I Dont Think My Body Needs 2000 Calories Per Day, Lets Discuss?

Hello, let me cut right into cake.
People often tell me that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Ive never really been a breakfast kinda person. If i eat breakfast then no doubt im also going to eat lunch and dinner to - 3 square meals as recommended.
Im a firm believer that to loose weight and be healthy it all comes down to diet and exercise - Assuming you have no underlying medical issues. Im 26 in april, female, 5'4 in height and around 10 stone (140lbs for you americans) I know right now im carrying extra weight that in a modern society i just dont need.

Im finding my diet very difficult right now for 2 reasons:
1) Everything i eat has sugar in it - It feels impossible to escape.
2) Ive suffered from a cold since January that i have only just shifted.

Not to mention, i work full time and i do not plan my meals, so most times, i come home and throw something from the freezer into the oven and presto, dinner. Cooking is not beyond me, its just the planning and execution of those meals!

But yeah, how the hell do you improve your diet when you're surrounded by food that is full of fat and sugar? If i based my diet around consuming 2000 cal's of healthy food i dont think id be able to meet that amount. Part of the struggle is when your already eating sh!t food your body begins to crave it in a strange way. The only way i know how to get rid of these cravings is to either meet them or exercise AND drink alot of water - But that's difficult when your stuck at work for 8hrs.

So recently ive been trying to, in effect, help my stomach shrink itself so i get full more easier. Skip breakfast, take a berocca on a morning instead, maybe some fruit later on, sandwich for lunch and a meal when i get home from work...

I dunno, im just completely lost right now as to how to help myself. I want to be healthy and i want to be able to run half marathons (Im a big fan of running, just haven't been able to do it since getting my cold in jan)

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

I though a womans calorie intake was meant to be 15000?
But the easiest way to avoid processed sugars is to make food from scratch, and dont drink smoothies!
The des O'connor diet was one meal a day in the evening. But i believe the theory on eating breakfast is that it kicks starts your metabolism, otheriwse your body doesnt burn off calories it stores them.

1,500 for woman

Easiest way to lose weight is a little exercise and reduce your meal portion size

Most people consume far too many calories,even a healthy dinner if stacked up high on a plate would add up to calories

You can eat the same food you normaly eat,just eat less and weight will drop off

Eliminate any foods with wheat in it. Eliminate simple sugars. Reduce junk carbs (wheat). Run or jog at least 30 minutes a day. Research "wheat belly".

Do half decent exercise every day (e.g. walking) and eat decent food that is not packed with fat, salt and sugar, and you should be OK.

Everyone is different, so you should find your own level.

I could quite happily exist on beer and peanuts, but think that may be detrimental to my health, so cut out the peanuts, but walk recreationally about 30 miles a week. I've never been fitter.

Regards

a reply to: SearchLightsInc

Not to mention, i work full time and i do not plan my meals, so most times, i come home and throw something from the freezer into the oven and presto, dinner. Cooking is not beyond me, its just the planning and execution of those meals!

That right there is why your foods are loaded with sugars and gawd knows what else.

If you're not cooking from scratch, then you are consuming foods full of preservatives.

The easy fix for this is to prepare your own meals ahead of time and freeze them so that when you get home from work you can just simply "throw something from the freezer into the oven and presto, dinner."

As an example: Make a healthy casserole, cut it up into portions and freeze in individual plastic containers. Any ready-made frozen foods that you buy at a grocery store can be made from scratch at home and frozen in the same meal-sized portions... minus all the additional garbage they put in theirs.

One hour of your time preparing a meal and freezing it, and you've broken the cycle of eating crap foods and the cravings that follow.

1200 if your not active or need to lose weight.

How to cut the crap from your diet? Don't buy it. Stick to whole foods, not processed or packaged.

the big thing is lean to make things at home, i understand it can be difficult with certain working hours, or schedules, but really anything you eat outside will always be unhealthy by comparison, there are plenty of things you can make at home with pretty much no planning and 20 minutes of time or less.
salads or antipasto like caprese are typical examples.
Unless you find a way to create a schedule that allows you to make simple healthy means at home, you are kinda doomed.

Unless you work a 60 or 80-hour workweek, you should be able to find time to exercise. What do you do in the evenings after work? What about getting up an hour earlier in the mornings?

