What % of my my RDI would I need to be consuming daily in order to loose 2+lbs a week?

Hello everybody. Please can somebody let me know what % of my RDI I should be consuming daily in order to loose at least 2lb a week. I have been noting down approximately 1300 calories a day and my RDI is 1900 calories in order just to survive. I normally have about 65% of my RDI. The thing is I have been following my diet plan for over 3 weeks now and have lost nothing! I have had no treats at all (no biscuits, no crisps, no sweets, no chocolate, etc.) and have been sticking to my 3 meals a day and rarely snacking.

Where am I going wrong? I go on holiday in 5 weeks and really wanted at least 7lbs off at least by then. I have been trying so hard and it is so disheartening. Please can anyone offer me some advice as to where I am going wrong? Thanks in advance.

your getting all your calories from sugar and bad carbs. Your starving your body of nutrition. Try to eat some veggies. I see in 27 meals you listed you had carrots twice, I won't count the potatos and french fries. As far as fruit, I think all you had in the 27 meals was half an apple.

You should drop your calorie restriction no more than 500 calories below your RDI.

You should be losing weight. Your body is perhaps going into starvation mode.

Thanks for your speedy reply Peefat. The problem is that I have Crohn's Disease and have to follow a Low Residue Diet in order to stop it from flaring up. This means I the only vegetables I can have are potatoes (no skins), carrots, turnip and cauliflower. I am not allowed any fruit at all and if my Crohn's is very settled I can have one glass of fruit juice a day. I am only allowed white bread (no brown, wholemeal, etc.), no nuts, no wholegrain cereals (only Rice Krispies and Cornflakes). My diet is so unhealthy and my weight gain is because of the steriods I have had to take during my flare ups(I came off them at the end of January). I have read about steriods staying in the system for two years and wonder if they could be hindering my weight loss as well as the tablets I have to take daily in order to keep my Crohn's under control.
I'm so sick of being at this weight and really want to loose but between my limited diet and only being able to walk daily as exercise I can't see me loosing very much, if any. I would really appreciate any tips and advice as to what I could do. Honestly, if anybody can think of anything please, please let me know. I would be so grateful.

PeeFat I was wondering about increasing my calorie intake in order to boost my metabolism. I wonder should I give that a try? Thanks so much for your wise words PeeFat. Please keep them coming. xo.

I agree with PeeFat about the # of calories!! If I consume too few my weight loss is hindered!! When you go to the grocery store compare all of the products you're allowed to have not only by calories/ fat/ carbohydrates... but compare the vitamins too!! This way you'll be getting more "bang for your buck"!

Thanks Brooke. As of today and yesterday I have increased my calories to approximately 75% of my RDI. I think I am going to bring them up from 1300 to 1500 and see what happens (my RDI is 1900). Do you think that this sounds about right or too much? What and where do you think I should increase my calories? I wonder where I could add them on to aid weightloss? I am so desperate for any tips and really want to get this weight shifted asap. Sorry for all of the questions.

I have the same problem, when I noticed I over restrict myself my weight will bump up a small bit or it will stay the same, even if I increase exercise. Your body thinkg you're not going to feed it anymore, so it slows everything down in order to stop using your fat stores for nutrition. Are you doing much exercise? I noticed there isn't much recorded in your journal. Walking/jogging is one of the BEST ways to burn excess body fat, because moderate exercise causes your body to use your fat stores effectively and quickly. Good luck!

You could try having up to 6 small meals throughout the day (every 3 or so hours) instead of 3 bigger ones, this should boost your metabolism. Maybe try to boost your protein levels a bit too if you can.

I think 1500 sounds much better!! I usually come pretty close to hitting my RDI because I'd rather lose weight more slowly & keep it off than lose a ton of weight in a short period of time & gain it all back as soon as I quit dieting! It's better to make a healthy life change than to just restrict yourself!! I also eat about every 3-4 hours....I'm never hungry!!! Just be patient & wonderful things will happen!!

I am not familiar with Crohns Disease, but seems you have problems with fiber and carbs, right? What does your doctor say about going to a low carb diet? Who knows, maybe it can be beneficial to you considering your condition and the steroids. There are other people who went on steroids and the only thing that helped them lose was low carbing. Each person is different and we all have different needs, maybe just calorie counting isnt good enough for you. I suggest you read about it. Best of luck

Thanks anapdc, brooke, groovygirl and kaitlinmarie. I really appreciate your advice. The only real exercise I do is walking everyday, this is also due to my Crohn's as I am fatigued most of the time and looking after my two young daughters and the house is a job and a half in itself. That does sound like a better idea about eating little and often. I must think about cutting down on my carbs too but the only thing is that I don't know what I would replace them with as I cannot eat anything that has seeds, shreds or skins in it or on it. Not an easy task! Lol. I hope that if I up my calories to 1600 a day that it doesn't back fire on me and make me gain Thanks again for all of the advice and please keep it coming.

What does your doctor suggest?

If I were you, I'd be taking a good multi vitamin, and also vitamin B complex. The multi vitamins will help with lost minerals and vitamins from vegtables your not eating and the vitamin B complex has all kinds of components for making fat easier to metabolize.

Don't forget to drink your 8 glasses of water a day. Many people don't realize how much water helps us to lose weight and get healthy.

You also only have about 20 lbs to lose to get to your goal. The last 10 to 20 lbs are the toughest for most if not all people. You may have to increase your exercise to lose the stuborn fat.

you know.... if i were you, i would most likely talk to your doctor.

I second this. Dieting advice on this site is pretty good for people who do not have physiological complications.

Based on your Crohn's and steroids, it is probably best for you to seek advice from a medical professional.

This is not to say that the advice given is not good, just that you have variables that are different.

Hi there. Thank-you so much for all of your replies. I have taken them all onboard. I have spoken to my consultant about my snail pace/non existant weight loss and he was unable to help me. He just says that everybody is different and different foods affect sufferers differently. He doesn't worry about my weight as he thinks that as long as I am in remission and have a bit of extra `padding' for the next flare up all is good.

I'm going to try increasing my calorie intake up to approximately 1600 calories for a week just to see if this helps jump start my weightloss. Although, after doing this the past 2 days I hopped on the scales this morning and notice a slight gain! Thanks again everybody I really appreciate it.

I am totally solid losing 2 lbs a week if I eat 65-75% of my RDI.....but the better way to do it for me is I need an 800 cal defecit...so my cals vary day to day depending on my workouts - 39 lost so far, 9 to go....

500 calories a day for 7 days = 3500 calories which equals a pound

Yes this morning after bringing my calorie intake up to 1600 for three days I have a 2lb weight gain!?! I always have a large deficit and so cannot work this out at all. Boo hoo. Don't know what to try and do next. Thanks Glen and Margie for your help, I really appreciate it. Any more ideas guys? Thanks in advance.

may want to look into this for Crohn's disease:

http://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=17&m=1493406