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?

I’m a size 8 and just had a huge cooked breakfast. I don’t even count calories. I eat what I want and go to the gym twice a week.

I’m a size 8 and just had a huge cooked breakfast. I don’t even count calories. I eat what I want and go to the gym twice a week

🤦🏻‍♀️ That’s lovely for you but not sure how it’s helpful for the OP.

The term 'huge cooked breakfast' is subjective as in one person's 'huge' could quite easily be another person's 'tiny'.

A big breakfast could also quite easily be balanced out by eating less later in the day, which makes sense and suits a lot of people better, rather than eating little in the daytime in anticipation of a large dinner in the evening.

Portion size doesn't seem to have much of a mention in this thread, but there was a programme called 'secrets of slim people' or similar a few months ago where they studied exactly what a load of slim people who claimed to eat loads and never gain weight actually ate, and almost without exception, they all ate less than 2000 calories a day, some well below this level, so it was no mystery at all why they were slim.

There was one woman that ate more, where it couldn't be explained, but all the others simply ate less than heavier people. Compare with the programme 'Secret Eaters' where people who claimed to 'not eat much and live on salad' couldn't understand why they were overweight almost without exception ate loads and had big portions.

Do your Total Daily Energy Expenditure calculation. The minus 500 calls from that. That will give you your personalised intake for your body

I believe diets like weight watchers allows you an extra 500 calories a day whilst breastfeeding. As that’s at least how many extra you need.

OP - I honestly wouldn’t worry about weight right now just eat healthily and nourish yourself and your baby plenty of time later on to count calories

Minus 500 calories a day is sufficient to create a calorific deficit for healthy sustainable weight loss

IIWM I'd ditch the chocolate and eat healthily. CC is a bit silly IMO.

1200 is doable once you eat the right kind of foods. But you are quite tall so maybe a little more would be better. Also I struggled doing 1200 when breastfeeding (particularly if breastfeeding a lot during the day). I do 1300 now, with one breastfeed a day. That is very easily doable provided you don't go crazy with chocolate :(

I am doing 900-1000 cals a day at the moment to lose weight

Was hard at first but now I'm used to it. Have slimfast shake and some fruit for lunch then my evening meal.

Treat on Sunday

@Basketofkittens congrats on your hot bod and perfect metabolism. Must be amazing.

I'd be faint and unhappy on 1200 a day. I lost weight this year just by cutting out all the junk and snacks, pretty sure I was well over any normal 'diet' allowance but I lost a stone and a half.

My breakfast was a vegan sausage, egg white omelette, half a hash brown and some avocado. I’m sooooo full now I probably won’t have to eat all day. #blessed

Lol

I'd be faint and unhappy on 1200 a day.

Not if you were eating the right food you wouldn’t.

If you're only a stone overweight then 2lb a week loss is too much. Mfp will also default to 1200 calories when you put that in as its the minumum calories from health guidance

its the minumum calories from health guidance

Outdated guidance.

My breakfast was a vegan sausage, egg white omelette, half a hash brown and some avocado

Thus illustrating the point I made on my previous post about portion sizes being subjective. Lol at 'huge breakfast'. Who eats half a hash brown?

I think *basket" is taking the piss.

Egg white omlette 🙄

Ummmmm my feelings are a bit hurt. That’s what I ate today. Remember the Mumsnet rules of no troll hunting x

Go on line and work out your BMR then your TDEE and that will give you a realistic amount of how many calories you should be having.

Sorry not got time to explain or do it for you but I'd end up killing someone if I had to survive on such few calories (and your BMR will get lower and you'll need to consume fewer and fewer calories each time you need to lose weight).

Oopsy the op is not a stone over weight. She is a healthy weight.

Sliding you can't seriously be advocating a very low calorie diet (800-900 calories a day)for a breastfeeding, 4 month post partum woman who is a healthy weight. If so it's ridiculous advice, dangerous even considering the op has said that she has starved herself into being under weight in the past.

Op, you will most likely find that over the coming months your weight naturally reduces, you might need to cut down on the chocolate a little but there is no need to embark on a rigorous calorie counting diet. You are totally NBU, 1200 isn't enough for you at the moment!

Sorry not got time to explain or do it for you but I'd end up killing someone if I had to survive on such few calories (and your BMR will get lower and you'll need to consume fewer and fewer calories each time you need to lose weight).

Metabolic damage is avoided by eating a sufficient amount of protein (it’s quite a lot). Lots of new research being published in this area.

Sliding you can't seriously be advocating a very low calorie diet (800-900 calories a day)for a breastfeeding, 4 month post partum woman who is a healthy weight.

I’m not.

I lost two stones last year using MFP to track calories, and also by doing exercise three times each week. I worked on the basis on 1400 caps per day. I also used the principles of the blood sugar diet, in terms of food types, and found that I was rarely hungry or lacking in energy.

Good luck OP.

And the exercise is done at home, so use dumbbells, and do HIIT and weights etc. Also have a PT session once a week.