AFlyOnYourWall
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Gemma Bosanko (Slimming World Gem) could do with reading here!
Ex - Slimming World Disordered Eating Recovery
- Thread starter JustWonderingIf
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WhatABore
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Depending on your size it may well not be enough.
Especially if you've been doing it for a long time and your body has got used to it
judgejohndeed
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The unfortunate thing about SW is it's very easy to overeat. I'm not saying you are doing this - in fact if you're maintaining your weight then we know you aren't overeating - but for example low fat beef adds up quickly in calories, I'm always surprised by it. Very easy to overeat on pasta, I would never eat it without weighing it these days, I can't eyeball it at all. It might be that you've eaten too low for too long (you're not actually meant to spend long periods of time in a calorie deficit as your metabolism can adjust and your deficit becomes your maintenance) but it could just be you're eating a reasonable amount and that's your maintenance calories.
If I were you I'd eat normally for a week but also calorie count. If you're maintaining your weight this way, then that's a perfect way to work out exactly how many calories you're eating to maintain. If it's a reasonable amount for your height and weight, then all you need to do to lose weight is eat a little less, or exercise more, to get into a deficit. If it's a stupidly small amount, you'd really need to reverse diet before you start trying to lose weight again as otherwise you're going to have hardly any cals to eat. But once you have that initial number it will be easy to work out what to do next and you can eat whatever you want as long as it fits your calories, you'd still lose weight. In fact, I think you'd find you lose weight more quickly to start because you're shaking your body up - sometimes if I've plateaued for ages, it's because I've been eating the same meals day in and day out or the exact same calories etc and if I have a few days eating different things or higher calories then I start losing again.
JustWonderingIf
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A good idea for you to try might be for you to write down the exact amounts you have of everything in each meal (for example how many eggs, roughly how much mince etc)
The go to to a calorie calculator and put in your height and weight (I use the NHS one but lots say the James Smith one is good)
Then download a calorie counting app (in this instance My Fitness Pal would be useful as free)
Put in your meal and amounts you wrote down being honest
Then you can see how the calories you're taking in measure up to your deficit.
If you're eating less you're eating too little. If you're eating more that's why you're maintaining.
WhatABore
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This will stop you losing weight as your body goes into fat storage mode as it thinks it's starving
judgejohndeed
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1500 isn’t that low to be honest, depends on your weight, height and activity level but that’s what I used to eat to lose 1 lb a week when I didn’t exercise
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It doesn’t work like that or there wouldn’t be anorexics/kids starving in Africa
Mollywobbles
VIP Member
Has anyone read Bethenny Frankel’s book Skinnygirl?
It’s very American, but she does have a few good ideas.
- Crisps. Have one, eat it savour it. Have a second, does it taste as good as the first? If not, stop eating them.
- eating out. You don’t have to finish your plate. It’s your food, you paid for it. So if you want to leave it, leave it.
If you are with a girlfriend and you both fancy a rich creamy high calorie main dish, why not share it and have a side salad. Then you enjoy what you have and don’t feel guilty.
It’s very American, but she does have a few good ideas.
- Crisps. Have one, eat it savour it. Have a second, does it taste as good as the first? If not, stop eating them.
- eating out. You don’t have to finish your plate. It’s your food, you paid for it. So if you want to leave it, leave it.
If you are with a girlfriend and you both fancy a rich creamy high calorie main dish, why not share it and have a side salad. Then you enjoy what you have and don’t feel guilty.
No 1500 isnt low but im not reaching it.. I do believe eating too little isnt great for weight loss.
JustWonderingIf
VIP Member
This is terrible advice.
Bethenny is not qualified nor even been overweight so I would be hesitant to take her advice.
Also adivising eating just one or 2 crisps, not finishing meals or sharing meals is the gateway to eating disorders.
That advice is moving in the mindset of having guilt and shame around food. Which is something ex SW members on this thread are trying to move away from.
'Best share my creamy dish with a friend or it's to fattening' is obsessional dieting.
Or you could just have a full bag of crisps, eat the creamy meal and have a full plate of food within your calories and if it's over...so what? Take some off other days in the week.
For under 2000 calories you can have
- golden syrup porridge for breakfast
- a chicken tikka 6" subway and a WHOLE grab bag of quavers for lunch
- a FULL SERVING of pizza express carbonara (very creamy dish, no sharing with friend)
WITH a serving of pizza express salted caramel icecream
Heyguysswipeup
VIP Member
Why does everyone who goes into I’m A Celeb come out having lost loads of weight then instead of gaining? Fat storage mode is BS
JustWonderingIf
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1500 calories is low.
for some people who are short, of a lower weight and very sedentary it's fine but for the majority of women it is low.
