Slimfast as part of a calorie controlled diet

Hey guys, been ages since I was on here (tut tut) and yet again I let things slip over christmas but I have been back on track for the last 3 weeks and have lost 6lbs

BUT

I am supposed to be having 1200 calories per day and I am actually finding it REALLY hard to get that much into my diet.

I have a cereal bar for breakfast (asda one not slimfast) at 127cal then slimfast at lunch 223 cal and a meal in the evening roughly 500-600cal so that works out at 850-950 calories per day. I am full with this amount, I know I could have a couple of snacks but I don't want to eat just for the sake of adding up my calories if I am not actually hungry!

Was thinking of dropping the slimfast shake at lunch and going for a sandwich or baked potato with filling and aiming for 300-400 cal to get the calories in so I am still on a calorie controlled diet but not with slimfast.

What do you think?

Is it essential I get up to 1200cal a day? Or should I just settle with the fact I don't actually feel like I need more food and so don't try and eat more just to get to the set amount?

Thanks.

Hi Kartrina, Well, from what I've read in the past, and this is from various sources, eating under a certain amount of calories per day can slow your metabolism by sending your body into starvation mode.

I can understand.. whats the point of eating if you are actually not hungry, right? But if you think of food as fuel, instead of something to eat when your stomach rumbles... it might make more sense to keep the tank full, instead of waiting until it is on empty. besides, the problem with going until empty also is when you really get hungry... it's really easy to slip up and grab anything to eat.. because you are really HUNGRY!!

I was once on a diet where I lost a substantial amount of weight and it seemed like I could never get the required amount of food in my body..it was impossible to eat another bite... but I had lost alot.

Hope my ramblings help!

LR

Nutritionists usually suggest, like LightRaven has said, that if you fall below 1200 calories a day it will upset your metabolism (which will affect your weight loss) but more importantly, your body has a certain calorific need to sustain your muscles. Muscles are very much your friend when it comes to weight loss, as they are much smaller than fat cells and actually use up more calories just by being there. If you don't take in enough calories you will lose muslce mass, which is not only dangerous but it's unhelpful to weight loss. Remember, the heart is a muscle!

Right, now the doom-talk is out of the way My advice would be to do what you are comfortable with. You may find you're eating 500-600 calories for your full meal now, but is that always the case? I know there are some meals that I have that I assumed were around 600-700 calories but actually turned out to be closer to 800-900. I'm sure there will be times where you want to go out for a meal with friends or have a glass of wine while you eat or something, so you might find you end up getting 1200 calories some days anyway!

I'm not condoning under-eating by any means, but I don't think people should stuff themselves anyway - go with what you feel your body wants! Good luck!

Eating snacks will keep your metabolism revved up so it might be best to have something small. Also make sure you're hitting your protein requirement because your body will breakdown muscle if you don't and this will slow your metabolism.