Hi, new here, any tips to lose fat-weight?

SarahFromWalthamForest

Hi I'm new here, this site says I should eat 1200 calories per day. Carbs are my problem, not calorie intake.

165cm
184lbs
female
[probably zero muscle]

My goal weight is 126lbs.

I can't exercise due to lack of energy, caused by anemia and fibromyalgia.

I'm aiming to eat three low-carb meals a day, and I'm thinking of doing the 5:2 diet but need some advice..
Can I do the 5:2 diet while eating 1200 calories for 5 days of the week and 500 calories for the other 2 days? Or do I have to increase calories on the non-fasting days for it to work?

Any dieting tips would be much appreciated.

mph323

First of all, I'd say make sure you're coordinating any weight reduction effort with your dr. You have some issues that amount and type of food can cause issues.

If you want to do a 5:2 diet you arrange your calories so that you eat increased calories on the non-fasting day so you end up with the same number of calories at the end of the week as you would have had just eating 1200 per day.

How many lbs/week are you set to lose? It seems like 1200 calories/day is not enough if you are anemic - again be sure to coordinate this with your dr., it seems like you may be aiming to lose too fast considering your medical issues.

Blitzia

I think you'll be more successful with a few tweaks to your approach:

1. Calories are always the reason for weight loss or weight gain. If you like carbs, you don't have to eliminate them, just find ways to incorporate them into your meals without going over your calorie limit. (If you look for carbs that are high fiber or whole grain, they tend to be lower calories than white bread, etc.)
2. 1200 might be a little aggressive for your stats, especially if you don't plan to do any exercise at all. (Doing a little exercise means you can eat more than 1200, so it becomes a little easier to maintain 1200 + some extra exercise calories.) You may want to research some types of exercises that are easier for people with anemia and fibromyalgia. (Maybe discuss with your doctor?) Even walking burns calories, so it can make it much easier to stick to your goals.
3. I don't know anything about 5:2 diet, but in general, I don't think gimmicky plans have good success rates. If you want to lose weight and actually keep it off, you're better off trying small and sustainable changes. Learn what kinds of lower calorie foods fill you up, what kinds of foods aren't "worth" the calories for you because you'll be hungry again soon, etc.

I think the best thing to remember: you want to lose the weight forever (I'm assuming?) which means you aren't trying to diet and make a quick change to your body, you're trying to learn what eating habits work for you in order to stay at your goal weight permanently. You've already taken a great step by joining MFP and becoming more calorie conscious. Just keep it up and don't get discouraged; it's a marathon, not a sprint.

middlehaitch

To eat 5:2 one eats their weekly calorie alotment, so it would be 500 cal on 2 non-consecutive days and 1480 on the other 5 days.

You are running a pretty aggressive deficit. If you find it too hard to stick to consider moving your deficit to 1lbs a week. This is a suitable goal for those with around 50 lbs to lose.

A digital food scale for all solid foods will help you with accuracy.

Cheers, h.

TxTiffani

I have seen people claim losses of pain with low carb so that may very well be a good way of eating for you, but I guarantee that calories are the reason for gaining or lack of losing. I've done low carb many a time and always stalled after initial loss and then started creeping up again in weight due to the fact that I'm not satiated on low calories and low carb due to the higher calorie density of a lot of the low carb food staples. I'm much happier eating whatever carbs fit in my cals....but I'm not fighting daily pain or auto-immune type issues so if I was I may have a different outlook;) Good luck finding what works for you:)