Yes, basically you fiddle with it, and see what works for you. Try 1600 for a week, and weigh in and see what happens-if you have a loss of 1/2-2 pounds, then stick with it! If you don't see anything at all, go down to 1500 the next week, etc.

Saturday's calories were at 1066. Today I'm at 21. Saltine crackers.

Got the flu. Can't keep anything down. Have a fever. Had to postpone on Mango Man. Had to cancel my 5K today. I feel yucky.

I'm too old to be tossing cookies.

Going back to bed.

I just had a very refreshing nap! And am nibbling away on shrimp ... I feel so decadent!

Susan~shrimp is decadent, but good for you--low cal, high protein.

Diva~feel better soon.

Hope and Faith~keep reading and learning. You'll do just fine. Aphil gives great advice.

jamsk8r~only a little over a week and 6 pounds! WTG!

And I'm back. I know that I can lose weight and never be hungry if I eat 1200-1500 calories a day. Apparently this can't include chocolate or Cheez Its or this 1500 calorie nonsense goes right out the window. Bah!

So:
Breakfast- Cereal with skim milk
Lunch- Bagel and whipped cream cheese
1/4 cup trail mix
Dried fruit bar
Dinner- Red beans and rice
Salad with light mango poppyseed dressing
Got hungry- Banana

~1450 calories. And I swam for about 40 minutes and it felt SO GOOD!

Betty, great job today! That all sounds so good to eat.

As for me, I got suckered into helping out at the skating rink this afternoon and evening, which I normally don't mind, but there was nothing good to eat there, just rink food...ack! I had a burger for lunch, and a half a corn dog for dinner. Don't know the calories, but it wasn't what I wanted to eat today. I did get in a little over 4 hours of actual skating, including 2 hours of dance practice which was a good workout, and walked around a lot, so hopefully that did something to burn some of those calories. I'm SO packing a cooler next time I go to the rink early in the day like that, in case I get stuck there.

I'm back on the bike tomorrow!

Cheryl

Good morning to everyone.

jamsk8r, packing a cooler sounds like a great idea!!! It will help you to avoid those burgers and the such.

Diva, I hope you are feeling better. That does not sound like fun.

Welcome syncrosweetie. I feel the best way to look at a binge or a slip up is to just move on. DON'T look at it as an all day invitation to pig out. It's history. Over and done with. Move on. Each and every meal/snack IS another opportunity for a good choice. One slip up does not have to turn into a whole/day/week/ month affair. It's really about changing your perspective. Not easy, absolutely doable.

Okay, having said that I will put those words into action today. Yesterday just might have been the worst day I've had since I started this venture back in September. I kind of knew it would be and am not freaking out. Yesterday we celebrated the holiday of Purim. It's where you give out and receive all kinds of food baskests full of decadent stuff. Not an easy day. And then to top it off you celebrate even further with a huge, huge family meal. I was waaaaay better then I have been in past years, but not perfect or even close. I have no idea what I consumed calorie wise yesterday, I'd venture to say I kept it under 2000 calories. Whatever. I did though manage to workout 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening. On to today. Yesterday is history, over and done with. We start today with a clean slate.

Have a good day everyone.

Edited to add: I just weighed in. I'm down 3 1/2 lbs for the week. Not too shabby.

Anabsolutediva-Hope you are feeling better soon!!! :hug:

Susan-LOVE shrimp. :D FYI-Red Lobster has a dinner sized shrimp cocktail on their lower calorie "lighthouse" menu. :D

Weigh in today: I am 4.8 pounds down this week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:carrot: :dancer: :woohoo: :belly:


But, the thing that makes it even better, is that a student noticed in class that I had lost some weight. :D

Once in a blue moon, I buy a bag of frozen shrimp and divvy them out into 4oz baggies. It is a nice treat ... different protein. And the only one who might steal them is Max the cat ;)

Calories came in under 800 yesterday, I felt really sick after lunch so I decided to take a nap, didnt wake up until this morning. I am going to stay home from work today although I am feeling better, so I will have some time to get in a workout today.

