How have I lived with so little potassium?

I'm not totally convinced that MFP is an accurate calculator of nutritional make-ups. The other day it said I had no potassium when I had recorded a banana. How can I have not had any potassium when I've had a narnar? Looking in minute detail at everything you eat makes you realise that the make-up of natural things is evidently going to be different depending on how mature/ripe/out of date, it is and exactly how big something is. What is a medium banana? How much of a large egg is a medium egg? Two thirds? How big is a carrot? How much vitamin A is in this carrot compared to that one that's been in the fridge a week and is a bit bendy?

I have had some difficult days work-wise this week. I avoided the 'baddies' earlier on but yesterday was a particularly challenging day as I ended up staying at work for an extra 5 hours with no opportunity for a break, food or even a pee. I had lunch at midday. By 9.30 I was so ravenous I just ate the nearest things to hand which were bourbons and Thornton's chocolates! Then, when I finally got home and had showered, it was 10.30 and I only had the energy for toast. Hubby kindly made me a couple of slices and thoughtfully scraped the butter on and then off again so there wasn't too much on it! "ARGH, the calories," you cry! But it was offset by the 14,500 steps I had done and even when I entered all of the rubbish I had eaten onto MFP, I was still in a significant calorie deficit.

It was a horrible shift (and a half) and I have been on a bit of a downer today. I took a piriton so I would sleep (but I was so knackered, I think I would have slept; I just didn't want to wake in the wee small hours and not be able to get off again as my brain went into overthinking mode). I woke after 7 hours with the beginning of a migraine (can you be asleep and tense at the same time?) so I had some migraleve - what a druggie! But I'm physically and mentally exhausted today; I can't make a decision without mulling it over for ages and my eyes are so heavy...

BUT, I have managed to avoid temptation (mostly). I had to go into town and wanted hubby's company, and he could see I just wanted a bit of moral support and physical hand holding so he came with me to run a few errands while I finally got my sunglasses from Specsavers. The weather was  (and still is) lovely and we walked a little way along the prom (yes, we live at the seaside) and I suggested an ice cream. I had the intention of a scoop (or two) in a pot rather than a cone that could dribble. The queue was massive so we gave it a miss and walked a longer way home instead. I have been to the supermarket to get some cold drinks (we had a hankering for orange, cranberry and lots of ice) and apart from a bag of sweet and salty popcorn and two apple turnovers, I walked away without baddies.

The popcorn is ok so long as I don't eat the entire bag in one sitting - it's light and not too bad sugar-wise. The turnovers were a whim because I fancied them. Just under 300kcal apparently. I'm not going to worry about it. We have decided we fancied a Weightwatchers recipe for Frittata for tea tonight so I know my calories for the day (and walking) will be OK. It's just the rum I might put in the cranberry and orange that might mess things up...😉

Calorie requirements

I have been trying to find out exactly how many calories (or kcal) I need to consume to exist. This is not as easy as I thought it might be.

• From somewhere my Fitbit has be using 1635 per day just from existing. That is, on a day when I haven't had it on or recording, it calculates that is how many kcals I will have used. How it comes to that conclusion, I'm not sure. 

• HealthStatus (a website) calculated my existence to require 2689.8 kcal a day.

• BBCiWonder came up with 2240 kcal.

There seems to be a general consensus that 2000 kcal is what women need in order to maintain their weight, keeping the engine ticking over so to speak. But that takes little or no account of age or weight.

There is a formula or something. Doing a bit of reading it seems that requirements (no matter what the answer comes up as) seem to be calculated from the basal metabolic rate (BMR) and that is calculated from body weight, height, age and gender. Which is the same no matter what on-line calculator you use. So how can they differ so much? Who am I supposed to believe?

The amount of kcal you need to lose weight is a whole new ballgame!

• HealthUnlocked (website) suggest 1400 kcal.

• NHS Choices say 1692 - 2175 kcal

• and MFP wanted me to start on 1230 kcal!

So where does all that information leave me? And lets not forget, we're only talking about calories here; the components and proportions are as yet, undiscovered by me. It's surely going to get way more complicated the more I delve into it.

• To function on a daily basis I require 1692 - 2689.8 kcal per day. That's a hell of a margin for error!

• To maintain my weight the consensus is approximately 2000 kcal

• To lose weight, guidelines (see previous post) suggest 600 kcals less than maintenance. So is that 1092 kcal, 1400 kcal or 2089.8 kcal? Answers on a postcard please!

I have set MFP to 1800 kcal per day and I will see how that goes for a while. I am hopeful that in the short-term as it is considerably less than I have been eating I should show some weight loss initially. This may need to be adjusted as I (hopefully) lose weight.

I've started something here that is going to be a long term project, perhaps even more so than my MSc!

some info I have just confirmed

According to the British Nutritional Foundation

https://www.nutrition.org.uk/healthyliving/healthissues/healthy-weight-loss.html?limit=1&start=1

"Guidelines recommend that you should try to lose weight gradually, about 1-2 lbs (approximately 0.5-1.0 kg) a week. This way, the weight is more likely to stay off. This rate of weight loss is based on using up 600 kcal per day more than you take in. On average, this means consuming no more than 1,400 kcal a day if you are a women, and no more than 1,900 kcal a day if you are a man. The amount of weight you lose will depend on how much weight you need to lose and how active you are."

This is quite interesting as I have never seen this amount defined before. That also means that 1400kcal a day is what i should be aiming for...maybe. I am considerably overweight. I have just worked out my BMI and it is 39.6. A calorie intake that low...I'm not sure that is suitable for me to jump into straight away.

Weightwatchers (which I have done successfully several times, and then put most back on over time) advocates a larger calorie intake and gradually reducing it as you lose weight. I think this is so you've got somewhere to go with your weight loss. If I reduce my input to 1400 tomorrow, I would probably lose weight very quickly. But could I sustain it?

I think I'm going to find out some stuff which I really don't like the idea of during the course of my investigations. It will be up to me whether I chose to implement the suggested changes or adapt them to make them more palatable (literally). I guess to use 600 more than I eat, I have to do more, use up more energy to eat more in the first place. It is clear that I have to know numbers, calorific content and how much I am using up on a daily basis.

Better charge up the fitbit...

So I have looked at the NHS site and it recommends a daily intake for me of 1692 - 2175 kcal