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

64 year old, very post menopausal woman and it all depends what those 12-1500 calories are. i could easily eat a bag of chips or 3 chocolate bars or pie for that calorie allowance and be hungry.
but if it's salad and cauliflower and 3 oz of meat, some eggs and beans etc i'd be stuffed.
it's very do able as others have said with some basic knowledge and skills.

@CooooCoooo

At a private clinic in Wiltshire. I can't remember what the test was called but I stood on a machine for around 30 seconds and it then printed out some results. As well as my metabolic rate, it told me my body fat %, muscle %, how much fat was in each limb erm lots more but this is just off the top of my head. It was really good and seeing exactly how much fat was in my body was the kick up the arse I needed.

How was it arranged? Through your doctor? How did you find out about it?

I tend to stick to 1500 or just under for 5 days a week, about 2000 or slightly above on weekends. I don't calorie count on holidays like Christmas or Easter but try to be ear mindfully. I'm a size 8-10.

i am really short. when I'm at my fighting weight, my TDEE is 1500 - that means if I eat more than 1500 calories I gain weight.

@BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou

I’m on around 1200 per day. I’m over 50, exercise regularly but still putting on weight. GP suggested cutting to 1000 per day but I haven’t managed that yet. If I ate more than 1200 regularly I’d be huge, I’m currently a stone and a half over what my GP thinks I should be and a stone over where I am happy.

@BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou - have you had your thyroid tested, because that seems a bit weird tbh? Is it under-active?

I'm 5'10 and have a job where I stand a lot and typically walk about 5000 steps a day. I'm between
10st8 and 11 stone. Size 10 -12. My phone tells me that I should be eating about 1600 calories a day. If I didn't eat the nice things, like chocolate, I'd easily do it.

It must be sustainable if it's recommended.

It's barely above starvation calories!

How do you feel about 300-500 calories ? people who have weight loss surgery have to live on that amount post surgery, it goes up gradually obviously. The main factor is that they have a lot of stored calories already on them, so 300 intake does not equal 300 in total because the body is using up its considerable stores.

If you are fairly slim and active, if you only eat 300 calories you will feel awful because you only have limited stores to dip into to top up, you get nearly all of your energy from what you put in. People who are obese have a lot more stores and so if you only eat a limited amount of calories your body will dip into those stores and you will lose weight.

There is also quite a bit of research about that shows that if people who are obese, lose considerable amounts of weight quite quickly they are more motivated to continue than the slow and steady process.

At the end of the day, what you can do is the thing you should do

My BMR is 1250. I eat about 1400-1500 a day. I use my fitness pal.

I do a lot of exercise, ran 45 miles last week - still don't loose any weight though.

My TDEE comes out at about 2,100. If I ate that much I reckon I'd put weight on.

It’s pretty low. Why do you need to go so low?

Something like 1800 is going to be a lot more manageable.

Fibre and protein are the things that fill you up.

I gain on 1500. I have to go down to 1200 to lose 1-2 lbs a week. It's really difficult eating that little food.

@yogacurl

Well said...I am with you!

"Your life’s purpose is not weight loss. There are a lot of people making a lot of money from you hating your bodies."

No, my life's purpose is to be there for my daughter. If I carry on the way I was I run the risk of becoming seriously ill and even dying. I'd argue that making a concerted effort to lose weight and be healthier is an act of love toward a body I have sorely abused over the years.

YANBU, I’ve been trying to do 1700 a day to loose weight and finding it impossible, I’m either starving or there’s no space for any tiny amount of “fun” or treats!

That's very little for a fully grown adult

Depends on the fully grown adult. My TDEE apparently is 1554. We all have different calorie needs. It isn't one size fits all.

It's absolutely possible to have 3 decent meals a day on 1500 kcal (obviously that may not be enough if you're tall, heavier or very active).

I'm short and that's my maintenance calories, so I generally plan my meals around that level & then might add more depending on activity level. I'm far from perfect so there's definitely wine etc. in there, but admittedly not much in the way of junk food or other caloric drinks except on high days & holidays.

This isn't something I actually spend a lot of energy thinking about these days, but key thing for me was doing MFP to see what I was actually eating. A bit of upfront effort but I now have a bunch of fairly balanced recipes I can switch in and out to create a menu.

I do eat a lot of veg & try to ensure I'm getting adequate protein in the majority of meals.

It is what many women actually need…but it is tough to stick to indefinitely. That is why so many are heavier than they would like! I don’t think so many of us having sedentary jobs helps at all.

Eating 2000kcals per day reliably causes me to gain 0.5-0.8kg/wk. 2500kcals 1-1.3kg/wk. 5ft5 white woman now late 30s but was the same when younger.

I suffer with an eating disorder and have ‘done’ weight gain on a prescribed calorie intake quite a few times.

My two closest female relatives are always trying to keep below a size 12, with minimal success and both need way less than the magic 2000kcals per day to maintain.

I eat 2 small meals a day, total around 1400 - 1500 cals, struggling to lose weight on this and considering dropping to 1200.
I'm 82kg and 5'2, considerably overweight for my height. 1500 is too much for me

@emmathedilemma

YANBU, I’ve been trying to do 1700 a day to loose weight and finding it impossible, I’m either starving or there’s no space for any tiny amount of “fun” or treats!

I found changing my mindset about what a treat is really helpful.

The stuff we think of as treats isn’t food. You wouldn’t treat a Ferrari to crap fuel, so why aim to do that with a body?

I will eat very dark chocolate when I want to - it’s so much healthier than biscuits/milk chocolate/cake and a little goes a very long way.

I’m 51,5ft4 8st 3 and probably eat less than that a day but I’m disabled and don’t move a lot so if I ate more I’d pile weight on. I’m seldom hungry.

DH makes me a cup of tea with oat milk before he leaves for work.

Around midday I have Alpro plain Greek style yoghurt with berries and a banana

At 6pm I have my dinner.

I might have some fruit at around 8pm

In between times I drink water and peppermint tea.

I am doing Noom. It's quiet hard. I am constantly surprised by how many calories are in things.

I am under 5' & sedentary

I'm eating about 1000 calories a day and have lost 1 stone in a month, need to lose two more. But I don't do any form of exercise, during the school holidays when I've been out for the day with the kids and walking more I've been snacking a bit during the day. Like eating their leftovers and things. So nothing major but probably 200 more calories on those busy days.

It’s totally doable and unless you exercise a lot it shouldn’t make you unwell. I aim to have 1500 when not exercising, if I am doing more than a hours exercise then I have more (1800). I’m a size 12 so not skinny. Some times I skip breakfast other days I have a small bowl of porridge, a salad for lunch and then a basic cooked meal in the evening and maybe a yoghurt or piece of fruit.

It's probably about the right amount for lots of women who aren't massively active to maintain a healthy weight.
We're just used to eating too much or eating high GI stuff which makes our blood sugar sink making us hungry again.

It’s very doable, and you don’t need to feel terribly hungry.

If I need to drop a few kilos, I limit to 1500 cals per day, by eating a lot of lean protein: chicken breasts, tuna, Greek yoghurt, egg. A lot of vegetables - tomatoes, peppers, avocados, spinach - and broccoli is very filling! Pretty well NO white carbs - no rice, no pasta, no bread. Limit things like cheese and olive oil, peas and other legumes.

It’s a simple way of eating, but very healthy.