1200 cal menu anyone?

Hi Plaffo,

I agree with velmada - 1200 calories is likely far too low given your exercise (7k 5 days a week is great- well done - also in Ireland so if you are braving the weather - fair play!) - have you calculated your basal metabolic rate (BMR)? Basically this the number of calories required to support vital body functions if you lay still all day and did nothing. If you do any activity more than this, you will require more calories. You are running 7k 5 days a week, so you will almost certainly need a lot more calories. So really if we were to maintain weight, the amount of calories we would need would be our BMR+the number of calories we burn through daily activities and exercise. This number of calories is your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).

If you consistently eat at a level thats below your BMR, you are almost certainly losing lean body mass (muscle), and your metabolism will slow down a lot meaning losing weight will be more difficult and you may do more harm than good in the long term. You seem to be doing great with the exercise, so consider the following;

Work out your BMR here: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

From what you describe you would be moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) (some might say very active), so to calculate your TDEE its your BMR x 1.55. This is the amount of calories you need per day if you were to maintain your weight. 1 pound of fat = 3500 calories, so if you subtracted 500 calories from your TDEE every day you would lose 1pound fat per week without any of the problems mentioned above.

For your macros, they look ok, but I think 50 carb, 30 protein and 20 fat would be better on days you run. Then you could try lower carb, higher protein days when you are not running, so 40 carb, 40 protein, 20 fat. If you have hard time getting enough protein in, it would be worth maybe investing in a protein supplement a good site here is discountsupplements.ie. Other things that are great are tesco now sell egg whites and although the pricey they a good low calorie source of protein.

For breakfast I usually eat the same thing - two weetabix, 200ml skimmed milk, 15g milled flaxseed (any supermarket) - 325 calories.

Lunch - grilled chicken breast (add any spices you like to it), fall a packet of (65g) broccoli tips, half pack of asparagus tips (40g) (dunes sell packets of these) + 100g baby potatoes (tesco) - (not to confirm any stenotypes or anything!)

Dinner - something similar to lunch or brown pasta with salad, chicken..

Snacks - here I usually have the following; protein shake, egg white omelette, apple, banana, 25g mixed nuts (tesco) - just adjust to suit yourself.

Any questions, ask away and good luck.

No bother - 14 pounds in 5 weeks is great! Unless someone had a lot to lose, 2 pounds per week at the most is considered more of a sustainable, "healthy rate" (everyone has views on this so I'm sure someone will disagree). You mention 7llbs to go so yes you could definitely slow a small bit. It also makes it much more sustainable in the long run to keep it off. For long term sustainability the weekly "cheat meal" is perfectly fine once you hit your targets 6 of7 days.
Good luck!