Newbie with a query!

shelley2255

Hi all, I'm hoping for some clarification in lament terms, the Internet is confusing me with BMRs etc...

I'm aiming to eat between 1100-1200 calories a day to lose weight.
I work nights, 4 on and 4 off.
On my days off I'm able to burn approx 500-700 calories through walks, jogs etc
On nights I don't really get chance to burn anything off.
I keep reading about starvation mode for not eating enoigh or minimums your BMR needs etc.
Could someone tell me if I'm OK to eat 11-1200 cals a day burning off 4 x 5-700 of those daily cals
Also, when changing onto night, I can be up for 24 hours. If needed, can I use some of the calories I've burnt for an extra meal and snack? So say I've already had 1200 cals and burnt off 500. Can I use 300 extra cals to keep going for the longer awake times or will this hinder me

Many thanks 😘

harper16

Starvation mode is a myth. The minimum a sedentary female should be eating is 1200 calories a day. And, you should be eating back your exercise calories.

Clive_1963

Trouble is if you eat less once your diet stops you'll eat more and gain weight.
I have no idea how many calories I am eating per day with this diet I do.
I have to eat 5x a day usually something made from a pack in the diet and unlimited vegetables and salads from the list they gave.
The idea being I eat high protein stuff and low carb. It takes 4 steps and after the 4th step you should have trained your mind and body what to eat and how much. Hopefully when I am done I can stick to eating healthier.

Aim to eat small quantities 5x a day to keep your metabolism working and thus burning off fat. Before my diet I was have the following

Breakfast - protein shake at 07:00
Lunch - 6 slices of brown bread with cheese and meat 11:00-12:00
Dinner - usually rice and chicken or the standard potatoes meat and veg or pizza, fries or junk food at 17:45
This meant my metabolism was all over the place.

ccrdragon

Clive_1963 wrote: »

Trouble is if you eat less once your diet stops you'll eat more and gain weight.
I have no idea how many calories I am eating per day with this diet I do.
I have to eat 5x a day usually something made from a pack in the diet and unlimited vegetables and salads from the list they gave.
The idea being I eat high protein stuff and low carb. It takes 4 steps and after the 4th step you should have trained your mind and body what to eat and how much. Hopefully when I am done I can stick to eating healthier.

Aim to eat small quantities 5x a day to keep your metabolism working and thus burning off fat. Before my diet I was have the following

Breakfast - protein shake at 07:00
Lunch - 6 slices of brown bread with cheese and meat 11:00-12:00
Dinner - usually rice and chicken or the standard potatoes meat and veg or pizza, fries or junk food at 17:45
This meant my metabolism was all over the place.

To the 2 bolded statements - nonsense. Eating multiple times a day does not rev up your metabolism and eating 'junk' food (or eating in strange patterns) does not 'destroy' your metabolism. Meal timing does not affect your metabolism.

For the op - there is no such thing as 'starvation mode'. Your body does not magically stop burning calories when you reach a certain calorie deficit.

MFP calculates your calorie intake for the day without factoring in any deliberate exercise that you do, so you should always aim to eat back your exercise calories - or at least a portion of them. The minimum NET number of calories for a day (those that you eat minus those you burn off with exercise) should not be less than 1200.

shelley2255

Thank you all so much, makes me feel a bit better on change over days that I can have those calories burnt back xxx

Mithridites

With your work schedule it may be helpful for you to track your Net Average calories every week rather than your daily calories.
In the app go to DIARY>NUTRITION>NUTRIENTS>WEEK VIEW >CALORIES
In there you can change the date to get a graph for a full week and see how your CALORIES IN - EXERCISE CALORIES = Net Average is doing every week.

If it's under your goal, you're going to lose and keep losing weight.

Clive_1963

ccrdragon wrote: »

Clive_1963 wrote: »

Trouble is if you eat less once your diet stops you'll eat more and gain weight.
I have no idea how many calories I am eating per day with this diet I do.
I have to eat 5x a day usually something made from a pack in the diet and unlimited vegetables and salads from the list they gave.
The idea being I eat high protein stuff and low carb. It takes 4 steps and after the 4th step you should have trained your mind and body what to eat and how much. Hopefully when I am done I can stick to eating healthier.

Aim to eat small quantities 5x a day to keep your metabolism working and thus burning off fat. Before my diet I was have the following

Breakfast - protein shake at 07:00
Lunch - 6 slices of brown bread with cheese and meat 11:00-12:00
Dinner - usually rice and chicken or the standard potatoes meat and veg or pizza, fries or junk food at 17:45
This meant my metabolism was all over the place.

To the 2 bolded statements - nonsense. Eating multiple times a day does not rev up your metabolism and eating 'junk' food (or eating in strange patterns) does not 'destroy' your metabolism. Meal timing does not affect your metabolism.

For the op - there is no such thing as 'starvation mode'. Your body does not magically stop burning calories when you reach a certain calorie deficit.

MFP calculates your calorie intake for the day without factoring in any deliberate exercise that you do, so you should always aim to eat back your exercise calories - or at least a portion of them. The minimum NET number of calories for a day (those that you eat minus those you burn off with exercise) should not be less than 1200.

