NHS advice

spamarie

So I decided to get serious because my BMI hit 30 and being officially obese is depressing. I've been hovering around the overweight category for several years with a tendency to lose 10 pounds and put back on. I have a decent understanding of healthy eating, but a terrible sweet tooth. And clearly it's not working for me so I decided to go to the NHS weight loss nurse for help.

To be fair, she is wonderful! Nice lady, not condescending at all, seemed to have plenty of time for me. She said overall my diet was pretty good, it would just need small tweaks here and there, and I would lose weight slowly but surely. Suits me fine. She doesn't really advise calorie counting because she says for some people it causes them to obsess (that would be me!) but I asked what I should be aiming for anyway. She reckons 1100-1200 a day for weight loss, and ca. 1400 for maintenance.

That strikes me as unfeasibly low. I don't want to 'diet'. Every change I make is something I have to be able to keep doing indefinitely or I'll just gain it back as usual. To stay under 1200, I do have to obsess about every little thing I eat. And I can't imagine only eating 1400 calories for the rest of my life (or less as I age).

For background, I am 28 years old, female, 5'2" with a desk job, but a reasonably active lifestyle outside work (I am doing up my home and garden, and swim or jog once a week). Is 1200/day really a healthy target?

eldamiano

Do more exercise, then you can eat more....

spamarie

My question was more, is 1200/day enough to a) get all the nutrients you need, b) feel satisfied?

Also, I just realised, is this an American site? NHS = National Health Service - I'm British.

aniqa109

Hey im in the same position as you. I got referred to the health trainer through Gp. She gave me a website to use similar to mfp to log my calories but once i entered my stats i also got 1200 calories. Its been hard sticking to 1200 and counting every calorie because its so easy to go over. I dont really know the answer to yourquestion but just try it out for a few weeks and see how you feel. Try increasing your calories after a few weeks if you struggle and exercise will allow you to eat a little bit extra.

lexbubbles

Sorry to say, being a shortie (I'm 5'4, I feel your pain) means you require less calories. BUT on the flip side any loss will 'show' quicker. A 10lb loss on you will look more drastic than a 10lb loss on someone who's 5'7

Your best bet is to exercise so you can up what you eat and NET 1,200 if you struggle to feel satisfied. Higher protein and fibre foods will help you feel fuller than carb-dense foods. Don't eat 1200 and then go burn off 600 in an exercise session without eating more. You burned off 600? Great! You get to eat 1800 today.

My diary is open, feel free to flick through (this week is a bit crazy because I've got 2 essays due and spend a loooot of time in the library not eating). Today is a pretty average example of my Mon/Wed/Fri Brazilian Jiu Jitsu days - I only eat back some of my exercise calories because I don't really know how much I burn at BJJ and wearing a HRM isn't feasible in that instance to check MFP's numbers so I leave a real big buffer on that one.

Last week's Tue/Thur pretty typical of uni days. I walk 2.5 miles each way to my classes instead of getting the bus so I can have cake (see below) and a seasonal latte from Starbucks.

Also - I have a sweet tooth too! Actually, my nan jokes that I don't have *a* sweet tooth, I have a whole mouth full of them. I have a whole bunch of low calorie cake recipes that I bake twice a week. I take them to my uni classes and nobody can tell that they've been adapted and I always get compliments on how nice they all are. I'm happy to pass them on to you. It means I get to eat cake almost every day and not be like "oh bugger now I've messed up my entire week"

(I'm British too, by the way)

yourpalsoap

my maintenance is 1500, and I'm a couple of inches taller than you so 1400 sounds about right for when you're an average weight. obviously when you're carrying more weight, your energy expenditure will be higher though. if you're eating lots of plant-based foods, 1400 really isn't a small amount of food... but, as eldamiano says, if you exercise you can afford to eat more.

if you're worried that what your nutritionist says isn't right for you, then you should bring your concerns to her! there are some people on here that know what they're talking about, but it's this person's job and they know more about you/your health than any of us do.

nb: I'm british and there are a lot of other british people on here. there's actually a huge group if you want local friends, but it is predominantly american.

BeastForm

It's all just recommendations and estimates. Mfp says i need 2400 calories at maintenance but i still slowly lose at 2900. Find what works for you. Trial and error. Also you could try lifting weights. Then you could be slowly gaining or losing weight constantly and never have to maintain, which is something i find hard myself. Gaining muscle mass and strength feels amazing. Eat high fiber diet and you will never feel hungry once you adapt to it. Loads of delicious oats and milk.

spamarie

Thanks for your feedback. It does seem harder to lose weight when you're short, but at least it means when I'm down 25lb it'll be really obvious. I'm due back to see the weight loss nurse week next week, where we shall be tackling my biggest issue - sugar!

For me it's the forever idea I struggle with. I can do 1200/day for several days so long as I avoid all the things you're meant to avoid. But I know it's not realistic to say, 'I'll never eat fish and chips/chocolate/biscuits again'. I guess it's a case of getting used to eating less of them, less frequently. I am just aware of my tendency to obsess over food and I don't want to go back there. I guess this is why the nurse doesn't like counting calories - I proved her point really!

pinkiezoom

I am 5ft 4 and on 1750 and losing a pound a week, but i am in this for the long haul as in a total lifestyle change, i tried the 1200, and was starving and feeling deprived. I do work out most days though.

