Ok, so I've been seriously calorie counting for the past 2 weeks. I started by being very diligent in my Fitday records (I use FitdayPC). I did an honest analysis of my Calories Burned. I record all my additional activities. To be on the safe side, I don't record my attempts at 10,000 steps. I look at those as bonus activity. If I'm in doubt, I try to underestimate my Calories Burned.

I've also been brutally honest in recording my Calories Consumed. I know I chew a lot of gum. I figured out what I average in a day and I dutifully record that number every day. Some days, yes, I may go over, some days under. Point is, it's in there on Fitday.

I record the coffee. The occasional sweet. I even recorded the "tastes" of the chicken soup I made yesterday and the sliver of cake I had on Friday (ok, and the one yesterday, too). If in doubt, I try to overestimate my Calories Consumed.

I've been aiming for deficits of about 1,000 on weekday days and 500 on weekend days. My actuals have been pretty much right on those numbers.

So, it's been two solid weeks like this. I went back and did some analysis this morning, with my two weeks of data.

Holy cow, if it didn't work out! Bottom line, my average deficit over the two week period was 933 per day (averaging weekend and weekday info).

933 average deficit x 14 days = 13,062 calories.

13,062 calories divided by 3,500 (calories in a pound) = 3.75 pounds.

In the 2 weeks since I've been recording, my weight loss was... 4 pounds.

I was astounded.

I've been eating this way probably since about the beginning of February, but wasn't as diligent about recording because I was just learning. Just for a chuckle, I figured my average deficit for the 25 days (Feb 1 - Feb 25) was probably close to the 933 number.

933 x 25 days = 23,325... divided by 3,500 = 6.67 pounds.

Actual weight loss since Feb 1... 6.50 pounds.

Is this scary or what?

Sorry this is so long and probably way more info than you would want to hear, but I'm so darned giddy about this! First time in my life I've actually been giddy about a weight management method! And blieve me, I've tried a lot of them!

I think this one's a keeper!

Oh, I know there are a lot of folks here who don't like/ don't trust Fitday, especially for it's Activities or Daily-Life calculations. To be on the safe side, I did RMRs at 6 different places, including Fitday and here, and they were all within about 100 calories of one another. Since it's really all just an aproximation anyway (who *really* knows exactly how many calories are burned), I'm going to stick with the Fitday ones.

So far, it's working for me.

I love fitday PC, sometimes I let it drive me nuts, but I find that knowing not only calories, but the percents of Fats, Carbs and Protein is very helpful. Plus I love to know if I am getting enough nutrients.

I too have found that by being brutally honest I lose much more (go figure), it's funny sometimes that it takes something so seemingly simple to have a breakthrough.

Great job! Very inspiring.

Good for you Lena! I love it when the numbers work out all right.

I, too, love FitDayPC, but it sometimes tells me that I eat too much! I can count on it always being honest, however. ;-)

He-he!! I love how counting calories in vs. calories out WORKS!!! I don't use FitDay - but Nutridiary.com is a similar program. It's almost always right on for me too. And that odd week when I lose 3 pounds on the scale after ND says I should have only lost 2 usually cycles around the following week and I lose a little under what I "should" have. It's fun seeing the numbers!

Like Nori, I use nutridiary, and like many of you, I find it to be reasonably accurate with regard to these issues. I personally don't care if it's not perfect. I set my lifestyle at one above sedentary and only record my "serious" activity (I thought I should do it more for tracking purposes).

Over the last 10 weeks, nutridiary says I should have lost 14.5 pounds, and in actuality, I have lost 15! I never expected it to be even close to that accurate for me!

Now, I'm sure that other people have different experiences -- if you don't have the kind of metabolism it assumes, you would be off. But for me it has been great!

I personally do not use fitday or the nurti thinger...but i count my calories on my own...and going back and looking i have been able to see results. I get some really inspiring ideas from you lovely gals. I am trying to keep a diet journal for me and my mom...my mom is busy lady so i cook her meals...and count the calories for her. So far in two weeks she's lost 6 pounds! She doesn't do much exercise so...i am going to try to make her do it...starting this march. I just find it really great that there are other cc girls, to me cc is the best because it doesn't deprive you of much...you just have to decipher the goods and the bads. so yea...those are my two cents.

Bump worthy.