I am a calorie counter too. Counting calories is the first time I have been really successful dieting. Once I lost 50 lbs on WW, but I did it by eating veggies in bulk and not by cutting back on how much I ate. Then, of course, gained it all back over the course of 4 or 5 years. This time around I use
www.dietwatch.com (www.fitday.com is also good) and log everything I eat. Doing it this way means I get to see how many calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesteral, fiber, carbohydrates, protien, A, C, iron, and calciium I have each day. The advantage of using the software to log food,
besides the fact that it is free is that you can use it to make sure you are getting a balanced diet. The first time around I ate almost all carbs and veggies ( because I liked carbs so much -- a typical meal would be 2 -3 cups of pasta under a bag of stir fried veggies, 2 or 3 times a day). Now the RDA of Carbs seriously feels like low carb to me. But I didn't want to jump on the no carb bandwagon, I think it is wrong to cut an entire food group out of your diet. I make sure I get my protien and my fat and my calcium and stay withing the healthy range for carbs for the day-- so all in all I feel I am eating healthy now, something I had not done before. In a way I feel like a walking advertisement for dietwatch. I have lost 52 lbs so far, I am not hungry all the time, I feel better and most of all, I know I can do this for the rest of my life and not just until I meet goal. That is the most empowring feeling you can have.
A 1200 calorie a day diet on dietwatch includes 44g protien, 180g carbs, 40 g fat, and a minimun of 25 grams fiber. The only one I don't often make is the fat -- I usually end up around 30 - 35 grams.
I started counting calories in August 2000 and have lost 52 lbs so far. Right now I weigh less than I ever imagined weighing and before I started eating healthy. Before I would have been perfectly happy stopping at the weight I am now (148 lbs) and staying there for the rest of my life. Instead, I feel so good about my eating that I am ready to lose another 30 lbs or so and get down to a weeight that could actually be called "normal" or even "thin" and when I get there I am going to stay there. I am going for 110 lbs. I have never been there, but I am thinking it will look and feel great.
I also need to put in a good word for 3FC -- without this website, and all the good ideas, and great people adn support, I might not have made it through the first few months. Retraining yourself when you have had bad eating habits your whole life is no easy task. There were many days where I came and logged onto the computer to avoid rummaging through the fridge. It is easier now, but it was pretty hard at first.
Oh, and I thought I should add in (so I don't get yelled at) that I am eating 1200 calories a day right now because I am on doctors orders to stay off my feet for 2 weeks until I get knee surgery, which means I am completely inactive and can't work out. When I was exercising everyday I ate 1400-1600 calories a day.
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200/148/110
5'2"
Valentines Day Goal 146
Motto 'I will stop eating when I feel full'
[This message has been edited by morrigan (edited 02-08-2001).]