Good Morning Girls!
Yesterday's journal
Fitness Center, worked the Strength training section only, no treadmill, etc.
Calories...1,063 (Low again and should have eaten some almonds at bedtime to get them up, but too tired.)
Fat...19%
Fiber...79 grams (Gone most of the day and I had Fiber One cereal 3 times) I dropped another 1/2 pound too!
My menu for the day was mostly odds and ends, after Church I went into town shopping, then exercising. Visited my MIL (she's in the hospital and today we might have to put her in a nursing home)Then to see my dad, had a nice visit with two of my brothers and sis-in-laws.
I won't boor you with my menu, I did spread a Flat Out with no calorie spray, sprinkled it with garlic seasoning and baked it until crisp. Yum, it tasted like the sample of garlic chips I tried at the grocery store with demo lady.
Susan... Sorry, I must have missed what you're dumping, I looked back on the post and couldn't find it. Hope you're feeling better today.
Cablgurl...I'm sending good tummy vibes your way!
Diva...:getwell: Hope you got rid of everything if you know what I mean.
Allison...Left over Lasagna a day or two later is even better than freshly made, enjoy!
Sweetie88... 1200-1500 is a perfect starting place and if you're really active and start losing too fast, you might have to adjust your caloric level. :welcome:
Cheryl... Excellent advice! That works for me too.

Quote:

I'm choosing more veggies and salads, less meat, leaner meat, etc, because I learned I can really fill up and eat frequently on that stuff, without going over on the calories. You'll find what works for you.

Hope & Faith...::wel3fc: I don't know if you have a food scale but I would highly recommend it if you're starting on a new calorie counting adventure. It takes all the work out of counting calories.
Betty...

Quote:

Apparently this can't include chocolate or Cheez Its or this 1500 calorie nonsense goes right out the window. Bah!

Very funny but true! :rofl:
Robin...You had me stumped about your Purim celebration, but I enlightened myself by looking it up in the Dicitionary. My teeth ached just thinking about all that sweet stuff. :congrat: On the 3.5 pound loss, wish I could lose in large blocks like that.
Aphil... Wow! 4.8 pounds down for you, awesome! :congrat:
P.S. I didn't give my bio on this thread for all you new people because you can click on it yourself. We live out in the country on an acreage and it's a pain in the butt driving into town so often, but that's the only thing I :censored: about.
Hi to anyone I missed.

hello everyone!

reading all of your messages about the progress you are all making is really motivating!! way to go ladies!!

Robin, Cheryl, and Aphil, thank you for the advice about breaking the diet, you all make some very good points and i will definitely keep that in mind in the future. Robin, good job on keeping your calories under 2000 for Purim, i always find holidays are the hardest because there are so many temptations! but you held it under 2000 so you should feel proud even though you didnt keep it at the amount you wanted to!

Diva- i hope you feel better! drink lots of water, not only is it healthy and will help you get better, but it will also help you to lose weight!

Hi everyone, Hope you all had a good weekend.

Went to curves this morning.
The trainer says that with doing curves and the treadmill the same day... might be too much?
Because I get dizzy when I first get off the treadmill. She said I should see a Dr.
I am going to back off everyday workout and just do it as Curves suggest...for now. On my off days I will do the treadmill.

Calories for today are at 1234, fat is 17%, and
carbs are at 55%.

That does not include my evening snack. probably fresh fruit. cut up with frozen berrys. and a few carrots.

Whoa!! I missed a lot. Okay, this is going to be quick. I will try to catch up on the other 7 pages I missed.

I'm Rai. I'm 26 (about to be 27 on April 10), married, no kids, and a graduate student working on my PhD (I have about 1 year left). It seems like I've been "watching my weight" since I was 14 or so. Or at least that's when I remember my mother always telling me to "be careful what you eat because diabetes run in the family".
Anyways, I'm doing calorie-counting and BFL-type strength training (not the cardio). I have lost about 15 pounds since Jan. 29 and I'm so happy! My husband and I have a bet going on who will reach 170 first (if I lose I have to wear a shirt that says I'm a big fat loser, and if he lose he has to cook dinner for 2 weeks and wear the shirt for one day). Anyways, asof today I am at 174 and he is at 180. I'm not counting him out yet though. I figure I can get to 170 within two more weeks. Ideally, I would like to be at 160 by my B'day. That may be hard, but I think I'm in the sweet spot of weight loss.

