Advise please on calories

Serena272

I fear I am going to get slated here but have been reading on here for ages and have finally plucked up the courage to ask or advise ,over the last three years i have lost 8 stone,the first 6 stone with slimming world then the last two calorie counting(you would think after this I would know what I am doing),the problem started with the last stone no matter what I did I could not shift it so what did I do I cut my calories but before you all shout at me please bear with me i have now got myself into routine of lasting each day on approx 600 cals a day mon to fri but as I love to go out with my family for meal and cinemas I eat the rest back on sat and sun to bring it to 1250 a day 7 days a week,I exercise doing Davina or Gillian DVD for an hour a day and hula hoop also for 30 mins a day and am just starting half an hour a day power walking with my hubby to try to help him,my question is as I eat all my saved calories back sat and sun is that ok,I don't eat any exercise cals back as I am only just losing a pound a week now so if I eat any more I would lose nothing and I am still trying to lose another I have only just joined Mfp so I have not logged food yet.thankyou for any advise given x.

Stage14

There is nothing healthy about what you're doing. You just flat out aren't giving your body enough sustenance and nutrients, especially if you're binge eating on the weekends because it sounds like a lot of those calories probably come from rich foods and junk. Please rethink this method and eat a healthy amount of calories from good nutritious foods every day.

grimendale

I fear I am going to get slated here but have been reading on here for ages and have finally plucked up the courage to ask or advise ,over the last three years i have lost 8 stone,the first 6 stone with slimming world then the last two calorie counting(you would think after this I would know what I am doing),the problem started with the last stone no matter what I did I could not shift it so what did I do I cut my calories but before you all shout at me please bear with me i have now got myself into routine of lasting each day on approx 600 cals a day mon to fri but as I love to go out with my family for meal and cinemas I eat the rest back on sat and sun to bring it to 1250 a day 7 days a week,I exercise doing Davina or Gillian DVD for an hour a day and hula hoop also for 30 mins a day and am just starting half an hour a day power walking with my hubby to try to help him,my question is as I eat all my saved calories back sat and sun is that ok,I don't eat any exercise cals back as I am only just losing a pound a week now so if I eat any more I would lose nothing and I am still trying to lose another I have only just joined Mfp so I have not logged food yet.thankyou for any advise given x.

I understand that a lot of people average over a week, but 600 a day five days a week seems too low. That's not sustainable and could potentially cause you problems in the long run, particularly if, as you say, you are exercising during the week and not eating any back until the weekend. You are likely netting close to zero calories a day during the week, which is not even a little healthy. It sounds like you lost weight fairly quickly early on and then freaked out when your weight loss slowed down. You need to take a step back, take a deep breath and calm down. Weight loss is slower the closer you are to goal weight. If you only have one stone left to lose, a pound a week is probably too ambitious. You need to change your expectations and be more reasonable. As close as you are to goal, half a pound a week is probably more realistic. You are starving yourself during the week to try to speed up the weight loss, and you are probably acheiving it by burning muscle tissue. You'll continue to lose the way you are, but it won't be fat you're mostly losing. You also need to start actually logging. Given that you are starving during the week and gorging during the weekend, you are likely eating more than you realize on the weekends since your body is desperate for nutrition. You might want to consider looking into 5:2 intermittent fasting. It's not for me, but it is a much healthier way to do what you are trying to do. Reset your expectations and consitently log everything for a few weeks. Don't hurt yourself trying to lose weight.

leebesstoad

So let me understand? You are eating 600 calories a day 5 days a week and averaging about 2875 calories a day on the weekends (cause that is what it would take to 1250 calories/day). 5 days a week you eat 600 calories a day, plus you do an hour exercise DVD and 30 minutes of hula hoop and now you are starting to power walk with your husband as well? Is that all correct? I'm sorry but that is just so wrong, I'm not sure where to start. Effectively, you are almost netting zero calories 5 days a week. With the power walking, you may not even be getting to zero. That is even beyond eating disorder territory. It doesn't matter how many calories you store on the weekends. Your body needs nutrition 5 days a week. Your metabolism must be so screwed up I can't even begin to imagine.

Before you get any advice on calories though, you really don't provide any information on which to make any judgment. How tall are you, what is your current weight and what is your target weight. What does MFP have your calories at? I can see from your profile you are 42 years old.

But I am more concerned about any damage you have done to your body, physically and metabolically. You've been doing this for a couple of years? Have you seen a doctor, have you had a physical? Have you told them about this plan? I would just be very, very concerned if my reading of what you wrote is correct.

