im really confused, please help me

hi everyone

i have a question and you all seem very knowledgeable and helpful so i was wondering if you could all help me out a little.

basically, i used to be a 42 inch hips and 26 inch natural waist and 32 stomach. 4 years ago i went to university and managed to trim down to a 39 inch hips, 31 stomach and 25 natural waist. this was done partly through starvation and partly through being more active.

last year i lived out in london and my starving phase went a bit overboard, i went through periods of 5-6 days where i would not eat anyhting at all except a few energy drinks, 2 max a day! i was also on the move a lot but i finally got my hip size to 37.5, you see i like it that my hip size isnt in proportion to my waist as i do like the curvy look, but i have these pouches of fat on my hips and if smaller they were less obvious. i was able to wear a uk size 10 comfortably for the first time and was sooo happy.

now ive come home and i have 2 actually eat.so ive gained weight, which i expected but im gaining so much, im now a 40 inch hips, more than what i was when i came back from uni. i know my metabolism is adjusting but im so confused as to how much 2 eat!ive recently started an exercise program, im exercising 5-6 days a week burning 600 calories, if not more each time.In the past 2 weeks i restricted my calorie count to below 1000 in order to lose fat andinches but kept gainig. now realising i mite be in starvation mode i have upped my calories but dont know how many 2 eat as i only recently started 2 exercise.

im trying to get 1400 but really struggle, in fact i can just about make 1200!!! i eat healthily and get full with salads and veggies with eggs, kidney bean, and all types of stir fried veggies.im so confused

what im asking is, how many cals do i eat with my new exercise regime. im 119 lbs but my inch round hips is huge, i was 112 with 37.5 and im 119 with 39.5. im 5'3 and 22 female. i want to do this properly for once, im sick of starving myself and yo-yoing.please help me.

thank you

xxx

Hi :)

 

I think its good that you seem more worried about inches than lbs.  I think this is what you should do (you may disagree, but hey, its good to have options)

eat 1200 calories a day. DO IT.  and don't exercise (I know crazy right!) but if you were used to starving yourself, it probably seems ike a lot.  but its the MINIMUM. so get used to eating the minimum without burning anything off.  do it for a couple of weeks.  lightly excersize, walking etc if you really can't stand not excersizing.

after you're used to eating 1200 calories, LIFT WEIGHTS.  at 119 lbs I find it hard to believe that burnign 600 cals doing cardio is really the best course of action.  do a circut workout, light weights, squats, and tone up!  thats a great way to lose "inches"

then eat back all the cals you burn when you work out.  if you burn 600, eat 1800 that day (a lot I know).  try high cal foods like Peanut butter to fill in the gaps if you're having trouble getting to those numbers.

stay positive.

at your age, height and weight, your Basal Metabolic Rate is around 1300-1400 (depending on which calculator you use.)

If you're barely managing 1200-1400 intake cals per day, then ANY exercise would probably give you a calorie deficit, which would result in weight loss.  So you need to definitely eat at least this to maintain ... adult women unless they are VERY small stature (under 5') should not go below 1200 cals/day.

I would recommend toning and flexibility exercises, maybe some pilates.  Even if you don't lose actual pounds, when your body is toned and firm, it looks smaller.

hey thank you for the replies.

so basically i need to eat 1300 cals a day if i dont do any exercise , ill still lose fat?

and if i do do exercise, eat back those cals? whats the point...?

is it just , no matter how much i eat, total those calories,

deduct any calories burned during exercise and make sure the result is not less than 1300??? if it is eat some more to make it 1300, and then when and if i hit i plateu to lower my cals to 1200?

arghhh, so that means, i exercised today, burnt 600 cals and did weights but only ate 1300 cals (which was very hard 2 do 4 me) and im still in 'starvation mode'?? i cant eat 1800 cals...that is too hard and surely ill just put on that food around the hips where i dont want it

It may be easier to get your cals up than you think.

Sometimes if you need a calorie boost, nuts such as almonds are good, or peanut butter.  Nutritionally dense and calorie dense, you can get a pretty high count and with a small amount of food, so you don't have to feel so stuffed to get all your calories.