Help with calorie counting diet

  • I'm a nursing mama, and my husband and I both need to lose weight. I am currently at 182lbs, and he's at 335lbs. We met with a licensed dietician a few weeks ago, who told us each we should take in 2000 calories/day to lose about 2lbs a week. We haven't seen any weight loss at all, and we've been hovering about 1600-1800 calories a day. We exercise, often, and are in sports. What's wrong here?
  • Before you try to fool with your plan too much, I'd suggest that you just give it some more time. Especially for your DH, 2000 cals should be quite adequate for losing weight (that is what I'm averaging), and since you are feeding it probably isn't a good idea to go any lower.

    Instead, my suggestion would be to look toward your exercise- make sure that you are putting your "all" into your work-outs and try to add as much walking into your day as possible.

    Mainly, though, don't give up! These things take time, and unfortunately there will be times that it seems like "nothing is happening", but that is only a perception, not the reality. Eating right and exercise is a healthy lifestyle, and that healthy lifestyle will lead to a healthy weight.
  • And I'm going to suggest ....
    How do you track your calories? Are you nitpicky? Have an eagle eyed look and make sure your measuring is accurate, there's no unaccounted for extras, your food is as whole and natural as you can afford/stomach ....

    You've made a really smart choice in asking about it here at 3fc. It never hurts to let another brain mull it over with ya.
  • Thanks for your input! I was wondering if it just needed more time, or changed. We track our calories with the calorieking software, and nothing passes our lips without me putting it in. He's still 100% on working out, however I dislocated my knee on Saturday at a kung-fu tournament so have been pushed back to just push-ups and sit ups and things of that nature. It'll be another 2 weeks before I'm allowed to bend it at all, and that hampers my workout. Thanks, I'll assess again in another 3 weeks and see if anything at all has changed since we started. After 6 weeks if nothing, then maybe we need to change something.
  • You have a good head on your shoulders. I think you'll do just fine. Ouch about your knee! Sit somewhere and fling your arms around. Goofy lookin' but it ought to be good for something
  • I agree that you should not go lower than 1800-2000 calories a day while you are nursing. 1800 is the absolute MINIMUM to take in while you breastfeed, due to the calorie expendeture and nutrition that bypasses you and goes to your infant.
    My advice is to give it some time. We didn't gain our weight in two weeks, and we aren't going to lose it that quickly. For some of us, rather than seeing a steady loss of a pound a week or what have you-some of us go a few weeks with no loss, and then have a drop of 2-3 in a week, and it continues on sort of "unregular" like that throughout the experience.
    Give it some more time, challenge yourself in your workouts, and enjoy the process of getting healthier in the meantime.
  • I think you are taking in too little calories. Especially your husband. I went to a dietian who wanted me to eat 1200 calories a day, I weighed 289. I lost for 4 weeks but I could not keep up with it. I now eat between 2,000 and 2.400 calories a day. It is better to make small changes that you can keep up than big changes that you can't substain. This is just my humble opinion.
  • channing-she is at around 182 pounds, and your ticker states that you are around 249...so she is going to be at a lower calorie level than you are. 1800-2000 is a pretty good number for her, and your calorie level is good for your current weight. I, too, was at around 1800 a day when I was between 210-180 pounds.