[chick_in_the_hat]

Originally Posted by CruiseCAT

Thanks Gina, you have been a big help several times already.

I have been using FitDay off and on for years and love it. I use the purchased version instead of the online one. Do you know if there is way for me to upload my stuff. One of the reasons I keep using mine is because of all the "custom" foods I have added.

Thanks for the links, I'll check them out now and do the quiz.

Rawk on - glad I could help. I use the free online version of Fitday...recently there is a new tab that appeared labeled PC sync....apparently if you are premium member it works. I'm pretty happy with the free version - I log from work and from home...no sync-ing required with the online version.

[chick_in_the_hat]

Originally Posted by CruiseCAT

Question, do you think I should increase my calories from 1300 to say 1500?

Not sure I can eat 1500 but I could try. Yesterday I had a hard time getting 1200 in.

I'd say try 1500 for 2 weeks and see how it goes. The higher you can lose at the more wiggle room you'll have later when your losses slow as you get close to goal.

Planning the day ahead of time is a handy way to make sure your counts come out right...that way you aren't trying to get a bunch of calories in at the end.

[Thighs Be Gone]

Originally Posted by Schumeany

When I first started calorie counting, I just worried about making sure I was getting more "whole foods", getting my exercise and staying within my limit. After a few weeks, I got more "scientific" about it, and began to track my protein levels because I was doing strength training 3x a week and cardio 6x a week, and I wanted to make sure that as I lost weight, I retained my lean muscle mass and gave my body the tools it needed to build more.

After a couple weeks of doing that, I began tracking my "percentages" of protein, fat and carbs...to see about where I was. My breakdown is around 40/30/30...sort of naturally apparently. I didn't/don't track it everyday, but I take a couple days each week and "back check" to see how I'm doing. I am almost always within a few percentage points of that basic goal.

As for tracking "sugar" per se, you will get different opinions on this. I am not a person who suffers from much "carb or sugar craving" so I do not worry about things like whether my granola has a few extra grams of sugar -- basically I have not noticed that eating a little extra sugar is a "trigger" spiking my hunger (Some people, however, have to be very careful with this...only you are going to be able to learn this listening to your own body as you follow this weight loss path.). That said, however, because I have turned my attention/focus to mostly eating "whole foods" and getting most of the highly processed food out of my diet, my sugar/bad fat content has gone WAY down.

Good luck!

Can you tell me how you are coming up with your ratios and how you are "tracking" proteins. I need to be doing this too.

[Thighs Be Gone]

Originally Posted by chick_in_the_hat

And the best part of this is the disappointed look on people's faces when they ask "what do you do to lose all that weight?" and you answer with "tracking what I eat religiously, exercising and working on cutting back on processed foods".

I know. I wish I could offer a magic bullet when people do ask. But the truth is, there isn't one. But the REAL truth is that REAL foods are satiating and satisfying. The REAL truth is that getting active has the potential to change your thinking and thus, change your life.