Have a look at these threads ...
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99745
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99699
You'll get some good ideas for healthy foods.
The Whole foods threads.
The food lists at Body for Life are very good too.
Try to figure out what you have been eating and then fiddle until you are eating less. There's lots of time for finding the optimum numbers as you go.
WEll.....according to the Biggest Loser Diet, the formula is your weight multiplied by 7. For folks over 300, use the figure 300 and for those under 150, use 150.
So going by your ticker, it should be about 1995 calories.
I know there are other sites where you can get this info too, but can't think of them at the moment!
The problem is, there is no one answer to this question. Everyone is different. Every body requires a different number of calories to lose weight, so here is some general advice:
Basically, you need to experiment. Start by figuring out how many calories you're eating now, and how much you're exercising. Not losing weight? Lower the calories by 100-200 a day, raise your exercise, or both. Stay with that for a couple weeks, and adjust as necessary depending on whether you are losing 1-2 lbs a week. A couple general rules of thumb: don't go below 1200 calories a day (the body struggles to survive on that), and try to meet your vitamin/mineral targets every day.
On the kinds of foods to be eating - lean protein and anything that grows! Veggies, fruit, lean meats, beans, whole grains, and the like make up the majority of my diet, but I do throw in some "treats" or non-whole foods for convenience or taste reasons. For example, a typical day for me looks like this:
B - 1/2 cup oatmeal with 2 tsp unpacked brown sugar, 1/2 c chopped apple, and cinnamon. This is about 210 calories.
S - Dannon Light and Fit Yogurt (Its not a whole food, but I struggle to get in my calcium, and for 60 cals, I get 20% of my DV).
L - Dinner leftovers. Today, I have 1 c. sweet potato chunks roasted with chili powder, salt, and pepper, 1.5 c. steamed broccoli, and 4 oz of roasted pork tenderloin.
S - Any high protein snack, with extra fiber if I can manage it. For example, south beach bars have 9 g of protein and 7 of fiber, and those work well for me for 140 cals. Sometimes I'll have an omelette made with 1/2 cup egg beaters, some diced chicken breast, and fresh spinach - its a protein powerhouse!
D - I generally try to target 150 calories of a whole grain or starch that grows (whole wheat couscous, brown rice, sweet potato, or even a regular white potato), 150-180 calories of lean protein (turkey, chicken, pork tenderloin, beans, boca burger patties, etc), and 1.5-2c of veggies. For tonight, I'm having a 6 oz chicken breast baked in an italian marinade, 1 cup of whole wheat couscous with garlic, and 1.5 cups of sauteed spinach (also with garlic).
S - I always eat dessert. It feels too much like deprivation if I don't for some reason. I buy individual serving-size cups of ice cream/sherbet from my grocery store, they have 130-150 calories and are perfect to satisfy a dessert craving. The sherbet ones aren't a trigger food for me.
The combination of good, healthy, nourishing foods with a few convenience foods or desserts has worked well for me - I keep my metabolism going all day, get in all my vitamins and minerals, and don't feel like I just eat "diet food" all the time.
So you're going to have to work out a plan that works for you...it takes a lot of time and trial/error to find something that you really can work with.
Interesting! That "weight x 7" comes out to exactly what FitDay says for me after filling in all the information about height, weight, age, physical activity, rate of loss desired, etc. So, I guess it's a pretty good rough estimate.
Softykins, do check out those threads SusanB suggested. Basically it's best to limit fats, get enough protein, don't go overboard on sweets, and eat fresh foods, especially vegetables that aren't too starchy. Also, it helps to keep track. Most foods have nutrition information on the package these days so you can figure out exactly what you're getting.
Cheers!
Jay
ennay , 12-13-2006 03:46 PM
weight x 7?
for 150 lbs that works out to only 1050 cals a day...no way!
at my current weight - 1141- insane - even without nursing i would be at 1500-1600 at least
Quote:
Originally Posted by ennay
weight x 7?
for 150 lbs that works out to only 1050 cals a day...no way!
I think it is the greater of weight x 7 or 1200 calories. No matter how much you weigh, you aren't supposed to eat less than 1200 per day without a doctor's supervision. So for 150 lbs, with no exercise, you would need to eat 1200 calories per day to lose 1-2 lbs per week. If you are exercising, you could eat more. When I was at 140 lbs, I lost about 1 pound per week at 1300 calories per day with 30-60 min of exercise per day.
