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

@pattish

Yes this is why I can maintain on 2500/3000. I just eat to appetite but when I have tracked it’s around that amount. If I didn’t lift weights I would probably be looking at around 2000 calories to maintain with good quality food.

You eat 1500 a day and your basic metabolic rate will just reduce and you’ll have to work harder and you WILL start gaining once you go over it.

@pattish

There are SO many threads about calorie counting at the moment. It’s so damaging.

If you eat fewer and fewer calories your body will adjust its base metabolic rate and conserve them (in simple terms). This is why there are so many threads on Quora by teenage girls asking why they are not losing weight when they only eat 1000 calories a day. It’s heartbreaking.

Please stop to think what you are doing to your body.

If you want to lose weight, eat good quality protein, good fat like olive oil and avocado, lots of veg and plenty of seeds, nuts and fermented foods until you are pretty much full. Then do the same at the next meal.

Pretty much none of this is true.

@FairyLightPups so glad you're finding something that works for you and is making you feel good. My weight fluctuates within a narrow band but when it creeps up that's a red flag that I'm not eating healthily and usually coincides with a period of stress or low mood. Sorting the eating usually makes me feel a lot better in myself as well as shifting a few pounds

@pattish

There are SO many threads about calorie counting at the moment. It’s so damaging.

If you eat fewer and fewer calories your body will adjust its base metabolic rate and conserve them (in simple terms). This is why there are so many threads on Quora by teenage girls asking why they are not losing weight when they only eat 1000 calories a day. It’s heartbreaking.

Please stop to think what you are doing to your body.

If you want to lose weight, eat good quality protein, good fat like olive oil and avocado, lots of veg and plenty of seeds, nuts and fermented foods until you are pretty much full. Then do the same at the next meal.

At last a common sense post. It isn't just how many calories you eat, it's the quality of food and how good it is for you ( and your gut micro biome). If you eat 1500 calories of refined carbs and sugar you will be causing immense harm to your pancreas and insulin production, as well as your gut. Eat foods high in fibre, protein and good fats, don't count the calories ( you won't need to as you will feel full). And keep active.

[quote JollyWilloughby]@Autumndays123

Hmm point taken but when I had that office life (and I didn’t train) I used to do silly diets and aim for 1500 and it used to make me feel nauseous and dizzy.

I think women fuck their metabolisms up so they have no choice but to eat like birds for the forseeable.

If anyone is interested in a way to improve your metabolism, lose weight and not eat like a bird please read Dr Jenkinsons book “why we eat too much”.

I lost 4 stone following these principles.[/quote]
I’m with you. I do exercise well and walk a lot aswell as having an active job. I don’t think we have to eat so low calorie I do think alot have dieted so much their metabolism is buggered onto low calories. I’ve never dieted. I’ve been a 14. Currently a 10-12. Nutrition and exercise/health mean more to me than my clothes size though.

I’ve been eating 1500 a day roughly since the start of the year and have lost 12.8lbs. I actually think I can eat quite a good amount of food and don’t feel I’m starving myself. A typical day is porridge with semi skimmed milk for breakfast, a bagel thin with tuna and low fat mayo for lunch plus an apple. Mid afternoon I usually have a kvarg and then a normal dinner of 6-700 calories. In the evening I might have a snack of around 100 calories. I only really drink tea, the odd can of cherry Pepsi max and lots of water.

@MissyCooperismyShero

It is true it’s how I lost 4 stone. I didn’t reduce my calories but I did make changes to the quality of my diet. I stopped all my cardio, reduced my stress levels, got good sleep and started a weight training programme 2-3 times a week.

@FairyLightPups do you have a recipe for the almond flour pancakes please? They sound really nice

[quote northernruth]@FairyLightPups so glad you're finding something that works for you and is making you feel good. My weight fluctuates within a narrow band but when it creeps up that's a red flag that I'm not eating healthily and usually coincides with a period of stress or low mood. Sorting the eating usually makes me feel a lot better in myself as well as shifting a few pounds[/quote]
Yes, and I think one thing that gets conflated with weight loss is calories taking a bigger precedent than the nutrition. People don't eat enough vegetables and don't meet their nutritional goals and that matters a lot more than eating incredibly low calorie but not even eating an apple.

People don't feel full because their bodies aren't getting the nutritional things they need. Because they're eating things their bodies reject. If you're going to eat carbs on carbs or fat on fat of course your body isn't going to be happy. Variety is so important and a good variety/balance will often mean you're eating lower calorie anyway.

I eat between 1200-1300 cals a day. I'm rarely hungry on this and I have lost 21lbs since mid Jan. I'm disabled though with very limited mobility.

I always have protein (eggs, bacon, with mushrooms) for breakfast around 11am

Mid afternoon I have celery, apple & peanut butter or crackers/cheese

Normal evening meal like spag Bol, or fish with vegetables/rice.

I snack on wotsits and aero choc mousse.

It's slow going but I always lose a lb or two each week.

[quote EssexLioness]@FairyLightPups do you have a recipe for the almond flour pancakes please? They sound really nice[/quote]
Here you go! I just buy ground almonds from tesco, and they work well. If you're not eating lower carb (I'm insulin resistant because of my PCOS so have to eat low carb), I'd advise adding a fruit syrup and a bigger portion of frozen berries.

www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a58712/keto-pancakes-recipe/

@PurpleDaisies The motivation matters quite a bit.

