Trying something new

[Twistingskies]

I am massively overweight.

I have tried several times with SW and I always lose weigh but I hate staying at group and hate the public weighing. I always spoke to the consultant on my first visit. I explained that I do not like speaking in front of people but I would try my best. I also said that I’d wait till last to be weighed so no one was behind me or whatever but they still would call me up to the scales whist the previous person was there and I just hated it.

My eating habits were shocking. Several takeaways in a week. Massive crisps, chocolate and ice cream at night.

I need to lose 7 stone.

I started calorie counting last week and lost 8lbs.

I must have gone from 3000-4000 to about 900-1200 daily.
I am also drinking 2-4 litres of water a day and trying my best for 10000 steps.

I’ve realised I don’t need to eat jacket potatoes and loads of pasta and 20 bloody syns a day.

Anyone got any tips for calorie counting?

My Fitness Pal and a decent set of digital scales to weigh everything.
I struggled for years, blaming my thyroid, slow metabolism etc, but logging everything on to MFP has helped me lose, and keep off, around 4 stone. You do have to be accurate though, rather than guess calories, it is so easy to be 300 calories out!
Well done on getting started. Don’t be alarmed if there’s a plateau, consistency is key and the scales soon start moving again. I’d probably aim for 1300-1500 just so you don’t suddenly feel starving one day and stuff down a multipack of crisps then think ‘hang it, I’ve ruined it now, what’s the point?’. On that note, if you have a blip, just get back on track. One isolated incident really doesn’t make much difference, carrying on and not getting back on track does.
Good on you for taking control.

Thanks I’ll download that now.
I did write everything down as it is so easy to lose track but I like the idea of doing it on an app.

Definitely seeing results rather than constantly weighing myself. I couldn’t even get the zips to meet on an old coat up last week but I can do it up now.

Well done on losing 4 stone!

If you are in a position where you need to lose 7 stone you will be able to eat more calories than that. I calorie count and have done for the last year, currently lost 3.5 stone, slow and steady is the best way. I currently eat 1800 calories a day and have 3 stone left to loose. Are we allowed to recommend groups to join for support on other apps on this site?

I use MyNetDairy, it has lots of UK foods and gets new ones on there really quickly.

I'm currently 60lbs down from my starting weight (this time, I had re-gains with difficult pregnancies).

I second getting a digital scale, calorie counting works when you are honest and the only way to do so is weigh!

Use the James smith calculator to work out a deficit, calorie counting does not mean starving yourself on 1000 calories. I'm on 1900 calories and lose about 1lb a week (5ft 3 and currently 150lbs) I lost over 4 stone last year, put a bit back on over Xmas, and now have about 20lb left to go. Please try and think long term rather than quick weight loss, that will lead to binging, and putting it back on. (God I sound like a total nag 😂)

I second upping your calories and aiming to lose around 1lb per week, it needs to feel achievable in the long run and not something that becomes so unbearable in the long run that you throw in the towel and quit.

Also eating lots of high dense low calorie foods to fill you up. I've started having huge portions of veg and salad (as in, enough veg for probably 3 grown adults) as it's so low in calories and fills me up. Weigh everything and you'll be surprised how much food you can eat for so little calories.

Good luck, sounds like you've made a great start!

I’m definitely thinking long term.

I’ve made really lovely good meals this week and tbh I’m struggling to eat 1200 in a day. I don’t want to eat for the sake of it as surprisingly I’ve not really felt hungry.

I think using MFP will really help.

I’ll have a look that the other things posted.

Calorie counting works for me, i wouldn’t go lower than 1200 as it will slow your metabolism and you’ll end up not being able to loose as much! I buy the M&S count on us ready meals and have fruit and veg I’ve lost 1st in a month! Well done keep going!

Thanks I’ll have a look at those. Well done that’s amazing!

I agree with many of the posters saying up your calories. You need a way of eating that's going to be sustainable.

Very low calories might feel manageable at the moment but you're unlikely to be able to maintain this long term without binging.

One way to approach this is to use an online calculator to work out your TDEE - the calories you burn each day. Then eat about 500 calories less than this a day (on average).

Best of luck.

Log it all in MFP. I've lost 4 kilos in 3 weeks.

Just to put a different point of view....

Everyone is different and what is important is to find out what works for you.

Micheal Mosley has done loads of research on this and his FAST800 suggests that many people find losing initial weight fast is a big motivator - and he also says that those first 12 weeks don't lead to your body adapting to this, but after that, yes, eating too few calories can put your body into starvation mode

Agree with others that with 7 stone to lose you will have more leeway on calories to start with .. so if eating 900-1200 feels good for you, why not do that for the first 12 weeks and then reassess?? While knowing that if it feels too restrictive at any stage you can up your calories.

You should be eating much more than you are. You'll only be able to stick to those calories short term then you'll end up absolutely starving and binging. You need a more sustainable target.

I've had a few friends have success with Team RH. It's based on calorie counting but the work out your calories for you and you have 24/7 support. It's only about £7 a month or something.