Also if someone is EX SW (which is who this thread is for) and used to unlimited free foods plunging their calories down to 1500 will lead to them feel deprived and binging which is not sustainable.
judgejohndeed
VIP Member
I said it's not 'that' low because the poster had said they were worried about undereating. If your maintenance calories are about 2000 (which is very common especially if you don't exercise) then 1500 is what you'd be eating to lose 1 lb a week, so no, it's not so low as to be worried about it. A lot of people think they need more food than they do tbh, or none of us would have needed SW/cal counting in the first place. Obviously you need to be eating a lower amount to lose weight which the poster said they were doing, or you'd not be in a deficit.
I suppose it depends if you're still wanting to lose weight in a healthier way post SW or you're just not interested full stop post SW. Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with advice like stop eating crisps if you're not actually enjoying them (and any food really) sharing a restaurant portion which is often very large etc. Not finishing your plate is a big thing from Intuitive Eating as well. But I also had to learn how to lose weight and maintain it in a much healthier way after doing SW and ending up with bulimia/with two stone to lose, so that's the perspective I tend to look at/answer from.
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I_Like_Tractors
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Thank you for this. I am trying (and failing) to let myself eat whatever I like when eating out because it's a one off, so this sort of thinking is just encouraging the opposite
WhatABore
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I apologise. It will slow your weightless though. From my expwrience/what I've been taught.
Very willing to have a read up of different things though.
I am simply going by what I've always been taught, including from a personal trainer, so one would assume they are right. I understand that is not always the case however.
I was always led to believe eating too few for too long slows your metabolism massively as your body goes into a starvation mode and stores the fat rather than burns it. Often going for the muscle instead
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I believe its because its a sudden and quick change and works short term but not long term.
Again, just basing it on what I've always been taught
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Heyguysswipeup
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I guess the science behind that is that our bodies will go through metabolic adaptation, we are very good at adapting. Weight loss will slow down or stop as our body gets used to only eating xxx calories and therefore for will slow down to conserve energy, but I believe that people use the term starvation mode instead of this. That’s why a gradual calorie reduction may have better long term weight loss plus it highlights the importance of resistance training as that really is one of the only things we have control of that can increase our metabolism
Also… ppl live with eating disorders for many years, they don’t all of a sudden put on weight due to starvation mode?
Off topic side note
Once we hit menopausal age, even peri menopausal age, our metabolism drops by about 20% which is why loads of women struggle to lose weight despite not really eating anymore or moving any less than they did a few years ago. We also tend to do less muscle strengthening exercises as we age so that doesn’t help either. I’m a big believe in doing resistance training for those going through menopause as that can help manage that stubborn weight gain! Lara Briden has some excellent resources on menopause and weight management. I’ll be quiet now as I know it’s off topic from SW - apologies
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JustWonderingIf
VIP Member
I think it's important everyone follows what a Calorie calculator tells them is a deficit for their specific weight and height and not feel pressured that eating 1500 is the only way to lose weight.
'I suppose it depends on if you want lose weight leaving SW or just not interested full stop'
if someone eats more than 1500 calories - they can lose weight if they're in a deficit.
also the insinuation that someone who doesn't adopts habits like not eating crisps and leaving half their plate is very unhealthy.
You can eat full plates of food and eat packets of crisps AND still lose weight
It's not 'fattening', 'greedy', 'synful' and certainly doesn't mean you're not interested in losing weight.
for 1485 calories you can have
- 2 slices toasted white bread and butter for breakfast
- a small english breakfast for lunch
- a portion of singapore noodles WITH cheese and onions crisps AND a kitkat for dinner
So even if you are very low calories, there is 0 need to start eating half a plate or not eating a whole packet of crisps or entertain any of the 'if i'm losing weight I can't have treats' mindset.
judgejohndeed
VIP Member
No need to apologise btw but just on this point, unfortunately I wouldn't assume that, it was a PT who put me as a 5'9, at the time 13 stone woman on 1200 calories then got annoyed that I couldn't stick to it. I looked into what PTs actually learn on their courses a while back and there is some real nutri bollocks on most of them and some have hardly anything at all, it's shocking
WhatABore
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The PT was quite good with the calories in my opinion and used a tdee calculator and body fat percentage to work it out.
When weight loss came to a standstill and calories were already low, they would advise to up them for a month, and slowly decrease them again to kick start the body.
And it worked.
So to me, the explanation sounded logical.
1200 calories is ridiculously low for anyone, nevermind someone of that height ect! Wow!
Mr Krabs
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Savouring food and eating things you are craving isn’t terrible advice. But I’m not sure Bethany Frankel is someone I’d want to read a diet book from. I remember she was showing off that she fit into her four year old’s pyjamas. I think she has a lot of food issues.
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