As far as your diet, you are like most young people. My teenage daughter would eat sugary foods all day long if I let her. She craves bread (white bread) ALL the time. I have to fight her every day to get her to eat more fruits and vegetables and protein. Whole, natural foods are what we should be eating. Nothing from a box. Yes, that means a certain amount of prep work. You could try washing and chopping up a whole load of veggies (leafy greens, bell peppers, cabbage, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) on the weekend and keeping them in your fridge during the week. Then all you have to do is grab some and either eat raw or throw in a pan/steamer. Make up some salad dressings and/or some fresh sauces for stir fries. I make a great peanut sauce that I keep in the fridge for quick stir fries. Every week I make a hummus dip that I pull out and eat with raw veggies. Stay away from starchy carbs. Avoid bread, crackers, chips, white potatoes and white rice. I use low-carb wraps for sandwich meals - sometimes I even use a raw large collard green leaf as a wrap - try it!

Depending on how active you are, you could reduce your calorie intake to about 1300-1400 calories and lose weight. Do you eat out for lunch? Try packing a healthy lunch instead. You should eat something for breakfast - even a quick smoothie with some fruit (avoid fruit juices - no fiber and way too much sugar), milk (I use almond milk), and some protein powder. Only takes a couple of minutes and you can drink it on the road.

I'm a little worried about the cold - it's been going on for a month? You should increase your vitamin C. A good multi-vitamin wouldn't hurt.

a reply to: IShotMyLastMuse

Sad reality: Unless you're rich.

a reply to: SearchLightsInc

Your still a young chick so you may ignore my comment, but...

Consider a low carb diet!

Don't count calories its a waste of time as all calories are just calories.

Count carbs and Glycemic Index.

You can lose weight and protect against diabetes by this system.

You can go on a 0 carb diet and lose weight fast.

But this diet can still be high calorie fat = calories
A 0 carb diet causes the body to burn fat.
Both body fat and fat you eat.

a reply to: ANNED

Sorry, This is not the way I see it!

Calories is the first and most important thing.

originally posted by: ANNED
Don't count calories its a waste of time as all calories are just calories.

Count carbs and Glycemic Index.

You can lose weight and protect against diabetes by this system.

You can go on a 0 carb diet and lose weight fast.

But this diet can still be high calorie fat = calories
A 0 carb diet causes the body to burn fat.
Both body fat and fat you eat.

I tried the Keto diet - too restrictive for me. Also made my brain a little fuzzy. I like my vegetables. I do agree with lowering carbs - the sugary and starchy ones. But I don't think all carbs are bad.

a reply to: kaylaluv

A keto diet shall not make your brain fuzzy, in the contrary it should make you sharp as an eagle!

Possibly you were not yet adapted, or in caloric restriction (common).

2,000 calorie (men) a day is based on doing more than sitting in your car, then sitting in your office chair, and then sitting in your car some more, and then sitting on your couch all night watching the tube.

Honestly, the whole number is pretty bunk if you read into it. The people in charge of this sort of thing came up with a number closer to 2400 for men, but made the mistake of asking for public input.

I should dig up some real sources. Some places say that 2000 a day assumes an active lifestyle, others say its a baseline for us chair sitters.

originally posted by: PeterMcFly
a reply to: ANNED

Sorry, This is not the way I see it!

Calories is the first and most important thing.

Like a lot of things, I think this is very dependent on the individual. Some are quite successful on a low-fat or low-cal diet; some do well on a vegetarian diet, others feel better with more fats and animal protein. I personally do best on a more paleo-type diet - moderate protein and fat, with lots of non-starchy vegetables and little to no grains (although I do eat some legumes). My husband needs his whole grains or he gets very constipated. Everybody is different as to what works for them.

I was always told by my mother (who was a nurse) "everything in moderation, even moderation". you can eat whatever you want just not the entire tub of ice cream have one piece of fish not three etc, studies have shown that eating five to six snack size meals may be better than the regular three large ones we tend to eat for energy and nutrient absorbtion throughout the day it is supposed to also reduce craving for food as a craving generally means your body is telling you it wants something.

in the winter months add more foods with vitamin D in them cus your not getting as much since there is less sunlight.

basically go ahead and have some crisps just not the whole bag and not every day.

a reply to: kaylaluv

Yes, true, but as I said I suspect caloric restriction in that case (very frequent)

Also when you were doing keto diet, were you doing control using ketostix, urine pH and blood glucose?

Inactive lifestyle -1000 - 1500kcal (sitting around all da
Mild to moderate activity - 2000kcal (regular light exercise)
Decent activity level - 2500kcal ( regular moderate to high intensity exercise)

This is a VERY rough guide. I was chucking 5000kcal per day down me last time I did Norway just to maintain. Want to lose weight? Less crap food and run more.