What type of devil sorcery is this

[youcanthandlethetruth]

So I’m 9stone, 4ft 10 & whilst I’m not overweight I’ve put on a good chunk of weight on my tummy. It’s really getting me down.

I’ve been sticking to 1200 calories a day, so far:

Breakfast = porridge, blueberries & a cup of tea
Lunch = tuna pasta

I’ve caved and had another cup of tea and half a jam doughnut.

That’s 859 calories so far I’ve only got 349 to go the rest of the day which will be dinner.

I’m starving. How can I last on this little food!!

More veg and protein and less simple carbs at lunch?
Lower and more filling calorie snacks like carrot sticks or a scrambled egg instead of half a doughnut?
Lots of veg with supper?
Skip breakfast altogether if that works for you?

Unfortunately 4'10" unless you're doing a load of exercise your TDEE is inevitably going to be very low, especially as you get older, so the amount of calories you need to stick to to lose weight will also be very low.

Make veg soup and fill up on that in between meals !

Pasta for lunch is basically your main meal for the day.

1200 calories a day makes me miserable, no two ways about it.

If you aren't overweight, why not up your calories to something where you're only losing 1/2 a pound a week but you aren't feeling like you're missing out?

I used to know a woman of your height. She was young and had a very neat figure, and basically said at her height, you can only eat 2 meals a day if you want to keep slim! I found that quite depressing but she may well have been right. Agree with above comments though, it will be all those carbs that are making you starving!

Pasta for lunch would mean soup / stew for dinner, for me. I try to balance out the carb-y stuff. The 1/2 doughnut, yep some days you do need a treat. But most days, fruit snacks only!

The problem is that the OP is slightly overweight by BMI, and probably by waist measurement as well.

Her TDEE is going to be depressingly low even without dieting, probably below 1,500 unless she takes up marathon running.

What veg do you have in the house?

Mushrooms, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, baby corn are all very low calorie so you could make a big stir fry with these and some lean protein and stay within your allowance.

Yep I'm 5' and my total calorie allowance to maintain is only 1400 😭

Fortunately I'm not a breakfast person so have 2 meals a day and if I want to lose weight have zero snacks etc.

DH is 6'3" so bloody unfair 😭

Thank you guys. Okay I’ll try and change things up and eat less carbs, more fruit & veg.

I’m away for a run now. Crying on the inside 😭

At least it’s a start

Porridge blueberries and pasta are all food which are quite calorie dense but not very filling.

Yy to high protein and high veg (limited fruit). Wholewheat pasta and rarely more than 50g. Bulk out with tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms and sides of green beans and broccoli. Mushrooms, green beans and broccoli are absolutely your friends. Swap pasta and rice for quinoa

I tend to keep breakfast to about 200kcak. Things I've found good: omelette, egg white frittata I make in bulk, freeze in portions and take out as required), egg tortilla (tesco do a wholewheat tortilla in their Mexican food section for 100kcal), bagel/sandwich thins with peanut butter or bacon medallions

But actually if you're not overweight, I wonder if you'd do better improving your core strength. So your aiming to pull your tummy in and give a more pronounced waist. Stuff like pilates, les mills body balance or core, swimming (if you know proper face down front crawl)

I'm the same weight and need to get back to losing weight as it really is at the very top of acceptable weight and tbh I just look fat and dumpy. My waist appears at 8st I was 6st3 before my eldest 😭😭😭

Yeah it sucks... Your Breakfast is good.
Maybe try skyr fruit and a few nuts as an alternate.

You need more veg and fruit in your diet, soups are good. Chicken and fish with lean red meat thrown in to the mix.

Being short really reduces what you can eat try do low impact exercise like walking every day but ultimately accept your (low calorie) reality