So you're looking to figure out how many calories you should have a day???
Well, I think what you need to do is figure out your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). I'm going to post a link here: http://www.hussman.com/eas/#calories
This is part of a rather lengthy (but VERY informative regarding Body for Life) article - the BMR calculator is in the section link above. Just scroll down until you get to where it says "Click HERE to Calculate your BMR" and you'll be tossed into a JavaScript page. I would suggest reading at least that section of this webpage as well - a lot of great info there!
Later you guys! You can always catch me on the BFL boards with Susanje!!!
There are two pretty good tools at ivillage that don't require you to know your body fat.
Try http://www.ivillage.com/diet/tools/healthcalc/ and click on daily caloric requirement. This will tell you how much you need to eat to maintain. (I find that this is a little over for me.)
Hi everyone! I've been lurking here for a while and I think I posted something weeks ago, but I'm back this time on a regular basis. After floundering around with my weight loss efforts, I am really here to do it this time. I keep going back and forth from sensible ol/ calorie counting to very low carb/high protein plans and I just can't stick to low carb diets. In a nutshell, I haven't lost anything because I have this strange mindset that if I'm not in "diet" mode, I'm in "stuff-your-face-with-everything-you-see-before-you-go-on-a-diet-again" mode.
Anyhow, I am going to set my calorie limit to no more than 1,400 and no less than 1,200. I am really fond of Slim Fast shakes and bars so I think I will use them often.
I am happy to be here and have learned a lot from just reading all of your posts! Keep 'em coming!
Thanks for your help. I am 178 lbs and 5'7. I'm going to start at 1400 and see what happens. My problem is that some days I don't feel like eating all of that and some I will be hungrier. I'm going to try and listen to my body and take it from there.
Actually, I've been having problems with my jaw (I think my wisdom teeth need to be pulled) anyway, I can hardly open my mouth. It's Slimfast through a straw today. Maybe that will be a good jumpstart.
My entire flirt with slimfast consisted of buying a box of peanut crunch bars and eating all 6 of them in two days. They are fortified butterfingers. They are now x'd off as a danger food that I do not purchase.
Morrigan,
Funny you should mention that. I had it for Breakfast and proceeded to binge for the whole morningk. That didn't get me very far. I did go on the Slimfast website (I have been trying to find one for calorie suggestions for my height and weight) anyway, you can enter your weight and it tells you how many calories you need to eat to lose 1 and 2 lbs. At my current weight it said I should start with 1670 for a two pound loss a week. I workout 5 days a week so I'm going to stick with that being my top range and see what happens. I know that it doesn't take exercise in to consideration so we'll see.
By the way, thanks for all of your advice. It's nice to have some support when trying something you are unsure of.
Hi all. I realized I haven't been here in weeks! I'm still counting calories and exercising and doing very well. Well, I didn't exercise for about a week there, because I was on a medication that was making me nauseous. But I'm back on track with that too. I finally made it under 200 pounds and am estatic. I have lost 36 pounds so far, but still refuse to buy new clothes. First of all, I don't like to shop. Second, I don't want to buy something I am only going to wear a short period of time. I may try a thrift shop so I don't have to pay a fortune for "new" clothes.
Anyway, I just wanted to stop by and say hi. I hope everyone is doing well!
You are doing so swesome! It seems like those numbers just keep going down, down, and down every week! How long has it taken to lose the weight you've lost so far? It seems like it has happened very quickly!! I emailed you about your weight loss plan and even visited the Food Log page at FitDay.com that you directed me to, but it's not functioning anymore!
Thanks for the kind words. I started "Learning how to eat again" on April 23rd. I just started by cutting out sausage biscuit (sp) combos every morning and eating half of what I normally ate. Then my husband pitched in by cooking healthy meals with no added fat. We used to use one of those tubs of "butter" in a week. Now it sits in the back of the fridge and I can't remember the last time I saw it out. I cut out all soda and tea (we sweatened our tea with lots of sugar). I only drink water now.
All of that lead to counting calories. It looked like the most sensible thing to do and www.fitday.com has been a big help. I don't log my food in on the weekends but still journal on paper to remind me what I have eaten that day. I set a goal of 1400 to 1600 calories a day. I very seldom eat even 1400. I just can't eat that much anymore. The longer I do this, the more I learn. I'm sure I don't have the most balanced diet I could, but it is working, I am healthy and I am successful for the first time in my life. Here is the link to my fitday site, I hope it works: http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJ...ner=Nettie1971
Good luck to you. You can PM me or email me anytime you need to. [email protected]
I have been eating around 1700 calories a day for 2 weeks now and have hardly lost any weight (1lb in 2 weeeks). So today I am dropping the calories down to between 1200 and 1400 for the next two weeks. I'll check in in a few weeks and tell you all how the results are. I have had a few people suggest I up my activity instead - but I am still recouperating from knee surgery and I can't do anything high intensity. So since burning an extra 500 calories a day is out, I am going to cut them out. Nettie:I checked out your fit day page, what is tilapia, fish?
Morrigan: I responded to your email, too. For everyone else that is wondering, talipia fish is a very mild white fish. It is low in fat and the fat is has is the "good" fat. We love it blackened, but I'm sure it is great other ways, too. It is a farm raised fish. We had to find something else we could eat besides catfish. Which I love, but just needed a change.
I wish I could say all is going well, but it isn't. My husband accidentally broke our scales last week (I think it was devine intervention). So I don't know if I have lost any weight or not. Don't really care at this point. I am still watching what I eat, but I am unable to exercise anymore. My cardiologist made me stop exercising, put me on a medicine that makes me so tired I feel like I am moving in slow motion, AND he says I need a diffibrulator "installed". I'm still a little in shock and little in denial. I knew my heart would get worse, but not this soon. Now that the Vice President had the surgery last weekend, everyone thinks it's no big deal. Love the VP, but give me a break! There is atleast a two week driving restriction after the surgery. I guess if I could get my limo driver to take me to work, I would be ok. Opps, venting again. Anyway, no exercising is going to slow down my weight loss, but I will still get there. I'm going to try Yoga this week. It will probably be good for mind and body.
Forgive me if this is a bad read, no time to proofread and spell-check. Hope everyone has a great day!
I've been reading your posts and have decided to start counting calories. Thanks to the information I've found here I'm using dietwatch.com to keep me honest. So far so good, but it's only been a week. Anyway, it's nice to meet you all and look forward to learning more about you.
Welcome leighhop!
I have been using dietwatch for several years - but it was only a year ago that I started writing things down every day. Keeping that up can be difficult at times (like on the 4th of July I had over 4000 calories which dietwatch showed as a theoretically .580 lb gain YIKES!) However, writing things down on dietwatch is what keeps me honest about what I am eating. I also really like the green happy faces for good nutrition.
Okay, I saw my name...
how many calories to try
I started "Learning how to eat again" on April 23rd. I just started by cutting out sausage biscuit (sp) combos every morning and eating half of what I normally ate. Then my husband pitched in by cooking healthy meals with no added fat. We used to use one of those tubs of "butter" in a week. Now it sits in the back of the fridge and I can't remember the last time I saw it out. I cut out all soda and tea (we sweatened our tea with lots of sugar). I only drink water now. 
Jen...
