[QUOTE=cutieshirl40]Also, I try to alternate days of weight training and cardio so would this have to be adjusted?QUOTE]

IMO, I don't think your exercise schedule needs to be changed. Given that you have a fairly small weight loss (in the big picture of things ;) ) you could certainly choose to eat LESS than your maintenance cals (185x12). But, I think if you eat at that level AND continue to exercise, you'll probably see a very regular, slow drop :-) My suggestion would be to log all your calories every day--very faithfully and honestly. After a couple weeks, (and tracking your exercise too), you can decide if you should maybe drop your cals a bit if your metabolism is a little on the slow side (the Cal Queens do indicate that their formula doesn't allow for individual differences). If you're already alternating aerobic and resistance work though, my guess is you've got your system revved up.

I also find that in order to be successful..I cant just count calories because I cant stick to the calories if I eat the wrong foods..
For example if I eat really sugary chocolate..I run looking for more. Or lots of carbs I tend to overeat.

So I am using the idea of eating a protein and a small starch at each meal..with veggies at lunch and dinner..sometimes breakfast and counting the calories.
I still may have chips or something..but I make sure that I eat protein or I lose control of my eating..and eat more than I should.

So I am counting with Calorie King..and trying to eat so I can stay in control...

I have been reading this for a day or so.. and it sound fairly easy.. until I did the math. It seemed to me that the closer you get to your goal weight.. the less you lose per week. I added it up and it would take me about 4 1/2 weeks to lose 2 lbs! Is that right?

157 lbs x 12 = 1884 calories currently to maintain your weight
140 lbs x 12 = 1680 calories to consume to get to your goal of 140 lbs.

1884 - 1680 = 204 calories less per day or a total deficit of 1428 per week.

To lose one pound, you need to be in a deficit of 3500 calories. So you would be losing a little over a half pound a week. BUT.. this is not taking into account any exercising you might do. If you upped your exercising to burn an extra 1000 calories a week (or 142 calories a day), you could easily lose a pound a week.

Kimberly

Hiya guys....I've been kinda busy so I've vanished for a couple of days...I have really been trying to keep track on a daily basis if I can.....I am sorta in that uhmmmm you know stage of figuring out what is going to work for me. It is kinda funny cuz the Calorie Queens book is based on the weight I want to weigh....I would feel most comfortable at 135...that is my ideal weight I am striving for.....and I have a ways to go... So I have been keeping a journal and writing down my cals. every day... trying to stick to the 1600 and I have started working out with my kids along side of me....taebo and dancing workout videos.....I have this thing about weighing myself....Actually with all of the information I have read....one tells me...weigh yourself every morning....the other says....once a week...Calorie Queens tells you.....(heck put the scale in your gargage and forget about it) lol. What do ya'll do???? Should I just wait to feel the change in my clothes......????

I weigh everyday. And it does not make me have a hissy fit if things arent going well..it simply means no surprises. Sorry I just saw your post about Eating for Life book. I picked my up from Amazon and I love it. Just healthy recipes. The drawback to the book is it does not give nutritional info I had to find that at the site online and you are supposed to eat BETWEEN the portions its gives (the portion sizes are averaged between a man and a woman)..confusing huh..but worth it, I just love the recipes and the little pictures that show you what food products they used.

Here is what I am currently doing. Recording my 1600 calories at Calorie King an online diet site that charges $39 per year. If you sign up please use my name there "fitbabe" and I get a free month. Also use the code New Year for $10 off. Anyway its pretty inexpensive and renewals run $19.00 for 15 months..so it does the calorie work for me. I just plug it in. There is also a wonderful community there. Generally I try to stick to 1500 and bank the extra for the weekend. Its so much easier to stick to 1500 than it is to lo calorie 1200 type diets. I love Calorie Queens..they opened my eyes!

