Talk to me about calories please!

[MrsBobDylan]

I am taking the slow road to weight loss. Slow and sometimes stopping altogether

I have another stone to loose to get back to a healthy BMI.

I am 5ft 5 and 11st 8lbs and have been sticking to 1400 calories.

How many calories do you guys eat? I am not madly active so don't factor in calories burnt via exercise.

I tried dropping it to 1300 and it just felt too low and I started thinking about biscuits all the time.

I’m trying to lose 7-10 vanity pounds and I’m on 1000 a day (usually finish up at 1100ish tbh). It’s taking a LOT of self discipline!

Honestly if you want to lose then you have eat much less calories. I'd have 1200 just to maintain weight. 800-1000 to actively lose weight.

I'd swap some of your foods for protein rich foods that keep you fuller for longer.

My fitness pal app is good to track.

That's so low! No wonder it is taking so long to loose any weight

I have a huge issue with treats and specifically mint magnums, so my daily calorie allowance is designed around them. I know...!

@lemorella do you mind me asking what height you are please?

They are quite calorific and obviously nutritionally a bit crap. I have a huge sweet tooth though so understand.

Could you just have one on a weekend or swap them out for some low fat mint frozen yoghurt or a couple of squares of dark mint chocolate.when you've worked really hard it's a much sweeter reward to have a treat.

Whatever you do don't end up miserable and hungry.

I'm the same height as you and weigh 9stone. I have a super slow metabolism I think.

Ive lost four stone doing 1500 calories a day and walking 15000-20000 steps a day.

Took me six months. I was five stone overweight. I have another stone to lose and that one is tougher than the last ones and I probably need to cut my calories a bit more now.

Oh I'm 5 ft 3 and 36.

@lemorella

Honestly if you want to lose then you have eat much less calories. I'd have 1200 just to maintain weight. 800-1000 to actively lose weight.

I'd swap some of your foods for protein rich foods that keep you fuller for longer.

My fitness pal app is good to track.

Nope This is totally wrong, unsafe and bad advice

Yes I realised after I posted - OP I actually don't mean for you to eat 800-1000 calories per day. What I mean is that personally for me whenever I have perused weight loss I've had to have that big a deficit to actually see any weight loss otherwise I just maintain.

Don't under eat. And have a bloody magnum if you fancy one.

The above 2 posters must have very low TDEEs to need to eat 800-1000 cals a day to lose weight - which is possible, mine is quite low too at 1500 cals p/day so I would need to eat 1200 ish cals a day to lose, but this is normally only the case for the short/old/already quite slim . 800 cals a day would be a Very Low Calorie Diet, whilst these can be very effective for those with a lot of weight to lose you need to be very cautious and careful how you do it, just reducing down to 800 cals alone is not usually a good idea!

Try typing TDEE calculator into google to work your TDEE out, with the details you gave and assuming you are sedentary yours will be c.1900 a day, so if you genuinely are sticking to 1400 a day without cheating, you should have a deficit of c.500 a day or 3500 a week which should be enough to lose weight gradually - I think the best thing to do is stick with it, be strict with yourself within that 1400 (no sneaking a biscuit here or there or snaffling from DC/DH's plate!) but don't drop down any further for the time being. As you are getting close to your goal weight you may find your rate of loss slows a bit or even that you have 'plateau' periods where you don't lose at all, this is natural and normal unfortunately and just the body's way of adapting to (what it sees as!) 'famine' periods - you will get there eventually but it's much better to stick with a sensible diet that you can sustain long term rather than 'crashing' it all off and ending up yo-yo ing.

Things that might help are: avoiding too many carbs, especially processed white carbs as these can cause appetite spikes and basing your meals around protein and vegetables as much as possible. Upping your exercise where you can, especially if you can do some high intensity workouts (these can be really quick and easy, e.g. 10 minute youtube videos and don't need special kit or require leaving the house!). Drinking plenty of water and ensuring you are getting enough fibre to avoid constipation which can 'mask' weight loss...

You could also look into the low-carb or 5:2/intermittent fasting boards on here as if one or the other (or even both) suit your lifestyle and preferences these can be easier and more sustainable ways to lose weight than simple calorie counting?

Thanks for all the advice! I do 8:16 and that has really helped.

I will try the TDEE calculator. I am ok with very slow weight loss - I have been overweight for a decade so I figure there isn't any particular hurry

I might see if I can find some nice sorbet for my sweet treat and save the mint magnums for weekends. I will REALLY enjoy them.