How many calories should I have?

[Sarah-88]

Ok so I have re done my bmi calculator and changed the exercise levels on it, it says my daily calorie intake should be between 1458 and 1874! Do i eat the lowest range or go somewhere in between? I assumed eating the lower range was for me to loose weight and the higher range to not loose any? But I read a post earlier which said u should eat at the middle range??? Feeling a bit confused, please can someone confirm for me?

[IndigoBlue61]

In theory, you should lose weight at anything within that range Sarah-88

We normally suggest that you eat towards the higher amount to begin with and then reduce it as you get nearer to goal. As you have been at plateau for some time this may help, sometimes mixing it up and eating more than previously can give our metabolism a kick start. With time you will find a level that works. Sorry I can't be more specific 😕

Good luck!

[Minniewinny 5 stone Maintainer]

Hi Sarah-88 similar to you my range is 1400-1800 and I aim for 1400 hoping to shift some to get started, but I actually average around 1550 each day and have started to loose weight in this.

You will loose weight as long as you are within the range = high, middle or low end, as this is your calorie allowance to allow you to loose weight. You're choice, be flexible and start planning your choices. Maybe join in the daily diary post each day or when you can.. There's lot of ideas on the menus.

Personal I don't understand calories, so I rely on the free version of my fitness pal app, I enter everything I eat and drink on there and it works it out for me and flags up if I have too much fat / carbs etc. So I can then tweak it.

I hope this helps.

Cheering you on 🎉🎉🎉

[Sarah-88]

Thankyou both, I think it's getting my head around eating more might help to loose weight, with previous diet plans I have done I know they have been around the 1200 cal mark and even the nhs 12 week plan says women 1400 cals so the thought of eating the top range is a bit scary, maybe it will be a case of having a week at the lower range then a week at the middle then a week at the top to see what results I get? It's my weigh in day with the nurse 2mo so I might try this coming week at lower end first then get higher over the next few weeks!

I have done a couple daily diaries and I keep reading the others diaries so I will continue to do so, I get confused with being told different things all the time, what's good to eat, what's not ect So to see others diaries helps me 😊

[elliebath Maintainer]

If the range for you is 1400-1800 that suggests to me that you dont have a lot to lose. As others say, if 1800 is your maintenance level then over time even a small reduction would show some loss, but generally we need to reduce our net intake by 20% to make any impact ... net intake means calories in (food) minus any calories burned ( exercise). As a rule of thumb most people can lose on mid point until they get to within the last stone, then you need to drop cals to the lower figure. Once you start losing, re check your Bmi every half stone or so and be guided by that.

PS : 1200 is definitely too low!! The whole point of this is that you find an eating level that is satisfying and sustainable, not one where you are starving and doomed to fail.

[Sarah-88 in reply to elliebath]

Thankyou, I have already lost 20kg and i need to loose another 20kg to JUST get into the healthy bmi so quite a bit to go yet 😔 I've since seen my nurse since posting this and she advised 1500 cals according to her computer 😊

[elliebath Maintainer in reply to Sarah-88]

Your nurse probably used the same or similar NHS BMI checker as we use on here. Your height, age, weight and whether you're active or inactive make quite a difference to how many calories we need. So two people are rarely the same.

Eating more protein and less carbohydrate can give things a push. For example, I'm now in my third year of maintaining (on about 1500 cals) but although I still keep within my total calories, the type of food I eat still affects me. I can gain several pounds of water weight if I have much bread or pasta, but after a couple of days of omelettes, salads, chicken and veg, those pounds drop off again.

[Sarah-88 in reply to elliebath]

Gosh 1500 calories isn't much for maintaining 😕 I thought it would go up to the 2000 a day average women are meant to have, but I suppose like u say everyone is different

[elliebath Maintainer in reply to Sarah-88]

Most of us are not "average" it all depends on your individual height /age/ final weight/ bmi.

Mine is : 5ft 5in / 64 / 9st 7lbs / 23 .... hence a lower maintenance level than a so-called average woman!

But keep in mind that by the time ws hit maintenance our bodies have got used to eating more healthy food and less of the other, so 1500 cals goes a long way once you reduce the high calorie stuff. I still have wine and chocolate but only about once twice a week and smaller amounts.

[Sarah-88 in reply to elliebath]

How do u find out ur maintenance goal then as when I input numbers in that would come up healthy bmi in the bus calculator it just says healthy bmi with no calorie range?

[elliebath Maintainer in reply to Sarah-88]

Oh it's a while since I used it, but from memory maybe the nhs bmi calculator doesn't give an exact maintenance figure.. But the most reliable way is to wait until you hit your healthy weight , then start having a few more calories per week ( say 100 at a time) until you find the point where you are not gaining . Thats maintenance. And true maintenance is not a static weight it fluctuates by 2-3 lbs each week forever, thats normal.