So I am adding my calories and for exercise I am doing the Body for Life for woman plan cus its doable. I bought a space saver weight bench for $89 off Amazon (free shipping) and use weights for upper body..rotate with cardio and use Tamilee webbs buns tape ...
Very very doable. About 30 minutes of weights and rotate with 30 minutes of cardio the next day.


Also I make sure I eat adequate protein or I will lose control simple as that.

I personally think it depends on how much you invest in that number and what that number does to you emotions and determination. I weigh myself every morning but I want to know my body and how it works. I want to see those fluctuations (I'm a statistics person and analyzer). For me, I don't have a clue what I want that end number to be or what it should be. I don't agree with BMI charts so we'll just have to see. However, I have fallen in-love with the calorie queens plan. Since reading their book I've removed my tracker from my signature simply because I don't care what that end number will be. I just know that where I am now is not "it". I'm aiming low and firing away.:carrot:

All hail the Calorie Queens! :D

I am curious, how did you decide what to base your daily calories on Carrie..if you dont know your goal?

Before I gained my weight (I gained due to a medication), I was 140-145. Now, that was a flabby, no exercise/untoned 140-145. However, I liked myself (I wore a size 8/10) - I didn't consider myself overweight - just outta shape. The BMI says I should have lost about 15-20 pounds at that weight. I'm 5'0". If I had lost that much weight, I would look like Dolly Parton. I LOVE Dolly but I don't think her extremely top heavy figure is the figure for me even though I'm top heavy. I prefer a more balanced look for myself. So, I'm just going for what I was before the me I am now but I'm working on that "outta shape" part. For now I'm using 135 because the book is based on it. :)

checking in
 

Questions about the scale are timely! I weighed myself this am; and if anything I'm up a bit :( . So, this is a point in other programs where I would say "why bother?", especially if I've been giving up some particular food group, or doing some other "diet". But, I know I will lose weight if I continue to eat this way - because I'm definitely eating less than I was before. And, I got back to the gym this week.

It's still a challenge. I'm trying to change from all or nothing thinking. This week I've been great with exercise and eating good foods; but I'm eating a little too much. I need to work on keeping written track of food - I really don't like to write down what I eat. So I'll try to work on that for the next few days (and hopefully not fall behind on some of the other good habits, like the gym :D )

Does anyone think we should start a new thread - just for people who are following Calorie Queens? Maybe we could add to our list things to motivate us a goal to be one of the most successful threads on this forum - and attract other chicks the Calorie Queen approach!

I weigh pretty regularly, but my "official" weigh-in is Sunday morning. Now...if you're a working lady (away from the home) I have to say....a Sat or Sun morning weigh-in is the way to go. You sleep in a bit later and you have time to let your body....uh....do it's thing and uh....empty out completely ;) If I hop on the scale on a workweek morning when I'm in a rush and headed out the door quickly I am almost ALWAYS higher than my weekend morning weighs. For me personally, Sunday is good because I can push water much more on Saturdays and flush my system out. I just get tired of traipsing past the receptionist's desk for yet another trip to the bathroom if I'm drinking a LOT of water M-F (my kidneys are really efficient and my bladder--not that spacious ;) )

Aimee--yes, the rate of change you see on the scale is going to slow as you approach goal on the Calorie Queens plan. But....you could choose to lower your cals a bit or increase exercise. I think the point they are trying to make though is that this is not a "go on it, then off it when you hit goal weight diet plan"--this is about LIFE. So....if it takes a few extra months, maybe you have to think about why you might be in a rush for those last few pounds. From the perspective of someone with 100+ pounds to lose, I'm not going to sit around and bite my fingernails during those last 10 pounds. Since you are starting with a much lower total weight loss needed, maybe it's more important for you to get the scale down to goal weight and maintain....if so, then just adapt to fit your lifestyle, needs, etc. :)

Save.... I want to make sure I can find this board later when I can read everything! Looks interesting! But I don't have time to read it now.

