awesome debi! :carrot: i also lost 2 pounds, i don't see how that is possible though...:?: i have my meals planned out for the entire week, so we'll see how that goes. i had all the food in my house on the table last night, and i read what was the serving size and how many calories and all that stuff. my cat thought i had lost my mind :p

good luck today!

Valentine's mini goal
http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/heartb...0/170/180/.png

I just checked out that site tdp and I absolutely love it, it will make it easier to keep track of calories because it can be updated from any computer.

I am a nutrition student and I think that their calorie calculations are very high. Most professionals use the Mifflin St. Jeor Equation to determine how many calories they need per day (it's a very accurate formula).

TDE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) =BEE (Basal energy expenditure) x AF (activity factor) x IF (injury factor, only used if person is injured I wont include it)

TDE= BEE x AF x IF

BEE for women = [9.99 x weight in kg] + [6.25 x height in cm] - [4.92 x age in yrs] - 161
*for men its the same except instead of subtracting 161 at the end add 5

conversion factors- weight in lbs/2.2 =wt in kg
height in inches (ie 5'10= 70 inches) x 2.5 = ht in cm

Activity Factor
*1.1-1.2 for patient confined to bed
*1.3 for ambulatory patient
*1.3-1.5 for most normally active persons
*1.5-1.75 for extreamly active people
*1.8-2.0 for competitive athletes

****my nutrition professor says that most of these values are a bit high, I'm at a very big campus where students do alot of walking and she said that in studies that they've run 1.3 would work for most college students that do alot of walking so I would use that as a baseline.
She also recommends using a lower AF and calculating how many calories you burn and add that to the daily total rather than relying on AF..ie walk 2 miles~200 calories, subtract it from that day.

*3500 calories= 1 pound
*therefore 500 calorie deficit per day = 1 pound lost per week
*1000 calorie deficit per day = 2 pounds lost per week

Originally Posted by debimitch:
I only ate 1100 calories yesterday but I ate 3 meal.

Be careful not to go too low. I've heard from many people that 1200 calories is the minimum a person needs to maintain good body function. A day below that is ok just don't make it a habit or your body will start to hold onto it's extra fat. Try adding some healthy higher calorie items such as nuts.

I tell everyone I know that calorie counting is the way to go. I used to be the person who said I will never calorie count, it is too complicated and takes to much work. So I tried countless number of diet plans (spending lots and lots of $$$$), then I decided to give a program at my gym a try (like a fitday or daily plate but with a counselor). For the first time I feel like I really made a lifestyle change. On other plans I would have dreams about going off plan and eating all the things that weren't allowed (that may sound weird but true), I would wake up feeling quilty eventhough I didn't do anything wrong. I don't have that now because nothing is "off plan", I can eat anything I want I just have to decide if the calories are worth it or not. Best of luck to all of you new to calorie counting...you made the right choice :goodvibes

I didnt have any healthy snacks in the house yesterday. Today i got some fruit and some nuts. Nuts are hard on my colon so I have to eat them very ocassionally. I pulled out one of my good specail occasion plates last night for dinner. Its smaller than the plate we normally eat on. I also had a slimfast today in a wine glass. MY daughter was laughing at me...but it made me feel like i was getting a treat and not be punished .
Right now im at 470 calories so far today. I plan on having chicken baked tonight and coleslaw and a veggie ( not sure which one yet) I sent hubby to the store yesterday to get me frozen veggies and he came home with so many different kinds.
He is a diabetic and his eating healthier will help get him off medicine hopefully.I am hoping to get off blood pressure medicine also..down the line> it makes me feel so tired.