calories

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allyg38
allyg38 Posts: 17
in Food and Nutrition
hi all

just looking for opinions please

is it better to cut ur calories at the start of a new eating plan then add more as you go along, or the opposite, eat higher cals of good healthy food and reduce ur cals as u go along?? i heard the second one helped keep ur metabolism going better.

if anyone has had experience of this id be very interested x :bigsmile:

Replies

  • roachhaley
    roachhaley Posts: 978 Member
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    What? Do both. Cut calories and eat healthier food. People are gonna give you a ton reasons why you should do this or that, but at the end of it all, 3500 calories usually equals a pound and thats probably what you should keep in mind.
  • allyg38
    allyg38 Posts: 17
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    nooo not do both lol. basically was asking do people increase cals as the go along or decrease. just after i read something and just wanted to clarify the info it sed by asking more knowledgable people
  • allyg38
    allyg38 Posts: 17
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    true losing a pound whichever way as people do things diff and we arnt all the same. thanks x
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    As you lose weight your calorie burn rate will decline, so if you start with -500 cals to give 1 pound a week off the amount you eat will have to go down as you progress.

    Example - initial energy expenditure 2200 cals/day, - 500 = eat 1700 cals/day. At lower weight Expenditure 2000 cals/day, -500 = eat 1500 a day.

    As you approach your target you will want to reduce the deficit to get in sync with your new maintenance regime, perhaps at 1900 cals.
  • allyg38
    allyg38 Posts: 17
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    thank you yarwell. thats wat i read and u explained it perfectly. so i started on 1200 thinking id increase but i need to up it and decrease. excellent x
  • skmolove
    skmolove Posts: 191 Member
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    yes, i've found that if I start w/too low of a calorie goal i'm more likely to be hungry, i feel starved & all thnk about is my next meal. Also I feel funny, like low blood sugar. my doc started me at 1770. BUT he tells me not to lower as I go which I think is wrong :huh: ~shrugging shoulders~. common sence says reduce as you go along... i've lost 23 lbs and i only reduced 70 cals to 1700 calories/day. some days i stay way under others i go over slightly. I'm still loosing though.
  • sharleengc
    sharleengc Posts: 792 Member
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    I started with low calories (even though when I started I wasn't counting)...I find that having low calories motivates me more to exercise and earn some calories back.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
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    I'm having a hard time understanding you, but I'll give it a shot.

    As you lose weight, you want to gradually decrease your calorie deficit. You basically want to eat closer and closer to your maintenance goal. This typically means eating more as you lose weight. However, it's important to remember that as you lose weight, your maintenance goal is also decreasing.

    Keep a close eye on what calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight and consistently eat just a bit less than that, perhaps 10-15% less.
  • allyg38
    allyg38 Posts: 17
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    thanks guys. yep i started way to low as iv nowhere to decrease my cals as time goes on. started at 1200 now 1800 but now finding it hard to get that many but least im not going over my daily totals but looks like il have to start eating more snacks

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