I had a huge calorie day on Friday, maybe in the 4000 range (went out for dinner), but I kept it clean and low for the rest of the weekend and I had a 2 pound loss!!!

Hi girls,

Calories were 1318 for me yesterday. Not too bad, especially for a Sunday. I was trying really hard to keep things reigned in over the weekend, as weekends can be a downfall for me. Last week I gained a 1/4 lb., so I want to be extra vigilant this week. I admit I did go out after work Friday with a friend to vent about work stress, and I had 2 big margaritas. Not good, but I hope Saturday and Sunday I made up for it. I also had a good workout at the gym yesterday ... cardio and weights. I am getting ready to either go for a walk or do an exercise dvd. So, I'm trying to get with it this week and see the scale go down!

Some of you have had great losses this week (Go Robin and Aphil -- 4.8 and 3.5 pounds gone!! That's outstanding!). I keep saying that reading about others' successes helps motivate me. So, thanks for the inspiration!

Bobbi - can you share with me some tips for using the scale? I have only been calorie counting since January, and I use food labels to enter all my fitday stuff. I do use my measuring cups faithfully, but I have not been using a scale. What types of food do you weigh?

Littlered - sounds like you may have low blood pressure. It wouldn't hurt to get that checked out.

Hope everyone has a great week!
p.s. Robin - thanks again for encouraging words. Honestly I can't remember if I responded to you about that yet or not.

Hey everyone.
I'm newish, I introduced myself in a post further down.

Anyway yesterday was my first day of calorie counting. It went really well I think, and I did pretty good on it. :) I ate roughly 1800 calories, which compared to what most here are eating is a lot. But for the past year or so I've been eating a lot more than that (enough to pack on maybe ~7-10lbs) and it has been really unhealthy binge eating. So I figure I'll start out with a moderate cut, and work my way down after a bit.

Today is going well so far. I went to aerobics for the first time in a while (last week I couldn't work out because I was pretty sick) and it felt great. I have kick boxing later tonight, which I'm really looking forward to. And my calories are good, right where they should be.

Wow. I need to do that. Makes me wonder if I've been getting accurate calories. Like I said, I mostly use labels and measuring cups. If a tub of yogurt says 100 calories per cup and I want just 1/2 cup, I'll enter .5 serving for 50 calories. Occassionally some foods do only give ounces (I've noticed lots of cheeses do this). Would a basic WalMart scale be accurate? Is there a particular brand you recommend? Also, ketchup, mayo I usually calculate using a tablespoon. Is that ok to do? Thanks for the information!

I bought the greatest digital scale. Okay, it was expensive, but I got it at Bed Bath & Beyond and I had a 20% off coupon, so I got almost $20 off (99.00 scale). It is really nice, but I have to admit, it sits unused a lot of the time! If I'm really wondering what something costs (# of calories) I will take the time to figure it out, but from there, I usually just keep a list of those things I eat a lot of to refer back to. I guess I'm trying to say that to me an apple is an apple (I almost always get similar sized apples) so if one is 95 calories and one is 110 calories, I'm not going to sweat about it.

Because of my mishap at breakfast this morning, I'm already at 1031 and dinner is still on the horizon. It will be salad, but I know I'll be over for the day. Oh, well, tomorrow is a new day.

I have a Salter digital scale. I think I paid 25$ on Amazon for it. I find it really helpful. As for ketchup and stuff like that I would still use measuring spoons but for cheese, rice, etc. it's really helpful fruits and veggies it's really helpful

I think I'll check on Amazon and see what Walmart has. $99 is more than I want to spend, but I don't want a cheapy that isn't accurate. Maybe the Salter would work for me. I'll let ya'll know once I decide and give you an update on how I like it. I'll probably have lots of questions, so you'll be hearing from me! Thanks!

Catstongue, welcome!!! I'm new to this too, just started last week, but I am eating around 1600 to 1800 a day, so you're not alone. That number of calories is working well for me right now, and I feel good knowing I have room to cut back later if it stops working.

Cheryl

Sorry for the double post, but forgot to say congrats to Aphil and Robin for the awesome weight loss this week...woohoo!

