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

It's also ridiculously hard to get steps in. I'm in my feet in work from 8-5 and I barely get to 5000.
That doesn't sound right if you're on your feet all day, is it tracking correctly.

@EmeraldShamrock1

It's also ridiculously hard to get steps in. I'm in my feet in work from 8-5 and I barely get to 5000. That doesn't sound right if you're on your feet all day, is it tracking correctly.

They might be standing still e.g. behind a shop counter all day, being on your feet doesn't necessarily mean you're walking!

Quite right @emmathedilemma because with a Fitbit it's on your arm, so it's not really aware of what your feet are doing...but if you're stood behind a till you're not going very far anyway.

People who have abandoned diet culture and no longer restrict foods or count calories, may I ask, are you within a healthy BMI? And if so, what do you eat?

@5128gap

People who have abandoned diet culture and no longer restrict foods or count calories, may I ask, are you within a healthy BMI? And if so, what do you eat?

My BMI is around 22. I eat food that makes me feel good- don't count calories, I'm pretty active. If I estimated my calories it would probably be over 2000 a day. Eat pretty much whatever I want.

Typical day -
Breakfast - Greek yoghurt, granola, banana, chia seeds.
Lunch - avocado / hummus on toast / chicken or ham salad sandwich / leftovers .
Dinner - whatever I fancy. We have chilli and rice tonight made from Turkey mince, chopped tomatoes and spices, mixed beans, courgette, red onion, mixed peppers and spinach with white rice.
Snacks- if there's any cake around I'll have some with a coffee, and I normally have some dark chocolate before bed.

I find giving myself the freedom, not restricting myself or counting anything makes me focus on what food makes me feel good and therefore makes me make better choices.

People who have abandoned diet culture and no longer restrict foods or count calories, may I ask, are you within a healthy BMI? And if so, what do you eat

I count calories (not obsessively) but because intuitive eating for me means overeating and making terrible decisions, it works for many but I can't regulate my appetite and choices without some boundaries. I am a healthy bmi and have no desire to lose weight, I am just reluctant to pile it on as I know I'll never lose it. I always have the same breakfasts and similar for lunch, and probably a set of around 10 dinners that we rotate so I know roughly what I'm having without calculating it or anything; just feels like second nature now. Just anecdotally, but my friends who are a healthy weight and don't count calories or follow any particular diets have always been that way.

Surely that’s a perfectly normal amount ?

I know I don’t burn much more than that when I’m desk working unless I specifically go and exercise.

Obviously I caveat by saying if I was doing an active job or regular exercise I would clearly need to eat more.

It’s enough for me. I’ve lost 3 stone this year by eating 1300-1500 calories a day (I use my fitness pal to track) but also exercising heavily. I got a Fitbit for Christmas and according to that I burn 3000-4000 calories a day. Some of this is just by existing (it counts calories used when asleep and sitting too) but I burn 400-800 per day through exercise like running 5k and HIIT workouts. The weight has flown off.

@SausagePourHomme

But it’s not as simple as that. Your body will learn to lay down fat when it isn’t getting enough to eat so that it keeps some reserves. This is how restrictive eating changes your BMR, so your resting body doesn’t use as many calories. That’s why people who have dieted all their lives only have to look at a piece of cake and they put on weight.

Muscle burns more energy than fat, so the solution isn’t to calorie count but to increase muscle by weight training, reduce sugar spikes which disrupt the body’s natural metabolism by eating more protein and less sugar and diversify the gut with lots of different plant foods. The result of this is that you get fewer cravings and feel more full, so you build a way of eating that allows your body to burn it off.

People who have abandoned diet culture and no longer restrict foods or count calories, may I ask, are you within a healthy BMI? And if so, what do you eat

Yes, my BMI is normal. It wasn't until I abandoned diet culture and stopped restricting foods that this happened. The rules I gave myself were simple: eat when I am physically hungry and ONLY when I am physically hungry, and nothing is off limits but mind the quantity.

What I eat in a day varies, but generally I'm not actually hungry until very late in the day. At work I'll have tea or coffee in the morning, but generally I don't need to eat until I get home and have dinner.

