Anonymous wrote:I have 50 lbs to lose and am finally on a program that works (with a doctor.)
But at 1500 calories a day, I am so surprised that people eat like this every day for their entire lives. 2 glasses of wine or one dessert and you have eaten so many of your calories already!!
If you are a normal weight, moderately fit person, do you eat 1500 a day?
What do you do at a big fancy restaurant meal or some other special event?
Do you never eat pancakes or a bagel? Or a big bowl of pasta at a delicious Italian restaurant?
I need to reset my entire approach to portions, etc.
I'm not that hungry on the 1500 cause it's high protein. I'm just wondering how it's sustainable.

"But at 1500 calories a day, I am so surprised that people eat like this every day for their entire lives. If you are a normal weight, moderately fit person, do you eat 1500 a day?" You don't eat that every day for life. Only until you lose the weight.

"2 glasses of wine or one dessert and you have eaten so many of your calories already!! What do you do at a big fancy restaurant meal or some other special event? Do you never eat pancakes or a bagel? Or a big bowl of pasta at a delicious Italian restaurant? " People who are committed to losing weight very rarely have 2 glasses of wine, traditional dessert, pancakes, bagels, and certainly big bowls of pasta. People who have lost the weight and want to maintain it will rarely do those things. And rarely means doing choosing ONE of those things LESS than once a week.

Losing weight in the short term means saying no. Maintaining weight loss in the long term means changing the way you behave around food. That's where sustainability comes in.

I'm 5'4" and 105-110 lbs, and I eat 2,000-2,300 calories a day when I'm just maintaining my weight. I'm actually trying to put on a little weight (ideally muscle of course!) so I've been tracking my calories, and this is what I consumed before I started gaining; now I'm trying to eat more like 2,500 daily so that I can slowly gain weight.

Eating 1,500 daily, which I used to do in college before I started seriously working out, is death to your metabolism, IMO. Nothing made me healthier, happier, and thinner (while also being fit) than learning about lifting weights (HEAVY weights) and getting into an active lifestyle. I eat what I want when I go to restaurants, because it naturally balances out in the end. And at home I eat unprocessed foods because that's what makes me feel good.

Be careful with the calorie approach to dieting. Most "fit" women I know don't do that; it just doesn't work all that well, long-term.

Anonymous wrote:I eat around 2200 calories a day but I’ve always been small so it may be different if you have lost a lot of weight.

I eat a lot but very healthy. Since hitting 40 a few years ago I really don’t drink at all anymore. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, beans, quinoa, plain yogurt, a little fish and chicken and eggs, oatmeal, I like sweets but small portions.

Yes I eat pasta but not too often. I hate being really full. Bit I can’t tolerate being really hungry. I like eating small meals and snacks often.

Moderate exerciser, and I don’t skimp on sleep.

I will add I love pizza and eat it once a week.

I eat around 2200 calories a day but I’ve always been small so it may be different if you have lost a lot of weight.

I eat a lot but very healthy. Since hitting 40 a few years ago I really don’t drink at all anymore. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, beans, quinoa, plain yogurt, a little fish and chicken and eggs, oatmeal, I like sweets but small portions.

Yes I eat pasta but not too often. I hate being really full. Bit I can’t tolerate being really hungry. I like eating small meals and snacks often.

Moderate exerciser, and I don’t skimp on sleep.

I'm almost 46 and a size zero. I rarely feel hungry, so I have no idea how many calories I consume. I just eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. I've been pretty much the same size all my life, small and muscular, and have a high metabolism. I've never been on a diet. The only time I gained weight was during pregnancy, but I lost it quickly. I can't eat when I'm stressed or upset. My stomach doesn't work. I also can't eat breakfast. I don't feel hungry until around 2 or 3 pm, and I've always been that way. My mom never made a big deal about it, she assumed I would eat when I wanted.

I don't really know how many calories I intake. I'm 43, 5'4" and 115 lbs. I try not to eat a ton of carbs and am a vegetarian, but I don't count calories or anything. I work out around 3 times a week, nothing too hardcore - either a cardio class, spin class, or barre class. On weekends I usually have pizza or something else unhealthy at least once. I drink very, very little alcohol - maybe one glass of wine a month - mostly because it messes with my sleep pattern.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am short so have to eat pretty low to lose, like 1400 a day and I generally exercise hard to give myself more like 1600 to eat overall. But I can maintain without counting for a long time. I diet again when I go 2-3 lbs above my ideal weight and that helps it from getting out of hand. Only time I was near overweight was post baby number two and I was right on the BMI overweight line. Lost it by her first bday but it was hard. I keep my ideal weight around 112-114 at 5 foot 2 because I am muscular and like my curves. I think having a reasonable ideal weight also makes it easier to maintain. When I was much younger I dieted waaay down and got into some pretty disordered habits. Don’t want to go there again.

