Heeellllppp

[JuliaGent]

I am failing! I haven't lost weight and in fact I've put on a pound 😟 Didn't help that we had guests for two days and consumed too much alcohol but I was struggling before that. Any suggestions or advice please? In confused about how many calories I should eat, do I need to eat the total for my body or keep it below that figure???

[Zest Healthy BMI]

Hi Julia,

Sorry to hear you're struggling a bit at the moment. Have you put your details into the NHS BMI calculator? If you do that, then you will get a recommended calorie range, and then if you eat within that range you should lose weight. Clearly if you eat at the top of the range, you lose less than you would lose if you ate at the bottom of the range, but eating within the range will enable you to lose weight at a healthy rate. I like the flexibility of the range.

Here is a link to the NHS BMI calculator, if you'd like to try it out:

nhs.uk/tools/pages/healthyw...

Wishing you good luck - the NHS 12 week plan is really good, and you could always join in with some of the Challenges in the forum, if you'd like some group support.

Lowcal

[MrNiceGuy]

I agree with the great advice that Lowcal has provided.

By seeking to ascertain your minimum and maximum recommendations, based upon current weight and level of activity, while also continuing to be aware of them as weight reduces, you'll have a clearer idea of how many calories ought to be consumed, reducing the risk of plateau or unwanted weight gain.

Regardless of how much weight you may have lost to date, your current numbers will be less than they were at the outset of your journey, purely since the body requires less energy as it weighs less. I may be stating the bleeding obvious, but you'd be surprised at how many people don't reassess their allowances and then wonder why weight loss stops once a certain point is reached.

Depending upon current weight, the calorie deficit introduced is directly linked to your level of activity.

If you're sedentary (which I doubt), you'd eat towards the lower end of your recommendation, but if you're active, as Lowcal rightly states, aim for somewhere between the two.

In doing so, you'll be providing the body with sufficient energy to keep metabolism firing while encouraging the expenditure of calories (stored in fat) to fuel activity.

Furthermore, the more intense that level of endeavour, the greater the calorie expenditure due the increased uptake of glucose and fat, thus, improving levels of insulin sensitivity in both the immediate aftermath and in the longer term (something that greatly assists in the successful management of weight).

[Hidden]

You're not failing you're just learning to adapt. as long as you're trying you're never failing. it's so hard when you have company and alcohol is like drinking fat so it does have an impact. I find I gain weight from alcohol (wine is my problem!) faster than from any other "treat".

I agree with the advice you've been given above. keep trying, you will get there!