Anyone else around 1300 calories a day??

[vicky_notts]

Hi. I'm new to counting calories after trying countless other diets like lipotrim, SW, etc.. I'm giving cal counting a go. I've alot of weight to loose so set myself a 1300 a day intake. To be honest I'm struggling for menu ideas.
Anyone around the same amount ??

 

[SianLeighan]

I'm aiming for between 1200-1400 but I seem to be below calories most days...

 

[wobbly tum!]

LOL, I'm supposed to be on 1200 but always go over!!
I normally end up eating around 1300.

I love Oat so Simple porridge for brekkie and it's just over 200 cals. Keeps me full till snack time too
I'm cheating with ready meals at the moment because I'm struggling with portion control. I can work most things into my cals for the day but then spoil it by eating too much of the food
But I always try to have a meal around 500-600 cals in the evening with loads of veg. then that leaves me with 400-500 cals for lunch and snacks.
I'm into soups at the moment for lunch. Me and my 3 year old daughter share a tin of heinz tom soup which works out at 118 cals each, add a bit of bread for dipping and you've got a 200-300 cals lunch, depending on what and how much bread you have!

I don't know if this helps of not but here are loads of things you can eat that are low in cals.

A huge salad with chicken?........
Baked potato with beans or tuna? Make sure any mayo is the extra light stuff ;-).........
I'm sure there's a thread about recipe ideas as a sticky at the top x

Good Luck!

 

[vicky_notts]

Hi thanks for the replies. For breakfast I had 2 slices of fruit loaf,dinner was tomato soup and 2 slices if bread. Tea was chicken salad,a orange and shape yogurt. All came in at just short of 1300 cals. I am feeling alittle peckish still though but thinks its in my mind lol
im using my iPhone app my fitness pal to scan in the barcodes and it does the counting for you :0)

 

[SianLeighan]

I've been having WW soup with 3 ryvita for lunch most days, works out at around 200 calories xx

 

[vivahate]

I'm on 1320 as recommended by MFP. I struggled at first but now I'm used to it. I have a slim fast shake for breakfast, a slice of malt loaf or a piece of fruit for mid morning snack, and for lunch a small wholemeal roll with salad, 30g of cheese (no butter/mayo etc) with a bag of velvet crunch crisps. Tea is something like home made shepherds pie with veg and extra lean minced beef, or a low fat fresh ready made lasagne (lighter choices, be good for yourself etc), king prawn linguine (also ready meal!)... I have a really busy and unpredictable job and can be at work for anything up to 14 hours so when I get home I want something easy, hence the ready meals. But I always get the fresh ones with short use by dates and if there are any unrecognisable ingredients I don't touch them!

Ideally I would love to have a freshly made meal every night but it's not possible right now. Before this I would come home and have a couple of white rolls, lots of mayo, crisps and chicken and maybe a chocolate bar as a "convenience meal" so I have made progress.

GOOD LUCK

 

[TracyGWill]

Hi. I'm new to counting calories after trying countless other diets like lipotrim, SW, etc.. I'm giving cal counting a go. I've alot of weight to loose so set myself a 1300 a day intake. To be honest I'm struggling for menu ideas.
Anyone around the same amount ??

Hi again, Vicky. If I could make a suggestion I'd say that 1,300 is way too low to be starting on when you've got so much to lose. You won't have anywhere to go when your losses stall, so I'd say start at around 1,800 and drop it down gradually. Have you calculated your BMR and TDEE yet? If you look in the Stickies section you'll find a thread all about setting your calorie level. I really wouldn't recommend starting off at anything like as low as 1,300, but it's your choice, obviously! xx

 

[Mrs CC]

Hi again, Vicky. If I could make a suggestion I'd say that 1,300 is way too low to be starting on when you've got so much to lose. You won't have anywhere to go when your losses stall, so I'd say start at around 1,800 and drop it down gradually. Have you calculated your BMR and TDEE yet? If you look in the Stickies section you'll find a thread all about setting your calorie level. I really wouldn't recommend starting off at anything like as low as 1,300, but it's your choice, obviously! xx

I'd also recommend similar. I've started on maintenance calories of 2100 and am going to gradually reduce them. I'm looking to lose 3-4 stone. Personally I find it easier to have more cals while I get used to tracking my calories etc. I've also just had a baby so don't wanna go too mad too soon.

