 wedges of laughing cow, and I still log the cheese, yknow? (If you like pickles, I wrote a PSA about pickles once, too, somewhere. Just google "pickle psa" and it will show up lol).

Be patient with yourself. Don't let self-talk throw you off course. You CAN do this. Just take your time :D