To think eating 1500 cals daily is unsustainable?

[savedbythewell]

And if you disagree, how do you do it?
How do you satisfy your appetite and what weight loss is reasonable monthly, if three stone overweight

This thread reminds me of the line in Bridget Jones diary (book) when Bridget is explaining to Tom about how she sticks to a low calorie diet and Tom says 'but don't you need 2000 a day to survive?'!
I'm definitely there for cutting out crap but eating totally clean can get obsessive. When it's hard to just grab something to eat when out and about I think it starts to go down a path which may be technically healthy but psychologically can start an unhealthy relationship with food and feelings of guilt etc

@Bloodybridget we quite often use meal boxes (hello fresh etc) for dinner which tell you the calories per portion. I’ve never dieted as I am naturally slim but I have added up my calories just out of curiosity. I think I eat around 1800 a day. I am short but active.
On an average day I might eat
Porridge berries and milky coffee 400cals
Banana and another milky coffee 150cals
Salad and pitta bread 400cals
Tea and a couple of biscuits 100cals
Curry and rice 750

I do intermittent fasting, so no breakfast. I drink green tea and sugar-free coffee or water throughout the day. Eat loads of veg and fruit, avoid bread/pasta/rice. It's really doable and not even especially difficult if you remove anything processed from your diet, in my experience.

We also use Hello Fresh and Gousto and they are brilliant for being able to choose dinners with lower calories and I also think the portions are decent but not huge. I usually choose the meals under 650 calories.
When I really want to lose weight I also fast. Usually one meal a day. I know that’s not for everyone, but works for me. The weight falls off really quickly and I feel fine doing it for a short period.

Like a few others on this thread, when I’m a healthy weight I put on weight at 1500 calories unless I’m exercising a lot.

I sustained it for years by having days when I ate less and had very plain food (lean meat or fish and steamed veg with a v. small portion of steamed brown rice, for instance) and didn’t really think about food and then days when I ate more and could splurge a bit and did think about food. It was probably a bit like the 5/2 diet except it would be 4 days of being careful and 3 of being less careful. I weighed everything at home to track and tried to estimate honestly to track what I could when I ate out. When I ate out I often left food on my plate as portion size tend to be for bigger people, I found this tough. I almost never had desert, though I would have a fork full of DH’s. I drank a fair amount of water. I had snacks of carrot sticks, strawberries and grapes, which I love.

After a few weeks, my appetite adjusted in terms of not really feeling hungry. Though if I ate junk food it tended not to be so satisfying. But my appetite never really adjusted in terms of not wanting to eat a slice of cheesecake whenever it was on offer. It needed to make saying no a habit, which was hard.

Since having kids, it’s the social aspect of eating so little that I’ve found unsustainable (that and having willpower when exhausted). Constantly saying no with my kids around just hasn’t work for me.

If I am "in the zone" and consciously thinking about my weight then I can have 1300 calories and be reasonably satisfied. We also have Gousto and choose meals 650 Cals or less.
I'm 4ft 11. If I had over 1500 calories I would pile weight on

Depends on height - I'm 5'1 and 8 1/2 stone, if I eat more than 1500 then I gain weight. And that's with exercising 6 days a week.

A lot depends on -

Age
Height
Weight
Exercise levels

There will be huge variations in all of those factors that can determine if 1500 calories is 'enough' or sustainable. What you eat to make up those 1500 calories is also hugely important.

Pp made an excellent and correct point that under eating and going into a low calorie zone will only destroy your lean muscle rather than the fat you are trying to reduce. This is why professionals tell you to lose the weight gradually and sensibly to ensure you are targeting the correct type of weight loss. We need our muscle mass particularly as we age. In fact, weight training and resistance work is the key to raising our basal metabolic rate and ensuring we need more calories to sustain our frame. I’m 5ft 4 and have always hovered around 8 stone but i have always been active. For those of you who have never heard the term look up the acronym NEAT in reference to exercise. Building movement into every part of your day is the key to not only a healthy and active life but also raises your calorie baseline. I personally love eating and find great pleasure in it. The thought of fastidiously counting calories and restricting intake would seriously take away the joy of eating. By all means we should all have an awareness of what a healthy and balanced diet looks like, but not to such extremes that some people appear to go to.

Haven't RTFT but I am now doing intermittent fasting and keeping to the low calorie count is so much easier eating only two meals. I was always having unhealthy breakfasts so decided to just cut breakfast out more or less and drink loads of water.

I think most people in the UK have lost sight of what normal eating is, and I think 1500 calories per day is perfectly achievable if you are overweight, unless in a very high activity job.

I do 1400 calories a day.
Yoghurt, berries and seeds or omelette for breakfast, chicken salad with homemade yoghurt dressing or tuna and mixed bean salad for lunch and then something healthy for dinner.
No fizzy drinks, 2-3 litres of water.