 

[TracyGWill]

I'd also recommend similar. I've started on maintenance calories of 2100 and am going to gradually reduce them. I'm looking to lose 3-4 stone. Personally I find it easier to have more cals while I get used to tracking my calories etc. I've also just had a baby so don't wanna go too mad too soon.

Exactly. You shouldn't eat below 1,200 anyway, so starting at 1,300 whrn you have a lot to lose isn't feasible, as you need to keep reducing, so I'd say 1,800 at least for starters. xx

 

[Agent Shagwell]

Hi Tracy, could you please explain the having to drop your calories part? Are you saying that with any calorie counting, once losses stall, one has to drop their intake again from where they started? I thought that when losses stalled, the advice was to eat higher for a few days (e.g. TDEE) to shock the metabolism into action, and then drop back to where you were. Is this not the case?

Vicky, welcome :welcome:!!

I have set my goal at 1200 calories per day. Most days I'm not bang on that...usually between 1200 and 1500 somewhere. Also, I tend to *eat* more than 1200 and then exercise my way down to that - my eating is more like 1400 - 1800. I find this works well for me as I don't feel like I'm starving myself and I am also moving my body more than I have in quite a while. Instead of lowering my calories, my focus is on slowly increasing the quality of the food I eat as well as the exercise I do. In the next few weeks, I'm going to start swimming and also some weights for toning, and I am slowly replacing the more processed and sugary foods in my diet with fresh veggies and fruit and higher quality dark chocolate for treats instead of lesser quality sweets.

In terms of meals, there are some good recipes in the calorie counting recipes section of this forum. There's also a book called 'the hairy dieters cookbook', which a few people on here have recommended. If you saw the hairy bikers, they were two guys who made all these delicious recipes on a cooking show, but got really fat in the process eating all the delicious foods. They didn't want to give up their tasty foods so instead they got a nutritionist to help them make healthier versions of the same food - so, effectively, they were calorie counting and they lost almost 6 stone between them doing it! There's a thread in the recipes section of the calorie counting sub-forum on the book and the book is here - might be a good idea to get it to help out with some ideas:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hairy-Dieters-Love-Food-Weight/dp/0297869051

But, yes, consider what Tracy said as well, regarding 1300 possibly being too low a calorie intake for you. If you up your calorie intake *and* your exercise you can still effectively lose weight and eat well. Do you understand what the numbers TDEE and BMR are and why you shouldn't eat below your BMR but you should eat below your TDEE to lose weight? This thread is a good read for anyone starting off doing calorie counting:

http://www.minimins.com/calorie-counting/202903-answer-how-many-calories-should-i-eat.html

Anyway, good luck and have fun getting your ideal body back!! :happy096: You're here, making a positive, lifestyle change...and that's the main thing!!

 

[TracyGWill]

Hiya. SG - from my experience, and what most people say to do with CC, you start higher and drop down. That's what I've done and it's worked very well for me. I'm aware of the theory of eating higher if you stall, but have seen very mixed results from people who've tried that, so I can only speak from experience. I started on 1,800 - 2,000, then gradually decreased to what was my lowest level of 1,400. I now aim for 1,500 - 1,600. I'm over 8 stone lighter than I was 2 years ago, so it has worked for me. As I said, the general idea is not to eat too low to start with, and then have room for decrease. xx

 

[Mrs CC]

Hiya. SG - from my experience, and what most people say to do with CC, you start higher and drop down. That's what I've done and it's worked very well for me. I'm aware of the theory of eating higher if you stall, but have seen very mixed results from people who've tried that, so I can only speak from experience. I started on 1,800 - 2,000, then gradually decreased to what was my lowest level of 1,400. I now aim for 1,500 - 1,600. I'm over 8 stone lighter than I was 2 years ago, so it has worked for me. As I said, the general idea is not to eat too low to start with, and then have room for decrease. xx

Personally, I think it's also important from an emotional/mental aspect to start high and gradually lower. By doing this you don't have to make such drastic changes to what you eat initally, making it easier to stick with it in the long run.

 

[TracyGWill]

Personally, I think it's also important from an emotional/mental aspect to start high and gradually lower. By doing this you don't have to make such drastic changes to what you eat initally, making it easier to stick with it in the long run.

Yes, I agree with that 100%. A lot of people give up because they make it too hard on themselves at the outset - if you ever feel deprived there's something wrong with what you're doing, and failure is far more likely. xx

 

[hotsue67]

Very true ladies. Also it's natural to have days where your appetite Is greater than others so its fine to allow yourself a little bit of flexibility and vary the intake, for example anywhere between 1400/1800 depending how you feel. As long as you don't go majorly over or below calories it's good for mind and body to not be too regimented. And it can shake things up a bit if you plateau.
This is going to be a way of life so you need to make it as enjoyable and lifestyle friendly as possible.

