Jetting to Barbados in 18 days - calorie help??

dxc92
dxc92 Posts: 138 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone

I am from UK and will be jetting off for a sunny holiday in Barbados in 18 days time. I have came to a plateau with my weight loss for the last few months and hope to lose half a stone by the time I go away so my clothes fit a little more comfortably.

I do pilates on Tuesday, Kettlercise on Wednesdays and Body Attack on Thursdays. Any other day I try fit in some walking/swimming if I can.

So for the next 18 days I have decided my diet will consist of

Yoghurt and apple for breakfast

Apple and banana for lunch

Chicken breast with LOTS of turnip and carrots for evening meal

If i need to snack, I will just have a yoghurt......

This does not actually come to a great amount of calories, (very under 1000 calories) but I do feel like I am eating plenty? Just a little worried about the amount of exercise I do with the amount of calories I am eating.

Does anyone think that this is an okay amount to eat or should I be adding more to my diet? helpppppp! Danielle x

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    One your body is fighting you from not eating enough, but in 18 days, you will be lucky to see any kind of good results. If anything up your calories to 1 lb per week and lift weights. But 18 days isn't enough to give you any kind of results that will be greatly visible. If you want to lose some water weight, go low carb and high protein/fat. You can probably lost 5-10 lbs of water weight this way but you will gain it back the moment you eat more carbs.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
    One your body is fighting you from not eating enough, but in 18 days, you will be lucky to see any kind of good results. If anything up your calories to 1 lb per week and lift weights. But 18 days isn't enough to give you any kind of results that will be greatly visible. If you want to lose some water weight, go low carb and high protein/fat. You can probably lost 5-10 lbs of water weight this way but you will gain it back the moment you eat more carbs.

    Agree.
    Also, having just a banana and apple for lunch will leave you starving - no protein in there. I'd add some protein and fat, maybe some chicken or other meat or cheese.
  • dantewoo
    dantewoo Posts: 1
    I think you should put the big meal in lunch. Eat some eggs in the breakfast, and can switch to fruits for the evening meal. The salient point is to control the income of carbohydrate and fat; you should have some protein.
  • carrieo888
    carrieo888 Posts: 233 Member
    That's a very carb heavy diet that will leave you hungry and tired. More protein & healthy fats (like olives, avocados and almonds) will keep you more sated. Your body needs fuel to work optimally, so perhaps eat well and workout more?
  • MiloBloom83
    MiloBloom83 Posts: 2,724 Member
    Hi everyone

    I am from UK and will be jetting off for a sunny holiday in Barbados in 18 days time.

    #firstworldproblems

    Enjoy your vacation. :drinker: Stop starving yourself.
  • dxc92
    dxc92 Posts: 138 Member
    Thanks for the advice everyone! I amn't looking for any short term results, I have been dieting since around May and slowly lost just over 1 stone and want to continue losing. I was just looking for a small quick loss for this holiday - which I knew I would probably gain back afterwards, but I would just work towards losing it again over a longer period of time. I think I will add eggs to my diet along with other protein sources to keep my fuller for longer. Thanks again
  • TDiaz214
    TDiaz214 Posts: 108 Member
    I'd recommend eating back your calories that you gain from exercising.
  • dxc92
    dxc92 Posts: 138 Member
    Okay, are you not supposed to eat less than what you burn to lose?
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Hmmmm. That's a bit of a misunderstanding. Your body already uses calories each day, regardless of whether you exercise or not. You can calculate the average energy expenditure, or Total Daily Enery Expenditure (TDEE) using online calculators. if you ate at your TDEE you would maintain. Less than that, and you'll lose weight.

    The other important figure is your BMR - your Basal Metabolic rate. That's the minimum amount of calories your body needs just to exist, let alone move anywhere. It's usually around 1200, which is why MFP won't let you have a daily target of less than that.

    So - eat between your BMR and your TDEE and you should lose weight.

