[curlylocks]

Ok heres a question which may have been answered before... but i would like to hear from those who have made this journey..

When i calculate my needed calories for day and subtract for the weight loss i come up with somewhere around 2500 calories (give or take) OK

I eat a healthy breakfast ( i rotate maybe 4 different ones: A. 2 boiled eggs, b. oatmeal, C. whole wheat waffles w/ canadian bacon or turkey bacon, d. omlet with turkey bacon

Lunch: usually a salad with some type of protein added (chicken, tuna,) or a whole wheat pita with pizza toppings and ff cheese

dinner: is usually a meat & a vegetable

snacks: usually carb sense ice cream (5 carbs 170 calories) or a low carb fruit, or a protein shake

i drink probably @ a gallon of water a day... just cuz i dont drink sodas or juice anymore

also exercise quite a bit i do curves 3x a week and walk on the days i dont do curves usually 3 miles 3x a week

NOW after all that info ... a lot of days i am only averaging @ 1200 calories... HOWever i am satisfied and not hungry..

but i am losing slower than i was before... So is it better to eat to fullness or should i make myself eat more food to make the 2500 level?

[srmb60]

How long have you been doing this ... eating 1200 cals I mean?

[curlylocks]

probably since last march when i started watching what i eat.. i never was an over eater of "regular foods" my demon was hostess cakes... candy.. etc and eating bad carbs.. i ate a lot of pasta based dinners..

oh and i do take vitamin supplements also

[srmb60]

So, you're actually eating only 1200 cals or that's what's left after you exercise?

[curlylocks]

thats my food intake not deducting the exercise

[srmb60]

I should read more carefully! Good Heavens Woman! You've lost over fifty pounds! There is no doubt you're doing something right!

[curlylocks]

lol.. ive been told tho that i am not gettin enuff calories.. i dont know .. shoot i feel like if u are full and u only have 1200 calories for the day it makes no sense to stuff in more food just so u can meet the recommended 2500 calories ... if u are eating balanced meals that just happen to work out to fewer calories...

[srmb60]

No I don't believe in stuffing yourself either. The only suggestion I have is to 'real' up your foods a bit. Find some more whole, natural things instead of some of the processed things you're having.

I have a friend who thinks she's kind of out grown Curves. She's trying some heavier weight type things because she feels she needs more of a challenge. What do you think of that idea?

[Kelly_S]

After having taken lots of courses in nutrition and reading a lot on Basal Metabolic Rate I feel you are probably eating too low. 1200 is the bare minimum a woman should eat a day because that is what it takes to get in the nutritional requirements a person needs.

W/W (which is what I do) took this concept and came up with a bare minimum caloric intake for the day based on weight (the heavier you are the more you need to eat to sustain your body from thinking it is in starvation mode) plus a maximum for the week (which they allow us to spread out through out the week) and additional when we are more active.

So yes you may not be getting enough calories in a day for your body to let go of the stored fat. However remember the close you get to goal weight the harder it is to lose...because the body does not want to give it up.

[curlylocks]

re: curves .. i think she is correct, I think curves is great for someone who is just getting started working out or someone who is quite a bit overweight.. i think when u get healthier and stronger i think u do need to move on to more
challenging exercises.. i think i also will move onto a "real gym" when my contract expires in july