If you are losing weight to meet some sort of ideal it’s very easy to give up when you don’t get a thigh gap or flat stomach after a month or two.

If someone says you’re going have to do blood tests and take medication everyday or your bottom itches because of all the sugar, it’s much easier to change habits.

@Mirrorball2022 do not assume for one minute that most people exercise. I'm in my 50s and at least half of the women I know take little or no exercise, not even walking a dog etc. This is why they have a low metabolic requirement

@FairyLightPups yes - plus lurching from one sugar snack to the next means much less energy and a lack of focus for work etc (for me at least). I just gave up sugar for lent and I find that a useful reset every year

[quote northernruth]@FairyLightPups yes - plus lurching from one sugar snack to the next means much less energy and a lack of focus for work etc (for me at least). I just gave up sugar for lent and I find that a useful reset every year[/quote]
Yep absolutely. I eat 3.5g of added sugar a day (I really love my brownies lol) and I feel so much better for it.

@FairyLightPups thank you! I’ve never thought of using ground almonds in pancakes

[quote EssexLioness]@FairyLightPups thank you! I’ve never thought of using ground almonds in pancakes[/quote]
No problem, they're lush as well, don't really taste that different to regular flour!

I gain if I eat over 1700.

When dieting I try for 1200 and find it so hard.

I'm constantly denying myself even on 1700.

If left to eat as I please I'd eat 2500 a day.

[quote lightisnotwhite]**@PurpleDaisies The motivation matters quite a bit.

If you are losing weight to meet some sort of ideal it’s very easy to give up when you don’t get a thigh gap or flat stomach after a month or two.

If someone says you’re going have to do blood tests and take medication everyday or your bottom itches because of all the sugar, it’s much easier to change habits.[/quote]
Motivation is such an individual thing though. What makes someone want to lose is deeply personal. It’s often a photo that kicks it off. Wanting to look better isn’t a worse motivation than wanting to be healthier. They often go hand in hand anyway.

People still find it really difficult to make changes even when they’re having health problems due to being overweight.

Seen quite a few posts here where posters have a 'treat' of a low cal mousse, or fizzy drink with and/ or use artificial sweeteners.

These are BAD. They are now shown to wreck your metabolism and actually cause the same changes and cravings that normal sugar does AND push you into metabolic syndrome diseases.

If you want something sweet have the real thing, not something made in a lab, but just have a small amount - ie good quality chocolate with at least 75% cocoa content.

I checked my BMI on the NHS website (knew I was overweight and carrying too much fat around my tummy). I was given a calorie recommendation for slow steady weight loss of around 1400 per day. So that's what I'm doing. It's not the most fun in the world, but nor are obesity related illnesses so I'm sticking to my calorie limit, and it's totally do-able.

I've had my head in the sand about my unhealthy diet in the past. The food industry is very clever at convincing us we need and deserve 'treats' and to be fair I've been quite happy to believe this, as I enjoy eating. But stopping at costa for a big milky coffee (even without all the syrup shenanigans) and normalising the consumption of huge slices of cake or shortbread or cookies... that hasn't benefited my health one bit. The fact that people used to have one Easter egg in the past and now we're awash with them: that's not benefiting us. 1400 calories is okay if you make sensible choices about the food that makes up those calories.

I'm trying to do 1200 cals plus exercise which gives me around 1400/1500

Example

Breakfast small bowl porridge with blueberry's almonds and oat milk, decaf coffee with skimmed milk , camomile tea and water
Snack low fat crisps
Lunch homemade veg soup, small brown roll and butter, blueberries and raspberries
Snack grapes
Dinner sweet potato with butter, lettuce and carrot balsamic vinegar
Drinks tea/coffee, water , camomile tea

I do that mon - Fri and have a little extra on a weekend. It's plenty filling.

@Bwix

I checked my BMI on the NHS website (knew I was overweight and carrying too much fat around my tummy). I was given a calorie recommendation for slow steady weight loss of around 1400 per day. So that's what I'm doing. It's not the most fun in the world, but nor are obesity related illnesses so I'm sticking to my calorie limit, and it's totally do-able.

I've had my head in the sand about my unhealthy diet in the past. The food industry is very clever at convincing us we need and deserve 'treats' and to be fair I've been quite happy to believe this, as I enjoy eating. But stopping at costa for a big milky coffee (even without all the syrup shenanigans) and normalising the consumption of huge slices of cake or shortbread or cookies... that hasn't benefited my health one bit. The fact that people used to have one Easter egg in the past and now we're awash with them: that's not benefiting us. 1400 calories is okay if you make sensible choices about the food that makes up those calories.

It's not just the food industry - it's all the people that want to normalise overconsumption. It's "Mummy needs gin" posts and the whole trope about "I'd rather be fat and happy than skinny and miserable". It's people who are horrified at the thought of a diet and think that it's unhealthy and unsustainable to want to be a reasonable weight. People who eat in an unhealthy manner are invested in asserting that it's normal to do so.

Cut processed food out and eat clean. The weight drops off healthily and is sustainable.
You’ll feel energised too and not like you’re depriving yourself

@Stormchaser1502

Cut processed food out and eat clean. The weight drops off healthily and is sustainable. You’ll feel energised too and not like you’re depriving yourself

This