Should I eat more just to reach my daily target??

Firstly, I would just like to say 'Hello' to everyone- I am new to this site, I have been using it for a week now and I LOVE IT- IT'S FANTASTIC!!!

I just wondering if you could advise me please-

My story: my weight has been slowly and steadly increasing over the past 5-ish years; I went to the nurse for a repeat prescription of the oral contraceptive Pill about 10 days ago and she said I was on the ABSOLUTE weight limit of being prescribed this type of Pill (I think it's called the combined oral contraceptive pill(?))- if I gained just one more pound- that's it- she wouldn't be able to prescibe it to me. I came away from the nurse upset- I sat down and had a serious look at myself and my diet and realised- yes my weight and diet were a problem and I had to do something about it.  I joined Calorie Count last Monday and like I said I think it is absolutely fantastic!  By the way, I am 33 years old, 5 ft 3 " and weighed 191 lbs at the start, and I have a very seditary lifestyle- I don't excercise, I work full time but mostly sat at a computer all day.

After a week using Calorie Count, looking back at what I use to eat I can't believe how much and what rubbish I ate!!!  My problem was CHOCOLATE, BISCUITS, CAKES, CRISPS!!  It would be normal for me to eat 3 bars of chocolate a day + cakes, biscuits and buns- and I wouldn't just have one slice of cake or bun at a time either- always 2 or more.  Likewise with crisps- usually 2 bags at a time.  I would also drink large amounts of sugary fizzy drinks.

Anyway, as a starting point last week, I decided to just cut out all the 'rubbish' -i.e. chocolate and cakes etc. and I have still been eating my normal meals.  It has only been a week but I am feeling ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!  I can't describe to you how well I am feeling- mainly it's feeling energetic and lively throughout the day- not having any energy highs and lows- I'm not an expert but I put it down to cutting right back on the sugar in my diet- somedays I would have well over 100g of sugar a day (although I didn't realise this at the time), this last week my daily average has been 20g.  Like I say, I am eating my normal meals- exactly the same food- nothing has changed.  The first couple of days I REALLY craved those cakes and chocolates but I resisted them and now it's completely different- I don't miss them at all. 

I got weighed this morning and to my delighted I have lost 4 lbs in my first week!!!  I am over the moon!!!  (Although I understand that at the start of a diet you can sometimes have a rapid weight loss and I am not expecting this every week).

My daily goal calcualted on Calorie Count is 1,450 calories.  However, just eating my normal meals (but without the rubbish between them) I have been under this- my average daily carlorie count for last week was 1,229, with Sunday being my lowest day- 1,130.  Like I have said- I feel absolutely fantastic, I'm still eating my usual meals (which REALLY surprises me!) and I genuinely don't feel hungry between meals.

On Sunday evening, I was laid on the sofa watching TV and I thought to myself should I have a bar of choclate just because I was 320 caories off my target and I had only had 1,130- and I thought to myself- no don't go there!!! I'm not hungry- I would just be eating it for eating it's sake. 

But serisously, should I eat more (of course something healthy and not a bar of choclate) to reach my daily target- although my body is not telling me it needs more food.  As long as I'm feeling great is eating on average 1,229 calories a day OK??  I want to loose my weight slowly and healthy and I have read reports on the internet that this could be possibly too dangerously low ??

Sorry for waffling on- I din't mean it to be so long!!!  Many Thanks in advance for your advice!!

Your attitude and bubbliness is just so great! I can tell you're really excitied about yourself and your decision to make things happen for you.

As a guide it's meant to be no less than 1200 calories intake a day for women.

Your deficit should be no more than 1000 cal a day (any more than this can prevent weight loss)

Try to aim at a 500 cal deficit for steady and safe weightloss of 0.5lb - 1lb a week.

Apparently doing this means that the weight you lose is more likely to stay off and you're less likely to feel deprived and over eat by accident.

So take the calories you'ev eaten or intend to eat in a day.

Take away your BMR

Take away any extra exercise

This will give you your deficit.

An example of a healthy one...

Eat: 1700kcal

BMR -1800kcal

Gym - 500kcal

Deficit = 600

Bare in mind that everything varies from person to person and you can't be 100% precise about how many calories you burn and eat. So at times a bit of tweaking will be necessary I'm guessing. That's my plan and intentions anyway.

I've been here a week too. I've been doing a lot of reading!!

Good luck!

Wow, how's that for an about-face!  Your attitude is fantastic, and your willpower must be astounding - it's fantastic that you're seeing all of the benefits so soon, and the 4 lb lost certainly helps kickstart things.

