Advice needed

[Hbroder]

Is it best to stick to the 1400kcals a day or what the recommend amount is on the website based on your bmi? I've found today ok. I had to go over the 1400 slightly as I needed a chocolate biscuit. Apart from that I managed quite well. I was surprised by someone of the calories in somethings

[Pineapple27]

That sounds like a good start. Yes, looking closely at the calorific values of some foods really helped me to get an understanding of the types of foods that I needed to steer clear of and those that are "good value" when it comes to calories. Most salad staff and vegetables are good to fill you up on very few calories. Stay away from sweet and savoury treats (chocolate, cake, biscuits, crisps).

It's good to try and cut out the snacking between meals, as if you eat sensibly and stick to low calorie filling foods, including plenty of protein and "good" fats, you'll feel fuller for longer.

Thinks like pasta, rice and potatoes make you feel full, but that feeling soon wears off!

I love butternut squash roasted in a little olive oil in the oven for around 40 minutes. Very filling, low on calories and goes with all sorts of things!

You may find inspiration on-line, for example, here is a link to lots of lovely recipes for between 200 and 400 calories.

bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/col...

Good luck on our journey.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

I always advise eating as much as you can, while still losing weight, because as you lose weight, so your allowance gets lower. If you start low, you have nowhere to go.

[Hbroder 2lbs in reply to moreless]

Thank you. So on the website it says I can have between 1780 and 2288, so would you say I should have the 2288 to start and then as I'm getting into it drop it down?

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Hbroder]

If you can lose on 2288, that would be brilliant! You may have to aim for a little less, but it depends how many calories you think you were consuming before. Anything slightly less than that, will probably be enough for you to lose weight

Check the calculator monthly and adjust accordingly, or just very gradually decrease, if your weight loss stalls

[Hbroder 2lbs in reply to moreless]

Ok thank you. I did think that was slightly high. I've tried to keep today to what I normally eat with one or two tweaks, but I do think I need to maybe eat a little more. I'm currently starving!

[James40Cheshire]

I would say try the higher value for about a week and see what happens. If you lose great, if not drop around 200 calories and try that for a week and so on. Don't go below the lower value though. Also remember to count everything and weigh things, it is very easy to miss a few hundred calories (e.g. milk in coffee) or think you know what 100g of something looks like. Good luck

[Hbroder 2lbs in reply to James40Cheshire]

Thank you. I think this week I'm going stick to sort of what I normally eat but count my calories so I can get a handle of what's good what's not then start cutting back next week. I've had roughly 1550 today. Xx

[Needtodosomething in reply to James40Cheshire]

Great answer James 😊

[DD7005 1st 7lbs]

It all depends on how much you want to lose in a week and how much you move. The recommended calorie amount is what your body, in its current state, needs to work effectively depending on your weight and how much movement you do in a day. If you lead a sedentry lifestyle go by the lower amount. If you do intensive workouts everyday then the higher amount is what you should use. If you want to lose weight you need reduce the recommended allowance accordingly. I read somewhere that to lose 1lb a week the daily calorie allowance should be reduced by 500, no matter what your activity is. I am going by this rule. If I want to lose more than 1lb a week I will increase my activity.

Good luck x