Short Intro: I am a WW member. And in 14 weeks I have only lost 3 pounds. What a freaking joke! I am starting to believe that even when you follow the WW plan... it does not truely work. :( At least it does not work for someone who don't eat. They need to make a diet for people who do not like to eat. Maybe the book you discussed here will help! :) I am going to call my library and see if they have it. I doubt it, but I am going to try... if not... maybe I can order a copy too.

BBL.... sorry for interupting so rudely. I just wanted to make sure I found this later so I could read all of the posts. :)

Thank you so much for starting this thread!

I've read only a few of the posts on page 1 of this thread, but immediately, I knew this way of eating was for me. So much so that I went out on my lunch hour and bought the book.

I agree I've failed miserably on every other diet under the sun, either because I was starving, or couldn't deal with the restriction of eating off lists (South Beach, Core, etc.).

I think I could have been successful on WW flexpoints, but like one poster pointed out, their points range is too low and leaves you starving.

The only success I've ever had in my life with weight loss was about three years ago after I bought the book Volumetrics. I don't care for Volumetrics per sey, but there was one paragraph in the book that talked about a weight loss plan a Dr. Weinsier had created where you eat as much fresh fruit and veg as you want and count the calories for more calorie dense foods. This really appealed to me and I allowed myself up to 1500 cals a day, not counting any unsweetened fruit or veg I was eating (so the calories were really more). I was never hungry and lost weight easily on this. Unfortunately I'm a stress eater and when a personal tragedy happened in my life I went off my plan. I have since learned from that experience to deal with stress differently!

Anyway, I do believe that counting calories, yet eating enough to feel satisfied, is important for weight loss. Most calorie counting plans leave you starving.

I am going back on the plan that gave me so much success, and I'm going to start reading the Calorie Queens book as well. I thumbed through it in the bookstore, and just fell in love with it. Down to earth, basic advice, with no scientific mumbo jumbo.

Thank you for starting this thread.

Hi. I'm new here and find this thread very helpful. I'm a detail person, a list maker and counting calories has just always made the most sense to me.
Could you please post a specific link to this book? I'm finding it for sale all over the place with short blurbs about it. But no real quotes from the book or from the authors. Thanks very much. Bi.

Bifocals, try logging into caloriequeens.com for some info. The authors have a website, parts of which still appear to be under construction.

I would go onto amazon.com and search for the book. There are some positive book reviews and a full description of the book. Just type in the title under book search, and it will lead you right to the book. Make sure you go into the paperback, the hardcover is no longer being published.

Hope this helped!

Yay! The Cuisine section used to say "Coming November 2005". Now it says "Coming February 2006" :D Hopefully that means they are actually going to get that part of the site up and running.

Wormtown...I did ask for a special forum just for Calorie Queens...Suzanne said they would consider it. If you and every one else would write her, then she could share that with those that determine the forums as it would indicate a LOT of interest. BTW you are so right..if you blow it one day..then with this plan you just get back on track. Also Kimmykat started a caloriequeens yahoo group.

Joycelyn..I dont think there ever was a hard cover copy of CQ..think its a typo. I also read and enjoyed Volumetrics..but it didnt quite kick in the way this book has.
I felt the same way you did about the book. I am loathe to buy diet books..but the minute I picked this one up and skimmed it, I knew my life had changed! That simple.

I just read for fun (and cus my library had it) How the Rich Get Thin ..talk about a stupid low calorie diet. BUT it did have a trick to help you over the eating hump. It suggested getting a stopwatch and setting it for 15 minutes. Then when the craving hits..drink a big glass of water and eat some protein and ride the wave till the craving is over.

The way I see it..if I cant stick to 1600 cals I wont on any plan and wont be able to be at that weight..so this has really put it in perspective for me.
The only caveat is..they should have talked more about emotional eating and also the importance of protein.

Anyway I LOOOOOOOVVVVVE the book and it has changed my life.

