When does this start working?
 

So I calculated my BMR and have been counting calories for three days now. I'm eating about 1500 calories a day. So far I feel STARVED! When will I start seeing a difference on the scale? Here is my typical menu:

*low calorie eggwhite and canadian bacon breakfast sandwich (from Aldi) 210 calories
*6 oz of raw carrots for a snack 70 calories
*lean cuisne meal for lunch 200-300 calories
*individual size of frozen veggies for lunch 80-100 calories
*lean cuisine meal for early supper 200-300 calories
*lean cuisine meal for late supper 200-300 calories
*spinach with low calorie salad dressing and parmasean cheese 100 calories


I am defiantly needing some motivation!

Before this I ate a horrible diet: lots of drive thru, carryout, condiments, red meat, candy, and pasta. I estimate that I was consuming about 3,000-4,000 calories per day. EKE!
Thanks in advance!

It takes more than 3 days that's for sure, I actually didn't weigh myself for the first 6 weeks and I lost around 17lbs (mainly water weight) I've been on this since march and I've lost almost 60 lbs it's quite a long process but it's worth it

Calculating your BMR then figuring your calories was a good start! It could be the Lean Cuisines are not a good idea, they have alot of sodium.

Thanks ladies. I'm hoping I see some sort of results by December (even if it's only a few pounds) to keep me motivated through the holidays! I will check out the sodium thing too. I never thought of that!

Are you sensitive to sodium by any chance? The frozen dinners and canadian bacon have a lot of salt in them and might be making you retain water.

Yes, the sodium in the Lean Cuisines might be masking some of your progress, but definitely 3 days is not that much time. Hang in there! It's SO worth it!

Lots of water too! At first lean quisines are very convienet but as you move
Forward in your journey you will learn the best way for you to get the most for your calories

So not to sound stupid, but I am confused. If sodium makes people retain water, will increasing the amount of water I drink make me retain MORE sodium?

The water will actually help you flush out some of that sodium.

Congrats on getting started! It's impossible to say when you will start seeing results as it differs for everyone but not likely in three days.

I also agree about trying to cut out the Lean Cuisines -- you can cook fresh veggies very quickly in the microwave. But it does take a bit of time to get our eating plan worked out, and you have just started; you will no doubt improve things as you go along.

It is work and it takes time but yes, it is sooooooooooooooooo worth it!!! You can do it!

It definitely takes more than three days. But I also think your diet can't be helping- Lean Cuisine leaves me famished!!! If you want frozen meals, try Amy's, which are more full of protein and fiber, and keep you fuller. Other filling snacks include wasa crackers (I like light and crisp type), veggies, greek yogurt, popcorn (without all that salt and butter- I air pop it).

The key is upping your fiber, protein, and water. And for me, it's also avoiding sugar and refined sugar, which make me much more hungry.

Even with the lean cuisines, 1500 cals a day will show some loss eventually. Just keep going. I've been going for a few months, stalled out and started to lose my motivation. A week of frozen meals has helped me get back on track.

It bears noting that sodium can't make you retain enough water to mask weight loss indefinitely. Let's say you weigh 200 pounds. If you eat a lot of sodium you'll retain more water and may go up to, say, 203 pounds. But you won't keep going up and up -- there's a ceiling. So if you lose 10 pounds of fat, the scale may show 190 pounds if you don't have much sodium in your system and 193 pounds if you do.

For me, the Lean Cuisine meals wouldn't be satisfying because they're tiny (low volume) and taste a bit artificial. I find it a lot more satisfying to eat a large bowl of tuna salad with mayonnaise and lots of veggies, large tortilla pizza, very large Asian soup bowl (all homemade), etc.

In your shoes I would be concentrating on finding the foods that are the most personally satisfying, rather than putting all the focus on convenience.

F.

For me each time I am on a plan the weight loss is different. Normally I lose five pounds just in the first two weeks. But this time the weight loss was so slow! I think I lost a pound every two weeks at some point. After 2.5 months I am down just under 10 pounds. Its never been this slow before! But eventually it is coming off, that's the important part.
I do personally think you should eat at least 2000 calories a day. 1500 is just not enough and you are going to feel hungry. Personally I set a goal of 1700 day and before I was eating up to 2500 but usually 2300 so for you from 1500 to 4000 there is a huge difference and your body will just feel starved and you won't be able to handle that for long. (I'm just trying to be helpful dont take it the wrong way).

Thanks everyone I think I am going to post another thread about good low-calorie meals.

Definitely cut out the Lean Cuisines. What happens with the sodium is basically your body is working really hard to maintain a balance of sodium and water. If you eat a lot of sodium the cells of your body absorb all that salt and, as a result, must absorb a lot of water to maintain the balance so you swell up.

If you drink a lot of water now there is a lot of water in your bloodstream (outside of your cells). To achieve balance the sodium filters out of your cells and into your bloodstream and, as a result, can release a bunch of the water it was holding onto in the first place. And then your kidneys filter through everything and you pee it all out.

That's kind of sciencey, but does that make sense?

Thanks gymrat! That totally makes sense.

I find that the act of cooking food (provided I don't taste test too much!) and the anticipation of a good, healthy meal, means that the food fills me up so much more than ready meals. I'm aiming around 1500 cals and I'm struggling to eat everything on my plate, because I'm filling it up with lean protein and veggies. It only takes a few minutes more to make a delicious stirfry, than it does to nuke a frozen meal and the sense of pride I feel when I put a plate of yummy food on the table helps me counteract any bad feelings I have about my weight.

