Okay so Im a weight watcher drop out, joined like a million times never stayed longer than three months. This will be my first attempt at counting calories and Im wondering if 1200 would be good for me to start with. I am 240 and Ive heard people say to start with more but Im unsure.
Also is it good to get a book for counts of foods or how do I get started. Thank you all in advance
I'm no expert, but I think you need more than 1200 calories.
The way I started was just using a plain old notebook. There are programs Microsoft (I think) has that let you keep charts and stuff though on your computer if you'd rather do it that way. Then whenever you eat something just write it down, then add it up to make sure you aren't going over your caloric intake.
livestrong.com has a calorie counter called my daily plate and when you sign up it asks how much you weigh, your activity level, and how much you want to lose a week and then it gives you the amount of calories you should be eating to reach that goal. Just like weight watchers, the calories you burn earn you more calories you can eat. personally I like this better than weight watchers because you dont have to figure out points and the database of foods includes many items from many restaurants so you always have an idea of what you are eating. hope this helps...
I started out at 255lbs. and was unsure how many calories to begin with - so I used the weight goal tool on the Daily Plate at Livestrong.com and have had pretty steady results with it (one year and -96lbs later) . Starting at 1200 wouldn't leave you anywhere to go, so it's wise to start higher and work your way down. Good luck : )
I started out at 255lbs. and was unsure how many calories to begin with - so I used the weight goal tool on the Daily Plate at Livestrong.com and have had pretty steady results with it (one year and -96lbs later) . Starting at 1200 wouldn't leave you anywhere to go, so it's wise to start higher and work your way down. Good luck : )
Thanks just went on livestrong and it said 1800 calories a day. That just seems like too much!! I will try it and see what happens in two weeks time.
It might seem high now, but you have to think of it as a marathon. Every pound you lose (and enter) lowers your daily calories - so at some point it becomes too low to maintain and you have to readjust your strategy. I started out at -3lbs a week and that worked very well for a long time (unfortunately I'm now in the midst of an epic plateau - but it's all part of it).
It might seem high now, but you have to think of it as a marathon. Every pound you lose (and enter) lowers your daily calories - so at some point it becomes too low to maintain and you have to readjust your strategy. I started out at -3lbs a week and that worked very well for a long time (unfortunately I'm now in the midst of an epic plateau - but it's all part of it).
Yes keep on pushing on your stats are amazing!!! Did you start out at 1800? The most it lets you put is to lose 2 pounds per week. Thanks for answering my questions by the way
Last edited by proudmommy09; 06-13-2010 at 05:27 PM.
I've never done weight watchers but I will say this, I started at 1200 calories and thought I would die. I did it for two weeks and then went to 1400. I try to stay under 1600 at all cost. OF course there are days that I screw up but I get over it and move on. When I started I was a size 24 and now I'm a size 16. It takes a lot of tweeking to see what your body responds to. Have fun and good luck.
To enter anything higher than -2 on the livestrong calorie goals you have to select "other" and enter it manually. I think I started at around 1600 calories per day, but it could have been a little higher.
I started calorie counting at 210.6 lbs and around 1500-1600 calories. Now, 3.5 months later and at almost 180 lbs I have taken it down to 1400-1500 for the most part. I have been steadily losing ~2 lbs/wk.
Yes 1200 is a general number, this is not a really good number. If you are using this number you could be starving yourself by not eating enough and sabotaging your weight lose. You need to consider other factors when calculating your calorie intake for losing weight.
Here is more info from the site StraightHealth.com....
"You should calculate your daily calories need. This is the amount of calories you need to eat each day in order to maintain your current weight. Its based off of an equation (Harris-Benedict) that takes into account your weight, height, age and activity level.
Once you calculate your daily calorie intake you need to eat 500-1,000 calories less than what you burn each day. For example if you burn 2,500 calories per day, you'll need to eat between 1,500 and 2,000 calories to lose any weight. If you don't want to lower your calorie intake, you can increase the amount of calories you burn by exercising more."
There are plenty of sites online that can help you calculate this number. Just Google 'calorie calculator to lose weight'. Just remember as you lose weight and/or change your activity you will need to recalculate this number
Thanks just went on livestrong and it said 1800 calories a day. That just seems like too much!! I will try it and see what happens in two weeks time.
This is what I started out with as well. And yes, it may seem like a lot but when you log what you eat you may be surprised. Also, if you don't eat all 1800 calories you will lose faster. Its not like weight watchers where you have to eat so many points a day. This is just a goal to stay at or under in order to lose weight.
I say start with as many calories as you can! Like others have said, if you start too low, you'll have nowhere to go. I started with 2000 at 230 pounds and now I'm trying to keep it below 1800 because that seems to work better. If you start with 1800 and you haven't lost anything in a week or two, then you can always drop it. But it's hard to go back up when you're at a lower level!
Over here please!