I eat the same things everyone else does, but on my body's own terms. And I mind portion sizes, not in terms of weight or calorie content but in terms of whether or not I am actually still hungry, or enjoying the food. If I'm still hungry, great. If I'm not and I'm eating just to eat (because I'm at the table or because everyone else is eating) then I stop. If I am not enjoying the food, I stop.

I started my first diet aged 11. I wish I hadn't waited until I was over 40 to give it up.

@gwenneh, I would say you are still part of a diet culture with that pattern of eating even if you think you are not. You have just found something which works for you which is fine.

[quote JollyWilloughby]@Autumndays123

I would be starving on that amount of food and unhappy. I maintain on 3000 calories a day, I’m 5 foot 7 and a size 10-12. I have plenty of muscle and I personally think I look great.

I have no desire to be smaller and eat nutritious foods on a daily basis.[/quote]
@JollyWilloughby

Well you certainly have the confidence anyway :)

[quote PandoraP]@gwenneh, I would say you are still part of a diet culture with that pattern of eating even if you think you are not. You have just found something which works for you which is fine.[/quote]
How is it a diet to eat only when I am actually hungry and/or actually enjoying what I am eating?
I don't restrict foods. I don't count calories.

I am still confused as to how eating 3 full meals a day is diet culture for a person with a sedentary job and who is not exceptionally tall. It's hardly denying oneself or being joyless.

@CaliforniaDrumming

I am still confused as to how eating 3 full meals a day is diet culture for a person with a sedentary job and who is not exceptionally tall. It's hardly denying oneself or being joyless.

Me too. I don't understand why people don't get that some people such as the over 6 foot poster above is going to need substantially more calories than me who is over a foot shorter, especially when age comes into it. I've never been over weight or on a diet. I know I eat around 1500 because I sometimes enter meals into My Fitness Pal for protein content while being a vegetarian.

Some people can pack far more food in and of a better quality for fewer calories. You're likely to be hungry on 1500cal of ultra processed food. I would be.

@CaliforniaDrumming

I am still confused as to how eating 3 full meals a day is diet culture for a person with a sedentary job and who is not exceptionally tall. It's hardly denying oneself or being joyless.

I used to think this, until I discovered really delicious meals that incorporated high quantity, low calorie foods also full of nutrients. I went from having chips with a beige side of some description which wiped out a load of cals and left me hungry to stir frys, salad wraps, vegetable curries etc. I have above 1500 as I'm 5'11 and quite active, but really understanding more about food I think really helps make it sustainable and enjoyable. I don't ever feel 'deprived' now, I enjoy a balanced diet and don't have any guilt around any food, I just don't eat them to excess anymore.

@gwenneh, if you go all day without eating before the evening then you are actually fasting aren’t you? You don’t have to restrict food or count calories as it’s quite difficult to over eat if you eat within a short window unless I am mistaken and you eat all night of course. I don’t mean to pick on you, but lots of people fast and find it works for them including me. Very few adults have a completely normal relationship to food like we did when we were children I think.

This is a link to an interesting recent piece of research on very low calorie ketogenic diets for obese people. It found that the resting metabolic rate was not significantly decreased using this method of weight loss. The key appears to be ensuring lean mass is preserved by consuming 0.8 - 1.2 g per kg of ideal body weight of protein.

So if your ideal body weight (according to NHS guidelines) is 10 stone (63.5kg) you would need to consume at least 51g of good quality protein a day whilst doing your low calorie diet according to this research. This would be for sedentary obese people just starting out with gentle exercise, not active, healthy weight or slightly overweight people, though you could potentially extrapolate the results.

nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12986-018-0249-z

[quote PandoraP]@gwenneh, if you go all day without eating before the evening then you are actually fasting aren’t you? You don’t have to restrict food or count calories as it’s quite difficult to over eat if you eat within a short window unless I am mistaken and you eat all night of course. I don’t mean to pick on you, but lots of people fast and find it works for them including me. Very few adults have a completely normal relationship to food like we did when we were children I think.[/quote]
A fast would be not to eat when you WANT to eat.
If I want to eat during the day, I do. I just generally don't.

[quote pattish]@SausagePourHomme

But it’s not as simple as that. Your body will learn to lay down fat when it isn’t getting enough to eat so that it keeps some reserves. This is how restrictive eating changes your BMR, so your resting body doesn’t use as many calories. That’s why people who have dieted all their lives only have to look at a piece of cake and they put on weight.

