Hello! Question from a newbie!

jools02

Member
Hi all. I've been lurking for a while so thought it was time to join you all. Before I had my two kids I was a size 8. After having them I'm left with a little bit of weight to lose. I'm 5' 4", my start weight 3 weeks ago was 10st 2lb. I've been on around 1150 - 1250 calories per day and have lost 6lb. I had lost a bit more but seem to have slowed right down AND I've put on a pound this week! Can anyone shed some light on why this has happened? I've been so strict, I've not even been snacking!
 
It's quite possible you're not eating enough. I know that may be hard to believe, but your body needs "x" amount of calories a day to function. Google "BMR calculator" and find out what YOU need to eat each day. Then work out what you burn in a day (if you do little/no exercise multiply your BMR figure by 1.2). If you eat 500cals less than your burn figure (and don't go under your BMR figure) you should, in theory lose 1lb a week. That mightn't sound much to you, but the slower it comes off, the more likely it is to stay off. If you can eat as much as possible and still be slowly losing, when you reach your goal weight it will be much easier to maintain. If you eat way less than your body needs, it will think theres some sort of 'famine' going on, and be holding onto every calories for dear life. Google 'Starvation Mode' to learn a bit more. HTH?
 
Thanks Irishmum. Ok, found a BMR calculator, it says BMR = 1402, x 1.2 = 1682. So according to that I have to have 1182 calories per day to lose weight, but that would be going under my BMR. Am I having the wrong amount of calories then? Will by body come out of this 'starvation mode'? I'm thoroughly confused!
 
Yeah, have to be honest, I'm a bit confused by this too! I just work it out on a similar site, and eat what they recommend. Surely, your BMR is what you need to survive every day, not what you should be eating to lose weight.....you take your 500 cals off your BMR/Survival figure don't you? Therefore Jools' recommended calorie intake to lose weight is the 1182 figure....is this right? Very confused :sigh: lol

If this is the case, this is within your current calorie intake. I am the same, been stalemate for a couple of weeks and wondering whether I should be reducing or increasing. In fact, I have been way under my figure of 1182 (or something like that, can't remember now that Food Focus has gone!) for quite a few days....

By the way, welcome Jools!! Hope you enjoy your time with us :D

Nat

EDIT: Just calc'd mine. 1374. Also, just found this site https://www.purelifestyle.co.uk/Calculators.aspx?idx=3 and tried the recommended calories calculator, it gave me 1883. Therefore, I should be consuming around 1383 cals per day....?? This should enable me to lose 1lb per week, what if I want to lose 2lb per week?! Sorry, am trying to get my head around this rather than just going with a figure I'm given online!!
 
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your doing everything food wise fine! are you exercising tho? that can give weight loss a good boost :) x
 
Yes I'm excercising about 20 mins for 3 days a week, I know its not a lot but its hard to fit it in with a baby at home as some of you will know...!
 
Oh my god!!!! this is so confusing. i'm on slimfast and my total calories for the day are 1336 but my bmr on that site capirossi says is 2038. if as you say you take 500 off that that leaves 1538 which is more than sf. does it mean that i too am in starvation mode cos my 1st week i lost 10lbs, 2nd week 2lb and i've just taken a quick peek and it says i've put on even though my weigh in day is monday. HELP!!!!
 
Hi all. I've been lurking for a while so thought it was time to join you all. Before I had my two kids I was a size 8. After having them I'm left with a little bit of weight to lose. I'm 5' 4", my start weight 3 weeks ago was 10st 2lb. I've been on around 1150 - 1250 calories per day and have lost 6lb. I had lost a bit more but seem to have slowed right down AND I've put on a pound this week! Can anyone shed some light on why this has happened? I've been so strict, I've not even been snacking!

You're fine. Honest. You have little to lose, very little. It does get slower as you get close to goal. That 1lb gain, wont be fat, and is very unlikely to be anything to do with starvation mode, not at this stage of the game.

You've lost well in the last couple of weeks, and the triglycerides have left the fat cells, which have just been filled with water short term. They'll go :)

You do need a lot of patience sometimes when you get close to goal. Hang in there, but don't go under the calories you are having at the mo.

If you do get sick and tired of the scales not playing the right game, try upping your calories to maintenance or a little less, then dropping them again.

Best of luck :)
 
Okay- I didn't explain too well. To up your 'deficit' to a level where you'll lose while eating enough- the dreaded 'exercise' comes into play.

For example- If your BMR is 1500, your 'burn' if you're sedentary will be 1800. Now thats only a 300cals deficit a day- so you need to do 200cals worth of exercise to get your deficit to 500cals to lose 1lb a week.

Jools- you have a 280cals deficit just by breathing, moving around etc. A brisk walk for 30mins or so will boost that (did you know that walking WITH a pram burns more than walking alone?) Plus you say you're exercising for 20mins a day 3 times a week- that burns cals too so add that up too!

Its a total deficit of 3500cals (500cals a day)in a week that will lose you the lb, so don't get too hung up on daily deficits- if you exercise like a madwoman 3 days a week and do nothing the rest then it doesn't really matter- it'll be the total deficit that matters. It's just a bit easier to keep track if you do it daily?
Does that make more sense?
 
Ok I think I get it now, thanks Irishmum. So am I right in thinking that I've reached this plateau /gone into starvation mode because I've gone under my BMR? So I need to eat 1402 cals and do 220 cals of exercise per day to continue to see weight loss?

Also, what would happen if I carried on eating around 1200 per day?
 
Ok I think I get it now, thanks Irishmum. So am I right in thinking that I've reached this plateau /gone into starvation mode because I've gone under my BMR? So I need to eat 1402 cals and do 220 cals of exercise per day to continue to see weight loss?

Also, what would happen if I carried on eating around 1200 per day?

I'm in the same boat really, so I'll jump on board with this one! Also wondering if I haven't lost because a) I've beeen way under for a week or so and b) I am eating too few anyway, based on my BMR etc....
 
Well, the consensus from so-called experts would be that your body thinks its starving now so dropping your cals or staying the same won't change much? Some suggest changing the type of exercise or foods you've been eating may 'trick' your body into thinking theres something different happening and start the loss again, but my guess is you won't see much change? It has happened to me, and I started eating my BMR to try & get things moving again, and I intially re-gained a few lbs 'water-weight', but then started losing again at a higher calorie level than previous. It is/was slow, but it happened.
 
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