How many calories do I need to lose weight?

anna_grant

I've lost two stone of the six I need (want) to lose. I've come down from 17 to 15 stone.

Key for me (so far) is :

exercise (3 times a week at least 30 minutes each time)
slow loss - aim for 2lb a week, which is 7000 calories less a week than your body needs to maintain your current weight
drink a glass of water if you feel hungry - I've read this a number of times in books/magazines but your brain is not able to differeinte (sp) the difference between feeling hungry and feeling thirsty. Drink a glass of water and wait 30 minutes. If you no longer feel hungry, you were actually feeling thirsty. If you still feel hungry, you are hungry but at least you will eat less because you have drink a glass of water.

lessonlearned

Definitely agree that 1200 calories would be far too low.

I would start at 2000 calories, but don't get too hung up on the minutiae. Concentrate on good healthy foods, meat, fish etc, some dairy, plenty of fruit, salads and veg, some healthy cereals - porridge for breakfast is great.

If you have some protein with every meal you shouldn't really feel hungry.

As you lose weight you can always reduce the amount of calories if you need to. Given your current weight 1200 calories is just too punishing for your body. It is also completely unnecessary to go that low anyway.

When you feel up to it try and start exercising - that will help. Walking is great for weight loss, start with small distances and build up. Just do things in your own time and you'll get there.

Good luck

silverjay

I do Scottish Slimmers online which is basically a calorie counting program although they count in checks (1 = 25 cals).

For the weight range 16-18 stones they allow 55 checks a day plus 4 checks of fruit and 4 checks of milk/yogurt plus as much free veg as you want.

On this plan you would be eating around 1600 cals a day.

HTH

CallaLily

I've joined Rosemary Conley online as there are no classes near me and there is 50% off at the moment, it's basically calorie counting and watching how much fat is in food, but the measuring cups I've found make it really easy as you don't have to keep weighing everything :j I was awful at not doing that with nutracheck:(.
If you want to do it yourself there is a free calculator to work it out here, good luck! x

clw1

I use the following site http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/ which you can join for a free trial. It's basically an site where you put in height / weight / activity level / how much you want to lose then it says how many calories you can eat per day. You then enter all your food and if you exercise you can eat what you earn.

I quickly shoved 17st female in and it said that 2500cals would maintain your weight so eat 1500 per day to lose 2lbs per week.

jenniewb

I would second the suggestion of going to a site like dailyplate.com or fitday.com or similar (as above), they are basicly daily calorie counters where you log your food each day and they tell you how many calories you have eaten, what you need to eat to lose weight and also can include any exercise or activities. It sounds so simple but its about being on the ball with what your eating, remembering it and being accountable for it which makes all the difference. Try it for a fortnight, give it your best shot and see if it works for you.

I would also suggest not cutting more then 25% of your calories at a time and if you don't cut as much as 25% this is not a bad thing. Cut down slowly, especially with your bulimia you may find if you cut too much you can't sustain it then end up binging again and feeling terrible, if you don't end up with some form of purging again (purging doesn't have to be throwing up to be called bulimia) you end up feeling worse. Take it slowly and get results that stay food good.

I have been bulimic before, its hell. If your finding food is still very difficult to deal with day to day you can ask for help, there are options. If your finding its emotional things that make you want to eat its going to take more then a diet plan to keep yourself on track long term and its important to realise that, there are no simple answers as to what to do, not because its so complicated (although it is complex) its because each of us are unique and different things work for different people.

Things like talking with friends or a support group, counselling through to working out if other areas in your life are leaving you feeling miserable and those need to be worked on instead of eaten to block out or if your eating through boredom and you need more stimulation in your life...there are many things that could be worth thinking about if you do feel its emotional things which result in over eating.

(Thats assuming it isn't just bad habits you have fallen into, when you mentioned bulimia I assumed it was an emotional thing more then knowing what you need to eat so apologies if I have gotten that wrong)! A diet plan is essential if your wanting to lose weight but it wont hold unless you deal with the original reasons as to why it wasn't in place in the first place.

Dave101t

and while your busy counting all these precious calories your not actually doing anything about the real problem of weight: excersise. heart rate and cardio vasculur are 10x more important than food restriction.

jenniewb

Dave101t wrote: »

and while your busy counting all these precious calories your not actually doing anything about the real problem of weight: excersise. heart rate and cardio vasculur are 10x more important than food restriction.

They are from a health point of view yes, your quite right. But from a weight loss point of view I'd have to disagree, calories are what make the difference. I have had the misfortune of amlost killing myself at the gym over a few years and proven this to myself! I think moderation is the key for everything though with food and exercise.

Gloomendoom

jenniewb wrote: »

They are from a health point of view yes, your quite right. But from a weight loss point of view I'd have to disagree, calories are what make the difference. I have had the misfortune of amlost killing myself at the gym over a few years and proven this to myself! I think moderation is the key for everything though with food and exercise.

I agree with you. From my experience, exercise combined with a reduced calorie intake is the most effective way to lose weight. I had look at that 'weightlossresources' site and it recommends just that.