I'm supposed to eat MORE???

FeebRyan
FeebRyan Posts: 738 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I dont quite understand.

I am currently around 100lbs overweight. I weigh around 20st

I have joined MyFitnessPal for motivation and support whilst i SLOWLY lose the weight.

But it tells me i should be aiming to eat 2,200 calories a day?

I am rather boring so i will tell you what i usually eat

Breakfast
bowl of bran flakes and milk
cup of green tea

snack
jordans frusli bar (around 120KCAL)
cup of green tea

lunch
two pieces of wholewheat toast with butter, 1/2 tin baked beans (branston)

snack
Apple
cup of green tea

dinner
spag bol or stir fry or chicken and pasta or sausage and mash. Admittedly i have been leaning towards veggie meals of late but still, having a spag bol tonight as its all we have in.

Yet i am still being told i need to eat a further 400-600Kcal a day?

I am also breastfeeding which burns 500 calories a day but it works by metabolising existing fat so not really relevant.

How do i eat 'more' then? I dont want to eat rubbish anymore and that above looks to me like a healthy diet. Is there any need for me to be eating more than that?

I average at around 1700/1800 calories a day if that helps.

Replies

  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Based on your weight and age (I just took a guess at your height) your BMR (just the calories you need if you spent the day in bed) is a little over 2,000 (this comes down as you lose weight) so even with a completely sedentary lifestyle your maintenance calories would be in the range of 2,400.

    The recommendations MFP makes are based on a modest caloric deficit (I'll assume you set your weight loss to 1lb per week?) that results in a sustainable diet. Those with bigger amounts to lose can usually safely go with a bigger deficit in the short term. If you're satisfying your nutritional needs (ie getting enough protein etc) with 1,700 to 1,800 cal per day I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it.
  • keithmustloseweight
    keithmustloseweight Posts: 309 Member
    Follow the steps in this post (there are only 3 steps)

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    I would recommend reading the entire post though (maybe not the whole thread) as I found it very helpful.
  • FeebRyan
    FeebRyan Posts: 738 Member
    Thank you for the advice and the link i read through half of it and will carry on shortly (i need to get some housework done)

    I have no intention of 'dieting' as such, my aim is to change my lifestyle and stop snacking on crap foods.

    So we are doing things like swapping white rice for brown, not snacking between meals, not drinking cokes or other fatty drinks, green tea instead of black tea with sugar and milk, no puddings... etc

    But i dont want to starve myself thin, i never anticipated that by simply cutting out snacks i would be doing that.

    One issue is that, i simply cannot afford to eat vast amounts of food. Perhaps this is where i have been going wrong, i have been undereating and snacking which has made my body heap on the pounds.

    So what can i do about it? have lots more healthier snacks around the place? thats one idea but its expensive, just eat an extra meal a day? where would i fit that in?

    Say if i continue to eat as i am doing, averaging around 1800 calories a day, would i lose weight? Will that be unhealthy for me?

    Can i add that i am incredibly healthy for my weight, they always always took my blood pressure twice in pregnancy as they could nto believe someone of my size would have such a low rate.

    I just want to lose the weight in a healthy way. Now i feel i am not doing that :
  • kendrafallon
    kendrafallon Posts: 1,030 Member
    You may want to consider looking at the Eat More to Weigh Less group on MFP:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Eat more calorie dense foods is the easiest way to do it and a good way to get some essential fats in as well. I had a marathon workout yesterday and had to make up some calories (yes I am in the camp of eating back my exercise calories. So last night when I went to bed I took a cup of Pistachios (320 calories) and a glass of 1% chocolate milk (300 calories) = 620 calories and that wasn't very much, was literally a snack. Or try 2 Tbps of peanut butter will net you roughly 200 calories, have that with some apple slices. I also enjoy almonds and cashews...... Best of Luck
  • FeebRyan
    FeebRyan Posts: 738 Member
    I love cashews :) and chocolate milk :D

    Okay... I'll treat myself later then and try and make up the extra calories :)
  • FeebRyan
    FeebRyan Posts: 738 Member
    I'm off bellydancing tonight so i think on the way home i am going to grab some scones and surpsied the hubby when i get back :) Next tuesday i will buy vast nuts/seeds and so on and really crank up my calories in a healthy way :)
  • Nina1007
    Nina1007 Posts: 150
    I am also Breastfeeding. I Breastfeeding exclusively. I've done a lot of research on Breastfeeding and losing weight. The minimum amount of calories you should eat is 1800 calories. You should not go below this and I have found it to be true. Your milk supply can diminish not to mention you will feel exhausted, irritated, and like plain old crap. I know this from research AND experience. I would even eat a 2000 calorie diet if I were you, based on your current weight. Whatever you decide to do though, good luck to ya on your weight loss journey. :)
  • slimmin_down
    slimmin_down Posts: 6
    Perhaps add foods that are higher in calories but are good for you. If you have a salad add half an avocado, that's an easy 100-150 cals with good oils. Or nuts. Nuts are quite high in calories this video shows you how many nuts makes up 100cals http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCoK_vJDEhQ
    Maybe add fruit to your morning cereal, like banana slices, one banana is 100 cals,
  • FeebRyan
    FeebRyan Posts: 738 Member
    I am also Breastfeeding. I Breastfeeding exclusively. I've done a lot of research on Breastfeeding and losing weight. The minimum amount of calories you should eat is 1800 calories. You should not go below this and I have found it to be true. Your milk supply can diminish not to mention you will feel exhausted, irritated, and like plain old crap. I know this from research AND experience. I would even eat a 2000 calorie diet if I were you, based on your current weight. Whatever you decide to do though, good luck to ya on your weight loss journey. :)

    This has to be dependant on who you are and what weight you are surely?

    Breastmilk is metabolised from fat stores already in the body, so the body takes existing fat and turns it into the milk, or it would have to take food calories - turn them into fat stores and then convert it into milk which is a longer process. this is why pregnant woman store fat, for it to be readily converted into breastmilk.

    If you are overweight, or heavily overweight like me, then the calories you eat do not come into it, they are a separate thing, they are necessary for your survival but for your baby, your body will continue to utilise its existing fat stores.

    Your research may well be relevant to someone who is of a healthy weight already, but it is certainly not relevant sto someone with a high BMI. This is why slimming world and other plans do not take into account breastfeeding at all, because it is simply using the fats that are already there, nothing to do with the calories ingested daily.

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