Hi, this is my first time posting here.

I want to lose about 30lbs, and I understand it’s about calorie deficit. I am 5’8” and weigh 188lbs. I believe that I should be taking in about 1500 calories/day. I have my day broken up as follows:

B 400
S 200
L 300
S 200
D 400

I’m just not sure how I’m going to pull that off and not starve to death. Am I doing something wrong? I really don’t want to fail.

Please help.

If you eat the right foods you'll be fine.

Protein, fat, fruit, and vegtables should make up the bulk of your diet.

If you make a mistake - don't worry about it. Have fun!

I agree with with John said above. A lot of it has to do with what you eat.

What works for me with calorie counting is not sticking to an exact amount of calories for every single meal. My breakfasts are usually the same, but sometimes my dinners are 300 calories and sometimes they are 600 calories. Feed your body if it is hungry, but feed it good food. There might be some days when you eat a 600 calorie breakfast, but a 300 calorie dinner. 1500 seems like a small amount when you are not used to calorie counting, but I'm able to eat an 8 oz piece of baked chicken smothered with 2 wedges of Laughing Cow cheese for dinner along with half a bag of broccoli and that is only 354 calories, for example. And my breakfasts consist of a big bowl of cereal with skim milk and a whole multi-grain english muffin with all-natural pb and fruit spread and that's 361 calories. Play around with different things until you find what works for you!

Find food that is filling for you and that you enjoy...that's the nice thing about calorie counting...you can fit stuff in that you want to eat. I still get in some chocolate, ice cream, pudding, etc, but I just make it fit into my calorie amount! Good luck!!

Just make the right choices and you should be fine; like versus a cheeseburger with fries and a coke, I now have a lean-turkey burger with a side salad or (if I'm feeling naughty) sweet potato fries and water...that's another big thing, don't drink away your calories!!! WATER!!! I'm a huge advocate for 80+ ounces a day...just keep track and power through and don't get easily discouraged, if you mess up, you can always start over the next day or the next hour, you will do fine.

I second what the others have said. You'll need to play around with what combinations of macro-nutrients work best for you, so don't get discouraged after only two days. 1500 is a perfectly adequate calorie intake for losing weight -- many people here do well with less and don't starve! So you'll be fine! It just takes some adjustment. Also, think about healthy snacks that you can have: fruit, veggies, hummus, greek yogurt, beef jerky, etc. Even gum can help if you find you constantly want something to be gnawing on, even though you're not hungry.

Hang in there and good luck!

The beauty of calorie counting is that it's remarkably flexible.

While you won't starve on 1500 calories a day, the types of foods you eat and the servings in which you eat them will have a lot to do with whether you feel like you're starving. Experiment with it a little bit. You might find, as many do, that you feel more sated if you eat three small meals and two or three small snacks. You might find, as I eventually did, that three more substantial meals suits you better. You might prefer a mixture of those--grazing some days, eating larger but less frequent meals the next.

1500 calories won't go far if you eat calorie-dense foods, but it goes decently far if you choose a lot of vegetables, fruits, and lean proteins. Last night I ate two bean tacos, a chicken enchilada, black beans, snow peas, and some blueberry yogurt for dessert; it came to 500 calories. I also ate a raspberry-almond tart at lunch; that was 350 calories all by itself (it was a planned treat, though, so I still stayed under 1500 for the day). I wouldn't get very far on four tarts a day, no matter how delicious they are; I likewise wouldn't enjoy my food very much if I lived on salad, steamed broccoli, and poached boneless skinless chicken breasts.

Calorie counting lets you choose when you want to splurge and when you want to save. You can't really do it "wrong," so just jump in and refine your dietary choices as you go along and discover what works best for you. Good luck!

Edamame
Lowfat Cottage Cheese
Veggie Burgers
45 Calories and Delightful Whole Wheat Bread
Earthgrains 100 calorie thin buns
Thomas' Light English Muffins
Extra Lean Pork Tenderloin
Kashi Golean Almond Crunch
Greek Yogurt

I could not LIVE without these things. All incredibly low-cal for the fullness you get.

?? Who am I to question outstanding progress such as yours, but I just have to ask this. How many calories do you calculate for chicken? The calorie counter I have used for years says that one ounce of grilled chicken breast has 55 calories. 8 ounces would be 440 calories for the chicken alone. Have I been under counting calories all this time? For the meal you described I would count as 535 calories. OMG Have I been cheating myself for the last 3 1/2 years? (Off to check out other calorie counters....)

4 oz grilled chicken breast is 120 calories.
No wonder you are a marvelous maintainer, Lori Bell

30 calories an ounce? YOU'RE KIDDING ME! Now what am I going to do? Do I keep counting it like I always have, or do I count it like it should be? Ugh...

Take a deep breath Lori Bell...

Okay, to Steen, the OP.

Even seasoned think they know-it-all's like myself haven't got it figured out yet. You'll do fine.

4 ounces of chicken breast is 110 calories on the package that I buy (and I weigh it raw).

8 oz chicken breast (220) + 2 LC wedges (70) + 1/2 bag broccoli (60) = 350...yum!

I want 4 ounces of chocolate for 120 calories...
But I guess that is for another thread!

I'm still perplexed...lol I am thinking that maybe there is new variety of chicken calorie "vanity sizing". ...I mean, that is a huge difference. Oh well. Sorry Steen, I don't mean to be a thread hog...

I started out eating 1800 calories a day, then after a month I dropped it down to 1700.
I lost 25 pounds in 8 months. Then I hit a plateau.
So now I eat less than 1600 calories and I am back to losing 1 pound every week.

I don't starve, but there are days I am very hungry, especially when I do too much work and exercize.

I only eat if I am hungry, so some days I eat 1300-1400 calories.

I had to cut out all snacks, ice cream and pastries. They are just too high in calories. And I never eat breaded fried foods.

I stay away from parties and buffets. If I go to a restaurant with friends I take half the food home for the next day, unless I order a really lo-cal salad.

Losing 30 pounds was easy, but it took a lot of time and dedication.
I track my food on LoseIt.com every day. It makes it a lot easier that way.

Best of luck to you!

Thanks for the wake-up call. I'm going right down to my freezer and get out my chicken breasts. Then go stock up on brocolli and cheese.

I have been eating 4 ounce salmon burgers from Trader Joe's at 180 calories each. And Angus burgers I get from a butcher. I could use a change.