As Tixlypixly said, 1200 is the absolute minimum - that's if you're practically comatose, so maybe strap on an extra 200 calories for 1400, which can be done with a little olive oil or a handful of nuts, or a tablespoon or two of peanut butter.  It's better for your long term weight loss, metabolism, and overall health to be eating above 1200 calories. :)

No one, or no web site, can tell you how many calories YOU need to maintain, or to lose x amount of pounds a week.  That is something that you will need to find yourself.  What you CAN use these sites for, is for GUIDANCE, and perhaps a starting point.  The notion that 1200 cal is the minimum for all, is ridiculous.  Of course this is widely stated so that people don't go overboard and get into unhealthy eating behaviors (i.e. anorexia).  But I know far too many people, all VERY healthy, that regularly eat below this number.  For myself, 1200 cal a day will maintain my weight at a bit just above where I am now.  I've been journaling my caloric intake, and exercise, for many years now, and I know pretty much exactly what my body needs, and what it takes to lose a pound. This site suggests 1700 cal a day as my target.  With no additional exercise, that would cause me gain about 20-30 pounds of fat within a year.

1400 calories a day also will cause me to gain fat, unless I were to exercise an additional amount to burn it off.  I have a desk job -the only thing that gets any exercise during these 8 hours are my fingers.  So I am at the gym at lunch, every day, doing high intensity cardio for 30 min.  I also go at night 2/3 times a week to do my strength training.  I am very fit, have a RHR of around 45, blood pressure around 102/60 and very low cholestorol.  I have a physical every year and my doc raves about my health.  I run half-marathons. I am 53.  I am not suggesting that my lifestyle will work for you, but I AM suggesting that you need to experiment a bit, and understand that YOUR body will not work exactly as everyone elses does. 

WOW!!  I've had 3 replies already!! -many thanks for your advise- it is greatly appreciated!

Opps!  I thought there was a problem with this original message and it didn't get posted so I re-wrote it - opps!, they are both appearing now and I don't seem able to delete one.

Anyway...thank you very much for commenting on my attitude, I am by nature a very positive, cheery, person.  I now realise after recording what I eat on this website that I ate appllingly! -but that is my past, I can't do anything about that, it is the future that I can change and I am GOING to change it!!  Don't look back- look forward- and am looking forward to buying clothes that are a size smaller!! (and the nurse being pleased with me too!)

Good on you! Reading your comment really inspired me and gave me another wave of enthusiasm for doing what I'm doing :D

In answer to your question I would recommend that you eat cals to equal your recommended amount, so eat back what you burn. If, however you are in reasonable target and don't feel so hungry then you don't have to eat, maybe you could try a small yogurt drink?

I was in a similar situation to you where I was eating below what I should have been and my weight has plateau'd. Now I'm upping my cals to nearer the recommended amount and seeing if that gets me anywhere (I'm also starting to recover from anorexia).

First of all, congratulations :) You have a great attitude

If you find yourself consistantly a little under 1200 calories then its good to have something little to get you just over that mark but if it happens once every 1 or 2 weeks then it's not a huge deal because when you are sick and eat less for a few days, your body doesn't instantly go into starvation mode. Also, in your life i'm sure you have ate less than 1200 calories for at least one day.

So as long as it doesn't happen on a very often basis and you don't want to eat because you want to stay under that number (which i don't think you would), you are fine

Hello blondiecath…

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post- I was surprised yet really, really pleased to hear that what I had written had inspired someone. 

You say that you are starting to recover from anorexia- so I’m assuming that you are trying to put weight on whereas I am trying to loose it- but we are both trying to achieve the same thing- to eat healthily and live a long, happy and healthy life.  I wish you all the very best with your recovery- I really do!

I am imaging my weight loss as a ladder and each pound is a rung on that ladder (I have 64 rungs!)- every pound lost I move one more rung up the ladder until eventually I reach my goal.  Each little pound lost is an achievement, something I can be proud of, and a small step closer to my goal. 

I would suggest to you to look at the bigger, overall picture- OK, your weight might have plateu’d recently but look at what you have achieved since you started- be proud of your achievement so far- there is only YOU that can change your eating habits and you HAVE- you have taken control and made positive changes to your diet- I congratulate and respect you for this. You should be very proud and pleased with yourself and you should use this to spur you on to greater things. 

hey jennya, congrats on your new adventure! 

i use the www.phord.com/cc site to figure out my calorie goals. your needs will change as you lose, so its helpful to have a site that you like and which uses your actual stats to make suggestions about realistic intake. cc is a great support, but the calorie target tools aren't very exact. that might help you get a sense, based on the standards in the nutrition industry, as to what your body needs and safe rates of loss. 

for snacks, i like apples, other fruits, fresh snap peas, or a little yogurt. 