 

[Agent Shagwell]

This is a really good thread, folks. It's making me feel quite a bit better about the last few days, where I ate around 3000 calories one day, because I felt deprived so when I went out for tea I 'binged'. Normally I would have ordered a small main and a dessert, even a dessert to share with the two friends who were with me. However, because I felt deprived, I ended up having an entree, large mains (and one of the more filling ones!) with extra cheese sauce on the veggies...and then a dessert...plus a beer and a soft drink, all to myself. Felt bloated and horrid the next day! Last night, I didn't have enough calories left to have a reasonable dinner after coming home after two shifts of waitressing...but my body was hungry so I said 'stuff it!' and cooked up a couple of sausages and ate them with a piece of bread, followed by some easter chocolate. I'm thinking 1200 calories a day, even as a net total, is too tricky for me to stick to long-term. On the other hand, I wasn't going to stick to it long-term...just until I've lost this 12.5kg, which, at 1200 calories a day, should be by June 28th. I really want to be at my goal by then...the question is, can I stick to eating this much for the next 13 weeks? It's a dilemma...any thoughts? I don't want to shift my goal date. Maybe I just need to up my exercise and change the *kinds* of food I'm eating. Hmmm...

Sorry to hijack your thread, vicky Hopefully this is helpful, too, though

 

[Mrs CC]

This is a really good thread, folks. It's making me feel quite a bit better about the last few days, where I ate around 3000 calories one day, because I felt deprived so when I went out for tea I 'binged'. Normally I would have ordered a small main and a dessert, even a dessert to share with the two friends who were with me. However, because I felt deprived, I ended up having an entree, large mains (and one of the more filling ones!) with extra cheese sauce on the veggies...and then a dessert...plus a beer and a soft drink, all to myself. Felt bloated and horrid the next day! Last night, I didn't have enough calories left to have a reasonable dinner after coming home after two shifts of waitressing...but my body was hungry so I said 'stuff it!' and cooked up a couple of sausages and ate them with a piece of bread, followed by some easter chocolate. I'm thinking 1200 calories a day, even as a net total, is too tricky for me to stick to long-term. On the other hand, I wasn't going to stick to it long-term...just until I've lost this 12.5kg, which, at 1200 calories a day, should be by June 28th. I really want to be at my goal by then...the question is, can I stick to eating this much for the next 13 weeks? It's a dilemma...any thoughts? I don't want to shift my goal date. Maybe I just need to up my exercise and change the *kinds* of food I'm eating. Hmmm...

Sorry to hijack your thread, vicky Hopefully this is helpful, too, though

Supergroovy, only you know what's best for you, but I do think you've kind of answered your own question in a way. You know you don't wanna do this for the long term. Does it matter if you're not at your goal in time for a certain date? Would it not be better if you were at least on your way to that goal and eventually got there afterwards if it made it easier for you?

I can only advise you on my personal experience. I've yo-yo dieted for years and never gotten to where I wanna be because I've been really strict and expected too much of myself - putting my life on hold to lose weight, setting deadlines, and then binging when it doesn't go to plan. I've had to change that mindset now after having the baby. I can't do stupid diets anymore. I need to do something I can stick to for the long term, for life. I need to not feel deprived. It doesn't matter when I lose the weight as long as I do eventually and that I lose it in a healthy sensible way.

I hope you find what works best for you x

 

[TracyGWill]

This is a really good thread, folks. It's making me feel quite a bit better about the last few days, where I ate around 3000 calories one day, because I felt deprived so when I went out for tea I 'binged'. Normally I would have ordered a small main and a dessert, even a dessert to share with the two friends who were with me. However, because I felt deprived, I ended up having an entree, large mains (and one of the more filling ones!) with extra cheese sauce on the veggies...and then a dessert...plus a beer and a soft drink, all to myself. Felt bloated and horrid the next day! Last night, I didn't have enough calories left to have a reasonable dinner after coming home after two shifts of waitressing...but my body was hungry so I said 'stuff it!' and cooked up a couple of sausages and ate them with a piece of bread, followed by some easter chocolate. I'm thinking 1200 calories a day, even as a net total, is too tricky for me to stick to long-term. On the other hand, I wasn't going to stick to it long-term...just until I've lost this 12.5kg, which, at 1200 calories a day, should be by June 28th. I really want to be at my goal by then...the question is, can I stick to eating this much for the next 13 weeks? It's a dilemma...any thoughts? I don't want to shift my goal date. Maybe I just need to up my exercise and change the *kinds* of food I'm eating. Hmmm...

