Mumsnet Talk

1410 isn't really high. I'm 9.5 stone and it's given me just over 1200 calories, and I lose weight on that. You just have to take it slowly and be in it for the long haul, and you will lose weight, chipping away at it bit by bit. Your calorie allowance will go down as your weight goes down.

yep the white carb thing here too. if i have a slice of toast for breakfast, i don't have it again. If i have cereal for breakfast i don't have bread again that day.

scrambled eggs with a load of mushrooms and baked beans is a fave for a comfort eat.

ryvitas with hummus and cucumber-great snack.

i am a veggie but i know of a meat eater who substituted for quorn, and enjoyed it in spag, chilli etc...

tesco do the most gorgeous frozen fake meatballs, i have 4 of those with couscous, and a big pile of salad. olives and a little chutney. if i have a savoury craving.

total greek yoghurt, i get the 2% one its lovely with chopped dates and a smidge of maple syrup ooh and banana. I tried the 0% fat one and for the difference in cals just wasn't as satisfying. I normally hate yoghurt but this stuff is lovely.

water.

sunflower seeds on my salads.

Plaingirly... my tips for weight loss [ they helped me shed over 6 stone from a size 18 to a size 8 ]

1. Only eat three times a day, don't snack

2. no alcohol

3. Calorie count and write down everything

4. Cut out ALL white carbs and moderately eat good carbs.... so with one meal a day as opposed to all meals. So, for example, don't eat cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and pasta for dinner. You'll have mainlined carbs all day.

This worked for me.

1410 which seems really really high!

If I have a salad for lunch I can't eat that much. Never thought I would ever have an issue eating enough calories!!

Good luck plaingirly! dont berate yourself if you don't get down to that !

what calorie allowance did it give you?

9 stone sounds much less terrifying! Good luck.

FWIW, I have met Mominatrix and while she is very slim, she is by no means skeletal, she is in proportion for her height and frame. Goes to show that everyone is different. My Mum is 5'2 and about 8.5 stone at the moment after being about 7st all her life and I know she feels fat (she's not, she's an 8, but when you're used to being a 4...)

Joined MFP and set a goal of 126.

Not following a diet just eating healthily, staying under / on my calories and exercising! Trying to make it a lifestyle rather than a temporary diet.

WQell you're 13 stone 2 and even at the upper end of healthy that is going to be around or under 10 stone so the nurse is in essence right - you certainly should try to lose 3 stone+. In fact 8 stone would be healthy and find too so that would be 5 stone to lose.

However if 95% of [people who go on diets put more on after than they end up losing you might be better not trying to lose any. Losing some and then getting up to 14 stone after would not be a good result but it would be typical of people who go on diets.

The reason it gets harder to lose weight as we age is that muscle tissue (which burns more calories, even at rest, than fat) deteriorates, particularly post menopause when testosterone levels drop dramatically. Yet another reason to regularly do resistance training to maximise your muscle: fat ratio, along with all the other health benefits it brings, rather than just focusing on cardio to control your weight.

this is interesting.

oh ChristinaF - you obviously have good self control! I think the combination of two babies, desk job and lack of time to exercise have contributed to my gradual spread. (my parents owned an icrecream parlour so it is not lack of access to snacks in my youth that explained my relative thin-ness) I think you are one of the lucky ones.

coming back a bit late.

I think that it gets harder and harder to lose weight as you get older - hence the gradual creep up on the scales. And then the menopause comes along and hits you again. At 26 you need to be careful that you don't let things slide until you are in your 40s as it is just so much harder to correct things then. I was certainly much lighter and importantly thinner in my mid-20s.

Also I would be really interested in seeing the evidence on health and weight as we age that somebody quoted There is a bit of evidence that we should err on the side of being too thin for longevity but this is far from conclusive and it is probably different for women than men, where the evidence seems more clearly in favour of weight loss. Generally I just think in the UK we are used to a much fatter society than is probably healthy.

Agree that muscle will make a difference to your ideal weight (as opposed to layers of body fat) but that didn't sound like the OP's problem.

It also depends on how much muscle as opposed to fat you have - muscle weighs 4 times as much as fat, but you will look leaner.

I have always weighed heavy if you see what I mean - when I had to have a GA, the anaesthetist insisted on rechecking my weight before putting me under as she was sure that the weight recorded on my chart must have been wrong.

Oh yes, my Mum's bones are fine, don't worry. We are both overweight, by the way, but I also have a lot of muscle mass and she doesn't. Even though I no longer do as much exercise as I should, I did a lot in my teens and have legs like a rugby player - solid muscle. I just wanted to stress how different builds and weight distribution can be on people of a similar height.

I am 5 foot 3 1/2 and weigh 8 stone 5. I am 42. I am slim and have a small build but am not particularly skinny. I normally wear size 8 but some brands are too big.
So in answer to OPs post I would say 8 stone 2 doesn't sound strange for 5 foot 2 but maybe if the OP is much bigger than that it wasn't a helpful thing to say and a more realistic target would have been a better starting point.
Can I just ask though why so many people seem to say they were slimmer when younger? I have always weighed the same except when pregnant, never diet and don't go to the gym that much?

Anna I'm an inch taller than you, also a size 8, but half a stone lighter - and no one has ever told me I look too thin! I don't know how to feel about that I actually look quite solid for a small person.

i am 5ft 3 and have size 6 feet. small frame. i lost weight this yr very slowly using myfitness plan, as karma recommended.

wholly agree it depends on how you are built, and i can imagine if i were 8st 2 i would look awful. huge generalisation based on a 'weight'.

I lost weight slowly as i said, 2 stones in ten months. sometimes it was so dishertening, but i have never tried so hard before, and it has paid off. Myfitnesspal is very helpful in showing you what food groups you cals shoould be made up of. a real eyeopener

I'm 5 foot 4 and weigh 9 stone and am a size 8. Some people say I am a little 'thin' - especially my legs and bottom so the low 8's seem a little... low!

AllIWant, I was exaggerating when I said I felt huge. What I literally meant is that it was wierd to be on the larger side of average in one place when I am considered quite small in the West. I didn't mention the fact that I was Oriental as it was not relevant to my original post - but when people remarked that I was abnormally small it became relevant. I also didn't mention it as I am in Paris quite frequently and I am not unusually thin there - pretty normal.

Just joined up to mfp - thought I had better as I have never done calorie counting or keeping track of fat or carbs.

Cambridge Fab post!! I am feeling alone in my healthy plans as most of my friends are either skinny and eat what they want or bigger with no interest in dieting. Plus half the office had fish and chips for lunch today! Major temptation as it smelt so good. Just got to keep my motivation going - I always want instant results and the idea that it might take a couple of years to get to the weight I want puts me off right from the start!

Yes, muscle mass and bone density I think. I haven't had a bone density scan but my mum has. Her bones are very porous. i'm just hoping that mine are rock solid as I've never given up dairy like she did. i take semi skimmed in my tea, on my cereal.... My mum walks a lot but has never run, or done any impact exercise.

I wonder what determines how much muscle mass we have naturally? Because this thread, and others like it where people come and say 'I'm this height, this size and weigh this much', often create a lot of confusion and disbelief I think. But muscle mass must have a huge amount to do with our shape and size and general wobbliness, and it can't just come down to exercise and ethnicity. The women in my family (all of European descent) are all naturally muscly with huge man thighs and have only ever done light exercise.

Epiphany, just had a look at your profile picture. That is pretty much how I see myself. Except I have a flatter chest!!!

MsRinky, has your mum had a bone density scan? :-/