good for you for walking away from the sugar/refined carbs! its a huge deal and makes a big difference. sounds like your body is already loving you for it! 

a little bit of exercise feels as good as losing all that sugar, i swear! adding little walks, doing something active on the weekend, using chores to get your heart rate up and break a sweat, all of those are easy ways to start, and it feels incredible when you can tell you muscles are actually starting to burn at a higher rate. it helps boost the metabolism and tones as your losing. its my favorite discovery in this whole weight loss adventure, how much i can actually enjoy exercise! i just say so, so that whenever your ready, you'll know its doable, its ok to start small, and it feels just as great as all the other aspects of weight loss! 

congratulations again, most success in your efforts! 

Hi, Jennya! Good job with the diet and enthusiasm! I am a GYROTONIC trainer. So I am a very fit person. I am on here mostly to see how well the site works and to look at not only the calories, but the nutritional values of the foods that I eat. I am also researching the site as a tool for my clients who are wanting to lose weight. 

As far as the calorie count goes, I think if you are under the 1400 mark and not hungry every once in awhile that its OK. I would suggest adding a glass of red wine instead of eating. A large glass of wine is about 150 calories and it also help the digestive system to break down fats.

Also, you may want to look into taking some Essential Fatty Acids. I have found with my clients (especially those that tend to crave baked sweets, french fries, etc.) that the addition of healthy fat into the system tends to curb the cravings for foods that turn into fat. Generally, people crave fatty and high carbohydrate foods when the body needs fat for proper cell regeneration. 

Lastly, get out there and do some exercise! Make sure you get equal parts of strength, cardio and flexibility training! Best of luck to you, and its great to read your bubbly story!

Hi lvgrotonic!

Many thanks for your information- I found it very informative and useful.

I was just wondering if there was an alternative to red wine ? -something else that will do the same thing?  I do not drink alcohol  (just VERY occasionally i.e. a couple of times a year I'll have a glass of champagne)  the reason being I do not like the taste of alcohol -in the past I would be much happier with a sugary glass of Pepsi/Coca Cola than anything alcoholic.  It is my first social occasion tomorrow since I started my diet and I am not sure what I am going to drink- as it's a lunchtime meal with work colleagues and we have to return to work afterwards I don't think a glass of water will look too odd.  I really do not like the taste of red wine (or any alcohol)- but do you recommend I "hold my nose" and drink a glass for health reasons??

I use to kid myself I was healthy- I don't drink, I don't smoke (-never smoked a cigarette in my life), I have my blood pressure checked regularly and it's always spot on- I was ignoring the fact that I was stuffing myself with cakes and chocolate etc. and the pounds were piling on.

Also, you suggest essential fatty acids- could you give me a few examples of foods rich in these.

Many, many thanks for your advice!

Best Wishes

Jenny

Hey, if you don't like wine then don't drink it! I hear people are taking a supplement called resveratrol which is found in red wine and is supposed to boost metabolism due to its high antioxidants, but I have no personal experience with this.

Foods rich in EFA's would be salmon, avocado, flax etc. There are many food items out there with labels that state "high in Omega 3's". You can pick up EFA/fish oil and Evening Primrose oil supplements at any health food store or even Trader Joe's. The pills are good to take 1-3X daily, but I see much better results when people also take Flax oil via liquid form straight out of the bottle. I take a couple tablespoons of it before dinner, but if you don't like the taste (which many don't), then you can add a couple of tablespoons to your protein shake, etc. 

Original Post by jennya222: I do not drink alcohol  (just VERY occasionally i.e. a couple of times a year I'll have a glass of champagne)  the reason being I do not like the taste of alcohol -in the past I would be much happier with a sugary glass of Pepsi/Coca Cola than anything alcoholic.  It is my first social occasion tomorrow since I started my diet and I am not sure what I am going to drink- as it's a lunchtime meal with work colleagues and we have to return to work afterwards I don't think a glass of water will look too odd.  I really do not like the taste of red wine (or any alcohol)- but do you recommend I "hold my nose" and drink a glass for health reasons??

 I would never suggest that someone take up drinking wine for health reasons, if they did not like it in the first place.  I personally drink very little, and I cannot stand wine at all. 

The component of red wine that suggests (it's not proven) the greatest health benefits is resveratrol.  Supplements are available, but all the studies that I have read suggest that the levels of resveratol that remain in the body, and thus could offer benefits, are too low, whether you get if from wine, or from a pill supplement, to really make much difference.   So...if you drink several glasses of red wine, you may derive benefits, but I suspect the side effects would be counter-productive.  :-)

I'd rather get my calories from food, then alcohol, any day.