To think 1200 calories a day isn’t enough?

[Tigerwhocamefortea]

I have always been slim and been lucky not to carry weight, however after having my second DC I am at least a stone heavier than I want to be and need to do something about it.

I tried using Myfitness plan to log things and based on losing 2lb a week, which I thought was a sensible slow amount, it it tells me I can only eat 1200 calories a day! Surely this is far too few?

You are a healthy weight. However, with a history of ED and very low weight you probably don't have much muscle mass (hence the thin arms and soft abdomen). Your youngest is still very little so just eat a normal healthy diet and don't put too much pressure on yourself. Try and fit in a regular walk every day or do some yoga on youtube (Yoga with Adriene is excellent and has lots of gentle yoga for beginners). As your youngest gets older and STTN and weans then you can think about doing more formal exercise to build muscle mass.

You're breastfeeding?

I honestly think you will be expending at least 800of those calories on your baby!

I think you need more.

Personally I have eaten that much a day in Magnums in the hot weather.

Um... 1200kcal is absolutely enough.

With the build you describe you are exactly the same size as me.

1. 2lb a week is too high. You won't lose that without starving yourself & it will pile back on in no time.

2. exercise will work better. Unless you have a lot of weight to shift/are overweight, you are better in the long run getting into the habit of regular exercise, this will increase your metabolic rate.

3. if you are bf you need to take that into account, you will be using a lot of calories, easily 500 a day, for that.

MFP is quite well known for this. Whilst you might drop some weight quickly, you'll also be massively hungry and unlikely to stick to it.

Are you on Instagram? Go look at healthylittlelifter, she has a realistic diet plan and people seem to have great results on it. Good luck!

Um... 1200kcal is absolutely enough.

For a breastfeeding mum? Are you sure?

I have been doing 1200 since Jan with great results when I stick to it (yes, I put some back on during a two week holiday followed by two weeks struggling to get on track, but on the whole really good results)

Yesterday I had:

A small bowl of cornflakes with skimmed milk for breakfast
Some popchip crisps as a snack
A medium wrap with tomato pizza topping, mozerella and parma ham (grilled so it is like a pizza) for lunch
Few cherry tomatoes for a snack
A coke zero
A gammon steak, parsley sauce, green veg and new potatoes for dinner
Some Ben and Jerry's MooPhoria low cal ice cream with strawberries for pudding

With time you get more tactical and learn what is low calorie and what isn't... there was another thread a while ago with people listing great low calorie ideas. often perceived 'healthy' e.g. avocado, isn't actually low calorie and going to help with weight loss.

Just seen previous posts - sorry - as many have said it sounds like you don't need to worry. Concentrate on your baby and enjoy the lovely newborn stage

there was another thread a while ago with people listing great low calorie ideas. often perceived 'healthy' e.g. avocado, isn't actually low calorie and going to help with weight loss.

I’d totally rather eat avocado than popchips and cornflakes though.

I agree with Broken. This sounds like the eating disorder talking.

Your body has gone through all sorts of changes in the last few years and it is still working hard by breastfeeding your baby. You are already at a very healthy weight.

Why not give yourself a break from thinking about dieting, weight, etc, for now and accept that there are different pressures on your body and your lifestyle at this point in time. For now, just try to cut down on the chocolate and treats but please don't try to restrict yourself to 1200 calories a day, that's really not a good idea in your shoes.

Try to park this stuff for now and reassess in 6 months time. By then you may have naturally lost weight.

ScatteredMama82 lovely.spot on.wonderful

I'm a little taller than you at 5'8 and when breastfeeding I was around the same weight as you. If I'm totally honest with you I really wouldn't limit calories while breastfeeding, you don't need to. I don't know how old your child is but part of my feeling a bit overweight for me was that my body didn't go back to how I was before having my child and in fact that never actually happened.

