Hi there! Just crashing this thread to mention something about 1600 calories a day.... I heard this doctor on Oprah -- I think he was one of the doctors that wrote "YOU, The User's Manual" or something like that - and was one of President Clinton's heart surgeons... anywhooo...

He said that *most* people, especially if you are overweight, will lose AT LEAST a pound every 2 weeks with a 1600 calorie a day diet...even if you aren't exercising much (he recommends it though).... Of course, if you are significantly overweight you may lose more than that, but he said it's safe to assume that if you take in 1600 calories a day, you most certainly will lose weight -- how fast depends on many factors!

Hope that helps anyone!

thanks for the information

Hello everyone. I read back on to the other pages and the information on the calories was interesting. Recently, I changed from 1500 -1600 to 1500-1400. I find some days its a challenge but then again if I make some healthy choices like I am suppose to its alot of food. So I guess its an adjustment. I am going to ck that site the maintaining info. Elsye was great and I will keep that in mind when I reach my goal. I have around 8lbs or so left. I had a tough evening last night as yesterday we decided it was time to put our 17 year old dog down today. So I think my extra intake and other actions was based on a bit of stress. Today will be hard emotionally so I will try to be more alert to my needs and not emotions for eating. I think I will work out that will help at least partly.... I feel so bad! But I know in my heart it is time because of her health problems.
Holly congrats on the good finds. I have to make a stop there myself. My daughter is always picking up great deals for the kids and sometimes finds me something nice... I am going to ck. the paper for a few garage sales too. I am not doing the scale until sunday a little break cause of my emotional eating. I have been good this week and have worked out 2 times so far..

I would agree. I know a lot of people seem to be okay on a 1200 calorie per day plan but I just couldn't sustain it. My moods stayed so low all the time and I became so obsessed with the next meal. I've raised my max to 1600 with no minimum. So since Monday my cals have gone 1584, 1377, 1539, 1239. I eat something every 2-3 hours and keep moving. It's working. Hopefully it will keep my moods in better spirits, which will keep me on target.

I am the same way Carrie, I try to maintain a 1200 calorie a day plan, because that is how I lose the most weight in the fastest amount of time (we all love results don't we!!).... but I allow myself some *wiggle room* and never go above 1600... because even at 1600, I still lose weight, just at a slower pace... and I figure heck, even if it took me a year to lose 20 lbs, I am still 20 lbs lighter instead of heavier ya know?

I am quite a bit overweight though, so I do lose fast for a while...
keeping it off is the key for me... can you say yo-yo???

haven't had a chance to chat...just stopping in to say hi!

Ciao & God Bless,
Lucille

I am so sorry to hear that! I know how hard it is. Very sorry to hear of the loss of your four-legged-family member.

i have 2 dogs myself and my one is the one i always worry about, she is truly an angel sent from God...and i thank God every day she's around but i do have to think about the day like the day you had to and decide. she's about 13 and has hip problems, arthritis etc. but she is always the most cheerful dog you would ever see. she's 150 pounds and wouldn't hurt a flea. the day i see she is in major pain i would have to think about that too.

i'm tearing up just thinking about it...i know it's was a rough decision but be strong...hang in there!! just think of all the great times you had with her/him.

God Bless,
Lucille

Well ladies today was weigh day. I have not had a chance to update my tracker yet but...... I lost 3.3 pounds this week!!!! Finally after 2 weeks of not moving at all I have lost!! Well gotta run and get DD to school. HAGD everyone.

Hey fellow calorie counters!

I haven't been on this board in AGES- back when I was on weight watchers in 2001. I'm going through a miscarriage right now, so I want to get healthy and lose weight before I start trying for a baby again.

I have PCOS, Insulin Resistance, and I'm just plain lazy, so losing weight for me has always been a challenge. I feel I have more motivation now than ever, and I really hope to lose a good amount of weight before my baby's would-have-been due date.

I haven't decided how many calories I will allow myself a day yet. I used to have this theory about calorie counting and how you actually lose better when you consume your basal calories and leave your lifestyle calories alone and your exercise calories alone. I lost really fast doing that, but didn't stick to it long because I left my fiance and moved back home and blah blah blah but that was a long time ago.

Anyway I look forward to getting to know all of you and losing with you, too!

i'm fairly new here myself about a month here.

good luck to you! and there really is a bunch of nice women here...

timmyshawn: great!!! i too just lost like 3 pounds in about 2 weeks...so i'm down 15 pounds since 9/05. it's slow but i much rather it be slow...besides all of us by the time spring is here we will have brand new bodies!!! yeahhhh!!!

mandy: what do you mean by all this: basal vs.lifestyle vs exercise calories???
I used to have this theory about calorie counting and how you actually lose better when you consume your basal calories and leave your lifestyle calories alone and your exercise calories alone. thanks...

talk to you all soon...God Bless...
Lucille

the other day i weighed myself and the scale said 185. i believe it was late afternoon around 430PM, then the next morning i got on the scale and it read 189-190!!! a few things i know i shouldn't weigh myself like that but it was nice to see the scale go down so i was just rechecking, making sure my eyes were not deceiving me 2) i don't eat a lot of calories at least 1200 a day or less. so my question is: what the HECK happened???
i make sure when i do weigh myself the scale is in the same place & i have off my sneakers before weighing. i just can't figure that out. i didn't weigh myself this morning because i forgot to, so i will do this tonight when i get home. don't understand what happened?
any ideas...also i understand the weight fluctuates but that's crazy!!!

thanks...

Not really too crazy--lots of things could have affected your weight. You could have been retaining water (lots of foods have sodium in them that you wouldn't even expect). You should also always weigh yourself at the same time every day because different times of day mean different fluctuations. I weigh myself all the time, but I don't get discouraged because I know about all the things that can cause fluctuations. When I weigh myself in the morning, I can be 279, then 283 a little before dinner, then 278 before I go to bed--our bodies work in mysterious ways (weighs? ). If seeing such fluctuations bothers you, then don't weigh yourself so often! I've noticed that eating, say, a 1/4 pound burger can actually make me gain 3 pounds. Now, it's not 3 pounds of fat, and I know that, but still, sometimes what you see on the scale outweighs what you put in because of all the stuff going on on the inside, ya know?

i appreciate your input!

normally i do not weigh myself but once a week and it's usually in the morning.
I think even though the scale says one thing, so i know it's a goofy thing going on with my body i can still feel a 15 pound loss, didn't feel this way when i was down 10 pounds, weird, can't figure it out!

in all honesty i do not eat 1200 calories a day maybe 1000, i can't say for sure because i really do not count calories. i am not a big eater so i can survive on less, never was. if i have something that i think might be alot of calories i will check.

thanks again...again the fluctuations don't bother me but that was a major jump i definitely did a double take!!! LOL ...and i really didn't eat a whole lot yesterday...oh well, it's not going to get me down...WE CAN DO THIS!!! WE WILL ALL DO IT!!! LOSE THE WEIGHT!!! RIGHT LADIES????

God Bless...Lucille