Hi all,
I'm planning on getting into a serious weight loss and exercise regime starting (of course
) Jan 1. I lost 30 pounds on a lowcarb diet about 2 years ago but the past year and a half have been mega stressful and I gained back 20 of those pounds. I am now a vegetarian trying to go vegan so I planned out for myself a lowfat vegan diet that is balanced with plenty of whole foods which is what I think works best or me.
I'm wondering if I need to cut calories more, though. My menu turns out to be around 1400-1450 calories a day. I am 5 feet and 140 pounds (medium built). I've read that a lot of the commercial diet plans are around 1500 calories so I thought mine is ok but I'm a bit scared because I've always had the number 1200 in my mind. It's hard for me to figure out how many calories would be right for me because I've been all over the board - I've done 1000 cals or less a day and I've done (when I was lowcarbing as a meat-eater) up to 1700 cals a day and lost weight on all of those. But of course, I know for longterm it's not about losing the weight now, it's about finding a plan I can stick with for the rest of my life, both for weight loss and maintenance.
As far as exercise goes, I've got that down. I'm good about walking and walk around 60-90 minutes a day at a moderate/brisk pace. I'm also going to add alternating days pilates and resistance and some yoga (hopefully) so I'll be exercising. I'm just not sure what to do about calories. I don't want to cut them so low that I feel hungry and deprived and that pushed me to binge eating (which is something I am trying to get in control) but I don't want them so high that I don't lose any weight. I have no problem losing slowly, I'm in now hurry, though
.
Any opinions?
Tam