I don't eat like this every day but 5/6 out of 7 so it's all about balance. You know what shit food and you know what good food is so it's about making better choices. I look at calorie labels and sometimes think this 'treat' isn't worth it but it's full of sugar, it won't fill me up and I'll probably regret it after anyway.

I lost 3 stone last year by plain and simple calorie counting, yes it's hard, can be tiresome but if you want to change, you have to put the effort in. I've had days where I think fuck it and delve in to the crap food but the next day, I forgive and forget and make better choices!

Good luck OP.

I can't understand how that tdee us coming up so low for everyone? I'm 5 foot tall, 57 years old and a titch and it's giving me 1775 as daily amount

My TDEE is coming up as just over 2000 with ‘heavy exercise’ I weightlifting 4 times a week and maintain on about 2500

Some of these comments are really worrying and sobs are bordering on toxic.
OP-most councils now offer a free well-being service to those who are overweight and can advise professionally on exercise and calorie intake. Your daily required calories an vary hugely so please make sure you get proper advice. You shouldn’t be feeling hungry

I have thyroid disease, and despite working out 4-5 times per week (weights, running, Pilates and cycling), my TDEE is around 1400-1500
More than that, and I pile weight on

Yes doable, and your body will get used to it. I am a size 8, and work out vigorously daily. I never feel short of energy. It will take time for your body to get used to, and so pace yourself if that’s what you are intending your limit to be.

@Hi246 You say you drink squash all day.

(As do some other posters.)

Has it got sugar in it?

No? So it will have artificial sweeteners presumably.

These are DREADFUL.

New research (been in the press) shows that this stuff is harmful partly because it makes the brain crave sweet stuff but also as it messes up gut health and both together can lead to metabolic disease (inflammation/ diabetes.)

At 5"2 and the wrong side of 40 I either eat and put on weight or barely eat at all and remain a solid 10-12. It's shit.

I have to be under 1200 calories a day to lose weight, ideally more like 1000. It sucks. But I make sure those calories are mostly made up of protein, good fats and vegetables/fruit and that makes it more doable. Carbs just aren't worth it for me, they don't fill me up and I only have to look at one and I put on weight.

If you find 1500cals too low you could go up to 1800 but add in a brisk 45min 3 mile walk a day, which I think is equal to burning 300cals.

@UsernameInTheTown

At 5"2 and the wrong side of 40 I either eat and put on weight or barely eat at all and remain a solid 10-12. It's shit.

It’s like a particularly rubbish super power, isn’t it?! If food wasn’t so damn nice, it’s be rather useful with rising prices 😭

I am 5'7 mid 50's, menopausal. I weigh around 8.10. Sometimes a couple of pounds less. I have no idea how many calories I eat a day.
My TDEE is 1800. I do a 'light' exercise class 5 days a week & go to the gym maybe once or twice a week.
I have always been around this weight. ( although I lost a stone 30 years ago due to stress. 7 1/2 was not my best look, and soon put it on again) I have had 4 children & seem to maintain my weight without starving myself.
My one vice is that I stand on the scales every day. If I have gone up a pound, I just avoid eating too much that day, if I have gone down a pound I might have a bit more to eat.
I am a bit clueless with calories, however I think it's instinctive. Clearly Pizza or cake or a salad with a rich dressing etc has lots of calories. Grilled fish and veggies have less. I think I instinctively choose the lighter option much of the time.
I think maybe some peoples natural gauge might be skewed due to all the additives, sugars, sweeteners etc making are food not quite what it seems.

Another one here who would gain weight on 1500 calories a day unless I exercised a lot.

If I am trying to lose weight, I have to cut to below 1200.

Surely it depends on your lifestyle? If you sit at a desk all day Mon-Fri and do no exercise then I’d say you’re in danger of putting on weight at 1500cals. (Depending on your height)

The old ‘women need 2000 cals a day’ spiel is very outdated IMO and is why we have an obesity problem in the U.K.

You don’t say whether you do any exercise. If you don’t, get out for a brisk, one hour power walk everyday and you might be able to up it to 1700-800? Or an hour run which would be more.

Two slices of toast with butter, washed down with a cup of tea is probably about 250 cals.

Mid morning snack of an apple- 90cals?

Lunch- sandwich of some description with some carrot sticks- 350 cals

That leaves you about 800 cals for dinner. Google says a portion of lasagne is about 360 cals, you could add a load of chips or some garlic bread and salad and still meet the 800 cals. This is obviously just one example dinner.

You definitely won’t starve on the above and your body would soon get used to it. Don’t get me wrong, I’d definitely have relaxed days where I’d have some wine, chocolate and either make up for it the next day or do extra exercise.

But no, I don’t think 1500 cals is unsustainable depending on body type/ height and activity level.