I have been at this for almost 6 weeks now and I am down about 17 pounds. I exercise every morning, usually 40 minutes on the exercise bike and try to fit in some other form of exercise each day as well, even if it is only 15 minutes. I would say 75% of my days, my calories are between 1200-1400. The others vary between around 1000-1800.

The more I read the posts in this forum, the more worried that I have become that I am just not doing it right. I track everything I eat to the point that I worry that I am a bit too obsessive about it. However, I notice that a good majority of you calorie counters feel that you need to make up the calories if you go over one day. I figure since it takes 3500 calories to gain a pound, the 400 I go over one day isn't going to kill me.

While I still allow myself to eat some things that may be totally off limits for some of you, sometimes several times a week, I find that I am making much better choices. I don't mindlessly eat out of a huge bag of m & ms but take one serving. If I have a huge craving for peanut butter sandwich, it is measured out and on light bread. I am afraid to give these things up because I feel that it will make it that much more likely that I will give up.

Part of my confusion comes from how many calories that I should have a day. I have googled several different calculators and have gotten numbers varying as much as 1000 calories a day. My exercise bike estimates way more calories burned than Fitday and the calories counts of foods are just as varied dependng on the site. How do I know if I am doing it right?

If you are loosing weight and feeling better, then you are doing it right!!

There is a lot of difference of opinion on how many calories are right for a person. One common thing across the board seems to be "don't drop below 1200/day". The reason is that you cannot get proper nutrition and all of the vitamins and minerals you need for this low of calorie content.

I think as long as you are not grouchy and your energy levels are high, that you are eating fine. I love calorie counting because if I want to eat it - I do! Also, I don't "make up" calories that I may have eaten over the previous day. If anything, I exercise them off.

Just FYI - I am on a 1700 calorie diet. I exercise for an hour (running and interval training) 5 days a week. My profession is a daycare provider. I tend to loose 1.5lbs per week this way. At one point, I thought I should lower my intake, and had a plateau effect. Not sure why (there are differing opinions on this) but that's what worked for me.

Congratulations on losing 17 POUNDS! You are doing so great!! Keep up the good work. I'm SO PROUD of you!


Andrea

Congrats on the 17lbs. That is awesome!

It sounds to me you are doing it right. I vary my calories like you do. Your calorie range sounds very reasonable. And I am all for eating the foods you crave, as long as you count the calories. For instance, last night my son had an awards ceremony that I knew would be followed by a cookie buffet. So I saved 800 calories so I could eat cookies. And yes I ate a lot of cookies. But I wanted to and I enjoyed it and it was worth it to me. And I don't care if the calories were unhealthy ones.

If I do go way over calories one day, I will usually follow with a lower calorie day, but that is just the way I do it. I don't think it is necessary, so maybe experiment with that and see what works best for you. That is what it is all about, finding what works for you and what you can live with.

Keep up the good work!

I am very new at this too, and when I was growing up, it was all about fat grams eaten per day. Now that fat has taken a back seat (lol) to calorie-counting in popularity, I find that I have a lot of trouble discovering what method and number is right for me. After nearly 3 weeks of adjustments and fine-tuning, I think I have what works for me. I eat 1700 calories a day and between 25-30g of fat. I figure if I combine the two approaches, something's bound to work! I don't check the scale more than once a month, so I have no idea if it is working pound-wise, but I feel better, have more energy, my face has cleared up and my moods have improved. Since this is about changing my body to live heathy and happy, these results are fine by me. At some point, I may need to change up my routine to lose more inches or if I plateau, but for now this works.

It sounds like you have a great thing going, so I would stick to that. Congrats on your loss and good luck!

Congrats on your 17 pounds! What I am learning from reading on here and elsewhere is that if calories go to low then the body thinks it is going to starve and starts saving up. I used the Fitday.com calorie calculator to find out how many calories a day I should eat for my height, weight and activity level in order to lose weight. I am not doing and real exercise yet - I just went on a short walk yesterday, but I have already starteed to prepare myself mentally......that when I do start working out I need to bump my calories up a tad so I don't feel lethargic or plateau because of the exercise.

17 pounds in 6 weeks? that's an average of 2.8 lbs a week. I think you are doing just fine.

Congratulations on losing 17 pounds ! That is great ! I do think 1000 calories a day is too low, you are robbing your body of needed nutrients at that level. On the days that I go ff my rocker and binge, or for some reason eat way too many calories. So be it. It's done. I don't try to compensate for it the next day. I just get back on track and usually I will not see any lasting harm if I go over my calorie allowance for one day.I try to not make it a habit, though.

Thanks everyone for your encouragement. I think at the beginning of any journey, you seem more patient but as it starts to come off, I just want it gone faster and faster!

WTG on the 17lb weight loss..that's fabulous!

wow congrats on your 17lb loss! whatever you are doing it seems to be working great !

Agree with everyone that with 17 lbs gone in 6 weeks, you seem to be doing just fine!!!

I honestly would not worry about the occasional day of 1000 calories - I think most of us have days where we simply aren't that hungry, and that's even when not on a diet! I don't think it should be a goal or anything, but I don't think you should ever force yourself to eat if you aren't hungry.

Personally, I track daily but I give myself a cushion - I aim for no more than 1500 max but if I'm hungry, I'll eat a piece of fruit or something (not empty calories!) even if it puts me over 1500 and as long as I'm below 1600, I consider myself in range. I don't specifically try to go low the next day, but throughout the course of the week, I'll have some days that are 1300 or 1350, so it all balances out.