Struggling to lose my last few pounds

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crystelblue
crystelblue Posts: 3 Member
edited May 2020 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi I have recently lost 5st and I am really happy as it was a huge struggle for me but my doctors still insist I could lose more, even though they know I am on weight gaining steroids for health issues. I am sticking to 1200kcals a day

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  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 984 Member
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    Firstly, congrats on losing 5st - that's a great achievement. But if your doctor has told you to lose more, there will be a good reason for them telling you that.

    Are you eating 1200 calories because that's how many MFP allocated you after you entered your height, weight, age etc? Or have you just chosen that number? Also, what weight loss rate do you have selected in the set-up screen?

    By the time you're looking to only lose a few more pounds, you should be aiming to lose at a rate of 0.5lb a week - and expect it to take a while. Your logging will probably need to be very accurate at that point too.

    As cmriverside says, it gets harder when you don't have a lot to lose but it'll happen. This is where you'll hopefully be learning portion sizes, what works and what fits your calories per day, so that you don't just go back to eating as before once you switch to maintenance.
  • crystelblue
    crystelblue Posts: 3 Member
    edited May 2020
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    thank you so much for taking the time to reply, I have had a few discrepancies with doctors my own GP he just went on BMI and although I am within the healthy weight chart he suggested a few more pounds, but my hospital specialist does not think I need to lose anymore! I am really only trying to lose another few pounds, yes 1200 calories is what what my Fitness Pal allocated me, and at the moment I do not eat back any exercised earned points.
    I do agree I'm happy to lose half a pound a week if that's what it takes as I am still adjusting to the weight loss which came off quite quickly I am very accurate with my login as well. Thanks again.
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 984 Member
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    Once I got to my original target weight, I decided to go a further 1-2kg under that. If my scales are accurate, I now have a BMI of 20. I often weigh 1-2kg more when I get on the scales at my GP (the vagaries of weight fluctuations) so I went a little lower to build in some wiggle room. I'm still several kg above the bottom end of the suggested weight range for my height.

    Go in to the setup screen and change your rate to 0.5lb a week (and enter your current weight, if you haven't been updating that). When you Save, it should recalculate the number of calories you can eat.

    However, you should eat at least some of your exercise calories otherwise, your net calorie intake will be below 1200 which, over a period of time, can lead to quite serious health conditions. You'll feel fine, and then suddenly you won't be. I found that MFP was quite accurate with calorie calculations when my exercise was just walking (I know the speed I walk at and I knew the duration of my walks) but only time will tell how accurate it is for what you're tracking. The usual suggestion is to enter your exercise and eat 50-75% of the calories earned. In 6 weeks, are you losing at the rate you should be? If so, continue eating 50-75% of your exercise calories, if not, eat more or less to correct the rate.

    You'll probably also feel happy at being able to eat a little more than 1200 calories!

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