    When you add on exercise calories by recording them on MFP, that's not the ONLY calories you're burning that day.
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    Should of worked harder on your diet when you had more than 18 days left to lose 7 lbs..
  • pyrowill
    pyrowill Posts: 1,163 Member
    Should of worked harder on your diet when you had more than 18 days left to lose 7 lbs..

    lol
  • pyrowill
    pyrowill Posts: 1,163 Member
    18 days isn't long at all. Best thing you can do is just drink loads of water and eat normally. You might lose 5lbs with good eating and exercise, ideally overnight fasted. But eat more.
  • brraanndi
    brraanndi Posts: 325 Member
    Why not just buy clothes that fit so you aren't spending your time trying to reach a strict goal right before vacation?
  • keem88
    keem88 Posts: 1,689 Member
    aim to not gain a lot of weight. make sure you move around and don't over eat. have fun that's more important. worse comes to worse you gain a few pounds back, just get back in your groove when you get home. as far as your plateau, try switching up your exercise what what you eat sometimes that helps
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    i own a place here, where are u??
  • meagomyeggo
    meagomyeggo Posts: 3 Member
    Protein, protein, and protein! :) Try eating protein at every meal! Lean meats of course, and eggs.
  • dxc92
    dxc92 Posts: 138 Member
    Should of worked harder on your diet when you had more than 18 days left to lose 7 lbs..

    Yeah I understand that, this was not a question on a long term weight loss plan, if I even lost 5lb I would be happy, but pretty sure I would manage to lose 3lb a week if I really worked at it the next two weeks to get myself there. Like I said, Im not worried about ganining it back when I come back from holiday, this is purely to feel more comfortable when I am away.
  • dxc92
    dxc92 Posts: 138 Member
    18 days isn't long at all. Best thing you can do is just drink loads of water and eat normally. You might lose 5lbs with good eating and exercise, ideally overnight fasted. But eat more.

    No it is not long at all , my diet has been continious since May, sturggle sometimes, pick myself back up etc !! So this is just basically, something I was wanting to try to be a lot stricter with myself for the next couple weeks. But after everyones advice I will just stick to my usual diet and bring more protein in. Thanks
  • dxc92
    dxc92 Posts: 138 Member
    i own a place here, where are u??

    Own a place where, Scotland or Barbados? :-)
  • dxc92
    dxc92 Posts: 138 Member
    Hmmmm. That's a bit of a misunderstanding. Your body already uses calories each day, regardless of whether you exercise or not. You can calculate the average energy expenditure, or Total Daily Enery Expenditure (TDEE) using online calculators. if you ate at your TDEE you would maintain. Less than that, and you'll lose weight.

    The other important figure is your BMR - your Basal Metabolic rate. That's the minimum amount of calories your body needs just to exist, let alone move anywhere. It's usually around 1200, which is why MFP won't let you have a daily target of less than that.

    So - eat between your BMR and your TDEE and you should lose weight.

    When you add on exercise calories by recording them on MFP, that's not the ONLY calories you're burning that day.

    Total blonde moment,of course you burn whilst not exercising. Thanks for the advice, will go look at the online calculators to help.
  • devoed120
    devoed120 Posts: 1 Member
    First, congrats on the weight you have already lost!

    Second, I find that when I focus on eating healthy and getting in my workouts I feel better about my body regardless of the weight. So, maybe you just focus on a balanced healthy diet for the next 18 days (I agree with not starving your body). Drink lots of water. Get 4x/ week cardio in. You should fee great and fee confident about your body. This should also keep any bloating down making your clothes feel better.

    Have fun!
  • Briargrey
    Briargrey Posts: 498 Member
    I think you should put the big meal in lunch. Eat some eggs in the breakfast, and can switch to fruits for the evening meal. The salient point is to control the income of carbohydrate and fat; you should have some protein.

    Just FYI - this is very individual-dependent. I much prefer my larger meal in the evening, but I know others who want it in the morning and some who want it at lunch, and some who split it up into smaller meals throughout the day. So, OP, if it works for you, great, but if not, where the larger meal is really doesn't matter.