I am reading Calorie Queens and simply cannot put it down.

I just love it. It's telling me what I already and also instinctively knew about "calories in, calories out" before I fell for the exciting mystique of every new diet under the sun.

Like I said before, I'm eating 1500 baseline calories with unlimited (no counting) use of fresh fruits and vegetables. This was a plan that worked very successfully for me before and something I can do again and live with forever. I got this idea from something I read in Volumetrics, and then later from the Mayo Clinic food pyramid.

In fact, I just grabbed, off the magazine stands in my local supermarket, a wonderful magazine called The Mayo Clinic Plan, explaining their nutritional concepts. Actually, it's worth it for their interesting food pyramid alone (quite different from the USDA food pyramid). The small print says it will be on newstands until 3/27/06, and while I'm not on THEIR plan, I do incorporate some stuff I learned from their plan. Actually I'm on my own plan, just like the Calorie Queens are on THEIR own plan. But we can keep learning from everything.

It's very freeing to eat normally and be able to lose as well. Counting calories bothers me less than following the South Beach or Core food lists did, or looking up calories, fat and fiber to find out what a WW Flex point was, or eating only low carb foods. It was very humbling to finally admit to myself that counting calories was and is the easiest of them all. I mean counting calories isn't sexy, and if your attitude is bad it can be boring...but it works!

I plan on signing up for calorieking in the near future and slimcharm, I'll let you know when I do, so you can get your free extra month.

Just use my name when you sign up at calorie king "fitbabe"..
However, if you sign up in January and use the code NEWYEAR you get $10 off..its a super site. I just signed up for another 15 months ...renewals are even cheaper.
I am also exercising and keeping it simple.

Has anyone made anything from the recipes? What was it and how did it taste?

I loaned my book to my mom and I miss it terribly. :cry:

You know I have not made any recipes yet. The book was such a revelation..ie If I cant stick to 1600 cals..well I aint gonna be the weight I want to be..that I never even looked at them.
The book is under 10 bucks on Amazon...grab another copy!

She's not that far from me. I just miss not having it at my reach. She said she would read it this weekend and get it back to me. I actually shouldn't complain - she just took her last test for her bachelor's degree. She had children young, stayed at home until all her children were on their own and then went and got her college degree - I guess the least I can do is wait a few days for her to finish it. :D

Also, I saw a breakfast that included a bagel. I LOVE bagels but I've stayed away from them because I haven't found one with low enough calories to feel good about. However, they showed a calorie level I've yet to see (less than 200). Does anyone know a brand that has that low of a calorie level. I guess I could use just half a bagel.

130 cal bagel
 

YES on the bagel! I just discovered these 2 weeks ago when I had a longish day at the grocery store and was reading a lot of labels (otherwise, you might not notice this since it doesn't scream "low cal" on the wrapper name).

It's SaraLee and they're called "Delightful 100% Whole Wheat" bagels. Oh, actually it does say 130 cals there, but it wasn't displayed standing up at my grocer. They have 7 grams of fiber, and 1 g fat (0 sat).

They're sort of "fluffy" compared to regular bagels, but they work for me! I like an occasional splurge with one toasted with that fake butter and parmesan cheese (under the broiler). Very good.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!:hug: SaraLee IS a common brand around here. Oh, I'm going to the store tomorrow!!! :cb:

checking in
 

HI. How is everybody doing?

I sent an e-mail to the Calorie Queens - Diane and Jackie. They responded the same day. It was so nice. Unfortunately, I deleted it. But, they (not sure if it was Diane or Jackie that responded) said they have checked out our thread :cool: .

I really think they are great. I think they are really just trying to help people. Slimcharm: I think you wrote earlier in the thread that Jackie and Diane had problems getting the book published because there is no gimmick....I keep thinking about that.