Cindyinpg

I fear I am going to get slated here but have been reading on here for ages and have finally plucked up the courage to ask or advise ,over the last three years i have lost 8 stone,the first 6 stone with slimming world then the last two calorie counting(you would think after this I would know what I am doing),the problem started with the last stone no matter what I did I could not shift it so what did I do I cut my calories but before you all shout at me please bear with me i have now got myself into routine of lasting each day on approx 600 cals a day mon to fri but as I love to go out with my family for meal and cinemas I eat the rest back on sat and sun to bring it to 1250 a day 7 days a week,I exercise doing Davina or Gillian DVD for an hour a day and hula hoop also for 30 mins a day and am just starting half an hour a day power walking with my hubby to try to help him,my question is as I eat all my saved calories back sat and sun is that ok,I don't eat any exercise cals back as I am only just losing a pound a week now so if I eat any more I would lose nothing and I am still trying to lose another I have only just joined Mfp so I have not logged food yet.thankyou for any advise given x.

I understand that a lot of people average over a week, but 600 a day five days a week seems too low. That's not sustainable and could potentially cause you problems in the long run, particularly if, as you say, you are exercising during the week and not eating any back until the weekend. You are likely netting close to zero calories a day during the week, which is not even a little healthy. It sounds like you lost weight fairly quickly early on and then freaked out when your weight loss slowed down. You need to take a step back, take a deep breath and calm down. Weight loss is slower the closer you are to goal weight. If you only have one stone left to lose, a pound a week is probably too ambitious. You need to change your expectations and be more reasonable. As close as you are to goal, half a pound a week is probably more realistic. You are starving yourself during the week to try to speed up the weight loss, and you are probably acheiving it by burning muscle tissue. You'll continue to lose the way you are, but it won't be fat you're mostly losing. You also need to start actually logging. Given that you are starving during the week and gorging during the weekend, you are likely eating more than you realize on the weekends since your body is desperate for nutrition. You might want to consider looking into 5:2 intermittent fasting. It's not for me, but it is a much healthier way to do what you are trying to do. Reset your expectations and consitently log everything for a few weeks. Don't hurt yourself trying to lose weight.

Yes, please look into 5:2 which will give you healthier guidelines to follow.

elliej

I fear you will get slated and not much advice.

I have a question or two... Do you want to eat like this for the rest of your life? Do you think you can?

Would it be so hard to a partially restricted diet all week (1200+ cals a day) until you near your goal (still eating things you want if they fit into your macros) and increase those cals until you're at maintenance, then carry on for the rest of your life eating healthily and indulging occasionally?

sympha01

Hi Serena. You have certainly lost a lot of weight so far -- congratulations! It must feel wonderful to have achieved such success.

From what I understand, eating at ANY deficit for a long period of time -- which you have -- will tend to suppress/damage the metabolism. So in addition to just plain spending fewer calories moving your poundage around, your body may actually be spending fewer calories *per pound of bodyweight* than before.

It sounds like you are experimenting with intermittent fasting to see if that kicks your metabolism up. Which in itself doesn't sound like a bad idea. BUT it does sound like your average intake is too low, and the differential between fast and feast days is too high; eating so few calories during most of the week does seem extreme and not likely to do your body any real good. At the VERY LEAST you might consider reducing the differential between your calories on fast days versus feast days.

You don't mention your current weight or your goal weight. But if you're within, say, 2 stone of your ideal bodyweight, it might be a VERY good idea for you to instead spend a couple of months working on maintenance -- not weight loss -- and specifically gradually adding more calories to your diet during maintenance to see if you can repair your metabolism somewhat. Treat your body NICE for a few months instead of trying to bend it to your will, if you know what I mean.

Edited for spelling.

xRiverX

well done for loosing all that weight

It sounds if youre doing "the 5/2 diet"(but other way round) its good but doesnt last.

My advice is to slowly build an "intermittent fast" 12hr fast 12hr feed and eat 1800 cals for 4 days this will help reset your calories and you would probably put on about 7lbs,then I would eat healthy like on "slimming world" for 2 weeks,and then count calories
hope this helps

Serena272

Hi my current weight is 9.10 and I am trying to get to 9 stone, I am 5 foot tall,Mfp has set me at 1220 but I am ment to eat calories back as well,i feel really bad and totally thick that I didn't realise it was all so wrong because I always used my calories at the weekend I assumed it was fine,I don't eat junk at weekends normally a couple of nice meals in resturants and a bag of popcorn at the pictures,I think it started as my family used to say to be that all my decision run round my diet and the only way I could see to go out at weekends with them for meal as they go every weekend was to save calories and it went from bad to worse,thankyou so much for all the help and advise.

Serena272

Hi no I don't want to eat like I am for the rest of my life,I think I just got scared that if i I eat more I would gain loads of weight as my thinking was if I m only losing a pound a week on 1250 over the week (as this is what i average when I eat all my saved calories on a sat and sun) then if I try to eat more my logic was I old put on,xxxx

stephiesmit

Serena,
No abuse or judgement coming from me. I would encourage you to look into the 5:2 eating plan and to actually log your food. This will show you what areas you may be deficient in during the week (ie protein) and where your excess may be on the weekend.

The hard this with how you're eating currently is what will happen when you go back to "normal". My fear for you is that the weight will come back quickly.

I understand how you can get into this routine. Please feel free to message me or add me as a friend.:flowerforyou: