new and needing some help please!

[tryingtoloose10]

I am 29, 165cm and currently weighing 72kg. I just had my third baby 12 weeks ago and trying to find out how much I need to eat to loose approximately 1kg a week.
There's so many different answers on these online calculators, I just don't know what to believe. Some say 3000kj, some say 5000 kj some say I need -570!!
I was hoping for others opinions, or know where I can get a correct figure? Any help, I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

[admin]

Hi

Here is our calculator.....http://www.weightloss.com.au/weight-los ... lator.html

I put your figures in and put down light activity on what you currently do with 3 kids and it says that to maintain you current weight you will need 2000kJ per day so in order for you to lose weight you would need to consume less.

I would look at anything from 1500 to 1800 kJ, depending on what your activity will be...the more activity the more you can consume.

I hope that helps.

Cheers

Sharrelle

[DD Diva]

I am 29, 165cm and currently weighing 72kg. I just had my third baby 12 weeks ago and trying to find out how much I need to eat to loose approximately 1kg a week.
There's so many different answers on these online calculators, I just don't know what to believe. Some say 3000kj, some say 5000 kj some say I need -570!!
I was hoping for others opinions, or know where I can get a correct figure? Any help, I would really appreciate it. Thank you.

Do try to remember that you just gave birth and your body is still adjusting to the drastic change both in weight and in hormone levels.
Also, if you are breastfeeding you will need to consume more than what most charts indicate (unless you're referring to ones for "lactating women") as these will not take into account the fact that you're food intake is having to nourish a feeding infant!
And finally, if you are breastfeeding, that in itself will help the body reshape and return to its normal weight (if you return to healthy eating).
I understand that you want to lose weight (and quickly) but even if you're not breastfeeding your newborn, you should look after yourself for your own (and their) well being. So take it slow, eat healthy balanced meals, enjoy activities that pregnancy may have made awkward for you earlier, and you'll get back into shape soon enough.
All the best and congrats on the new bubs!!!

[Blitz]

I think some of the confusion is about the difference between calories and kilojoules.
I also think that Sharrelle might have meant to write cals instead of kj as well.

Alan Borushek's 2012 Calorie Fat & Carbohydrate Counter book suggested Calories for weight loss in women as:
Non-active 1000-1200cal
Active 1200-1500cal
Very Active 1500-1800cal
(1 Calorie = 4.2 Kilojoules)
This is for a loss of between 0.5kg and 1.0kg per week.
He also adds that for lactation you should add up to another 500 calories to the number.

Please be aware that most people don't lose weight consistently each week. Usually it cycles between a "good" week and a week with a smaller loss. Also note that you will lose more when you start (some of it is fluid loss and some of it simply because you have a lot more to lose) than at the later stages of your weight loss. For example, my average weekly loss for the first month was 2.3kg per week but my average weekly loss over the entire 60 weeks it took me to reach goal was 1.4kg.

In the end - the proof is in the pudding. Try at one number - and then adjust accordingly.
I myself never bothered counting calories (or kilojoules)...I just started by reducing my serve sizes by half (figured I was twice the size I should have been...so I must be eating twice the amount I should have).

I hope this has been helpful to you.

Kim

[admin]

Ooops yes that is correct..I generally talk in Cals as most people do however the official language in Australia is kJ. I think the kJs number is so large that people can't identify with it and cals is a smaller number to remember. It is like converting from the imperial system over to the metric system....2 systems running hand in hand.
Thanks for the pick up Kim.

[tryingtoloose10]

Than you all for the replies. I'm not currently breast feeding, and its been hard to find the time to exercise with a newborn and a 3 year old.
Just another question, if I don't make it to the certain amount, like 1000cals a day, does that put you into 'starvation mode' and make it harder to loose weight?

[admin]

HI
You seriously shouldn't go down to 1000 cals...that is heading towards a VLCD which is veryloscal diet and this was developed for people who just had the surgery. Many companies are ditching a low cal diet as it is not sustanable and not sensible...please do not do this...it is too drastic.

You need to look after yourself and starving yourself is not the way...you will be grumpy..hungry...and not fit...

Sharrelle

[Blitz]

Ooops yes that is correct..I generally talk in Cals as most people do however the official language in Australia is kJ. I think the kJs number is so large that people can't identify with it and cals is a smaller number to remember. It is like converting from the imperial system over to the metric system....2 systems running hand in hand.
Thanks for the pick up Kim.

It can be even more confusing than that...a calorie as nutritionist and most people use it is actually in strict scientific terms a kilocalorie - literally 1,000 calories...now that would be a number to scare anyone!

Kim

[Blitz]

Than you all for the replies. I'm not currently breast feeding, and its been hard to find the time to exercise with a newborn and a 3 year old.
Just another question, if I don't make it to the certain amount, like 1000cals a day, does that put you into 'starvation mode' and make it harder to loose weight?

The body loves to run as efficiently as possible.
If you restrict your calorie intake you run the risk of slowing your metabolism down...thus burning less calories - which is the very thing you don't want to do.
Also it will tend to waste away your muscle tissue as well which you will require for effective exercise (burning extra calories - read the word FAT here). Most of those severe diets that are out there lose weight very quickly in the first few weeks but what they don't tell you that it is mostly water and muscle wastage...the fat remains.
They are unsustainable long term and once they are stopped water and fat (muscle takes longer to get back) quickly increase the weight to pre-diet state and often increases the weight because of the lowering of the metabolism and muscle wastage.

You should always aim for a calorie intake that will keep your body ticking over without it starving or being overfed. I view it this way; your calorie intake should be enough to keep your weight neutral (not gaining or losing) and your exercise should be burning up the fat deposits on your body.

We are all in a hurry to remove the fat but we should be realistic. We put it on bit by bit through time - we ought to understand that it will take us a bit of time to remove that fat. When I started losing weight my first week loss was 2.5kg. Doing some maths, I came to the conclusion that I would reach my goal weight in 36 weeks...I was only out by 24 weeks! I had to learn to listen to my body and lose weight in a sustainable way. One of my main adages during weight loss is: "always push - but don't break...always listen to your body". Doing it properly is more important than doing it fast. It is the difference between being successful and crashing out. Weight loss is a marathon not a sprint. Those that push too hard will only end up defeating themselves.

Kim

[DD Diva]

My regime involves low calories on alternate days, and sometimes I mix them up even more so that my body doesn't know (or expect a certain amount) or how many calories will be incoming!!
HOWEVER.....my "low days" are followed by much HIGHER days afterwards to counteract the days before it. This is because the body needs calories/food to fuel the metabolism and too many low caloric intake days will DEFINITELY stall your metabolism and slow down your fat burning machine!!!
Don't be in too much of a hurry to lose weight otherwise, you risk losing fluid, muscle and above all, (eventually) motivation and any loss that you do manage to pull out will be undone as a result!!!