Courting calories?

[Em.ma]

Anyone else count calories ?
If I go over 2,500 a day I kick my self. I try to make my breakfast, mid morning snack and lunch all add up to 1,000 everyday but I worry that's to much for a 5 foot 1 . 8 stone girl. I keep a diary of food eaten and calories its all wrote down :(

[sarahsarah]

The recommended number of calories for a woman to maintain her current weight and get all the nutrition she needs is 2,000 per day (men 2500). Obviously this is just a general guideline, everyone's metabolism is different. Some people can eat what they like and never seem to put on weight, others have to really watch what they eat to stay the same weight.

If you are trying to keep your weight the same, 1,000 cals for your breakfast, lunch and snack sounds reasonable, leaving you with another 1,000 for your evening meal and any further snacks. Writing down everything you eat can be good idea as you are less likely to eat anything without thinking about it first. Also, writing it all down helps enormously when you're trying to make improvements to your diet- you can see what you can swap for healthier versions. 2,000 cals is a good guide but getting the appropriate nutrition is very important too. Also, don't forget you can go over one day and cut back a little over the next couple of days and it will all even itself out.

Don't be too hard on yourself if you forget to write something down or go over the number of calories for the day. If you can do so without gaining any weight, good for you! If you do gain a couple of pounds, you know what to do if you want to lose it. It is much more important to eat a nutritious diet than calorie count to the nearest joule. xx

[Em.ma]

Hiya . My diet today was :

Breakfast: porridge with an activia yoghurt and a actimal drink. A coffee.
Mid morning snack: cut up pinapple. A coffee
Lunch: left over jacket potato re heated with a tin of ravoili. Glass of water
Mid afternoon: glass of water
Dinner: left over gammon with tinned tomatoes and a fried egg with bread and butter. A glass of sugar free squash.


Tomorrow I have tuna pasta for lunch and sliced peaches. Breakfast will be porridge and a activia breakfast pot.
Not sure on dinner yet.

Does this sound relatively normal for a days food? Is it more or less what you would eat?

---------- Post added at 20:34 ---------- Previous post was at 20:29 ----------

Sunday I had.

Breakfast: Porridge and a yoghurt. Cup of tea
Lunch: tuna sandwich and a red apple. Cup of tea
Mid afternoon: glass of squash sugar free and a coffee
Dinner: gammon, mash potato, bread and butter, fried egg, sprouts and pickles. Glass of water
Pudding: sliced peaches and banana flavoured custard.
Glass of water

[PanchoGoz]

I never count calories, my body tells me what I need and don't need. It's a fad of the modern western society. You can get very stressed watching your diet like that!
Sounds like a very healthy diet though! Mmm.

[Em.ma]

Thanks. It does stress me out. I can't help it though. I eat when hungry . Except on weekends , mainly Saturdays if I'm with friends. Not all the time though.

---------- Post added at 20:52 ---------- Previous post was at 20:51 ----------

I'm 5 foot 1 and 8 stone 1 pound which makes me bmi in the normal range thankfully .

---------- Post added at 20:53 ---------- Previous post was at 20:52 ----------

Everyone at works says I'm tiny and theirs nothing of me.
One guy said do you eat enough you look very thin and hears me panicking over eating to much!!

[PanchoGoz]

I'm 5'6" and was about 8 stone 2-4 last time I looked.
People will be concerned if they hear you talking about your diet a lot. It's more beneficial to be carefree and careful, rather than watching every meal.
I hate it when people say I'm thin as I am a little underweight but if I start to worry about what I'm eating I'll eat less. When stressed some people eat more and some people eat less. If you are in the normal range of weight I wouldn't worry too much. You're not going to get obese if you let yourself go.

[Em.ma]

Thank you.
They havnt heard me talk about it they just mention my weight a lot as I look small haha.
Today have had
Breakfast: porridge with a yoghurt which had oat clusters in. A coffee.
Mid morning: a red apple.
Lunch: pasta with Tuna and light mayo. A tin of peaches.
Dinner/tea: two slices toast with light Philly cheese on.
750ml of water.
Wasn't hungry enough for a full evening meal today. Will probably have a cup of tea In a little while.
When I really worried about my weight at nearly 10 stone I only had one sandwich a day and dropped two stone. It was not a healthy way to go about things.
I now walk 3 miles a day mon-fri instead of using the bus. Unless its really bad weather.

[PanchoGoz]

Why are you worriying then? You have a perfectly healthy lifestyle.

[Anxious_gal]

You can google how many calories you need based on your weight and activity level.
Your diets pretty good :)
I mean I see so many people who don't cook n just eat takeout n never tasted porridge!

You don't really need to count calories, you could estimate them, but if you go over your weight all you need to do is cut back on the junk, cheese, eat smaller portions.

I estimate calories as I'm trying to gain weight :) I try to eat enough every day other wise I'll just start losing weight again as my appetite is still bad.

Please don't get too focused on the calories, you're eating healthy and you're a healthy weight :)

Aw you dropped weight really unhealthy :( please don't starve yourself or go really hungry.
But well done for now eating healthy and going for walks!

Since more people are over weight it's become the "normal" size.
I find if people mention your weight they are comparing their size to yours, so whether they are taller or fatter you're going to look tiny to them!
I always joke I wouldn't look so think in Japan, as they tend to be pretty small framed :)

I think people can do the fake concern thing too. At your height n weight you seem totally normal/healthy, Where I am under weight which does make me look unhealthy.

People have no right to comment on your weight, unless it's a nice compliment.
You don't go around telling people they are too fat, so they should not say you're too thin!
I mean too fat or too thin for who!
I find it's only insecure or jealous people who make negative body/weight comments.

You don't have to be rude. Simply say you're happy with your weight.

[Em.ma]

Hi anxious gal.
I'm trying to ignore the calories in front of food and just eat healthy and when I'm hungry and the right things. I think that's a much better approach to things than counting calories

[hanshan]

Hi,

Based on BMI (and it has its limitations), your normal weight range should be between 48 to 60 kg. At 8 stone 3 (52 kg), you are well within that range. Don't worry about people telling you look tiny etc - take it as a compliment! Our perception of "normal" has moved up a few notches over the years - your weight is very "normal".

I've been slowly reducing weight over the past five months with the goal of getting back to a BMI of about 22. I do count calories - it's a bit boring, but it does give me a clear idea of what I'm eating. The point is not to stress out about it.

Take care.