I am 5'2" 112 and I eat about 3000 a day to maintain.

Wow! PP here. I don’t count calories when I am maintaining but I think I would gain on 3000 if it were a regular thing. I do find I can indulge quite a bit before I gain anything though.

5'3 and 110 here. I have days when I eat 3000 calories but even with my workouts and training I couldn't do that on a daily basis. I eat healthily, so getting 3000 calories of quality nutrition in is really difficult on a daily basis. I eat 3-4000 on the weekends and on wed (I run long mileage, 12+ most Thursdays) and more like 2000 the other days.

Not the OP but thanks for all the tips. I’m 38, 5’6’’ and 147 not happy about how I look these days. South Asian and was brought up eating rice which is hard to stay away from.

OP, you are on a 1500 calorie diet because that's how much you need to eat to safely lose 50 pounds. That is unlikely the number you'll need once you head into the maintenance part of the plan. Maybe 1900 or so, depending on your height and goal weight.

Anyway, you will get used to eating less and your body will adjust. If not, maybe try Intermittent Fasting? You will have the same amount of calories, just spread over fewer meals so you can have larger and more satisfying meals.

I am 5'2" 112 and I eat about 3000 a day to maintain.

do you do intense exercise and lifting, etc?

OP:
I'm 5'2", 120, and while I dont count calories, now that I'm 47, I eat much less than I used to. A typical day is coffee with milk for breakfast, tea throughout the morning--sometimes a protein shake if I did an early am workout. Lunch is an omelet with veggies and cheese, or a turkey avocado cheese sandwich or a salad with protein. Dinner is a salad or veggie dish, glass of wine, and piece of fish or chicken, or something similar but light (sushi roll, etc). If I have pasta I will have a cup, but not 3 cups. I dont snack unless I'm dying. Rarely eat sweets. Weekends I go out once or twice and eat what I want, but I just dont have a huge appetite, so end up bringing half home or DH eats it. And if I do eat a rich meal, usually I'm not hungry the next day. We dont have processed or fast food except, well, I do like chips and guac on occasion. I dont cut any single food group out, but I tend to go easy on refined carbs. I work out 4-5 x/week, mix of boot camp, body pump, yoga, zumba and just the treadmill.

Anonymous wrote:Not many at all. about 1300, plus lots and lots of exercise. The absolute reality is that most women over 40 have to go to extreme measures to remain thin.

thin =/= fit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am short so have to eat pretty low to lose, like 1400 a day and I generally exercise hard to give myself more like 1600 to eat overall. But I can maintain without counting for a long time. I diet again when I go 2-3 lbs above my ideal weight and that helps it from getting out of hand. Only time I was near overweight was post baby number two and I was right on the BMI overweight line. Lost it by her first bday but it was hard. I keep my ideal weight around 112-114 at 5 foot 2 because I am muscular and like my curves. I think having a reasonable ideal weight also makes it easier to maintain. When I was much younger I dieted waaay down and got into some pretty disordered habits. Don’t want to go there again.

I am 5'2" 112 and I eat about 3000 a day to maintain.

Wow! PP here. I don’t count calories when I am maintaining but I think I would gain on 3000 if it were a regular thing. I do find I can indulge quite a bit before I gain anything though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:8:51 - you can have a good metabolism and still gain weight. I have always had a good metabolism, but gained weight during the time when I was working full-time and doing a part-time grad program. There just wasn't much time for exercise or enough sleep.

A lot of people might remain thin if they are always working at it. But a lot of people - even those with good metabolism - will gain weight if they are too busy (or tired or unmotivated) to work at it. Those people will probably have to eat less down the road than people who never had excess weight to begin with.

Everyone has a good metabolism. If you have a FAST metabolism and your sister has a SLOW metabolism and you both sit all day at a job and never exercise your sister will get much fatter than you will. Also, the fatter you become the more your metabolism works. The slimmer you get the slower your metabolism becomes. To keep a 300lb body maintained takes MUCH more calories than to keep at 120 body maintained. Also your metabolism slows down as you age because the body repairs itself at a much much slower rate. Ever notice how much slower you are to heal as you get older? It is all related.

As a matter of fact, people with slow metabolisms are much more efficient than people with fast metabolisms. A slow metabolism is a genetic advantage, so technically speaking the slow metabolism is really the "good" metabolism.

That's true. The slow metabolism people are much more likely to survive a famine.