999tigger

spamarie wrote: »

She doesn't really advise calorie counting because she says for some people it causes them to obsess (that would be me!) but I asked what I should be aiming for anyway. She reckons 1100-1200 a day for weight loss, and ca. 1400 for maintenance.

When I started I had the idea calorie counters were nuts, but it took me a whole 3 days to learn how dieting and MFP works to start counting calories. The reason you do it is becayse its the only accurae way to put yourself in a position where you know you will lose weight. Information is vital if you want to establish whether you are in deficit or not. Imo its essential.

That strikes me as unfeasibly low. I don't want to 'diet'.... I can't imagine only eating 1400 calories for the rest of my life (or less as I age).

First I would enter your details into one of the many calorie counting tools to establish maintenance for your age, weight and height. Its then -250 for every half pound a week you wish to lose. 250 is the equivalent of a Mars bar a day less.

In terms of not wanting to diet if you are overweight (your ticker indicates you have 25lb to drop) then you will simply need to burn more than you consume in calories. That means either eating less or burning more by moving more. You cannot lose weight without being in deficit. As suggested the only way to get round this would be to exercise more. Approximately 30 minutes of reasonable cardio a day would give you back 250 calories. You can eat more by exercising more, although whatever you decide to eat back should be an accurate reflection of what you have burned.


What you can do is incorporate lifestyle changes into what you eat normally, eat more fruit and veg, cut out/ moderate the sweets and that should have an impact on your calorie consumption. That should be sustainable. theres no point or you will have to get used to the idea that you should only be eating as much as your body needs. If you wnat to do it without calorie counting, then thats cool, but see where you are and what progress you have made in a few months by denying yourself the means to know whether you are eating too much or too little.

If it were me then id prefer to eat soemthing like 1500-1700 a day and just exercise more.

BeastForm

I find it easier to not eat junk food at all than to eat in moderation. If I have a little bit I want more. After a while of not having it you crave it less. This stuff is made to be addictive and make people rich at the expense of other peoples health and potentially lives. The longer you go without it the harder it is to go back because the taste is just overwhelmingly false. Train your taste buds.

kommodevaran

All these numbers are estimates. You will discover what is a reasonable intake after a while on the regime and weighing regularly - you will find out if you lose at a reasonable rate, or maintain, and then you can adjust accordingly.

KentWhiteRabbit

I would say 1200 sounds about right if you have a sedentary job. I'm 5' and have an office job and struggle to lose weight if I eat over 1200. I find that very hard to do without counting as I found in the last few months "at maintenance" I slowly gained and hence I'm back counting again.

If you eat healthy foods most of the time then 1200 calories is enough to get the right nutrients. The odd burger or cake won't hurt either!

My advice would be to plan a few days out using the diary to see what your typical days are calorie wise. If what you're eating works for you then try and roughly stick to it, if not tweak until it works . Or you could log all your food and exercise and stick to the calories MFP gives you (it adds extra calories for any exercise you do). Essentially it's about finding what works for you.

mmerry5

Just another thing that sucks about being short. Can’t reach tall things. Can’t see over the tall people in front of you. Can’t eat as many calories as taller people. I’m just over 5’ 1” but at 50 I’m a bit older than you so my calorie goal is even less. My sedentary calorie goal to maintain is only 1340ish. Crazy low!! Doesn’t even sound right, but it is. Fortunately, I am pretty active. I got a Fitbit for Christmas last year and I love it. It tells me how many extra calories I can eat based on my movements throughout the day. But even before the Fitbit, I used to add back my exercise calories to be able to eat more. I just had to add them in manually, where now the Fitbit adds them in automatically. I can eat quite a lot more, and I just FEEL better with exercise! I usually earn between 400-900 extra calories a day. Sometimes (but seldom) I even earn over 1000 on the days I do a longer run. I try to run in the mornings and then do another walk in the afternoons/evenings. So typically I can eat around 1700+ calories a day.

Another thing I try to do is “save” a few calories for the weekend. I don’t usually eat back ALL of my exercise calories. For one reason, I think the Fitbit over estimates for me or it might also be my logging inadequacies. I try to do my best, but I know I am not perfect at it. So not eating everything back keeps me closer to maintenance. Plus, it gives me a little wiggle room on the weekends for when I typically go over calories. That way I can splurge a little bit and have some of the stuff I love that is so calorie dense. So basically, I try to eat between 1400-1600 during the week, then on the weekends I might eat over 2000. Keeps me sane by allowing me to eat the goodies on the weekends. I find I usually don’t crave them too much during the week anymore. If I do crave them, I will still eat them in much smaller portions, if they fit, but on the weekends I don’t have to be quite as careful. I’ve been maintaining this way for over a year.

It’s still hard sometimes. Sometimes you just want to eat without thinking about it anymore, but for me I can’t. I need to be accountable. Over the past 20 years I’ve lost and gained the same weight so many times and that’s not healthy. With MyFitnessPal, I’ve finally been able to truly maintain and that’s pretty cool!