Counting Calories V's Slimming World

bufger

Maybe you should spend an hour or two in the supermarket and find out what you could eat for your calorie budget.

In the morning pick a good filling cereal or oats. If you're in a rush have a protein shake (it helps curb hunger). For lunch you can find crisps (potato chips) for less than 100 calories a bag, you could have a sandwich on wholegrain or take in your own food to heat up (i like beans on wholemeal toast no butter etc). For snacks go for fruit, nuts if you're hungry. Some buscuits are very low calorie for a single buscuit so that can be a good choice too.

The only sustainable method of weight loss and then maintenance is portion control, knowledge of food groups and general calories and exercise.

Cat_296

Did you work out your BMR?

I assumed MFP did that all for me...?

MFP will almost always output 1200cals for short women who plug in they want to lose 2lbs a week. If you got for a slightly less aggressive goal, and eat more than your BMR but less than your TDEE you might get a target that doesn't leave you hungry each day, and yet you still lose a decent amount.

I eat 1650cals plus an extra 250 on days I exercise, and I'm not hungry all the time... plus I'm losing.

I've been able to sustain this for much longer than 1200cals.

I've just checked, on here it says my BMR is 1360 a day. I've got my setting to 1.5lbs a week and have jiggled about with stuff, but because of my height, no matter what I put in it says 1200.

If your BMR is 1360, you can eat at least that a day. Now work out your TDEE and aim for 20% below that. You should fit in nicely between your BMR and your TDEE.

That extra 160 cals could make all the difference. You need to look at what you eat as well. For example, foods high in protein will fill you up for longer.

Hi there, I think I can possibly help a little bit here. Because you said that you are constantly moving I worked out that your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is likely to be around 2300 cals/day (and that's accounting for your height, current weight and level of activity). If you do a 20% cut from that you get 1840 cals. I think that for your lifestyle 1500 may just be too low for you.

psuLemon

So it seems you are likely active during the day (meaning you are on your feet)? Also when you go home, do you workout? If so, then you can add more calories. Essentially, you want to calculate your TDEE and cut 20%. If your BMR is 1360, you are lightly active and you workout and burn 300 calories, your TDEE is as follows:

= 1360 * 1.375 + 300 = 2170 <-- this is where you cut 20% from.

caloric requirements = 2170 * .8 = 1736

Of if you follow MFP, it will do about the same thing. Set your goal to 1 lb per week, lightly active and here is the calculation

= 1360 * 1.375 = 1870 - 500 = 1370 < -- if you workout and burn 300 calories, it's then

= 1370 + 300 = 1670


You determine what MFP gives you. If you know you are walking a lot during the day, then you can NOT put sedentary. If you aren't honest with yourself, then MFP will fail you.

lozadee

i do SW and i log on here (because the SW food diary is so not user friendly) and i find that i am usually more or less around MFPs calorie goal anyway. if i'm over, it's because i've overdone the syns. following SW rather than straight calorie counting means i make more sensible choices though, so i keep doing it.

I do the same thing - its time consuming but helps to have a 'second opinion' and decide from there...on occassion by the time I've worked things out I'm less interested in having snacks.

I have always calorie counted and drive myself insain with it, I Joined slimming world for new ideas so for me "eat as much as you want" wasnt an option so it helps to compare the two ways of thinking

MrsBlobs

Ok - I have REALLY read everything all of you, every single poster, has put and I can honestly take something from every post. Thank you so much!!

I think somewhere along the lines I've got completely confused, it seemed that no matter what I put into MFP it said 1200, I must have been inputting something wrong or not putting info in...or something.

Anyway, I followed the link provided above and worked out from that, that my calorie goal for deficit is 1648 and I'm assuming that I still should eat back some of my burn calories on top...? Which would bring me every day to +/-1800 or there abouts. Which seems to fit in with what those that have taken the time to crunch the numbers (thank you) have said.

Does that sound about right? It would certainly explain why I've been feeling so, so hungry and so, so grumpy!
I've got my knickers in a twist over this :embarassed: and I obviously didn't really understand what I should have been setting for goal - Thank you all so much for your help.

I'll stick with MFP., keep to a more sustainable goal and think about upping protein a bit/food choices :flowerforyou:

JinksE21

If you click on MY HOME then Goals, you can customize your calorie and macronutrient settings. MFP made my goal 1200 and was not losing so I upped it to 1600 to be closer to my TDEE.

stuffinmuffin

I've got a couple of friends that have gone down the SW route and are successful until they hit maintenance as SW doesn't teach you about portion sizes. Personally SW to me is just a fancy system of dressing up a low fat, low calorie diet and getting you to pay through the teeth for it. Also in this bracket I would put Weightwatchers.

As someone said earlier in the thread, MFP is a guide using basic diet principles that if you eat less food and burn more energy you will lose weight through a calorie deficit. This calorie deficit adjusts (using the MFP guidance tool on your settings) according to your current size and goals. One tip is not to have a goal that means you only eat 1200 calories a day. Faster is not necessarily better.
One thing I find strange is that my SW friends have to tot up how much bread or dairy they have, and will comment when out for meals "Oh I've had my dairy for today" Or, "Oh I'm not allowed any bread". Forgive me, but why sign up to a diet that dictates what you eat considering that bread (wholemeal) and dairy is not always a bad thing to have. Sometimes I might have bread and dairy each meal of the day...for instance, I was actually thinking about this earlier as today's meal plan is such:
Breakfast: Porridge with honey and yoghurt. Slice of toast with butter.
Lunch: One slice of cheese on toast and bowl of pumpkin soup.
Dinner: Tuna and Mozzarella pizza.
My friends would never be able to do this on SW. Yet tomorrow, I may not have any dairy, I just eat a little of what I fancy and when.

I do generally eat well. I avoid over processed foods and try and avoid sugar unless in a birthday cake or bottle of wine! :drinker: Maintenance was fairly easy on MFP and I now can take everything I've learnt into my future without being on a 'diet'. I no longer even log food or exercise on here any more.

In regard to it being a diet or not. It's what you make of it. If you want to spend the next few months starving yourself and losing weight to then grant yourself the freedom to eat as you were when putting weight on, then you will never leave the cycle. If you use this or maybe SW to learn how you should be eating and know when you can have a treat and when not and when sometimes getting off your butt and exercising is a good thing then maybe you will never diet again.

DanaDark

Feeling hungry sure does suck.

Some suggestions to deal with hunger is eating more protein (slower to digest, so you feel satiated significantly longer). As well as foods high in fiber.

BIG mistake people make is they try to reduce calories and think that that means just salads, fruits, and veggies all day long. Bad bad bad. Our bodies are: Water, Fat, and Protein. So, definitely need to get enough protein in there! We also need fats to function properly (helps digest a lot of things we need).

Half a cup of brown rice, a whole chicken breast, and a large bowl of raw spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, radish, carrots, and celery can be as low as 400 calories. I once made a similar meal that I literally could not finish because I was so stuffed and came out to 250 calories lol.

Anyway, BEST part about MFP is the community. Friends and forums here help with information and accountability!