Thank you for those you gave me encouragements last week of my loss..
But this week, I gained it back, binged on honey buns, cupcakes, spent my money on junk and no exercise since most days was chilly and rainy.
Can someone help me choose a goal weight to determined a calorie limit? I never was thin and the weight that I got down was 270s back in 80s. I have problems on this area. I want to use a 1200 limit since I do light exercise and once I am more shape on doing more,will up my calories.
I'm not an expert, but I think going down to 1200 calories after eating so many would be too drastic a change. My advice would be to focus on the type of food you eat, instead of the amount. Cutting out sweets and sugary food and food that you eat when you're bored or upset rather than at scheduled meals, will help you more than cutting all calories, especially if bingeing is an issue for you.
That said, calorie counting is really helpful to a lot of people, and can give you a number to focus on, so perhaps try both. I'd suggest a BMR calculator (find one on google) to determine what your daily intake should be, based on your activity level, etc.
I would probably begin at 2300 and stay there for a week or two and check results. Make sure your foods are nutrient dense and write down everything, every bit of ketchup, every sample at the grocery store, every cup of milk, EVERYTHING!
For some additional support I have to offer some unsolicited advice here and tell you that rainy and chilly cannot keep you from exercise. I move no matter what and this morning that meant ME being rained on. I have run before when ice crystals were forming on my eyelashes. I don't have all the answers but I do know that staying in is one thing that made me obese in the first place. Do not let it stop you. Is it hard? YES. But being fat is harder!!!! You can do this. Put nothing ahead of it and you will succeed!
Okay, getting off my soapbox.
Last edited by Thighs Be Gone; 04-09-2009 at 05:20 PM.
First of all, you have to forgive yourself and move on. Hugs!
I think I read in your earlier post that you weren't following a formal plan. Can I suggest you start doing that? Calorie counting works for some folks, Weight Watchers for some, South Beach for others, etc. I happen to be on Atkins because I'm addicted to carbs, so I can't have them even in moderation. (You wrote that you binged on honeybuns ~ that's one of my trigger foods and I have come to the understanding that I'm like an alcoholic so I can NEVER EVER EVER have one again. Some folks can, I can't.)
Also the quality of food is important in addition to the plan, and the number of calories, carbs or whatever you decide to track. Some people can lose while eating processed foods (like diet soda, lean cuisines) and some can't. Again I fall into the category of those who can't, so I only eat unprocessed foods like meat and vegetables (others on whole food diets eat whole grains and fruits, etc.).
Anyway, if you check out some of the different plans, I think you will find one you can follow...but make sure it's one you like well enough to follow for life, because if you go off it and go back to honeybuns, unfortunately you will gain it all back. I certainly did! Chin up! Best of luck!!
Liliann, just this morning I had an emotionally eventful morning and ate over 1300 for breakfast. Bad choices at the moment, but they were just that, moments. I get to move on from there, and I get to remedy my choices. I'm choosing to exercise. I often get to the end of the day and find I've overeaten and make the decision to manage that with exercise.
Even easier than walking outside in chilly conditions is sitting on a Fitball and bouncing indoors. According to my GoWearFit armband, I burn just over 600 calories in an hour while I'm bouncing my backside off that thing. I started doing it for just 30 minutes, and afterwards, my legs felt like rubber for a little. That was just three weeks ago, and now I'm well over two hours a day (I love watching TV, but won't watch unless I'm working out).
I use the largest size, 75 cm, but I'm nearly 6' tall. It is strong enough to hold you (up to 600 lbs), so don't worry. I just bought one a size smaller (65 cm), so I can sit on it during the day while I'm working at the computer (student/writer/web designer). It will help me work my core the whole day.
Since I'm on it for such a long period, I do different movements on it. Squeezing the glutes, rolling side to side to exercise my obliques, pushing off with my quads, upper body weight training (not too heavy, just for the arms, shoulders and upper back), crunches and back extensions. But these are things I've been slowly adding. Just the bouncing alone is good and gets the heart rate up and counts towards steps during the day.
The BMR calculator is a good idea. One suggestion my doc. gave me was to calculate it for my current weight [345lbs] and then for the weight I want to be [200lbs] and to stay in the range of where I want to be.
