[dietnlose?]

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/DayFoodsTab.asp

This is what I've eaten for the whole day... Is this good? or is 1400cal too much?

[LLV]

Your calorie range depends on lots of things. Your age, your sex, your height, your current weight and your activity level. There's no way for us to say whether or not 1400 calories is too much for you.

[andoreth]

If to go to google and type in "daily maintenance calorie calculator", you'll find some different calculators to use. Of course, like most things in life, they won't completely agree with each other, and none of them are going to be 100% accurate for your specific body and lifestyle, but you can get a good idea of a sensible calorie range.

For me, specifically, (5'11", 302 lbs, at least 1 hour of strenuous exercise 6 days a week) 1400 cals would be too small. I eat an average 1800-2200 cals/day and am still averaging slightly more pounds lost per week than is usually advised. (This will change as I lose weight and my daily maintenance goes down.)

Good Luck!

[Jennifer 3FC]

It's hard to measure exactly how much one person needs to lose weight - you mostly have to get a good estimate and see if it works, since everybody's metabolism is different. My favorite BMR calculator is Hussman's:

http://www.hussman.org/fitness/bmrcalc.htm

[jillybean720]

Your link to your Fitday does not work, You can't just copy and paste the URL from the address bar in your browser because you have to be logged into your specific account in order to be able to view it that way. Instead, go to the main page of your fitday account ("Home") and scroll to the bottom where it says "Public Journal." Make sure your journal is set to public, and then copy and paste THAT URL (for example, mine is http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=jillybean720 ) in order for people to be able to view your log.

[dietnlose?]

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJ...wner=dietnlose
Thank you Jillybean720, I changed it.

[jillybean720]

When it comes to weight loss alone, 1400 calories is likely low enough since most health professionals do not recommend going below 1200 regularly/consistently (it ain't gonna kill you once in a while, but every day is not good) without medical supervision.

As for nutrition, though, I'm seeing a major lack of protein. You need protein in order to keep and build muscle, so if you don't have enough, you may be losing muscle instead of just fat when you lose weight. You may also need a bit more fat--healthy fats (unsaturated) are required in order for your body to process certain nutrients. Also, while carbs are not the enemy as some may have you believe, good carbs are much better than bad carbs. The sundae, carrot cake, pretzel, wheat sub roll--all are likely filled with refined carbs rather than whole grains. The fruits are great (the watermelon and banana), and GoLean is an excellent choice if you like cereal. However, those snacks are likely void of much nutritional value--even though something is low-cal and/or low-fat, it may not be the best choice. Try incorporating more whole, unprocessed foods, or at least something with more nutrition. Maybe try some sugar-free instant pudding--at least that way, you get some healthy dairy incorporated. Other healthy snacks might include lean sandwich meat rolled up, a few nuts, a slice of whole-grain toast with a smear of natural peanut butter...there are lots of healthy, filling options that don't have as much funky junk in them as processed snacks.

I would comment on the lack of veggies in your menu, but that would be quite hypocritical of me, as I hate veggies, so I rarely eat them However, if you do like them, I would suggest incorporating them into your menu more often, as they are very low in calories and high in nutrition.

[jtammy]

Dietnlose,

One thing you might want to think about is getting more "real" unprocessed foods. A lot of yesterday's calories came from what I would call junk food (deserts and pretzels) and fast food (Arby's sub actually has over 600 calories according to their website).

I would need more protein and vegetables than that to keep from being hungry and having cravings. If cravings are a problem, I would seriously consider ditching the junk food.

[LLV]

You're eating a lot of breads and candies (sugar). I'd try and cut back on those and add in some vegetables (fresh, frozen or canned, just get 'em in there) and healthier snacks.

Bread is the hardest thing for me to avoid since I'm a sandwich fanatic. I make myself homemade subs, I eat quite a bit of turkey burgers and veggie/soy burgers (need buns for those too!) and I love stuffing things into pitas or wrapping everything up into a tortilla. So I also try and eat plenty of veggies, cottage cheese, leans meats and egg whites to make sure I get adequate protein.

