[Fairy Sarah]

Hey guys Im looking for a bit of help... See I have counted calories before, I find it really works for me. However I often eat under my calorie count, as I don't eat large portions. Im really scared of stretching my stomach so that I eat more, so tend to resort to 5 small meals a day! I also have had a history of becoming obsessive and eating too little...so I need to make a plan that I can stick to! Being a naturallly obsessive person, a plan is perfect for me, cas i can stick to them!

As I am 5foot4 I think I should eat about 1500 calories plus exercise to lose. (please tell me if you think otherwise). I want to be able to eat little enough to lose, and but enough to decrease when I plateau.

So basically I aim for:

Breakfast: 350
Snack: 200
Lunch: 350
Snack: 200
Dinner: 400

Im a real creature of habit, I eat a 150 calories breakfast every morning, because this isn't enough I have a Chocolare Milk Drink made with skim milk (about 150 calories). I figure if I plateau I can swap this for black tea.

Lunches involve lots of fruit, salads, sandwiches, yoghurt, nuts and seeds etc.

Because I don't always choose what I eat for dinner, I have budgeted 400 calories for dinner. If or when I start to plateau I can alter my nutrient ratios and be a bit more pedantic about dinner time. If I don't eat enough at dinner, I will supplement it with natural yoghurt!

For exercise - I shall run every morning for 30 minutes. I will build this up over time, increasing speed and/or time. I also weight train, spin, and am considering starting weight training.
Are my calories too low for such vigorous exercise? Will I be able to build muscle eating this much food?

Also if Im losing this much weight, will I plateau? Keep in mind I may continue to lose if I am not happy with the end result!

If you kept reading to the end, thank you very much! hope you guys can help me!

[Spiritmagejkt]

You probably need some form of protein in there. I would also cut sugar out completely. I run about the same caloriewise as you do sometimes even a bit lower. I don't feel overly hungry with it. Sugar makes you hungry. I think even sweetner does the same thing. We eat a lot of fish for protein here but I live where its reasonable to eat it frequently.

You will lose weight on your plan but if you balance it better you might loose a bit faster and feel more comfortable.
Some ideas to look at Okinawan and Japanese diets are low calorie and very healthy. Any cardiac or ADA diet also. Paleo is good and the closest thing to what I do. I like the Okinawan food pyramid. its not a plan I do because I have a sensetivity to certain starches but I think its a good doable way to eat. Vegetarian I think is okay. Vegan I've seen problems with. I hear you can balance it and live healthy on it but practically I've not seen that happen and if you don't it can cause problems so if you go that way make sure your getting everything you need.

[JayEll]

I'd say that your breakdown looks good--in fact, it's close to what I follow. Just be sure you stick to it--eat what you're supposed to, and don't try to cut it further. No way can you "stretch your stomach" on that much food. Besides, that's not the issue anyway--

I agree with the previous poster--make sure you are getting enough protein in there, especially if you are running. You do want to avoid losing muscle. So, it's OK to have a boiled egg now and then, or some tuna, chicken, etc. with lunch and dinner. Or some lowfat cheeses like string cheese, cottage cheese, or Laughing Cow BabyBel cheeses.

At your current weight, your weight loss may be slow, but stick with your plan. Don't panic if you don't lose for a week and try to cut calories. Just stay with the plan for at least 2 weeks with no break before you decide it's not working. That's my 2 cents!

Jay

[lorilove]

I think the plan looks good. Just a note about the dreaded plateau. Set realistic expectations. I lose fairly regularly but that does not mean that I don't have weeks I lose less then others and I have gone as much as 1 month without losing anthing but I still don't consider that a plateau.

When you do hit those slow spots in your diet, don't necessarily attack them with eating less. You might have room for say a 100 calorie drop but focus more on changing up your diet and/or your exercise routine.

Best of Luck - Lori

[Fairy Sarah]

Thanks guys! Wow you have all done so well! Its really inspirational! I honestly swear by calorie counting, and the ammont of successful posters in here really shows it works! I know its hard cas im already small-ish....but its nice to have some supprt (not just tell me - "You don't need to lose weight!")

So...just to clarify! I have always eaten sugar and just included it in my calorie count! Do you guys think its better to just get all my carb calories from wholegrain carbs rather than sugars?

Also protien...I try up my protien, how much do you guys think I need if I will be running? I try have one serving with every meal, only I don't eat egg, tuna, or red meat! So do have problems with that. A trainer suggest protien shakes in the past, simply because I don't eat foods high in protien, but I like to avoid them!

[zenor77]

Your calorie break down looks great! I agree with JayEll, don't get discouraged too quick, give it a few weeks before tweaking your calories.

I had the most success when my calories came from whole high fiber foods. That's not to say you have to be super strict all the time and only eat whole foods, but I would try to get as many whole grains, veggies, and fruit in as you can.

As far as sugar, I would at least try to cut down on it. I eat real sugar (don't do artificial), but normally that only means 1t of raw sugar in my oatmeal or the occasional homemade cookie (I make them really small too.)

I don't eat red meat either. You can get protein from yogurt, cheese, beans, tofu, tempeh, poultry, and quiona (yummy high protein grain.) Also, do you like other kinds of fish besides tuna? I prefer canned wild salmon myself. You can even buy canned salmon boneless now.

Your average person should get between 10-15% of their calories from protein (according to the government.) That would work out to 40-55 grams of protein per 1500 day. If you run or weight lift you should aim for more.

[lorilove]

I eat alot of whole grains (my fiber averages over 40g per day). But I don't avoid sugar all together.

I have a few favorites that I still enjoy I just eat it in moderation. I was listening to a podcast of Jillian Michaels and she mentioned that she has sugar in her coffee. She was talking about portion control at the time.

I eat tons of fruit and there is no way in most of the software programs to isolate the different types of sugar so my sugar actually runs 160% PDA. But it works for me - find what works for you and what you are comforable sticking with for the long run.

Lori

[RaluCat]

I'm crazy about my protein, and I aim for at least 15g with breakfast (it really helps me stay full until lunch). I get it from:

~ low fat ricotta and cottage cheese (non fat seems too artificial for me)
~ low fat Swiss (Jarlsberg light has 50 cal & 9g protein/slice)
~ grilled white meat
~ milk
~ tofu spreads (i mix tofu with green onions, herbs, bell peppers or anything I like, plus a spoon of Vegan mayo for creaminess)
~ beans (I looove homemade hummus, but I feel animal protein is better for me)