I eat 1400 calories a day of whatever I want - nothings off limits - and I consistently lose 1-2 pounds a week. I also try to go for a fast paced walk for 2-4 miles every evening after dinner. Usually works out about 5 days a week.
My diet's not complicated or difficult so I find it easily sustainable.
I eat 1400 calories a day of whatever I want - nothings off limits - and I consistently lose 1-2 pounds a week. I also try to go for a fast paced walk for 2-4 miles every evening after dinner. Usually works out about 5 days a week.
My diet's not complicated or difficult so I find it easily sustainable.
Now see, I want to do something similar. I hung out on the Atkins forum for a while because I tried Atkins but found it hard to stick to. And truth be told, I never had problems with carbs in the past, but I thought that may be my problem.
I'm going to start eating chicken, whole wheat bread, fruit, Fiber One cereal, eggs, rice snacks, among other healthy options. Between that and walking, I lost five pounds a couple months ago, but then I stopped walking and trying to watch what I eat.
But going back to school later in August will put me on a schedule. I can walk a mile in the morning to one of my Leslie Sansone DVDs, and walk a little on the treadmill at school through the day, and then do another DVD at home. My goal is to get in at least five miles of walking a day.
I eat 1400 calories a day of whatever I want - nothings off limits - and I consistently lose 1-2 pounds a week. I also try to go for a fast paced walk for 2-4 miles every evening after dinner. Usually works out about 5 days a week.
My diet's not complicated or difficult so I find it easily sustainable.
I do almost the same thing. I count calories with "My Fitness Pal" and log everything. I eat 1200 calories a day and power walk 3.5 miles, 5 nights a week. Has been the best weight loss I have ever tried and I never feel deprived.
I count calories as well, trying to focus on fruits, vegetables, and protein. I don't restrict the other stuff, but I've noticed fruits/veg/protein make me feel/look great. I aim for 1600, and I seem to go over about once a week (usually weekend pub visit or meal out). I plan to incorporate more planned exercise soon (long walks for me too). I'm also considering upping my calories when I do that. I'm losing slowly, but it's working.
Pretty laidback, and I'm not beating myself up for treats or "bad" food. Or, at least, I'm working on that. I'm looking to find strategies to use the rest of my life.
I've tried Atkins, counting calories, and lots of other diets without any long lasting success. I'm doing South Beach now and for the first time I feel relaxed about food and not deprived. It was a tough first 2 weeks, but has been great after that. And I think I can maintain on this plan because I'm not really missing anything. It's not for everyone though, but works for me. Only exercise I get is what I do normally in my work day and walking my dog in the morning.
I'm doing the same. I was giving myself 1200 calories, but I consistently "went over" and then I'd feel guilty. So now I give myself 1400 of whatever I want to eat. The key for me is tracking (I also use My fitness pal). If I don't track it, then I go completely off the rails. It really does help me stay accountable to see exactly how many calories I'm putting in my body.
Thank you for all the replies! Sometimes all you got to do is post in a thread to put it back up at the top of the forum!
StephMar, I tried Atkins too, but didn't make it a week. I couldn't stuff myself with salad after salad -it's good for a lot of people but not for me. And I only made it two days on South Beach, when I tried it last year.
I've been winging it on calories, because in the past when I lost weight I didn't count calories. But I'm going to start tracking them, and see if that helps.
Also, and I've said this elsewhere, August 20 starts a 9-5 routine for me. I have to catch the bus at certain times of the day and take classes at certain times of the day, and even though I'm not living on campus, I still have free access to the Falcon Center (gym, cafeteria, etc.) because my classes are on campus. So, my plan is to hit the treadmill between classes, and then do a walk at home DVD when I get home.
That My Fitness Pal, does it give you the calorie count on pieces of fruit? Because I like to buy those fruit melody cups, so the portions are not exactly a cup or whatever of a particular fruit.