But I definitely avoid cakes and brownies and the like. I have three quick and easy chocolate fixes...

1) I keep chocolate sugar-free pudding cups in the fridge.

2) I buy those Edy's Dibs bite-sized ice cream snacks (dangerous if you can't trust yourself to not eat the whole tub) and pop one or two when I need a sweet-tooth fix.

3) One or two Hershey Kisses or any other bite-sized (actually smaller than bite-sized) piece of candy.

Now, again, about the bite-sized ice cream snacks... I can keep those around for months, only eating one or two at a time. But some people can't do that and they end up sitting down and eating the whole tub of them like bon-bons. So if you're one of those people that can't trust yourself, don't buy them. Because these things are awesome.

[dietnlose?]

Jtammy, I made my own sandwich I just couldn't find anything better than this one. I customized it. I had chicken with 75% light cheddar, lettuce and tomato.And it was on whole grains bread.
I usually have lots of mixed veggies with chicken and brown rice. I eat lots of green beans with carrots and yogurt. And I make tuna salad with red beans at least twice a week. I'm not sure how I could add more protein on my diet.
Thanks for the suggestions. I should stop eating the low-cal/fat junk food.

[LLV]

Originally Posted by dietnlose?

I should stop eating the low-cal/fat junk food.

That stuff is fine for the occasional 'snack attack', but I wouldn't make them part of your everyday eating plan.

I'm one of those people that believes NO food is forbidden. After all, I'm in this for life. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change. You think I'm gonna go the rest of my life without ever eating fried chicken again?

No way, sister!

You can work in those little treats. Just make them exactly that, treats, and not everyday items.

[dietnlose?]

LLV I don't think I can trust myself .That's why I don't buy anything unless it's low fat/no fat/ or sugar free .

I just bought Weight Watchers cake to try it, I don't think I'll buy those anymore.

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by dietnlose?

LLV I don't think I can trust myself .That's why I don't buy anything unless it's low fat/no fat/ or sugar free .

I won't even buy low-fat/fat-free/sugar-free snacks for my home because even if they are lower in calories, I know I will eat entirely too many of them--I DEFINITELY can't trust myself. When I need junk, I allow myself to go out and have it in a restaurant or someplace where I can buy just a single serving so I never have any leftover at home.

[LLV]

Originally Posted by dietnlose?

LLV I don't think I can trust myself .That's why I don't buy anything unless it's low fat/no fat/ or sugar free .

Ahh, yes, that's very typical of many

Like Jill said in so many words, it's sort of a mentality thing - people buy these foods and because they're lower in calories than their fuller-fat counterparts, they assume they can eat of them as much as they want. Just because a product says it's low in fat, it doesn't mean it's low in calories. Or it could say it's low in calories, but still have plenty of sugar.

Label labels labels. Gotta read those labels. These are the foods that deceive many dieters.

I guess I can consider myself fortunate that I've never really been much of a sweet-eater. I bought myself some snickerdoodle cookies that were lower in calories and fat than others. They're pretty good. But I've since eaten one and the rest of the bag still sits in the cupboard, I'll no doubt have to throw them out soon because they'll go stale. And this happens frequently. I don't know why I waste my money on this stuff. I see them and say, "Ooo! That'd be nice to have around for an occasional treat."

Then they end up in the garbage.

[andoreth]

Originally Posted by LLV

I see them and say, "Ooo! That'd be nice to have around for an occasional treat."

Then they end up in the garbage.

And that's the point, because they CAN be a nice, occasional treat, they don't take on the status they would recieve as a "Forbidden Desire", and therefore don't end up having the same attraction they might otherwise.

Personally, I do add "diet treats" into my day, and usually every day. However, they only ever appear in my "snack" slots, I strictly control their amounts to 150 or fewer cals at each snack, and I balance the intake with a very generous amount of exercise.

I look at it this way: you have to get in your "real" food- your protein, veggies and grains, and these have to be in generous amounts for proper nutrition. You must balance this food with enough exercise. Then, if you want the treats also, it is not okay to reduce the real food, you have to increase your exercise.