Boy, how time flies. I haven’t posted for about a week and found everyone had moved!
To reintroduce myself, I am in my 50’s and live in a Mpls. suburb. I have two children, a son who lives and works in NYC and a daughter who is married and has given me the best gift of all – a lovely granddaughter :D
I work full-time and hope to cut back to part-time this spring so I can spend more time with the GD and on outdoor activities. My husband and I are in the process of having a log cabin built on a lake in the northernmost part of MN. We think we have found heaven.
I have to say I have tried every diet out there and lost weight on all, only to gain it back over the next few years. I gained the most weight after I went back to school at the U.of M. to finish my BA. Full-time student full-time work, full-time mom/wife = eating on the run. I never got down to a decent weight after all of that munching. I had tried calorie counting when my kids were real young and found it to be the easiest because I didn’t have to buy anything special – just nutritious. I think losing slow and steady is a lot better than those quick weight-loss plans and programs.

I had to do a lot of reading here to try to catch up and I’d like to say Hello to all of the new folks and hi to everyone who helped me in the Feb. postings. I am pretty new here myself even though I have lurked on and off for a while.
Bobbi: hope you didn’t get the ice storm you had last round. We just got snow this time. Lots and lots of snow as Chloe can attest to. I think we will get more before this winter is over, after all, the basketball tournaments are coming up.

Walking2lose: Sorry to hear about your illness, couldn’t help but think of an experience I had about 12 years ago after spending a weekend with the girls at a cabin in Wisconsin. A few weeks later I had many of your same symptoms. One of the worst was trying to open things, my hands and arms were so weak and ached. Turned out to be Lyme Disease, which they never would have thought of if I hadn’t mentioned my trip to the Wisconsin woods. A blood test confirmed it and a month of antibiotics cured me.

What type of features does the $99 scale have? I have a digital scale and I love it, my only problem thow is that it automatically rezero's if I remove the plate.

welcome woodlily! i just started here yesterday as well...looks like there are a few newbies then. i agree that losing weight slowly and healthily is the best method because the main thing is to teach yourself to moderate and have a healthy diet for life.

catstongue, welcome to you as well! starting with 1800 calories a day is probably a good idea for you just so that, as you said, you can slowly adjust into the diet mode. its all about moderation! if you feel like you are ready to go lower or if you arent losing weight, then just bring it down a little. you can do it!!

my total calories for my first day back on the diet is 937. kinda low, but i didnt feel very hungry today.

Morning! I'm under 1100 cals for yesterday thanks mostly to a trip to the dentist. I'll probably have more than that today.
Be good everyone!

Good morning to all you calorie counters out there. Helloooo.

I didn't have a great day yesterday, not awful either. Today should be better, I will be spending the morning having an endoscopy. Can't eat before (or during, well duh) and for a bit after. So I should be skipping breakfast, and maybe a snack as well.

Monday's calories- somewhere in the 1400 range.

Have a great day everyone. Healthy and safe.

catstongue-don't worry about your calorie level compared to everyone else's. The main difference in calorie levels for each person are:

~Their current weight
~Their exercise level

People who weigh more can eat a higher calorie level per day and still lose-when I first start losing weight after each baby-I lose the first 5-10 pounds EASILY on 1800 calories a day, before I have to drop it down to 1700. I can then usually stay at that level for a while longer before moving it down to 1600. Those who are at 1200, 1300, and 1400 levels are usually those who have been losing longer than you have-and who have had to drop to get things going again, or those who started out with not a lot to lose.

A 140 pound woman only trying to lose 7-10 pounds is going to start off lower than someone who is 170 trying to lose 30, because she is closer to goal, and smaller-so her body needs less. Make sense?

Those who exercise more are also burning more calories, so they can eat more and still lose. It is a very personal thing-everyone is at a different level that is working for THEM. :)


Hello to everyone else!!! :D

Today is cardio day and dance technique...and I have lots of errands to run.
I'll check back later!

hi everyone!! I haven't been on in ages...Exercise is going well, but I really need to reign in my eating. Not all bad just too many treats. I gotta get the kids ready for the day will try to post later.

