should i be having about 1200 calories per day including the shake?
Good morning Roxy. You look like you are trying to lose about 20lbs? Then 1200-1350 should be about right. You might want to check out you BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate) to see how many calories you need to stay the same weight as you are now. Then if you take away 1000 cals per day from that you'll lose 7000 cals per week which equals about 2lb in body fat. (there are 3600 cals in one pound). This is how the maths work!
BUT if this comes out below 1000 cals per day a lot of people find this difficult to stick to so you might be better to up your cals a bit and just expect a lower loss each week. Some people can find this frustrating and prefer the lower calorie levels to speed up loss. You know yourself best so this is one you need to decide: less to eat but faster weight loss versus easier diet but slower loss.
My BMR is 2300 cals (I'm tall and moderately active) so I aim for 1300 per day. This means I have some nice snacks and I can move down to 1100 if I stop losing and want a kick start.
Just had my morning shake - I tend to have it when I come in from walking the dog. I've moved all my meals back a couple of hours to help me cope in the evenings otherwise I start nibbling and I can't stop. My routine is:
8am Tea
10.30 Shake
12 Coffee
2.30 Shake
5pm Coffee and treat (chocolate bar like curly wurly, fudge or Twirl)
7.30 Supper (500 cals-ish)
10am Squash or Diet coke if I think I'm hungry cos its usually thirst.
Obviously I have good and bad days but this is the plan.
Hope this helps - just keep asking if you need help. Have a good day today. x
