Advice please

[alli74x]

To be honest I'm finding it hard to stop dieting now through, I've gone 8lb under my goal weight but just so scared of piling it back on so still finding I'm only eating about 800 calories a day any advice thank you

[IndigoBlue61]

There are two ways to approach this, and my advice would be to gradually make changes, increasing the quality as well as quantity of what you eat.

Then join the Monthly maintainers post (September due to be posted tomorrow) and advice on there.

Under-eating is as bad as overeating. Please take care of yourself 😊

[alli74x Maintainer in reply to IndigoBlue61]

Thank you 😊❤

[flo72003 in reply to IndigoBlue61]

Could you please post a link to the maintainers post. Thank you.

[S11m]

Hi, alli74x .

Do you know what your body-fat percentage is?

How long did it take you to lose how much?

How many meals do you eat a day?

I lost weight at only one pound a week - partly as it has made the transition to maintaining easy.

When I got close to my target weight I started eating yoghurt with my breakfast... could you add yoghurt, fruit or something every day?

[alli74x Maintainer in reply to S11m]

Hi has taken 8 months set out to lose 3 stone wanted to get to 9 stone now 8 stone 5lb I try to add things to take calories up but then fear takes over 😪

[IndigoBlue61 in reply to alli74x]

Give yourself time, it takes a while to adjust, your head as well as your body 😊

[flo72003]

As others suggested, do it gradually. Add a piece of feta cheese, half an avocado and a few olives to a salad for example. Increase the portion sizes a bit.

Maybe try 5:2 approach. Start eating about 1600 cal for 5 days and stick to 800 twice a week to make sure that you are not going to put back the weight.

While experimenting, by increasing your food intake you can weigh yourself fairly regularly, to make sure that you stay on target.

You have done amazingly well to lose all this weight, but it will not be fun to worry constantly about it. If you are out and have a nice meal, do not think about calories, enjoy yourself. You can compensate the next day.

Good luck!

[CrimsonMama]

Oh I hear you! As I've just reached my goal weight after losing six stone I now find it strange and against my mindset to now increase calories! It feels wrong plus once you start saying yes to things there is the fear you will start not being able to say no to anything and pile weight on!!

However 800 calories seems incredibly low. And being underweight can be just as dangerous to your health as overweight.

I am intending to gradually increase my calories. I in particular want a more substantial breakfast to see me through work. So I can add another slice of toast and jam.

To tackle the fear I would write down your weight goals and have a plan. I am using a traffic light chart in my kitchen. I will post a picture of it after this thread as a separate post!

Basically I will continue to monitor my weight and record it weekly. For my height I am healthy at 9stone 6lbs so I intend to be between 9 stone and 9.6.

Between 9 and 9.3 I will be "in the green" and can (try) to eat my full calorie limit which is 2000 calories on weekends and 1900 weekdays. If I get to 9.4-9.5 then I will be in the amber zone. This means to be mindful and either cut my calories down a bit that week or do a fast day (one day of 900 calories).

9.6 or more is red zone! So I will cut my calories for the week to the amount I use to lose 2lbs and do one fast day.

Feeling in control and having goals and a reason to keep an eye on your weight might help?

[alli74x Maintainer in reply to CrimsonMama]

Thank you xxx and well done to you ❤

[Mum56]

Dear Ali74x,

You've clearly worked really hard to get to your goal weight and it would be sad of that achievement becomes something which negatively affects your well-being. Maybe it might be helpful to reach out to your GP or practice nurse for further advice if you find you are continuing to struggle to increase your calories up to maintenance. Please take care and very best wishes.

[alli74x Maintainer in reply to Mum56]

Thank you losing weight is great but I don't want to turn in to a eating disorder which I'm scared of happening xx

[alli74x Maintainer]

Thank you ❤