So...using an online calculator my maintenance calories for 345lbs is 3559. 200lbs would be 2582. His idea is to eat the 2582 a day.
To be honest, Im not a calorie counter so it didnt work for me...but for someone who does count calories, it might be a good suggestion.
I bought my Fitball at one of those big sporting goods places, but I've seen them at Target and on Amazon as well.
I've had mine for a long time and never thought about using it that way, but the idea just flashed in my head once I got my GWF armband. I was testing every activity for a week, and that bouncing was totally surprising to me! Even when I don't feel like exercising, I can be on that thing and get a steady workout.
Liliann, when I started losing weight at about the same weight you are now, I was eating around 2000 calories. I have never been a calorie counter, but I simply started applying a few rules. First rule was that when the 'junk' (or "not-so-good-food") was gone from the house THAT WAS IT! We didn't bring any more into the house. I replaced that food with healthier foods that I have come to prefer to most junk food anyway. I LOVE fresh fruit now. I LOVE veggies and dip/hummus, I LOVE nuts (just have to limit those, as I tend to get carried away if I don't measure a portion into a little bag), I LOVE rice crackers instead of crisps. So, I had applied a 'rule', but I didn't have to stop eating nice things. My other rule was that we wouldn't get takeaways for a while. I actually didn't get any takeaways for a LONG time, and I haven't had most takeaways for over 5 years now. I get Subway and other made up rolls now and then and a packaged salad now and then, but that is what I refer to as my "takeaways". I hadn't been eating chocolate for a few years, because I was having trouble with caffeine, so luckily I didn't have to give that up at the same time. I can now have a chocolate now and then and it doesn't drive me to wanting to buy out Cadburys.
I had a dietician friend giving me advice for a while and she always told me to not go too low. Now and then, if I was worried about what I was eating, I would write my food diary out for her and the usual response was "you are not eating enough!". So you definitely don't need to go too low with your calories.
As far as exercise goes, I started off VERY slowly by playing music, or watching TV and just marching on the spot. I would actually read a book while I marched. I started off at around 15 minute sessions, and built up to an hour at times. After a year of this I hired a treadmill to see if I would use it and LOVED it, so I bought one of my own and it is still my favourite form of exercise - apart from walks outside with hubby on a beautiful day - because I can match the speed/incline to suit my finess level at the time or how much energy I have.
I hope you can find some small change to make soon that you can stick with, so that you can feel SO proud of yourself. It doesn't have to be anything too major. I started taking my own snacks with me when we went shopping and I felt SO powerful when I could walk past the muffin stand (that used to be a standard stop for us) and tell myself that I didn't need them, because I had my own yummy snacks. I would smile at myself for feeling so darn good!
I wouldn't go down to 1200 calories, that is too drastic a cut. I would probably start around 2500 calories. Better yet, try one thing at a time, like increasing your water intake, cutting out soda, or fast food, something like that. I would take it slow, because often times when we try to change things to quickly we get overwhelmed and binge something awful. I'm a calorie counter and I have been losing well on 1400-1600 calories per day. Now, I exercise most days of the week (4-5) because I like exercise. I also use Fatsecret and myfitnesspal to calculate all of my calories. I just plug in what I eat and my exercise and don't worry about it. There are calorie counting "experts" on here who know what to tell you. I am still fairly new to this and I get most of my info from people on here and the research I do on my own. I also do what feels good or right to me. I hope this helps.
I keep my calories about 2400. Give or take a few hundred here and there. If you go too low it isnt going to work.
As far as exercise..I got a DVD leslie S the walking video and that is what I use. Then it dont matter what the weather is outside. And you dont need alot of room. Just in place. You can start slow. DON"T think just cause it is only 10 min that it is not good enough. ANY moving is better then none.
Thank you all for your help. I did a search on bmr calculator and found caloriesperhour.com and actually I am doing good,which the site says for me with exercise light,3 x or 5x days a week to be 3200 calories.
I do light, brisk walks daily, my mistake on missing out.I enjoy walking to clear my thoughts. I walk at least 60 mins daily.
Please Help!