Sorry to hijack your thread, vicky Hopefully this is helpful, too, though

No point depriving yourself, hon - the odd day eating at 3,000 won't do you any harm. I must have eaten twice that much yesterday - and I fully intended to, lol. But I won't do it again for a while, which is the difference between now and my "old life". As for whether you can or should stick to 1,200 calories a day, my personal opinion is that it's too low, but we're all individuals, so just do whatever you feel most comfortable with - the most important thing is that it needs to be something you can stick to. xx

 

[Agent Shagwell]

Thank you both :chores016:I have decided to up my calories to 1350 per day. I have also created some other focuses for myself which I know will improve my overall health and well-being, such as increasing the amount of veggies and non-processed foods in my diet, drinking enough water, getting at least eight hours of sleep a night and lowering my caffeine intake gradually. I am going to see how this goes over the next couple of weeks and may well increase the calories again if 1350 turns out to not be enough. In terms of meeting my goal - nothing drastic will happen if I'm not there by then, but I at least want to be close enough so that I can start buying my new wardrobe when I go on holidays. As long as I'm within 5kg of the goal I think I could do that, but I would prefer to be at the goal. However, I think that increasing the percentage of 'clean' foods (e.g. veggies, fruits, less carbs) in my diet, rather than lowering calories, could make me lose more *fat*, and build more muscle - while still staying on a good amount of calories. I'll post about how it goes in my diary :bliss:

 

[hotsue67]

I think the key to success with weightloss, is when you finally accept that if you want to get slim and stay slim you are going to be watching your calorie intake for ever. It's not a diet. It won't end. If it does you put back all that you lost and then some usually... Well I did.. For at least 28 wasted years of my life.
Make changes that you can keep, try to get as much food for your calories as you can. If you have a fall, try to get back up the same day, I spent years on 'diets' where I would have too many chocolate biscuits and then think sod it, eat the lot, start again Monday, next month, after Christmas.....
It's losing the guilt feeling of having delicious food or treats that you have to conquer. Food is one of life's pleasures. Enjoy it. When you have been a yoyo dieter most of your adult life (and childhood) you can get terribly greedy around food and if there is 'bad' food around we need to stuff our faces until its gone because we feel its a forbidden fruit. It's learning. To have some of what you fancy eat it slowly, savour and enjoy it. And just cut back a bit at your next meal.
There will be days where, like Tracey said 3000 cals is normal, that can't be avoided, and sometimes you physically feel you need more food. But then try to rein it In for the rest of the week. Same as you will have the odd day where you eat less. It's just averaging out your calories over the week really.
What I'm trying to say and is, don't be too hard on yourself. There will be good and bad days. I think having a time scale in mind is good for some people, but for others, it's unnecessary pressure, and forces a feeling of being on a diet which is punishing and you are looking forward to finishing, so that you can get back to normal eating : /
Look at your daily calories as money. You will get a lot more food for your calories if you spend it on healthy stuff.
But there will be days where you want to waste it on junk.. That's fine now and again. Indulge yourself but you just don't get as much quantity for your calories. Ie McDonald's meal with diet cola 800/1000 cals I usually have this once a week or so with the kids but I count it and then allow 600 for the rest of the day. So still within my daily expenditure but I've had a treat, so I don't feel deprived.
Apologies for the essay, be kind to yourself
Hugs to you all xx

 

[TracyGWill]

Supergroovy, only you know what's best for you, but I do think you've kind of answered your own question in a way. You know you don't wanna do this for the long term. Does it matter if you're not at your goal in time for a certain date? Would it not be better if you were at least on your way to that goal and eventually got there afterwards if it made it easier for you?

I can only advise you on my personal experience. I've yo-yo dieted for years and never gotten to where I wanna be because I've been really strict and expected too much of myself - putting my life on hold to lose weight, setting deadlines, and then binging when it doesn't go to plan. I've had to change that mindset now after having the baby. I can't do stupid diets anymore. I need to do something I can stick to for the long term, for life. I need to not feel deprived. It doesn't matter when I lose the weight as long as I do eventually and that I lose it in a healthy sensible way.

I hope you find what works best for you x

Hear hear, well said. xx