My body shape had changed and so had my ideal weight. Before pregnancy, I was perfect weight at around 9st 8, and now it's 10st 4. I look pretty emaciated now at my previous perfect weight. Give yourself some time before you start trying to lose weight and please don't overly restrict calories while you're breastfeeding.

I would forget about calories for now, instead focus on eating as healthily as you can (with maybe a small bar of chocolate each day), and go for a walk every day, even a mile or so. If you like swimming perhaps you could go swimming without the kids once a week while your husband looks after the kids. These kids should help you feel better physically and mentally while you carry on breastfeeding.

Focus on health, rest and nutrition. Lots of water, lots of different veg and fruit, some dairy, some protein, some healthy fats and carbs. Less processed stuff. Get outside for some vitamin D
Grab yourself some nuts or fruit or popcorn for snacks, drink more water especially if BF and be kind to yourself

So I'm a similar height and weight to you (I'm a little taller but weigh about the same) and obviously gained some weight when pregnant the first time (I'm pregnant again ATM).

While I was breastfeeding I gave myself a break from thinking about getting back to my 'normal' weight as I had enough on as it was. Breastfeeding uses a fair amount of calories so I found that after 6 months most of the excess weight had come off anyway (and no I didn't deprive myself of the odd snack). If it were me I'd wait till after you've finished breastfeeding and then review how much weight you want to lose.

I don't think that restricting yourself to 1200 calories is sensible right now, but then I don't know exactly how active you are.

If you're trying to lose weight, not eating 'enough' is the whole point, that's how you run a deficit.

If you're a fairly small woman (5ft to 5,5") its quite possible your maintenance calories are only around 1500. In which case dropping 300 a day seems about right. For reference, 300 calories can be about 4 biscuits and a pack of crisps.

@Sexnotgender yes. I breastfed my son for 3 years. Ate around 12-300kcal and found it to be absolutely sufficient. I started off as class 1 obese, after a while I was down to a normal weight. I then upped the intake to maintain the new weight. Works beautifully.

Also, chocolate doesn't count as nourishment. Just sayin'.

It’s very different if you’re obese. Your body has plenty of reserves to compensate.

I'm a bit overweight after having my second child. He's 6 months now and I go for 1400kcal a day which is easier than I thought. If I completely got rid of treats I'd hit 1200 easy. Although you're 4 inches taller so I'd start with 1500 and see how you are. I make myself a nice cucumber and tomato salad, I dress it up with a tbsp of vingear and some salt and that's very low calorie but filling, soup is good too

I'm your circumstances, I'd concentrate on breaking the habit of eating sweet stuff and getting out with the kids, when you can.

I can understand how the OP doesn’t feel that her weight is right for her. I’m a stone heavier than I was pre-pregnancy, now being 8.5 stone at 5’6, and it doesn’t feel right. That said, I wouldn’t recommend dieting while breastfeeding.

I’m a stone heavier than I was pre-pregnancy, now being 8.5 stone at 5’6, and it doesn’t feel right.

Your current weight is quite low as it is. At 7 and a half stone you were underweight, especially at your height. I hope you take on board the comments directed towards the OP and, with all due respect, I hope the OP doesn't listen to yours as it encourages unhealthy weight loss at a time when she needs to be healthy for her baby.

If you really feel like you're big at 8 and a half stone with a height of 5'6, it suggests an unhealthy body image. You are already very slim. I promise I'm not having a go here, I'm just commenting as your post was a bit concerning to me.

Rather than trying to guess the calories you need to lose weight why don’t you just start on a set number then see what happens. Maybe start at 1300, if you lose weight to quickly then up the calories and if you lose weight too slowly then drop them. Let the scales tell you what to do rather than MFP
I’d also go for a slow and steady approach but I know some people prefer to lose weight quickly.

If you're careful you can eat a huge amount of food and stay under 1200 calories. It's really plenty. Just needs some planning

If you're careful you can eat a huge amount of food and stay under 1200 calories.

It is not plenty for a breastfeeding mother!