Right now I'm doing "The Simple Diet" book by James Anderson, M.D. I was going to join nutrisystem but everyone I knew in real life didn't lose a lot (except for my mom's current husband) and hated the food (he does too). I couldn't justify the cost to my family knowing I might not like the food at all...so that seemed simple enough. Now I do cook daily for everyone in the family and since this is a 3 protein shake, 2 frozen entree, at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day plan I certainly wasn't going to spend time feeding every frozen entrees for a year (or whatever)...so hence the cooking . Sometimes I eat my homemade meal instead of the recommended entree or we go out to dinner. My "goal" is to be about 1200-1800 calories a day (1800 would be a high day like out to dinner). I also do 25 minutes of cardio a day 5-6 days a week and 45-90 minutes maximum of yoga per day, usually a power type yoga. I don't schedule rest days (exercise I like) because there is always some day I can't get it in. After you lose like 40% of your weight or have 40% left, I read the book but I'll reread it the closer I get, you go back to more and more homemade meals. I do tend to think I'll always have the shakes (mostly for proteins and a quick snack versus a candy bar) and at least 5-10 entrees a week since it's easier.
Typical day: Protein shake (breakfast)
2 cups of salad and vinegar based dressing (he doesnt recommended any dressings) and then a frozen entree (lunch)
Protein shake and 1 cup of fruit (sometimes 2 but usually I'm not hungry).
2-3 servings of cooked veggies (steamed) at dinner and an entree
Protein shake and sometimes 1-2 cups of fruit (depends if I'm hungry)
So far I've never been really ravenous except for one day (been doing this since around March 10th) and I can't remember if I had an extra shake or something, but he recommended eating more veggies, fruits, entrees, or an extra shake versus adding something to the plan.
Also he recommended shakes versus bars because he claims the satiety factor is better. I doubted this, but tried bars for 2-3 days a few months ago and lo and behold he was right. I was kind of surprised.
I've lost almost 30 pounds I think so far (started at 198 but did not record weight regularly) and I know I've dropped a few sizes because my workout tops are like workout minidresses now lol.
That My Fitness Pal, does it give you the calorie count on pieces of fruit? Because I like to buy those fruit melody cups, so the portions are not exactly a cup or whatever of a particular fruit.
Thanks everyone!
Yes, My Fitness Pal has the nutrition info for pretty much everything. That's why it's my favorite food tracker!
That My Fitness Pal, does it give you the calorie count on pieces of fruit? Because I like to buy those fruit melody cups, so the portions are not exactly a cup or whatever of a particular fruit.
Yes, it has the calories for just about everything plus has a scanner that you can scan anything to add it! Super easy.
I basically cut back on portions. I wouldn't say I count (religiously) calories so much as I pay attention to them and try not to go over 1400. I look at labels and I'm trying to make smarter choices as well. I wouldn't say anything is off limits, but I know that a pint of Ben & Jerry's at 600 or however many calories there are in that thing is worth it to me at this point in trying to lose weight. I give myself cheat days here and there or maybe a cheat meal, but not very often. I finally feel like I'm not starving myself and when I actually stay on plan I'm always losing.
Starting last week I've been walking over 2 miles when I get home from work.
What I'm doing now is something I feel like I can do for the rest of my life, and it has never felt that way for me whenever I did it before. I'm gonna have screw ups, and I'm gonna go over what I planned in my head some days, but I always get back at it.
I've cut back on a lot of bad stuff just because I know it's going to help me in the long run, but I keep room for them on ocassion.
I calorie count. My range is usually 1200-1400 calories a day. It's been working very well for me so far. I've only been back at it for a month now. I make sure I have a salad/vegetables in at least one of my meals as a side. If I want something, I choose the full fat version instead of the low-fat or nonfat since I prefer the taste. I just make sure to portion it out properly and log everything. I keep trigger foods like big bags of chips out of the house because I find that I don't crave them when they aren't around and in the past I know that I can finish off one whole bag in a day so now I refuse to get them. I don't beat myself up for eating out and going overboard. I just make sure to make better choices the next day.
I LOVE My Fitness Pal!! Especially the bar scanning part since most scannable items are on there.
What do you do?