For the last hour I've been listening to a program on NPR about increasing levels of obesity in this country. It is really scary and sad. I really think that overall, all these different diet plans are contributing to our nation getting fatter. Many promote the idea of eating all you want of certain types of food; instead of overall calorie/portion control. There's a part in the book where Jackie goes thru sample menus in several of the diet books (Low carb, High carb, whatever) and they all average about 1400 cal/day. So that's really the reason that folks are losing.

Let's try to make this a really successful thread (slow and steady) so we can show that the Calorie Queens approach is a great one.

I got my bagels today :D I can't wait until in the morning! :D

New here...
 

I just joined the 3FC group last week and saw this thread this morning and went to my Barnes and Noble and bought it this afternoon!!! I have skimmed/read most of it and it is great!!! What a concept!! How easy... I always thought I had to eat 1000 or less to lose.... my dream weight is 120 so that equaled 1440 cals... I can actually eat more!! Of course I lost weight pretty quick only eating 1000-1200 a day but I am definetely interested to see how this works!!! THANKS LADIES!!!!!!!!!!!! :carrot:


I thought I saw a post where someone had a yahoo group going as well? Any info available on that???

Cool! Glad you joined us...let us know how it goes. I actually went way overboard this past week..well beyond my 1600 cals..but there was no temptation to try "another diet"....I just had to accept I was not eating properly if I wanted to achieve my goal.
really eliminates the diet wars..you either do or you don't!

I emailed the Calorie Queens on their website and got back a nice reply.

They only have someone working on their website on the weekends, so it's a slow process. However, they WILL have a message forum, and I'm looking forward to that.

They are probably very busy - if you read the book you know they do eucaloric cooking for their church group, and they're also involved in hospital work, bringing eucalorics to the public. Also in their book they said they ALREADY had a deadline from their publisher to update the present book, so I imagine they only have time to breathe.

I have upped my baseline calories to 1600, from 1500 cals, since my goal weight is 140 lbs. I don't count fruits or low starch veg like the Calorie Queens do, so it will be interesting to see where this takes me.

2028 Cal a day?
 

OK, I totally believe in the calorie counting as the only way to lose weight. I was able to loose 80 lbs about 15 years ago through calorie counting and exercise. Then I got a desk job and work and life took over and I gained it all back and then some. I have tried WW, Atkins, South Beach, etc., etc., and of course, they don't work for me, so I am back to what I know works. I will admit, I haven't read this book but with my goal weight being 169, that means I can have 2028 cal a day....that seems like allot. I'm doing this with a friend and we have decided to target 1200 - 1500 a day. We are getting plenty to eat...does this mean we should drop lbs quicker?

Again, I am a total believer in the calorie count and I'm actually excited that I have made the decision to start doing the weight loss "thing" for me.

Hi BetterDays--yes, of course you'll lose faster if you eat less. If you back up on the thread to about page 4, I set out the math. From a calorie counting perspective, every deficit of 3500 calories equals one pound of weight lost. The Calorie queens approach is focused on the long term though which is why you start with more calories--because those are your MAINTENANCE calories.

You know ladies--if we can get a forum for CQ, we really need a sticky that sets out all the basic info of what the program is about--these questions keep popping up in various threads when CQ is mentioned :)

I really like the idea of counting my MAINTENANCE calories. I've accepted that this is the way I'll have to eat for the rest of my life, and really, it's no great deprivation. What I do is I bank calories, if needed, so I if I eat fewer one day, I can eat more the next. This really works for me, and I allow myself to bank calories in weekly allotments.

If I start exercising, I can eat even MORE calories. This is something I can really live with! I am slowly losing weight and there's no deprivation. The Calorie Queens are geniuses!

Aren't they? Sometimes the simplest answer is the hardest to find. :)

Sorry...didn't intend to be repetitious, or sound stupid....after reading the entire thread, I just couldn't believe what I was reading.

Nope, you didn't BetterDays :) Actually, your email just made me realize though that having a sticky for Calorie Queens is about in order (if we get permission to have our own forum instead of a long-running thread) since I've seen similar questions popping up every time there's discussion of the book.

