My dh and I have been low-carbing on and off for the last few years and realized that it just wasn't working. We decided that we both need to just eat less and move more and decided that good old-fashioned calorie counting was what we needed to do.

We both weigh right at 300 and I am 5'3", while he is 5'8". I am unsure as to how many calories we should be eating each day in order to lose weight. Is there anyone out there who fits close to either of our profiles that could offer some advice?

For the last few days, we have been eating two egg whites, two slices whole grain bread and an apple/orange for breakfast. For lunch, a salad with 1/2 pack of luncheon meat (I know we don't need the salt), dressing, a slice of bread and a piece of fruit. Dinner is small piece of bl/sl chicken breast, green beans or salad or other veggie and a piece of fruit.

We are trying to keep it simple, yet different enough not to lose interest.

Any opinions/advice/help will be most appreciated.

Oh I'm sooo excited! We love new calorie counters! Are you using a little guide book and pencil and paper ... or what?

Hi, I like nutridiary.com. It has helped me. I am also new to calorie counting. I am still not sure that I know what I am doing but nutridiary is a good starting point. This site really helps too!! Good luck!

Duchess to 3FC.... Just to get you started you should aim for about 1600 to 1800 cals/day for you and maybe 1800 to 2000 for hubby (yea he's lucky, he gets to eat more ) ... If you lose weight if not take it down a notch 100-200 cals/day and see what happens. It really is an experiment of oneself because everyone will lose differently. As you do lose weight though, you will need less calories/day to continue losing weight.

Remember to fill up on LOTS of veggies and eat as lean and as unprocessed as possible, meaning whole foods, real foods, Lean Cuisines and such are good in a pinch but very high in sodium and, to me, not filling enough...

Drink plenty of water, this helps to keep you full and flushes the fat out...

Last but not least exercise by doing cardio and weight training...

Hope this helps and keep us posted... TTFN ...

Oh, and, I use fitday.com to keep track of my calories...

I actually think if you weigh about 300 pounds you very well may be able to lose weight on MORE than 1600-1800 calories/day. When I started calorie counting I weighed 280something and lost on 2000/day. Now at 220something I try to keep it under 1900/day, on average, but also exercise more than I did then. I agree that hubby can eat a little more than you... that extra muscle mass!

It may take a while for you to find the formula that works for you, and that may also change as you lose weight. Personally, I like to give myself more calories to work with initially and drop it gradually as I lose.