Muscle burns more energy than fat, so the solution isn’t to calorie count but to increase muscle by weight training, reduce sugar spikes which disrupt the body’s natural metabolism by eating more protein and less sugar and diversify the gut with lots of different plant foods. The result of this is that you get fewer cravings and feel more full, so you build a way of eating that allows your body to burn it off.[/quote]
I’m not sure that this is accurate in some ways and some of this stuff can be unhelpful for people trying to lose weight or learning how to adapt their diets

Your body just does what it does functionally, it doesn’t fundamentally change itself depending on what you are eating or doing in the way you describe that it ‘learns’ something new. It’s burning energy at different rates depending on what you put in it and what energy you burn. There is also genetics and hormones to factor in etc. you are telling it what to do. If you stop doing it, it will stop doing it. your body wants to burn carbs first while you exercise. If you eat little or no carbs, it has no choice but to burn the fat.

Everyone has muscles all over their body not only thin or fit people. Hence getting active helps you burn more energy. Your body burns energy just from being alive. You aren’t just burning ‘fat’ using these new improved muscles you are burning energy which includes carbs and fat stores.

If you get more active and eat in a calorie deficit you will lose body weight. But you do not have to build a lot of additional muscles to burn your fat. Many people do low intensity stuff like walking and it’s enough to get them to either lose weight or maintain it.

anyone selling you specific ‘fat burning’ things like PT sessions is going to probably try to get you to do some kind of HIIT, which might find horrific and uncomfortable because you are unconditioned and heavier than them and you may well hurt yourself or fall into patterns of eating back all your calories (which your Fitbit has helpfully massively over estimated). You will burn off fat (and carb stores) doing HIIT a lot faster so if you want a quick result, this is what a lot of people do. But I am not sure it’s sustainable unless they learn to love doing HIIT and people give up

You will change your metabolism by being leaner and more active, you will have a lower BMR than you did before.

But the key to it all is changing your mindset and attitude towards food and exercise. Making better choices, portion control, moderation, changes to your level of activity are more realistic and sustainable. If you find exercising that you love, then do it but if there isn’t, you aren’t a failure. It’s so easy to feel like a failure when you see all the gym wear toned people who get up at 5am but that life isn’t for us all and we have to find what does work. The idea of living on 1500 forever sucks a bit for me but it also sucks being fat so I need to decide what one sucks less

[quote pattish]@NumberTheory

I’ve posted before that there is scientific evidence of this - a quick Google will find it. So yes, ‘proves’ in this sense is a figure of speech, but I think you know what I mean.

Why else would there be people eating fewer than 1500 calories a day (in some case sub-1000) who are still not losing weight? A personal with a healthy BMR who isn’t completely sedentary will burn more than that.[/quote]
There are a number of different reasons why people might not lose weight at 1500 calories. Starting with the fact health BMRs range we’ll below 1500.

I just did that calculation for TDEE. I'm 5' 10" and it says my ideal weight is 146-151 pounds. I did once weigh 152 pounds at 40 but I had to exercise about two hours a day and really watch my intake. I was a uk 10/ US 8 and it was totally unsustainable. I've given a couple of my tops from back then to my very slim (and shorter) 16 year old daughter and they got her perfectly - I can't believe I was that size. I must have looked like a skinny pole. It's tdee for me is 1986. I lose weight at 1750.
I'm taking that all with a pinch of salt. I'll go with the your ideal weight times 10 to lose, 13 to maintain. I lose 1-2lb a week on that (1750).
You have to get to know what your individual body needs, and some need more or less to lose or maintain.

@Babysharkdoodoodood

I kickstarted my loss with 800 VLC for a fortnight and now fast until 2pm. Eat a light lunch such as a supermarket sushi pack, some nuts if I'm feeling peckish, then a normal dinner later.

Lost 15kg so far with another 15 to go, since Xmas.

Well done! Just wanted to say that! Keep going!

TulipLover, I agree it is weird imagining our former sylphlike selves. Where I come from, the formula for calculating a woman's ideal weight is: height in cm - 110 = target weight in kg (eg 175 cm - 110 = 65 kg). I was always spot on my target weight before DC, but looking at old clothes, I can't quite believe it was me Like you, I have given old favourites to pre-teen DD!