help

[hungrybean]

I tried the calorie intake that the BMI scale suggested and it made no difference to my weight, been on it since first week in January, what am I doing wrong?

[trynabethingirl]

hey!

I bought this diet book the other day and it says that when your body is resting it burns fats to get energy and when its exercising it burns carbs so you should limit your cards to the day you work out.

Also, you could try cutting the calories intake- provided that it stays above 1200

[rosie-2015]

Hi have you tried the myfitnessapp it calculated my my calorie intake for me, i found it on nhs 12 week diet good luck 😁👍

[flavourfiend]

The calories suggested on the BMI calculator are the range that you need to eat to maintain your *current* weight, depending on your activity levels.

To lose weight, you need to eat rather fewer. To put on a kilo of fat means that you eat around 7000 calories more than you are using. If you want to lose a kilo of fat, you'll have to eat around 7000 fewer - more or less, and not taking into account other factors that may be relevant to you.

You should try and eat 1400 calories or so per day, if you want to lose weight at a decent rate.

[Elissy 3kg in reply to flavourfiend]

Sorry to disagree, flavourfiend, but is very dependant on your weight, age and activity level. The NHS bmi calculator does actually gives a calorie allowance for weight loss depending on your gender, age, height and activity level. I have compared many different calculators and find the NHS one accurate.

It also gives you a calories allowance for HEALTHY weight loss, not fast - but steady and sustainable.

For me to eat 1400 calories means eating a fair amount below my bmr, and considering I'm fairly active, this would ( and has done in the past) have very negative side effects.

It will work in the short term, until your body starts reacting to it.

I find the best way is to eat balanced, keep to a healthy calorie allowance and to increase exercise if possible.

[flavourfiend in reply to Elissy]

Sorry, I just realised that I was using a different BMI calculator, not the one on the NHS site. Duuh! You're quite right.

[Elissy 3kg in reply to flavourfiend]

Not to worry, it all gets very confusing as calculators and recommendations vary so much.

I spent a weekend reading and comparing just to make sense for my own piece of mind 😊

[hungrybean]

I'm still confused, I have not gone over the calorie amount given by the NHS BMI calculator, so I should be loosing, also, I use my stepper until it tells me that I have worked off 500 cals, I know the stepper count it only a rough guide, but even so, I would have expected some loss

[Alex98]

I know some scales can also measure %body fat and %water content. It maybe that you have in fact lost fat but gained in muscle mass, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It sounds as if you are doing all the right things. Don't beat yourself up about it too much, just keep trying! All the best.

[AvatheGardener 7lbs]

That must be very frustrating hungry bean! You don't say what you were doing before- if you've been calorie restricted for a while it may help you to eat more for a couple of days and then go back... Also if you don't have much to lose it will take longer. The nhs BMI calculator gives a range of calories for daily intake, which I think is very healthy because in real life you're more likely to eat more some days and less others.

However I'm not sure any of this actually applies to you... All I can can is stick at it and maybe do some different exercise to give your body a shake up? Good luck!

[Venusflytrap]

Hi, Hungrybean, must be really frustrating. I have made every error in the world on my way down 5 stone, which is why it took me 4 years. And after a year of maintaining, I am 10lbs over, so I'm not an expert, but I have learned from my mistakes! So I will list all the errors I've made in the past. They were mostly related to getting kcal or measurements wrong. Are you weighing every food and tracking the amount you are eating, as opposed to 100g. Milk, are you using skimmed? Do you measure an amount to use each day, or measure into every cuppa/cereal etc? Or are you guessing. I can double from half a pint to a pint by guessing. How much oil are you having? You do need about a tbsp a day of olive oil etc. But it is well worth getting your meat, cheese, yogurt etc as low fat as you can. The exception to this is oily fish, which is good for a couple of portions a week. Try to have a portion of lean protein with every meal, including vege protein like beans, a little starch, and pile on the veges. Also are you logging all your drinks? Some of those sold as "healthy" like commercial smoothies and flavoured waters can be absolutely packed with sugar. They are often worse than standard cola. Are you eating nuts, peanut butter, dried fruit. All reasonable in tiny weighed amounts but disaster if you are just browsing from the bag. If none of this helps. Then I suggest you post a typical weekday's eating and your worst weekend day. So that we can get an idea of the issues. Just keep going and keep logging what you're eating, because only reviewing that is going to help in the long run. I am sure that a lot of what I've said you can just tick: already doing that. But you are clearly worried and upset. And I would be too. So it is worth checking all the basics as part of you solving your mystery. Hoping this week's weigh in brings better news.

Venus

[hungrybean in reply to Venusflytrap]

thank but I am fastidious, no mistakes, really, I measure everything. including drinks.

[Venusflytrap]

I guess I was hoping for the quick fix. Oh well. Then you need to post some menus. By the way, you haven't been fighting infection or otherwise unwell during this time, have you? That always knocks my weight losses back. Clutching at straws here!