Feeling deflated

[shadow2foxy]

I have now finished week 1 and have gained 2lbs and 2 inches on my waistline. This week I have eaten a total of 8775 calories and done 4 days of walking totalling 130 minutes covering about 8.4km. Admittedly I feel that I have eaten more this past week than I normally would. I also feel heavier and fatter than I did last week.

[Seuzan]

Don't be disheartened. I think it takes a few weeks for your body to get used to a new food regime - and also to discover which foods impact on you in certain ways.

Make sure that you write down everything that you eat and that you are not cheating in any way (myfitnesspal so is good for logging calories).

Might be worth checking whether you have a good balance of carbs / protein?

Hope this week goes better for you!

[Zest Healthy BMI]

Hi Shadow2foxy,

I am sorry to hear you've feeling deflated. I am wondering if you're eating sufficient calories for your body's daily requirements? Have you used the BMI NHS calculator to get a recommended daily range of calories? If not, it might be worth doing so, to ensure you eat at a rate that should result in a sustainable and healthy weight loss. The link page is here, and the BMI NHS calculator is on the right-hand-side of that page:

nhs.uk/Livewell/weight-loss...

Also, did you know that we have a Monday group weekly weigh-in group? It's going on at the moment, and the link thread is in the Events section (below the pinned posts, which are on the right-hand-side of the homepage) - you would be very welcome to join us if you want to. But of course, you may prefer to post your own results on an individual basis, and that is of course fine too - it's whatever motivates you best that counts, but I just wanted to invite you to join us for the group weigh-in, incase you weren't aware of it, and would like to join in.

Wishing you a good week ahead.

Lowcal

[shadow2foxy in reply to Zest]

thank you lowcal. i have been on the link you gave me and this is the info it provided: i am obese with a bmi of 30.8 and i need to be 8st3lb-11st2lb, and i should be eating 1605-2063kcal. i am 5ft6in and 13st9lb and i am 53yrs old and female.

im going to be honest here, i struggle to eat food cos i just dont get hungry very much. last week as i said earlier i felt that i actually ate more in the week than i normally would so i struggle to eat even 1200 kcals a day. my kcals for last week were: mon 1324, tue 1354, wed 957, thu 1155, fri 1383, sat 1303, sun 1304. if im struggling to get the minimum of 1400 (according to the weightloss chart) then how on earth am i going to get 1600kcals in. to log my kcals i use the myfitnesspal app on my mobile. also should i also be eating my activity kcals on top of the ones recommended too, or should i leave them out of the eating plan? please help.

[Zest Healthy BMI in reply to shadow2foxy]

Hi Shadow2foxy,

I was offering you advice based upon the NHS 12 week plan, as that is the plan which I follow, and I know that it is better to eat within the calorie recommendations on the NHS BMI calculator to lose weight using that plan.

As you struggle to eat the required calories, then it is difficult for me to know what to suggest to you. I know it can be difficult to lose weight if you're not eating sufficient nutrients for your body's needs, but clearly if you already struggle to eat that many calories, then it is going to be challenging for you.

Basically, the NHS BMI calculator gives a recommended range which already takes into account your activity levels, hence ideally a person should eat within that range.

However, if you are purely taking the Myfitnesspal level (which some people do) then you can eat extra calories for whatever exercise you do - although again, people vary in their practise of that, as you would see if you put 'eating back exercise calories' into the search window - numerous threads about that subject would come up showing a range of opinions on it.

I am purely a lay person, who has experience of losing weight using the NHS 12 week plan, so I'm not able to suggest anything else than what I've already said. It might be worth you discussing the issues with a professional person if possible, as they would be able to give you some helpful suggestions.

I hope my comments are helpful, and I would like to wish you success with the week ahead.

Lowcal