Good Morning
I hate posting my calories for yesterday because the Calorie Police might arrest me. We checked MIL out of the hospital, ran her errands, blah, blah, blah!:blah: you get the picture.
Once you get behind in eating, it's hard to catch up and I'm not a junk eater so it's double hard to catch up. Well, that's a fib, I do eat SF/FF pudding with SF/FF Cool Whip daily but that's about it.
Calories...959
Fat...26%
Fiber...61 grams
Breakfast:
Vitamins/Salmon Oil/Fiber supplements
Fiber One, dry
Applesauce
Lunch:
Flat Out toasted with Herbs
Homemade Vegetable soup
Cooked Cabbage & Carrots
Snack:
Pistachio/Coconut pudding with Cool Whip and sprinkling of Fiber One
Supper:
Chicken Vegetable soup, lots of it.
Skim Milk
Evening snack: more Pudding w/Cool Whip, sprinkling of F.One.
Melissa... Thanks for printing your name, it's so much easier typing out a short name rather than our user names plus makes it more personal.
Littlered...I'm a tad dizzy when I step off the treadmill and Walking suggested you get your blood pressure checked. :dizzy:That would make sense because I do have low blood pressure and that might be your problem too.
Rai... We thought the old "keep it simple" thread moved fast, this one really speeds by. If I don't check in everyday, it takes forever to read all the posts. :lol:
Walking... Great calories yesterday! I purchased a second digital scale last week (I wanted one that could weigh a whole batch of soup) on E-Bay and I paid $2.30 for a brand new one. It weighs up to 11 pounds. You might check there too, they have a zillion of them.
Cats Tongue... :welcome:
Cheryl... What kind of ice skating do you do? I spent many hours on the ice in my youth, we were too poor to buy new skates so my dad purchased a pair of used hockey skates that I shared with my two sisters. Not only were they too big but no tip to stop on, but I felt lucky to have them.
Woodlily...I'll see if I can remember how to post pictures from our last snow. NO, we didn't get the ice the second time around but we have more snow and ICE predicted for this afternoon, :nono:
Susan... Jump down from Cananda and kick me! I just snooped on your Fitday again and noticed the TVP soup. Darn, I keep forgetting I have that. Yesterday I made a big batch of Chicken soup, I should have added some TVP.
Robin...Good luck today on your tests. I have a cholesterol test next monday and I can't eat anything before that either. I don't mind not eating the food, but missing my pot of coffee in the morning just about kills me.
Hi to everyone who hasn't checked in yet this morning!
Two of the pictures are from our back yard and the one in front has snow higher than my car. Hard to tell at the angle I took the picture, it's take forever to melt in the spring.
I better get my butt in gear and head back into town to check on MIL.
`Later..............Bobbi

Good morning all.

First I wanted to say congrats to all the big weight looses this week! :carrot::cheer: :cheer: I cant wait to be able to say I had a loss too.


Also, hello to all the new girls. This is a great site.

My calories for yesterday, 1474.

And for the info on my dizzy problem, I will start to monitor my blood pressure, right after I run. It its not normal, I am calling the Dr. Thanks for the advise. I am inclined to have lower blood pressure.


Bobbie, your yard looks like ours did on Valentines. Thank
God Thats all Gone!

As for Scales, I bought my from ebay, it is a postal scale, and does all the good things mentioned above. Got it for $22 including shipping. It weights up to 50 lbs.
I use this scale everyday. If not weighed, I measure everything, I believe that is how to get an idea what we really eat. I also try to use a smaller plate.

Alright, Susan and Bobbie, what is TVP SOUP? I love soup.;)
Low fat?

Well, I guess I need to move my butt. Get up and do something. :D Treadmill today. Hope to twice.

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days. I'm pretty bummed. My scale hasn't budged at all in a bit and actually went up slightly :-( I don't know why though. I've stayed in my calorie range and have been walking the treadmill and doing the watp videos. The only thing that I can think of is that I'm not drinking enough water. [sigh]. I'm starting to feel a bit discouraged. I need to see the scale move somewhat to keep me going....

Good morning. Calories were horrible yesterday. After my breakfast mishap, I knew I had to cut back, so it was salads for lunch and dinner. After dinner I was sitting at about 1350 and then DD announced she had the dreaded GSC (should I spell it out? Girl Scout Cookies!)!!! I then proceeded to eat almost 300 calories of cookies.
And I didn't count my glass of wine.
So you can see why my scale went up this morning.

