This is my 8th year teaching and I only catch maybe three colds a year....so I really shouldn't be complaining. I have some friends who are teachers who catch everything under the sun!!! It's just annoying more than anything! haha

Hello...I am new to all this calorie counting thing...My husband and I are dieting together, which helps out alot. My children are aware to stop from having any cravings we have basically removed any and all sweets from the house, including all carbonated drinks, juices, etc. drinking nothing but water. (with exception for their snack juices they take to school each day.). My husband and I are on prescription diet pills from our doctor. The problem is getting all the calories in. I have been keeping my own lil excel spreadsheet with every bite of everything we are putting in our mouth, and calculating the calories. We are trying to stay around the 1200 calorie range for the both of us, and we are barely reaching a lil over 1000. My husband weighed yesterday and was down 8lbs since Friday (First day of our calorie counting) I have not weighed as we don't have a scale at home, and I am honestly waiting to get one. My husband is at 317lbs and we want to have a scale that will read his weight accurately so we are waiting until he drops the other 17lbs to buy one since most in our area will only weigh 300 or less. He has a nurse at work and he will go there to be weighed, frequently. So, I guess I am wondering if not quite hitting the 1200 mark will hurt us more than help us. I weighed apx. 220lbs a week or so ago, my goal is 90lbs over time. We have started walking a mile a day, and doing a few crunches after our walks. Any help or advice would be appreciated. Here's our average Breakfast, Snack and Dinner.

Breakfast - Quaker Oats Weight Control Instant Oatmeal
Snack (Him) Single Serving Cottage Cheese, and a Med. Peach
Dinner - Last night was just Taco Meatloaf 2 Servings each (240 calories a serving)

Lunch is crazy, he works 3rd Shift is a sleep, I am back in College and have classes during lunch time, so I grabbed 18 Quaker Mini Honey Graham Rice Cakes (2 servings) to take to class with me.

Any Suggestions?

Hello,
sorry i have been MIA lately. Not alot going on really...cheated yesterday and scales really jumped up today...I had been craving fried chicken so last night i had it. It was good but not worth it!!
Still waiting to hear when our granddaughter will be born. We should get answers tommorow. Wedding planning is kinda slowed down for now. She has pretty much everything done that can be done at this point.
I have the week off from work and am cleaning house. Wow it sure felt GREAT yesterday to give away 5 bags of clothing all size 20-28. I even tried on a few to remind myself how far I have come now!!
IM back on track today and will make sure i up my water to flush out all that sodium from the chicken. Tom is here also and making me miserable. NOt to mention unbearable sinus pressure!! Its that time of year here..corn is being cut and it always gets me.
hugs

1000 calories a day is way too little for you and your husband....especially your husband.
I listen to Jillian Michael's radio show podcasts (she is a trainer on The Biggest Loser in case you do not know who she is) and she says men should never....absolutely NEVER go below 1800 calories a day and women should never go below 1200.
Anything below those amounts are starvation modes and you both will slow down your metabolisms.

Did your doctor send you to a dietitian or nutritionist to give you a diet with the proper amount of calories for each of you? If you are on diet pills you won't feel as hungry and will probably have trouble eating as much as you should. Unless you are under a doctor's supervision you and your husband should be eating more, especially your husband.

You need to sit down and plan out your meals and eat what you plan so you'll get in all your caloric and nutritional needs. Your children need to see you and DH eat well balanced healthy meals that look similar to what they are eating.

Come and post here as often as you need to. We'll be here to help and support your weight loss.

Didn't even think about Jillian Michaels having podcasts! I'm so going to check those out right now.

Llara, Peek is beautiful! Thank you for sharing pictures.

Dgramie, hi!

Hey Tinky, welcome back. I hope that you had a great time in California.


I am on track and got my exercise, today. I am working back up to where I was before I had to rest this stupid knee. 25 minutes yesterday, 30 today. Not ideal, but better than nothing.

I have re-thought the pumpkin thing. I had it the other night and liked it well enough. Then I tried to eat some with lunch and it just grossed me out. So, pumpkin is off the list... Unless it is in pie.

Mmmm..... Piiiie.....

*shakes head* Sorry about that... Had a moment, there.

PantheaWoman, Welcome to 3FC and Calorie Counters. From reading your post, I have to say that I think that both you and your husband are in far too low calorie ranges. You should be eating a minimum of 1200 a day and your husband should be eating at least 1800 to 2000, minimum. The problem with too low calorie levels is that you can lose some weight, fast. But sustaining that low a level over the long haul just isn't doable. You are likely to crash and end up eating and gaining back everything you worked so hard to lose. Plus that weight will most likely bring a lot of new friends to the party.

And that just sucks. I know... Been there, done that. Don't really want to see you two go there.

*yawn* Sorry about that. Son of mine worked until midnight, last night. Came home, made a lot of racket and totally disrupted my sleep. (Not his fault, it is our living arrangements.I hate my house...)

Later, gators.

First of all !

Did your doctor give you calorie guidelines along with those pills? Did he tell you what you should be eating or give you guidelines as to what you should eat? I agree with the other posters, you should not go under 1200 an your husband should be eating more then that (1800 sounds good to me, but I haven't done the research for men.)

