Hi!

I started my journey 2 mths ago and lost 25 lbs in 6 weeks. I hit a month long plateau. I have read a lot and I believe that I had my calories too low, 900-1,200. I was not exercising much either.

A friend told me to change what I was doing to break my plateau so I added more fat and less carbs. I added walking for 30 mins and stairs. I gained 4 lbs in a week.

I am not freaked because I know that this has to be a forever change and it will take time. This is new to me, I think I am finally to the place I need to be to make changes. I am not dieting for x amount of time to lose x amount of weight this time. I do have a healthy goal though.

So, I need to up my calories and eat clean. My daughters are home from college for the summer and one is a vegetarian so I have help. They are going to clean out the pantry tomorrow and they have already told me that my 100 calorie snacks are history.

My question (finally!) would be what should I eat when I start and how many calories should I start with? I want my body to lose weight at a healthy calorie total. Need to avoid the starvation plateau thing.

Thank you for any help.

I almost forgot!!!

I bought SuperFoods Health Style, the second book by Pratt and The Eat-Clean Diet by Tosca Reno tonight. Any comments on the second book?

LOTS of fruits and veggies, its the perfect season for them and its been working good for me. I have higher calories than ever before for calories counting and I am losing great! I am averaging 1600-1700 cal a day.

Good luck and remember you may have to deal with some metabolism changes before you start losing again.

Hi there Hocus! Okay, I'm glad that you experimented and found out fairly quickly that adding in lots of fat was not the way to go. This is really all about trial and error - till we find out what works - and most definitely find out what doesn't work.

Speaking of trial and error, well the calorie thing falls right into that category as well. If I were you I would start at about 1600 calories or perhaps up to 1800 calories. You need to track them really closely so that you know just what you're consuming in case this doesn't produce positive results. You track them really well for a couple of weeks, then you start tweaking if need be. As you get smaller and lighter you will have to keep taking those calories down by a hundred or so. That's what I've done. Exercise is also crucial. You must add that into your daily life. And keep increasing as you go on.

The best foods to stick with IMO are ones that will provided you with high nutritional value and keep the cravings at bay. So that means elminating the junk and ADDING in good wholesome foods. Low fat proteins, lots of fresh vegetables, fruit and whole grains. Once you elminate the junk, within a short period of time your cravings for it diminish - greatly. Eventually it's the healthy stuff you will crave.

I start off my day with a high fiber cereal and skim milk. Lunch is usually a veggies soy product like Morning Star Farms Chick pattie and a large bowl of cauliflower. Tuna fish and a salad is another good option. As are egg white omlettes and a large vegetable stir fry. Dinner for me is usually fish and a large amount of roasted green beans. Or a chicken breast/vegetable stir fry. Just basically some high protein item and lots of vegetables.
Snacks are low fat proteins as well. Like fat free yogurt. Low fat cottage cheese and berries. Cut up veggies and hummus.

The goal is to make every thing you eat a good and healthy choice.

I've never read either of the books. I know they are supposed to be very eye opening and informative. I hear very good things about the first one as well.

I'm soooo happy that you've decided to make this change. I think you will be thrilled with the results and really enjoy this lifestyle. Good luck to you.

Hocus, I think you're definitely on the right track here. I'd like to second Robin on everything she said. I agree that 1600 is a good calorie level to start with. That's where I started and I only weighed a bit more than you do. Whenever I plateaued, I dropped my calories by 100 and started losing again.

But I coupled my 1600 calories with lots and lots of exercise - both cardio and weights - and I'm convinced that made a huge difference in my weight loss.

I haven't read the Eat Clean diet yet, but from the reviews it looks like exactly the kind of diet that Robin described -- lots of lean proteins, good carbs, including fruits and veggies, and good fats. Low sugar, minimally processed foods. It's a winning combination that's worked for lots of people here at 3FC.

Best of luck to you!

Thanks for the help. I need to go to the grocery store and change the food in the house.

How do I get to this thread?? I couldn't find it. Had to go in under my name and find all posts.


Off to eat oatmeal.

Hocus, I had heard that the second book wasn't as good as the first one. You might want to take a look at the first book, Superfoods Rx. It is very good.

This thread is in the whole foods section.

I'm so glad you posted this!!! You have been going through exactly the same thing I have! I've been feeling like an alien. I was only eating 1100 calories and walking a mile 3-4 days a week. I'm going to try these suggestions too..

It's working! Liz, try adding more calories. You may gain a bit but it will work. I also think there is something to the zig zag theory. 1,600 one day, 1,800, 1,500 etc.

I started way too low, lost fast and then hit the plateau. Was told to eat fat increase calories to get off of plateau. I gained 4 lbs.

Started eating clean and set calories at about 1,600 and I am down 3 of the 4 I gained. 1.6 lbs until I break through my plateau!

I'd like to hear how it went with your daughters clearing our your pantry. I'll bet there were some funny times.

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Hope that helps and makes sense.

It was a lot of fun clearing out the pantry but the girls didn't learn!
My youngest just walked in with left over brownies from a sleepover. She made them and I told her not to bring them home!