Advice please ladies (and gents)

kellyv81

Full Member
Hi all.

I'm Kelly and I have after lots of different diets that work but then I go back to eating normally and put the weight back on I have decided to simply "just eat less" - How long it works shall remain to be seen but for now, 2nd week in I am doing okay.

The question I need to know the answer to is ......
How many Calories, Fat and carbs etc should I be having a day as to lose weight?

Every page I have been on tells me something different and then I remebered this site ( from my Cambridge diet days ) and thought "who better to ask"
So any help and advice would be fantastic please.

My days diet is going like this at the moment, (I am a HUGE fussy eater)

Breakfast - Muller light 0 instead of toast or frosties

Lunch - Ham sandwich and piece of fruit or muller light again ( I love them ) - instead of Sandwich, crisps and chocolate.

Dinner - Chicken, Tomato pasta with a little mozzarella ( tut tut ) and then another Muller light with fruit chopped into it. - Instead of whatever or nothing but chocolate!!!

I am only drinking orange squash instead of my usual pepsi max and having about 3 or 4 pints a day.



I have a MASSIVE 4/5 stone to lose but I really don't want to go back to Cambridge diet as it comes off but hasn't taught me anything, kind of like I haven't had to think about food so therefore I haven't learnt anything about my eating habits, does that make sense?

So any advice or tips please send them my way!!

Thanks in advance.

lots of love

Kelly Xxxxx
 
Hiya! What I'd say straight off is that the meal plan you put up won't be enough calories for someone with 4/5 stone to lose. Your body will soon decide it's being starved and refuse to let go of any fat - it's clever like that! If you Google BMR, you can calculate what your body needs just to survive. Start off at around that calorie level, then you'll have room to gradually reduce your intake over time. I started at 1800 a day, and am now on 1500-1600 - I've lost 5 stone so far, in 9 months, with no exercise.

Also, I think you need to include far more fruit and veg in your plan, and less Muller Lights!! I know they're nice, but they've got a lot of sweetener in them, soI wouldn't have three a day, lol. Look up some nutritional info in the web, especially about things like glycemic load and anti-oxidants.

All the best! xx
 
Hi all.

I'm Kelly and I have after lots of different diets that work but then I go back to eating normally and put the weight back on I have decided to simply "just eat less" - How long it works shall remain to be seen but for now, 2nd week in I am doing okay.

The question I need to know the answer to is ......
How many Calories, Fat and carbs etc should I be having a day as to lose weight? - Do you have a smart phone? The myfitnesspal app is really good for working out calorie, fat goals etc and it's free! If you don't have a phone you can log onto their website.

Every page I have been on tells me something different and then I remebered this site ( from my Cambridge diet days ) and thought "who better to ask"
So any help and advice would be fantastic please.

My days diet is going like this at the moment, (I am a HUGE fussy eater)

Breakfast - Muller light 0 instead of toast or frosties - Why not try adding some fresh chopped fruit to your mullerlight to keep you fuller for longer

Lunch - Ham sandwich and piece of fruit or muller light again ( I love them ) - instead of Sandwich, crisps and chocolate. - How about an Alpen light bar to curb those chocolate bar cravings?

Dinner - Chicken, Tomato pasta with a little mozzarella ( tut tut ) and then another Muller light with fruit chopped into it. - Instead of whatever or nothing but chocolate!!! - Never tut tut cheese! Everything in moderation. If you deny yourself foods or make yourself feel guilty about eating them you will be much more likely to fall off the wagon.

I am only drinking orange squash instead of my usual pepsi max and having about 3 or 4 pints a day.



I have a MASSIVE 4/5 stone to lose but I really don't want to go back to Cambridge diet as it comes off but hasn't taught me anything, kind of like I haven't had to think about food so therefore I haven't learnt anything about my eating habits, does that make sense?

So any advice or tips please send them my way!!

Thanks in advance.

lots of love

Kelly Xxxxx


I've put some comments on your original post above. I would also agree with Tracy that based on the above you will be having far too few calories to sustain any weight loss. Remember the recommended daily amount for someone at a healthy weight aiming to maintain is 2000 cals for women and 2500 for men. So if you are significantly above a healthy weight you most likely lose weight on 2000 cals a day.

I really can't recommend myfitnesspal enough. I use it to log all my food and exercise even though I am following the Slimming World plan. I don't stick religiously to the cals because I'm doing SW but it's so handy!
 
Yes to everything Wegle says! There are a lot of things like Alpen Light, Special K bars etc. that can give you a bit of a sugar/chocolate fix if you need one. Just don't have too many of them (which I definitely have done!), as they're not very nutritious.

If you're interested in changing your addictive ways with food, I can recommend a book calked Eating Less by Gillian Riley, which I think is extremely helpful in addressing these issues. xx
 
If you want to reduce your sweetener intake then don't bother with alpen/special k bars or anything similar. You'll just replace the sweetener in the yoghurts with sweetener in the bars. And at least the yoghurts have calcium in them!! It's not essential that you cut the sweetener. There is various research and advice regarding that so best to research it yourself and draw your own conclusions!!

How about you have a bowl of slow release porridge with a spot of honey for breakfast? Its fast cheap and filling. Or some eggs? You can fill a breakfast omelette with mushrooms and serve with chopped tomato? Other than breakfast I thought your menu was pretty good. You probably need a decent snack in there to keep your energy levels up but if your not ravenously hungry on that then I wouldn't worry.
 
Have a look at the slimming world diet or weight watchers, in my opinion both teach you about what foods you should or should not be eating and the amount. x
 
Have a look at the slimming world diet or weight watchers, in my opinion both teach you about what foods you should or should not be eating and the amount. x

I think the same can be said for calorie counting though :) It's all about making sensible choices and being careful with portion sizes.

As has been already suggested, work out your basal metabolic rate or 'BMR' - there are calculators for this online. This will tell you how many calories your body needs to maintain your current weight if you do no exercise. Your body uses up calories just to keep working so that's why it's important not to cut your calorie intake too drastically. There is also an equation you can use with your BMR result to factor in your exercise levels into your calorie requirements - again, this can be found in an online calculator so there is no maths required! You then need to decide how many calories to consume based on the figure it gives you. I'd strongly recommend not going below 1200 calories a day. Cutting your calories too much will do more harm than good. Personally I'd suggest a starting point of reducing your calorie intake by 500 below the figure the calculation gives you. If you consume 500 fewer calories a day then in theory you should lose 1lb a week, although other factors come into it. Of course, if you build in some reasonable exercise then you can improve your losses even more :)
 
Thanks everyone!
I will look into everything and hopefully find the way.
Hope you are all doing well xxx
 
Thanks everyone!
I will look into everything and hopefully find the way.
Hope you are all doing well xxx


Hey

Im a bit late to this thread, hope weight loss going well.

Unlike most people i dont subscribe to the idea that body clings to calories...if you eat less than you use, you lose weight.

However i do agree that too large a calorie deficit is bad.. because your body will not be able to utilize fat stores quickly enough to sustain your energy needs.

This is very bad, because your body will cannabilise muscle tissue. This means that your metabolic rate will slow down and that is why i think people believe the body 'holds on to calories' on a very low calorie diet. Its a vicious circle you really don't want to get into.

Personally id look for a deficit of 500 calories a day but combine it with some light cardio (walking etc) and some weight training (essential to keep muscle mass and metabolism). I honestly believe the exercise is as important as the eating plan if wanting to keep weight off

For food, id look at focusing on complex carbohydrates (porridge, lots of vegetables), a little fruit (not too much as its high sugar) and a good lean protein source (chicken breast, tuna etc)
 
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