^That's my experience, too. When I first started I just tried to fit meals, froen or otherwise, into my budget. Now I make my own food so as to control every ingredient and make every calorie and bite count. Cooking keeps me from just eating the first and often worst thing I see, and it also makes me feel fuller automatically, having put the time into it. It's weird, but it works!

re:
 

I ate a LOT of lean cuisines. I still eat the pizza ones from time to time. I liked them because they taught me about correct portion sizes. Now I can pretty much eyeball anything and know what the correct size should be. Are they the best nutrition, probably not. If that's what ends up working for you, great. No matter what you do, it has to be sustainable.

I'd give it at least a week or two before you start seeing results. You're probably still losing water weight from all the food you ate before starting.

The first few weeks are the hardest. It did get better for me though and I was much less hungry as time went on. Just don't give up and I swear it will get better! :)

Thank you for pointing this out.

The issue of sodium in food masking weight loss is not so much of a huge concern so long as you you are eating less food than you are burning.

Even if your water retention has gone up, your body composition will have to be changing as your body has to find a way to fuel its energy needs.

I think people get way to hung up on sodium!

It's calories in vs calories out at the end of the day and that is the only thing which is going to change fat stores!

G!

xx

I've lost weight eating lean cuisines ... and if sodium is an issue you can choose ones that have slightly less and depending on what else you eat during the day you can stay within the RDA's for sodium...

I eat in the 1200 to 1500 calorie range when I'm trying to lose... So I try and keep the sodium content of my meals in the 400 to 500 mg range and that keeps me in the ballpark for the day for salt...

That being said... I did get bored pretty quickly and I knew that it wasn't a long term solution for me... But definitely helpful in the short term for me to get a grip on staying on track to stay within my daily calorie target...

Thanks guys!

Replace some of those lean cuisines with lean turkey breast, chicken breast, lean pork etc and fill up on green leafy veggies, cucumber, tomatoes, etc etc. I've tried to eliminate processed carbs and I find that I'm pretty full throughout the day on 1300-1600 calories! Just give it time. even if you don't see results yet in the mirror, I GUARANTEE if you stick with it for a couple of weeks you won't be disappointed. what's the worst that could happen? you try a couple of weeks and don't get the results you want? it's just a couple weeks:) but I promise that won't happen, just stick with it & have faith. weight loss is a long journey! I believe in you!!!

:) :)

I know it's old-school, but drink a large (20 oz) glass of water before your meal.

You are doing great for your first week. It's totally overwhelming to go from not paying attention to calories/nutrition to suddenly logging calories in excruciating detail. The Lean Cuisines are fine for now. When you have time, one meal at a time, work on "real" food replacements for the packaged meals.

If you are hungry, truly hungry, and you are at your max calories - eat vegetables (dark green, preferably, but anything as long as it's not starchy). If that isn't appealing, then you aren't truly hungry. I drank a lot of tea and chewed a lot of gum at the beginning.

You can do this. You ARE doing this.

Interesting info on the Lean Cuisines. I've actually been alternating between salads and Lean Cuisine-type meals for lunches at work. I add about 1.5 cups of frozen veggies to them which helps to make them filling. There is always plenty of sauce to cover the veggies in the meal. With the frozen meal/frozen veggie strategy, my lunches usually come out around 400 calories, which is conveniently keeping me within my calorie limit. I'm definitely losing, but the sodium might help explain why I seem to be retaining water sometimes. Looks like I've got some research to do. Thanks for the alternative ideas everyone!

I know it's frustrating to not see immediate results for your hard work, but if you are accurate in your calorie count, you WILL lose weight. It may not be immediate, but you will eventually lose weight!

You also start learning about what foods will satiate you and what foods won't. Lean Cusines are great for learning about portion control, but they won't fill you up all that much. In your other thread I mentioned grilling up chicken—lean protein is great for making something filling without making it high in calories if it's prepared correctly.

One of the things you quickly learn while calorie counting is how healthier foods are generally lower in calories and will fill you up. While you could eat a brownie and still lose weight if it's within your calories, you could probably eat a good salad for the same amount of calories and stay full for quite a while.

For example, let's take two dishes from one of my favorite restaurants (Cheesecake Factory). They always come out on the same plate:

http://i47.tinypic.com/30lcqc9.png
Fettucini Alfredo: 1832 calories!!

http://i45.tinypic.com/34fy5n7.jpg
Tuscan Chicken: 590 calories!

Look, it's the same relative amount of food, but the Tuscan chicken will leave you full for a while, while the Fettucini will probably leave you wanting more sooner...but you'll have blown a day's worth of calories. All the Tuscan chicken really is is just lean protein and veggies put together to make something yummy.

It's just something to keep in mind. Calorie counting is like a game, you have to find the foods that can fill you up but not make you go over your calorie budget :)

Also, just know that weight loss isn't linear. You can do everything "right" and still not see a loss, or even a gain. If you stick to plan though it WILL come off!

I like to show off this chart of mine, because I think it says more about weight loss than any explanation ever can. I weighed daily from May 2011 to December 2011:

http://healthplusfifty.files.wordpre...2-09-16-pm.png

As you can see my weight was all over the place! However, it went down in the end :)

Wow, the info and visuals of those Cheesecake Factory dishes were really illuminating. A good reminder to all of us about the benefits of using calories wisely.

F.

Sontaike--thanks for sharing the pictures and your weight loss graph. I've been counting calories and generally losing weight, but your insight into weight loss not being linear or predictable was so helpful. Even though I've been on plan this week, my scale won't budge down this week like I want it to. I'll be more patient. Thanks!

Check out the full plate diet or hungry-girl for lots of ideas on bulking up food with mostly fiber so that you don't get so hungry. I eat more than 50g of fiber a day now, and find it pretty easy to stick around 1600-1800 calories a day even tho a month ago I was probably eating double that on average.