Since it sounds like you are having problems getting the volume in, why not add some healthy calorie dense foods to your diet? Nuts, avocados, nut butters, cheese (in moderation) will all help you get the calorie numbers up.

Looking at your menu, I'd suggest eating steel cut oats instead of the instant. You can pre-cook them and keep them in the fridge to make the mornings easier. I love oatmeal and this is what I put in it, 1 cup steel cut oats, 1T flax seeds (ground), 2T soy milk, 2T raisins, and 1t honey (works out to 280 calories.) You could add in some chopped walnuts to get more calories.

You can also get more calories in by snacking. Cut up veggies, fruit, whole grain crackers with hummus, boiled eggs, cheese sticks, or half a peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread are all healthy easily transported snacks.

Feel free to ask more questions if you want to. That's why we are here!

I think it's excellent that you set up a spread sheet! Writing everything down is key!

Well today is the day we find out when our baby comes. I am so excited about getting to hold her. I cant believe im going to be a grandmother!!!
I didnt end up getting my cleaning done yesterday...i was to sick with sinus pressure. I am feeling better today and plan on knocking it out this morning.
gotta get back on track with eating today...and really need exercise today as well. I also really slacked on my water yesterday. Gotta get on plan today!! I want to get the next pound off so bad!!
hugs to all

Good morning, fellow counters.

I had a good day, yesterday. On track got my exercise and enough water.

Other than that... Not too much going on.

Later, gators.

OH TINKY IS BACK!

Tinky, yes I am doing the 6WBMO again and strict this time. I just need to get my weekends down and its going to just melt off just like yours did. I am down to 185 from 192/3 two weeks ago. Those numbers make me panic when I see them.

Right now I can't really exercise to get the weight off because I have bursitis in my hip and plantar fasciitis in my feet along with a bone spur on one. I didn't have a choice but break down and go to the doctor because the pain was becoming debilitating. The hip 6 years and the feet 3 months. When you can't walking without extreme pain you finally give in and go.

Retiredone, I have had horses for 14 years but I grew up around them just never had one of my own until then. I had always had ridding horses and lost my best friend this year, had him 14 years. But about 5 years ago I traded a horse for two driving ponies. I sold the bad one and kept this little guy, Peek. Our personalities work together. Neither of these pictures do him justice but they are what I have. This guys coat just glows in the summer and I can make him park (spread out) so far that he is on his tip toes in the back. When he is working he holds his neck right straight up in the air and tucks his nose in. His feet almost touch is chest and belly because the lifts them so high. Its a lot of work for them to do this so he can't do it for more than a mile or so but it is beautiful. We also have two miniatures right now also, Zeus and Pibbs. Pibbs is headed to a trainer next year to get him cart safe. Zeus is cart safe but bullheaded but I can make him do what I want but he is DD's mini and she doesn't work with him enough. He is a doll and with consistent work would would be as well trained as Peek. Can you tell I love my guys.

Patheawoman ~ Are the diet pills taking your appetite away that much? I did doctor prescribed diet pills called Fastin. OH MY GOSH! I couldn't eat, sleep or do anything, I was a fastin alright. I eventually had to stop taking them and I think they are off the market now but as soon as I stopped taking them I gained it all back. Diet pills are great as long as you are able to make life long nutritional/exercise changes to keep it off after you stop taking them. My mistake was I learned nothing. I just want you to be careful and kind to your body. Take the pills but learn about proper nutrition and make life time changes.

dgramie ~ I thought you were already a grandmother. LOL! That is what I get for thinking. My first grandchild, I was young only 37 when was born, almost three years ago. It really is a special feeling. I think I was more excited about his birth than my own girls. Lets say, he is a little spoiled. I am not as close with my second GS because his Dad and DH/I don't see eye to eye. He has even threatened to not let us see our old GS. He is a dead beat, jail bird and a major JA but DD just had to marry him last week. ARG! Yep, getting phone calls from people congratulating me on my new SIL. AHHHH! I offer to give him to them but no one else wants him either. LOL!

Rain nothing wrong with what you had to say. Being on track is a wonderful feeling and its nice to see others that are doing their best to be a success.

Well I need to send a package and do a department errand even though my feet are hurting. I will stop back either later today or tomorrow.

Thanks for all the info on the horses. And, yes I can tell you really love your "guys." I've seen the pictures of the miniatures in the August or September threads and they're adorable.

I can really sympathize with you on your hip and feet. When I was working I had to have physiotherapy on my hip and I've suffered with plantar fasciitis and heel spurs for years. Right now my feet are much better and the inflammation is under control. I thought I was going to be a wheel chair one summer because my feet were so tender I could barely get out of bed in the morning and the pain was intense during the day. I never go with bare feet and I'm often wearing sneakers around the house. I've learned to buy good shoes with good shock absorption in the heel area. I couldn't wear high heels for a long time but since I've lost weight I can wear them for short periods of time but they've got to be as comfortable as a heel can get.

I love calorie counting. I had apple pie for supper tonight and I could eat it without guilt (as far as calories are concerned). Not the best supper nutritionally speaking but very good. It was made with whole wheat pastry and non-hydrogenated margarine so it may be a teeny, tiny bit more healthy than a regular pie but the calories and fat were still there. And I didn't go over my calories.

Have a good evening everyone.