how many cals to lose 2lb a week??

sarah-louise x

Silver Member
hi everyone,

i have just come off cambridge plan after nearly 4 weeks and a loss of 10lb which for not eating food i think is a poor result for sticking to it 100%! i have therefore decided to try calorie counting as i think i would be much better off losing my weight in this way and with out all the sacrifice as i am sure i can lose 10lb in 4 weeks on this plan if i try hard enough!

Any way, my question is...how many cals should i be on to avoid starvation mode but lose 2lb a week :) ? im 5ft 5 tall and weigh 15st 10lb and im happy to improve my activity level to include an hour extra activity a day minimum! I have googled this but i appear to get so many answers and things i dont understand. i know it takes 3500 cals to put on or lose 1lb in fat, but i dont understand the more u exercise the more cals i need bit? im thinking i need 1400 cals?

sorry for long post and thank u in advance for any advice offered x
 
Hi chick, i'm not totally sure but i have been doing exante for 2 weeks - pretty much the same as cambridge- and lost 7lbs first week and half a pound the 2nd week! so i was a little bit peed off so decided to try this- i started on monday and have lost 3lbs already- now like me going from shakes to food will feel like such a treat! so i have been really greatful for any food at all, i am having a maximum of 1000 a day and at weekends i plan to have 1 day where i dont count and probably go out or have a takeaway- so 6 days good and 1 bad day! i am also having my official weigh in day as saturdays so i can indulge sat night and then have a whole week to loose it! some people are saying 1000 is too low so a lot of people go for 1250 - 1500, i have a lot to loose so this is working for me at the moment and keeping me motivated! if you read a few peoples diarys you should be able to relate :) hope that helps...and p.s- sod the bloody cambridge and exante liquid diets!!! x
 
Hi chick, i'm not totally sure but i have been doing exante for 2 weeks - pretty much the same as cambridge- and lost 7lbs first week and half a pound the 2nd week! so i was a little bit peed off so decided to try this- i started on monday and have lost 3lbs already- now like me going from shakes to food will feel like such a treat! so i have been really greatful for any food at all, i am having a maximum of 1000 a day and at weekends i plan to have 1 day where i dont count and probably go out or have a takeaway- so 6 days good and 1 bad day! i am also having my official weigh in day as saturdays so i can indulge sat night and then have a whole week to loose it! some people are saying 1000 is too low so a lot of people go for 1250 - 1500, i have a lot to loose so this is working for me at the moment and keeping me motivated! if you read a few peoples diarys you should be able to relate :) hope that helps...and p.s- sod the bloody cambridge and exante liquid diets!!! x

i totally agree! iv heard of the 80/20 rule b4, good for 80% of the time and 20% not so good :) it seems to work for many ppl. iv found a site that does all the hard work for me (food focus) but i dont understand the net cals ect :-( one min it makes sense, then it dont, but im sure il get there in the end.

uv got off to a great start! well done. im going shopping tmrw so i have until then to plan my menu :)

thank u for your advice and i wish u all the best on your new plan, im sure we will both do well x
 
Thanks hun, to be fair i am probably eating too much processed things- like ready meals and snacks but i feel in control as they say the exact calories! tesco and sainsburys tell you how many calories are in their own products, plus i look on google for things like jacket potatos etc! the good thing is you can have treats all day long- crisps, little chocs, cereal bars, yogurts to fill in the gaps! it's so easy to just eat big pieces of baked bread and butter etc and not realise they are actually full of calories! i would think it was fine to eat a piece of bread and peanut butter before, but now i realise its about 300 cals! it's mad, you will shock yourself walking around the supermarket- a pizza- 1200 cals! goodness me! hehe x
 
im hoping that as iv been on CD, my stomach would have shrunk so il feel fuller on smaller portions :) iv just created my fitness pal profile too to help me, not used that one b4! im looking forward to going shopping and getting started :) im a hairdresser/beautician so im on my feet alot but dont do much exercise so iv promised myself at least 30 min walk a day. i froze my gym whilst i was on CD so i may reinstate that too as i do really miss it!!!! i was going 3 x a week burning 700 - 1000 cals a time just for fun lol seriously, i loved it! :-0 x
 
I think the best way is trying it and see what happens. 1400 might be too low, or it might not be enough. Everyone is very different and you've got to adapt it to what works for you. Sounds like a decent place to start though :)

It's my first time calorie counting, so it's been quite an eye opener for me as well as to just how many cals you can scoff without realising it.
 
You need to find out an estimate of your BMR. Google a BMR calculator, find one that asks you how active you are, because some of them don't, which is even less acurate.

Then subtract 500 cals a day to lose 1lb a week and 1000 cals a day to lose 2lbs. I'm on about 1300 cals a day and I'm trying to step up my exercise. x
 
thank u everyone. i found my bmr and worked it from there. depending on my exercise levels i will be eatig between 1200-1500 cals a day :) which i think is plenty if i use them wisely!! im really looking forward to seeing how i get on and my first weigh in next wknd :) thank u again for your replies and advice, i really appreciated it xx
 
I usually find 1200 is a good level of calories for me to loose weight - aparently our bodies need 700 calories just to function.
However I've started doing that 30 day shred workout dvd so I'm not sure if I should be adding more calories or not.

In my head it seems to me that the more calories I burn each day - if each pound lost is 3500 calories cut out - does that mean I'll loose weight faster?
Confused?! :S
 
I am the same height and was the same weight 2 weeks ago, I was told 1200 calories for 2 lb a week, 1420 calories for 1.5lb per week. I have been using 'my fitness pal' website and iPhone app - you put in height/weight etc and add food & exercise and it calculates how many calories you've eaten/earnt and also expected weight loss will calories consumed, hope this helps x
 
Sorry just read you already using my fitness pal lol just ignore me xx good luck xx :)
 
cf70 said:
In my head it seems to me that the more calories I burn each day - if each pound lost is 3500 calories cut out - does that mean I'll loose weight faster?
Confused?! :S

The more calories you burn, the faster you'll lose weight...well actually you'll lose fat but you get the point lol
 
You also need to make sure you are eating plenty of protein as you can lose muscle mass instead of fat if you are burning more calories :) x
 
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