So my diet specialist is telling me a load of rubbish. ;-( At least the high protein low carb part is working ;-)

ccrdragon

Clive_1963 wrote: »

ccrdragon wrote: »

Clive_1963 wrote: »

Trouble is if you eat less once your diet stops you'll eat more and gain weight.
I have no idea how many calories I am eating per day with this diet I do.
I have to eat 5x a day usually something made from a pack in the diet and unlimited vegetables and salads from the list they gave.
The idea being I eat high protein stuff and low carb. It takes 4 steps and after the 4th step you should have trained your mind and body what to eat and how much. Hopefully when I am done I can stick to eating healthier.

Aim to eat small quantities 5x a day to keep your metabolism working and thus burning off fat. Before my diet I was have the following

Breakfast - protein shake at 07:00
Lunch - 6 slices of brown bread with cheese and meat 11:00-12:00
Dinner - usually rice and chicken or the standard potatoes meat and veg or pizza, fries or junk food at 17:45
This meant my metabolism was all over the place.

To the 2 bolded statements - nonsense. Eating multiple times a day does not rev up your metabolism and eating 'junk' food (or eating in strange patterns) does not 'destroy' your metabolism. Meal timing does not affect your metabolism.

For the op - there is no such thing as 'starvation mode'. Your body does not magically stop burning calories when you reach a certain calorie deficit.

MFP calculates your calorie intake for the day without factoring in any deliberate exercise that you do, so you should always aim to eat back your exercise calories - or at least a portion of them. The minimum NET number of calories for a day (those that you eat minus those you burn off with exercise) should not be less than 1200.

So my diet specialist is telling me a load of rubbish. ;-( At least the high protein low carb part is working ;-)

If you are an elite level athlete trying to squeeze out that last .01% performance, meal timing might make a difference, but if you are one of us average peeps, not so much. Timing and quantity of meals is basically just down to personal preference.

Glad that the high protein/low carb works for you - that's exactly how I eat (except for re-feeds).

AnnPT77

OP, what does MFP guided setup tell you as a calorie goal, for a sensible level of weight loss (maybe 0.5-1% of current body weight per week, with the top end of that appropriate if you have at least several tens of pounds to lose)? I'd suggest believing the MFP recommendation for a 4-6 week test period, then adjusting based on results.

1200 is indeed seen as a minimum for adult women here, but it can be too low for best results, for many. (I'm not saying "starvation mode" iis real. I'm saying that if one undereats, one can lose energy, get weak and fatigued so lose slower than expected due to reduced activity, maybe have trouble sticking with it long enough to make real progress, and in extreme cases even trigger health problems.)

1200 was too low for me when I started here, at age 59, hypothyroid, 5'5" with a weight in the 150s pounds. While some women - especially petite, older women - may need to eat as little as 1200 in order to lose weight, the idea that every woman needs to do that is folklore and myth.

This is a good read:

https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/

Best wishes for much success!

AnnPT77

Clive_1963 wrote: »

ccrdragon wrote: »

Clive_1963 wrote: »

Trouble is if you eat less once your diet stops you'll eat more and gain weight.
I have no idea how many calories I am eating per day with this diet I do.
I have to eat 5x a day usually something made from a pack in the diet and unlimited vegetables and salads from the list they gave.
The idea being I eat high protein stuff and low carb. It takes 4 steps and after the 4th step you should have trained your mind and body what to eat and how much. Hopefully when I am done I can stick to eating healthier.

Aim to eat small quantities 5x a day to keep your metabolism working and thus burning off fat. Before my diet I was have the following

Breakfast - protein shake at 07:00
Lunch - 6 slices of brown bread with cheese and meat 11:00-12:00
Dinner - usually rice and chicken or the standard potatoes meat and veg or pizza, fries or junk food at 17:45
This meant my metabolism was all over the place.

To the 2 bolded statements - nonsense. Eating multiple times a day does not rev up your metabolism and eating 'junk' food (or eating in strange patterns) does not 'destroy' your metabolism. Meal timing does not affect your metabolism.

For the op - there is no such thing as 'starvation mode'. Your body does not magically stop burning calories when you reach a certain calorie deficit.

MFP calculates your calorie intake for the day without factoring in any deliberate exercise that you do, so you should always aim to eat back your exercise calories - or at least a portion of them. The minimum NET number of calories for a day (those that you eat minus those you burn off with exercise) should not be less than 1200.

So my diet specialist is telling me a load of rubbish. ;-( At least the high protein low carb part is working ;-)

You may do as you wish. Presumably - at least I hope - your specialist has tailored recommendations to your particular needs, and that that specialist is well credentialed. Some of the things you're saying about metabolism are not factual. (It's possible your specialist is speaking metaphorically . . . but technically, metabolism doesn't behave as you suggest.)

You are on a calorie-counting-focused site, giving non-calorie-counting advice to people who are intending to calorie count. You may do as you choose. Maybe let them calorie count?

FWIW: I lost weight eating 2-3 times most days, getting adequate protein/fats, but plenty of carbs (150g+ daily). Basically, it was the way I'd always eaten, but smaller portions and slightly different proportions. I've stayed at a healthy weight for going on 5 years since, with good blood tests & other health markers, after 30+ previous years of obesity.

I'm glad that your new routine is working well for you, sincerely. That doesn't mean everyone needs to follow that routine, nor that your understanding of the underlying mechanisms is necessarily correct.