[owlsteazombies]

Hey there! I guess I just wanted to say that I've been lurking for months and I finally got brave enough to ask for advice/support/help

I used to weigh 292 lbs. And at 5'2", I looked like a teapot. Literally. Now I love teapots! Just not on myself.

So, I made subtle changes to my diet. I cut out cooking with butter, oil. I stopped making mac and cheese once a week. I stopped using cream sauces on pasta. I changed from white pasta to garden pasta. Little things. Doing that, I lost 35lbs, which is great! But it's nowhere near where I need to be.

So, 5 days ago, I drastically cut back portion sizes. And when I say drastically, I mean I started using the recommended portion sizes. That, I'll be honest with you, has been hard. I've been starving.

I also started using myfitnesspal on my smartphone to help me track calories and activity.

I also purchased a treadmill and walked for 70 minutes..a slow 70 minutes, but I wasn't used to doing much of anything. So it's an improvement. I'll gain more speed and time as the weight goes down. I hope it goes down!

So, I guess my point is that right now I have myself on a 1000 calorie diet while walking 70-90 minutes a day on the treadmill, doing housework and playing kinect sports (the party mode, so the sports are random) for 45 minutes 5 nights a week. I walk every day and do housework every day.

breakfast looks like this, a cup of tea (unsweetened no creamer), 1 cup of special k, 1/2 cup silk vanilla almond milk

lunch is usually a lean cuisine or slim fast shake

dinner varies. But last night it was 1/2 cup of brown rice, fresh green beans 3oz, 3oz fresh carrots, both blanched in water and 1 tbsp of lite soy sauce and 10 large shrimp in siracha. Tonight will be 2 cups of romaine lettuce, a turkey burger on a wheat bun, alfalfa sprouts, lettuce, mustard, ketchup and pickles.

Is there anything more I can do? Anything I should add? Is my diet too restrictive at 1000 calories? Thanks in advance for the advice and help!

[Radiojane]

Welcome!

This is just my opinion, but only you know how many calories is too low. Watch your energy levels. Eat back your exercise calories if you have to. As for starving, learn to like veggies and eat heaping portions of the low cal ones (2 cups of cucumber? Good A bucket of spaghetti squash? Eh.... Not so good!)

Start slow, keep working and best of luck

[Misti in Seattle]

Hello and welcome

Since you asked... yes, I think you calories are too low. My doctor has advised me to never go under 1300. She also said that I will lose just as much on that as on fewer because it will slow down the proper functioning of my body. I usually try to stay around 1500-1600 and I find that works well for me because I can do that eating a lot of fruits and veggies... healthful food (personally I try to stay away from processed foods) and I am hardly ever hungry.

And if you are doing the Special K because you like it, fine... but if you are doing it because you think it is healthier than other cereals, you might want to google and check it out... mostly IMO it was just a very good marketing campaign on their part.

Congrats on your great start.. keep it up. You can do this!!

[Lakilaulea]

Welcome, owlsteazombies! Love that profile pic!! If you're counting calories and wanna know what's a good amount you should be taking in every day to lose weight, you should check out some online calorie calculators. Depending on your age, gender, height, weight, and activity level, your body automatically burns a certain amount (your BMR). Whatever exercise you do on top of this BMR will determine how much you generally burn in a day. The reason you probably feel hungry and even tired is because your body automatically burns more than 1000 calories a day and you're at a great deficit if that's all you're taking in. That's not gonna necessarily speed up your weightloss; if your body thinks it's starving, it'll burn up muscle first and save the fat, which is not what you want. Once you figure out your basic BMR, there are also calorie calculators that you can use to figure out how much calories you should be eating daily in order to lose weight. WebMD and Livestrong have some good calculators and guidelines you can look at; that's how I figured out what was a good amount for me.

You should also have more rounded meals. Try having at least one serving of fruit and/or veggies with every meal. It'll help fill you up, give you energy, and give your body much needed nutrients. And most fruits and veggies are very low calorie, so you can safely load up on them. If you can, eat more veggies than fruit, especially leafy green veggies. Fruits are good too; but I usually only eat them for breakfast and as a mid-morning snack, as they do contain sugar and carbs. I stay away from processed foods as much as I can, but that's just my personal preference. It's really been working for me---I've tried SlimFast diets, SpecialK, eDiets, and Nutrisystem, plus a few doctor monitored shake diets, but they always left me feeling hungry, weak, and most tasted awful. This is the first time I'm not following a diet; just eating more fruits and veggies and "normal sized" portions, and I've not only been able to stick to it, I feel better emotionally and physically as well.

You're off to a great start and I think I've seen you in a few challenges here I'm also competing in. Those are great; they've really helped to keep me motivated and accountable. Goodluck and I can't wait to see your progress!!

[NicksAutieMom]

Hello and welcome,

I'm new as well and you've gotten some excellent advice. I agree with the advice that you've received. I learned on WW that the best thing to do is 3 small meals with 2 small snacks in between. Like another poster said if your body thinks it's starving it will store the fat. Some of my favorite snacks are the 100 calorie packs w/fruit, laughing cow cheese w/small crackers, fruit salad and things like that. It also helps so you don't feel hungry all day, I am the type of person I can't walk around feeling hungry all day, I get grumpy {my 6 yo is the same way!} so I balance things out to make it easier to achieve.
The subtle changes that you made in the beginning is a great way to start! Looking forward to getting to know you!

[penmage]

Hi there! I can't add anything to the advice you've been given, but I figured I'd come say hi anyway. Welcome to 3FC!

[abbyrei]

Hi, owlsteazombies!

Lakilaulea is absolutely right about the 1000 calorie cap--definitely not the way to go! Just by resting, you're burning ~2000 calories, depending on what Basal Metabolic Rate calculator you're using. You're pretty active, so make sure you nourish your body and avoid starvation mode!

If you feel like you're still starving after increasing your calories, include some snacks in between. Also, Smart Ones TV dinners are pretty good, if you want something different from Lean Cuisine. They have pretty decent portion sizes with ~300 calories. I have an obsession with Italian food, and their Italian meals make me weak in the knees--especially the lasagna!