Today I'll be better. So far, egg whites on a 50 cal ww tortilla (someone told me about LA Tortillas--they're a little smaller, but 95% fat free, ww and low carb). Lunch is salad and I'm making homemade empanadas using won ton wrappers instead of pastry for dinner tonight.

TVP soup is soup with TVP (textured vegetable protein) added. I have 3 bags of Bob's Red Mill TVP and haven't opened any to use, but got a ton of recipes off the internet last week. Prior to this, I was using the Morning Star Farms crumbles in a few things.

Have a great day everyone!

Hey ladies :)

As for me, last week I averaged 1450 a day so the last 2 days I've had 1900. I was really starving and needed to replenish my energy levels. I feel nice and full this morning with lots of energy, so plan on getting back on track with around 1550 or less (let's hope!) for the next few days as the scale WAS finally moving.

I did go up 1 pound from my loss of last week but that's possibly to be expected after going up in a calories right after a loss, but once I lower the calories it should go back down. Hey, dealing with the fluctuations is something you have to put up if you weigh daily so I dont stress it.

Allison, how are you cooking your empanadas? I've only had them deep fried so I wasn't sure. What filling? Sounds like a good idea.

I changed a lasagna recipe the other night so have lots of lasagna for today still. Turkey rather than beef; whole wheat rather than white pasta; fat free ricotta; fat free mozzerella; and part skim mozzerella. DH liked it and didn't even notice the FF cheese and the whole wheat pasta. He does prefer the beef but tough, its not that healthy (I had to explain to him about saturated fats but I dont think he was paying attention).

Not sure what advice to give Angielynn, but sometimes the scale just doesnt move for a few weeks and then you'll get a few pounds right off the bat after that. But you've gotta stick with it for that to happen. Keep on your plan and you WILL lose!

Hey Robin, you star :)

Good day friends :)

Good morning all!

I had a bad weekend due to not planning snacks or meal while traveling. Note to self: Pack food before going on trips. I've told myself no more excuses. I'm going to New York and San Francisco this summer, so that's my inspiration.

Have a good day everyone!

Morning! I just use the plainest canned tomatoes I can find, some chicken stock and chopped cabbage. Add in some TVP and it's filling, warm and low fat. A nice alternative to chilly salads in the chilly winter.

Bobbi, Whoa that's a lot of snow. I live in Chicago and we are still getting lake effect snow, but nothing compared to what you have out there.

Calories for Monday:
Total Cal: 1269
Fat: 27g ( 20%)
Carbs: 183 g (50%)
Fiber: 31g
Protein: 85g (28%)

I want to get my fiber intake up to at least 40g/day.

I ran (or should I say jog since I am so slow) 5 miles today. I did it in 61 minutes, about 2 minutes slower than last week, but hey some days it is like that. My husband was trying to pressure me to run faster :mad: , but I sai NO WAY! I know my pace, and I'm not trying to kill myself. He wanted to run a 10min/mile pace...Ugggh, no...that is not happening....at least not yet. Thursday I'm going to do some speed work.

Okay, I have another question about the scales. Does anyone have a scale in which you can:
Put the plate on the scale, then zero the scale,add some food, take the plate off the scale, put some more food on the plate, then put the plate back on the scale and the scale gives you a reading that is the food plus more food....Okay, that is very confusing...let me give an example.

I have a plate that weighs 10 g. I put it on the scale and zero the scale. Now I add 20 grams of food to the plate. I take the plate off the scale and add food2 to the plate. If you were to put that plat back on the scale, what reading would you get? My scale would give me a reading that is the sum of the plate and both foods. I am looking for a scale that would give me a reading that is just the sum of both foods. In other words, I want a scale that does not rezero itself everytime I move the plate. Does anyone have a scale like this? If so, what brand is it? How much did it cost?

rai, that run is awesome! I find running really hard and rarely do it, 5 miles is extraordinary..I used to do that in my peak of condition when I was around 24. LOL

Susan, that cabbage soup sounds very nice right now..as it is 10 degrees here and WINDY! brrrrrrrrrr