Calorie Counting and metabolic rate

[jampot]

I have been for a test today at the gym which measures one's resting metabolic rate and tells you the calories you can eat each day completely at rest and another when doing housework, job etc. before you will put weight on. My resting calorie intake should be 2200 and when working/houseworking etc should be 3000. I have only managed to eat 1300 calories today (which is typical). Can anyone explain to me how I can expect to lose weight and whether I should in fact be eating 2200/3000 calories a day? It seems an enormous amount.

I think (although someone more qualified may be able to answer you more accurately) that 1300 cals a day is probably too little and that you should be eating more, although not as much as 3000. I would imagine the advise may be to up your calorie intake with foods like fruit, veg and protein to maybe about 1900 cals (???? uneducated guess). Your metabolism may have become sluggish or may have slipped into famine mode and upping the calories in the right way may kickstart your weightloss.

Although I may be talking utter rubbish!

Are you very tall, or had a very, very active lifestyle ?

I think there is a formula to relate age, sex and lifestyle to produce a target calorie intake to maintain current weight. To lose 1/2 kg or 1lb per week you need to reduce that intake by 3500.

So, for example, for me in my mid-thirties, at around average height, I need about 2500 calories per day to maintain my weight with 'average' activity. 2500*7 = 17500 per week. So to lose 1kg/2lb in a week I would have to consume 7000 calories less than my maintainence level ie 10500 per week or 1500 per day.

I'm not a 'normal' person ()as I do stacks more excercise than average so can still lose weight on a much higher intake but still could not consume 3000 per day unless I became a hod-carrier.

Demented sounds right to me, and I suspect you aren't eating enough.

I am 5'2" and about 3 stone overweight. I lost 2 stone between August-November last year and I was walking each day. With the onset of dark nights my pal and I stopped walking and my weight remained the same until Xmas when I put on over half a stone. I now have remained at that same weight. I don't have a big appetite but do try to eat regularly. I've had to snack on 2 bananas, a yoghurt and a glass of milk this evening to try and "gain" some calories. I've just joined a gym (Virgin) and atm go to just 1-2 classes per week.

Based around the advice I had from my various class leaders over the years (spot the ex yo-yo dieter), I would have thought that 1400-1500 would be realistic for you, dropping to 1250-1300 when you have about a stone to go.

I'm not a dietician/doctor/Weight Watchers leader though. I think someone like Crunchie will be able to give you more specific advice.

Good luck with it.

Twink, sorry I'm just being nosy, when you say you do loads of exercise are you a fitness instructor? or Do you just have an active lifestyle?

No problem Demented ! I'm not a fitness instructor (although haven't ruled it out as a possible thing at some stage) but I do quite a lot of exercise; in a normal week I'll run around 25 miles, do 3 weights sessions, swim twice on my own and once with dd.

I've been a yo-yo dieter for years and eventually something just clicked and I realised with my love of food & drink that I'd have to do the 'lifestyle change' thing or I'd spend the rest of my life dieting.

The other big thing for both dh & me was to set a good example for our daughter. So she knows that both her parents exercise regularly, snack healthily & eat a balanced diet and she's keen to do the same - we wait to get bladdered until she's asleep

I rarely eat stacks of chocolate, biscuits, cakes etc becuase these days I'm honestly not fussed about them, I focus on how much better I feel when I'm fit instead.

Right, off for a beer !

Around 1200 to 1500 cals a day will mean you lose weight. Your 'requirement' of 2200 + a day is to maintain your weight, which you don't want to do!

Just very active then Twink , you do more than me and I thought I was a bit of an addict. Like you I feel it is good to set an example to our children, DS1 knows a bit about the exercise that DH and I do and often asks "Mummy do you do this in aerobics?" whilst doing star jumps or the like that he has learnt in gym at nursery. I do feel better when I eat well too although sometimes it just seems easier to reach for the things I shouldn't eat (neverending battle). I quite fancy being a fitness instructor, I love working out, imagine being paid for it instead of paying for it. Not sure I am outgoing enough though and would definately need to lose another stone/stone and a half before I would feel anything like the part.

Just a thought Jampot, would your gym not calculate your daily calorie allowance for you in order to lose weight. Also I have just remembered a link posted on the very first Mumsnet Mamas thread where you inserted your height, weight and how active you were and it told you how many calories you needed to eat to maintain your weight and then advised how many calories to cut to lose weight, I'll go and see if I can find it for you.

Here is is here hope it helps.