Ah! I see you're in Seattle :) Seahawk weekend!

Betterdays..you are really not doing the Calorie Queens plan if you go so low calorie. Nothing wrong with going lo cal..if it works for you as it has in the past. But the reason many of us are doing CQ is because lo cal did not work for us..so we are eating our maintenance cals..or a BIT less and banking some. (which is what I try to do)..going lo cal just defeats the CQ purpose..ie not that its not right for you!..its just not what the book is about.

Another thing is we know the CQ queens are busy dealing out CQ meals..that is great that they do that..but in a way its almost like Jenny Craig EXCEPT with maintenance calories (and probably less faux food)..nothing wrong with that..wish I had CQ here..

I made the glazed carrots from the recipe in the book and they were GREAT! :carrot: My husband LOVES the glazed baby carrots that they serve at the Holiday Inn. Since it is just the two of us, I was going make half a bag but then decided to just make the whole 1 lb. bag. We ate them ALL! I'm not even a cooked carrot fan.

Glazed Carrots
Source: Calorie Queens, pg. 172

Servings: 6

1 pound baby carrots
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch black pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the carrots for 10-12 minutes, until tender. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. In a nonstick skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir together the sugar and cooking liquid. Add to the pan and bring to a boil. Add the carrots, salt, and pepper. Cook until most of the liquid evaporates and a glaze coats the carrots.

Serving size: 1/2 cup
Calories: 60
Fat: 2.5 g

I just put this into Mastercook and it figured the calories to be 62 and the fat to be 2. Not much of a difference.

checking in
 

Kimberly..that sounds good! I had every intention of trying at least one recipe this weekend, but never got around to it.

I'm definitely eating better than before I found this book; and I had an NSV this weekend - got into a pair of pants I haven't been able to wear for a while :). But, I'm quite sure I ate more than my "eucaloric" level this weekend. I didn't journal. I have to work on that.

I did make it to the gym before work today. And, it's snowing! So , yay for me.

YAY! I lost five pounds this week!! :carrot:

Our TOPS meeting is at 10:30 (weigh-in starts at 10:00) on Tuesdays. So.. I arrived at the church at 10:00 and no one was there! I went to the church office and found out that when the local school is cancelled due to the weather, then the TOPS meeting doesn't meet. (We are having a blizzard right now.) I asked if it was okay if I used the official TOPS scale to see how I did this past week. Yep, that was okay. I hopped on and set it to what my starting weight was last week... and then I kept moving the little slider thing. FIVE POUNDS! Yeah!! Oh, and when I got home I had a message on the answering machine from one of the members telling me the meeting was cancelled. :)

What's funny is that I weighed myself this morning wearing just my pj's and my digital scale also said I weighed what I weighed on the TOPS scale. I was kind of disappointed with my morning weigh-in because I figured that once I put on my regular clothes then the loss wouldn't be as much. But.. I didn't have anything to drink or eat AND I used the bathroom a couple of times. Woo-hoo!!

One good thing is that I don't think there is much of the "water weight" syndrome going on because I didn't up my water intake any this past week. I just made sure to track all of my food intake in BalanceLog. I am still wearing that cami-walker for the fractured bone in my foot, so exercise isn't something I'm doing right now. I'm hoping that next Tuesday I get the orthotics for my shoes and get to ditch the boot. I miss walking on the treadmill.

Anyhow... YAY!!

Kimberly

I used to use Balancelog..in fact I started (and later quit) the yahoo group for BL. I switched to Calorie King cus of the support and also I liked it better..but BL is cool, did you get your metabolism checked with that breathing thingy they have (cant recall name)

Sounds like you are doing fantastic Kimberly!

I have to admit I have not been tracking..am having a lot of pure excitement going on here and nervous energy so I have lost a little...!!!!