Calorie Query

[Piglet7969]

Hi all it's my first time posting on this site, graduated C25K few months ago and been running well i say running more like a shuffle, (I'm sure a seen a snail pass me the other day) with a run group twice a week and local park run on a Saturday, since starting running and following slim fast 3-2-1 I've managed to get down from 12st 6lbs to 10st 10lbs i'm 5ft 4, and within 10lbs of my target, but seem to be now stuck gaining few lbs then losing the same few lbs again, not sure what to do now, on slim fast the calories are 1320 per day but going by NHS BMI Calculator i should be having 1550 per day, should i increase my calorie intake to just carry on as i am TIA

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Hi and welcome, Piglet7969

Well done with the C25K! Tortoises rule!

Unfortunately, when you reduce your calorie intake drastically, your body responds as if it's facing a famine, by reducing the amount of energy it needs and hanging onto its fat stores. You need to decide whether you're on a diet, or whether you wish to follow a healthier lifestyle.

Diets have a tendency for fast loss and speedy regain, especially when meal replacements have been used.

The choice is yours, of course, but wouldn't you rather be eating real food, that doesn't have a list of strange ingredients?

My choice would be to gradually increase my calories, back to the recommended level and reintroduce real food into my menus.

To make navigating the forum easier, we've put all the information you'll need in a newbie pack and here's the link

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

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Wishing you all the best

[Piglet7969 in reply to moreless]

Thank you for your advice, over the last few weeks i've only been having 1 slim fast shake a day instead of 2, and been calorie counting using my fitness pal, but just a bit unsure really how many calories a day i should be eating now.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Piglet7969]

My guesstimate, as I don't know your age, is 1555 - 1999, so I would aim for around 1800, but, as you've been severely restricting, you need to increase gradually, to give your body a chance to get used to the fact that it's not starving

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone]

Hello Piglet7969 and welcome to the forum

I saw a great piece of advice recently: "If the way in which you lose weight is unsustainable then your results are going to be unsustainable". In other words, for weight loss and for your health generally, you're best to find your way towards a way of eating healthily that you can see yourself enjoying in five years, ten years .....

[Piglet7969 in reply to BridgeGirl]

thank you a feel more or less comfortable where i am at the moment, i always just said i'd love to see 10st whatever on the scales, so maybe it's my bodies way off telling me i've hit my ideal weight. still enjoy my curries on a saturday night feel after doing park run, i earned the extra calories x

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to Piglet7969]

The point of that quote is that it is likely to be difficult for you to maintain that weight loss because you got there by restrictive dieting. Once you start eating "normally", you're likely to regain. I hope you can find your way to a healthy way of eating that you'll enjoy for good.

Sometimes, we get fixated on a number and it's always good to reassess and decide if you're happy enough where you are. That's your choice, not anyone else's

[S11m]

Are you actually too fat?

Have you lost fat and gained muscle?

As you say, one option would be to reconsider your target weight...

NHS BMI is not the only yardstick.

You could asses your body-fat percentage, not just BMI.

Even if you think BMI is relevant for you (which it might be if you are not very muscular), target BMI is another question... for old men, BMI 27 gives optimum life expectancy.

You can find justification for almost anything if you search the internet: you might take the advice of others here and achieve your current target weight, but, if not, you might just maintain at your current weight.

[Piglet7969]

i think my problem is i don't see what others see about myself, quite a few people have said i must be at my target weight now

[Stoozie]

hello from a fellow tortoise runner.

if you do want to lose more (though I agree with the advice above you may not need to) then have you tried heart rate intervals whilst training? I have recently shifted from a plateau by running one of my runs a week using HIIT principles.

For me this means 1 minute keeping my heart at 135bpm (kinda looks like I'm running but I could walk it quicker!) and allowing it into zone 5 for a minute (c.165-175 bpm). I repeat this 10 times with a steady jog before and after on a 5k run.

One to look at and try maybe?