[aphil]

Yes, this is where my advice was coming from. Someone who is starting at 180 and has a goal weight of 150, or someone who is starting at 160 witha goal of 130 (30 pounds to lose or so) is in a different ballgame than someone who is 240 pounds, and needs to be around 130-140 to be at a healthy weight for their height/frame. It isn't near as hard to stay motivated when you can be at your goal weight in 6 months...whereas those with more like 60-100 pounds to lose may need 1-2 years to reach their goal. That is a long time...and the calorie needs for someone who weighs 250 and someone who weighs 150 are drastically different.

[Mami]

You dont want to lose muscle mass nor slow down your metabolism. I just wouldnt have the energy to work-out on that amount of calories, but everyone does seem different in terms of what they can get by on. I wouldnt be so restrictive if you're finding that you're hungry and you dont have the energy to work-out. If so, more power to you. Just remember to eat more when you do start to become hungry as depriving yourself too much may be a way of slowing down your metabolism (though I'm no expert by any stretch).

[MariaMaria]

Someone who is starting at 180 and has a goal weight of 150, or someone who is starting at 160 witha goal of 130 (30 pounds to lose or so) is in a different ballgame than someone who is 240 pounds, and needs to be around 130-140 to be at a healthy weight for their height/frame. It isn't near as hard to stay motivated when you can be at your goal weight in 6 months...whereas those with more like 60-100 pounds to lose may need 1-2 years to reach their goal.

It goes both ways, though.

Someone who weighs 160 is probably shopping in the not-plus-size department, fits easily into airline/movie/car/desk-and-chair seats, probably doesn't have weight-related joint and/or diabetes issues, probably doesn't face the same social and cultural issues being treated like a fat person that someone 300 pounds might. The last 20 or 30 pounds are mostly cosmetic, not quality of life, and the stakes for not going from 160 to 130 aren't nearly as major as for going from 300 to 160.

[soph]

Hello, my name is Sophie. I am brand new to this forum and to LAWL, but not new to calorie counting. I am a HUGE fan of calorieking.com, where you can easily keep count of all your calories, including those from your favorite restaurant. What I am puzzled about is the following. As some of you might know, the LA Weight Loss program is rather strict on the portions of proteins, vegetables, start, fruit & fat you can eat each day. It's by no means restrictive in terms of hunger, I am actually having a hard time eating all that food. Once I account for the food based on those daily portions intake, I am at about 1800-1900 calories per day. How can I reduce those to 1500 and still take in all the necessary portions?

About 4 yrs ago I lost 40 pounds in 3 months with calorie counting, but with about 800 calories per day (SIGH! ), not including Sundays (CHEAT days!). In a previous post, someone mentioned that she had her occasional "cheat" day to boost the metabolism, and I can also recognize this approach, since it worked for me as well, when reaching plateaus. But then again, everyone is different, so what works for me doesn't work for others. I think we all agree on this.

So why am I doint the LA Weight Loss and not the calorie counting? First of all, I'm at my heaviest now (270 pounds) and at 800 calories I'd be really starving myself, and my body would immediately go into shock. So then... can anyone offer advice for counting calories in conjunction with the LA Weight Loss program?

Any input / advice is deeply appreciated. Thank you.