How many calories should I reduce to?

[Dejewa]

I am a 61 female, have a healthy BMI but need to lose weight. I have always been around 7 stone until the menopause where my weight has gone up to over 8.5 stone. I have a sedantic job and need to tone my body. I do have a varied diet and do eat healthily. Any suggestions on how many calories I should cut down to?

[Hidden]

Hi Dejewa,

I'm wondering why you 'need to lose weight' if you have a healthy BMI. By that, I take it to mean that you are not overweight.

Unless it's for some medical reason, e.g. fatty liver, I would say that if you are in the 'normal band' of BMI then you don't have any 'need' to lose weight and therefore probably shouldn't embark on a weight loss regime.

If you're unhappy about your overall fitness, then exercise/activity would probably be the way forward for you.

It the 'need' is due to some medical condition then I would suggest you speak with your medical practitioner as any weight loss regime might impinge upon the condition, or vice versa.

[Dejewa in reply to Hidden]

I used to have a healthy BMI at 7st (even if it was just bordering on the 'underweight'. But I have got middle age spread and the flab around my middle cannot be good for my heart. I've also read that if you can 'pinch an inch' (which I can) I should lose weight. As far as I am aware, I do not have a fatty liver. I am in general good health, drink one glass of wine perhaps 2-3 times per week, eat healthily (not processed or stodgy food) and walk the dog most days and I have just started swimming once a week. I am nearly a stone overweight to what I was 10 years ago!

[Hidden]

Hi Dejewa,

The "normal" band of BMI, i.e. BMI of 18.5 to 25 covers a range of weight at every height. (At my height - that's a range of over 3 stone).

The "pinch an inch" phrase, as far as I remember came from a TV advert for a certain hi-fibre breakfast cereal many years ago.

I think I need to be clear here that by weight loss, I'm mean reducing body fat percentage. That said, you don't seem to "need" to lose weight in a fat reduction sense of the term.

If you're heavier than you were 10 years ago, it could be that you are carrying more muscle than ten years ago, or there could be a number of other reasons.

As for the "flab" - it doesn't necessarily suggest, especially as you have a "normal" BMI, that the weight wieght you've gained over the last decade is fat. In fact, if it were fat, I would have expected most of the "flab" to have gone by the time you were at that sort of BMI.

Perhaps you could re-check your weight and height measurements and use the NHSChoices BMI calculator here - it's weighted for certain factors such as gender and age -

nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/Healthyw...

Otherwise, perhaps you should chat with your GP or practice nurse as to how to address your "flab" given that you're not overweight.

Or perhaps it's just a case of getting into a good exercise regime, doing some exercises focussed on your 'abs' so that you hold that flab better.

[Dejewa in reply to Hidden]

Hi Doikosp,

I checked my BMI twice on the nhs tools guide to be certain and it says I'm not overweight. I'm going to up my exercise routine and try to tone my middle section by targeting that specific area and see where that gets me.

Thanks for your advice.

[ski-bunny325]

I think you should be aiming for around 1300 but making sure you are exercising for at least 30 mins a day good luck Gail

[Dejewa in reply to ski-bunny325]

Thanks - I'll give this a go.