    But, like the quoted post said, the salient point is to fit good macros of carbs, fat, and protein. None of those are bad, btw, just need to have a balance. If you're finding yourself starving during the day, adding in some more filling foods with proteins would probably help. For me, I'm good with oatmeal in the morning, fruit throughout the day, maybe some nuts/seeds as snacks too, and then my main caloric intake is at dinner and after-dinner snacking. Just how I work :)

    And other posters have given you some great advice too -- it's only 18 days away, no miracle is going to happen. You've done a great job, and a plateau is not a big deal. Make sure you have your calorie goal set appropriately, and if you using the MFP method, eat back the calories you burn in exercise. If you use the TDEE method to set your calories, you don't eat back that burn as it's already calculated in. Remember that the calorie goal takes into account a deficit already. If you're using MFP, you set it when you told it how much you wanted to lose per week, and it spit out how many calories per day you should eat to get there. It won't (fortunately) set you below 1200, and it wants that to be a 'net' figure, so if you add in exercise calories, it will up what you should eat for the day. This is important, because netting under 1200 doesn't provide you with the nutrients you need typically, and really should only be done under the guidance of a doctor who is skilled in nutrition and dietary issues.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    Another FYI, most women I know are eating 1700-2100 calories during weight loss. Many of them workout 5-6 hours a week. Eating too little will just increase muscle loss, which makes it more difficult to have a lean and tight body (which is what most people want). Essentially, you want to maximize fat loss and minimize muscle loss. This will improve the chances of getting lean. Additionally, more muscle = less weight loss required to achieve said body. What I suggest is using an online calculator like fitness frog to figure out your estimated TDEE and cut 20%, or post your height, weight, age and workout routine and we can evaluate it.

    Ideally, you want to aim for about 1 lb a week and eat back some of your exercise calories or add exercise into the TDEE equation and not worry about; meaning, I workout 5-6 hours a week so I am moderately active instead of sedentary. When you exercise, at least 50-70% of it should be resistance type training (IMO) to maximize muscle retention. And finally, you should aim to get about 1g of protein and .35g of fats per lb of lean body mass. Or essentially 75-80% of your body weight in grams. So if you weigh 150 lbs than 112 - 120g's of protein.
  • dxc92
    dxc92 Posts: 138 Member
    I think you should put the big meal in lunch. Eat some eggs in the breakfast, and can switch to fruits for the evening meal. The salient point is to control the income of carbohydrate and fat; you should have some protein.

    Just FYI - this is very individual-dependent. I much prefer my larger meal in the evening, but I know others who want it in the morning and some who want it at lunch, and some who split it up into smaller meals throughout the day. So, OP, if it works for you, great, but if not, where the larger meal is really doesn't matter.

    But, like the quoted post said, the salient point is to fit good macros of carbs, fat, and protein. None of those are bad, btw, just need to have a balance. If you're finding yourself starving during the day, adding in some more filling foods with proteins would probably help. For me, I'm good with oatmeal in the morning, fruit throughout the day, maybe some nuts/seeds as snacks too, and then my main caloric intake is at dinner and after-dinner snacking. Just how I work :)

    And other posters have given you some great advice too -- it's only 18 days away, no miracle is going to happen. You've done a great job, and a plateau is not a big deal. Make sure you have your calorie goal set appropriately, and if you using the MFP method, eat back the calories you burn in exercise. If you use the TDEE method to set your calories, you don't eat back that burn as it's already calculated in. Remember that the calorie goal takes into account a deficit already. If you're using MFP, you set it when you told it how much you wanted to lose per week, and it spit out how many calories per day you should eat to get there. It won't (fortunately) set you below 1200, and it wants that to be a 'net' figure, so if you add in exercise calories, it will up what you should eat for the day. This is important, because netting under 1200 doesn't provide you with the nutrients you need typically, and really should only be done under the guidance of a doctor who is skilled in nutrition and dietary issues.

    Thanks for the fab advice!!! I think I prefer to probably eat more in my evening meal too, always done it and it stops me snacking at bed time. I think with me working in an office does not help either, very inactive throughout the day. But I will try keep up with the 1200 calories and eat back my exercise too as someone else mentioned.

    By the way well done on your AMAZING weight loss!!!!!!

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