General re feed question

I'm going to have to calorie count for the rest of my life. I'm 5 feet 4 and a woman(!)

All Internet based explorations have suggested 2000 calories a day to maintain weight but I feel
This would be way too much me to maintain at around 10stone ISH! I won't be doing tonnes of exercise (just being realistic) as I'm starting teacher training in a week or two as well as working in a school and having a husband and 2 young children.

I was just wondering what all you maintainers are eating calorie wise a day? I intend on following a Dukan style 'consolidation' phase (it's like my body is on probation for 12 months) before forever following a Dukan style approach (low carb-but not excluding them and high protein with a minimum 20 minute walk a day.

Thanks guys x

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I'm 5'8", 26 and exercise daily. I stick to under 1200 cals a day during the week (usually closer to 1000) then do what I like at the weekend pretty much. My weight yoyos but it's controlled and works for me. I generally eat clean during the week.
You have to remember that VLCDs can change the way your metabolism works. 1200 seems like very little but it's plenty for me to live on as my body got used to 550 ish whilst I was on S&S. It also means Monday- Friday I can drop the 4 or more pounds I put on during the weekend.
The diet you choose also depends on how many calories you're going to have. If you look at Atkins, it can be very high in calories but you can still successfully maintain on it. I think it's trial and error- if you put weight on, decrease calories and vice versa.
Take a look at Weasey's diary, she has started Dukan to maintain.

Saddlebag said:

I'm 5'8", 26 and exercise daily. I stick to under 1200 cals a day during the week (usually closer to 1000) then do what I like at the weekend pretty much. My weight yoyos but it's controlled and works for me. I generally eat clean during the week...It also means Monday- Friday I can drop the 4 or more pounds I put on during the weekend.

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That won't work forever. It's exactly what RawrGirl did all through her 20's, and now, at 34, she can no longer lose what she ate on the weekend in only one week. It gets harder and harder to lose that weight...

How did you alter how you ate and exercised Rawrgirl as your metabolism slowed? I have been watching how 'naturally' slim friends and colleagues live in the last 6 months or so and they seem to do a similar thing- eat healthily during the week and enjoy the weekends.

RawrGirl guesses it all depends on what one means by enjoying the weekends. RawrGirl enjoyed the weekends too much. She can maintain her weight while enjoying the weekends IF she doesn't binge/overstuff herself, but she can no longer enjoy them and lose weight. She must now diet on the weekends as well. Basically she has no sugar all week long, and then low sugar desserts on the weekend. And no heavy carbs (ie no pizza and such).

Week diet / Weekend No diet = maintain weight. Basically, no matter how much RawrGirl diets all week long, if she eats what she wants on the weekend it cancels it out. She will lose weight during the week, but by Monday, it was the same as the prior Monday. She just loses the same 3-4 pounds a week. Months later, her weight is the same.

So she has had to make a choice: Exercise her bum off (which she hates and is never consistent with) or cut back on the weekends too.

This past weekend was RawrGirl's first at keeping her calories to about 1500 a day. She has done many weekends in the past 100% faithful to Atkins, but she didn't lose because of the high calories. At the end of September, she will see if she is back into her jeans...

I'm confused :-/ are you not Rawrgirl?

I don't really want to lose anymore weight so am happy with losing it during the week, and am happy to put the exercise in. I don't enjoy it much either but it helps to keep me more toned, healthy and fit and I feel so much better for it.

Good luck with Rawrgirl's journey.

I have taken up exercise in a hige way as I'm really enjoying it - nobody is more surprised by this than me!

I don't count my calories. I stick to the Dukan consolidation phase rules. Too soon yet to see how that works for me but fingers crossed...