Sorry to be such a post hog, but I love this place!
I am new to this calorie counting method; I am an ex-fad dieter, as many of us are. I am using 1600 calories per day (plus exercise) to lose. Can I ask how many calories a day you guys strive for?
If you'd like to add what type of results you experienced, I'd love to hear it. But if you only have time for a quickie post, please, tell me your daily calorie goal.
I started at around 1200 per day. I'm a member of Bally's; they have a form you can complete on their website to figure out how many calories you should eat and that's what it came up with for me. I was dismayed at this low of a number and must have completed the from 4 or 5 times hoping it would say something different but it always came back with the same result (I later learned that it is just a weight-based recommendation, it doesn't really take lifestyle/exercise into account).
After a couple of months I increased to 1300 because I thought I was exercising enough that I could eat a little more and several friends had expressed shock and horror about the 1200 calories per day. After another four months or so, I increased the intensity of my workouts and increased my calories to 1400.
I lost about 1 lb per week until I got within ten lbs of my goal. Since then, my weight loss has slowed quite a bit.
I exercise at least one hour per day, seven days week.
LOL @ Blue to Blue. I can just see you re-filling out the form, hoping for a better answer. Sounds like something I would do.
nineteen, thank you. Jtammy, so you're saying that you had to drop the calories to continue the weight loss? I have NEVER in my life been able to go under 178 pounds. I don't know why. I have tried upping the exercise, whatever. That's right around when I give up and go back to gaining. Am I the only one who has a body that has decided it really wants to stay at a specified weight? It is SO frustrating for me!
This lifelong plateau has been a huge factor in my giving up on my diet and exercise. I am still overweight at this weight, it's not like my body is preventing me from starving to death. Starving to death.. heck, I could feed a few small countries with just my hips!
Hi Ginger. My calories vary a alot. When I first started out in September I tried to stay at around 1400, but if I felt the need to eat more, I definitely did. By about 100 calories or so. Now I keep it between the rare 1100 and 1300, although I definitely have 1400 calorie days.
I am very pleased with my results thus far. Tomorrow marks 24 weeks for me and I've lost over 90 lbs. Keep in mind of course I had much more weight to lose then you and I am MUCH shorter, therefore my weight is going to come off quicker. I also have steadily been increasing my exercise as I go along since as you get lighter you burn less calories with everything that you do.
I also make sure my calories are "good" caloires, such as lean proteins, fiber and tons of veggies. Eating a minimal amount of processed foods and starches and added sugars. I also make sure to eat 3 meals a a day and 2 snacks every 2 1/2 hours or so, so that I am never hungry. That's not to say every now and then I don't have the occasional treat, because I do. I just plan for them and work them into my day and keep them to a minimum.
Ginger -- Just remember that all of us are different. People who weigh more in general need more calories to do everything than people who weigh less -- from brushing their teeth to driving to walking. That's why Tammy needed to bring her calories down as she lost.
Also, our level of exercise and metabolism and even age may affect how many calories we need. So, you can't necessarily compare people.
That being said... My story is that I started calorie counting at around 280 something. I picked 2000 calories/day (on average) because it was a round number and seemed high enough to be satisfying to someone of my size. It worked well! Between 280+ and 180 I dropped to about 1800 and kept losing. At first I lost a little over 2 pounds/week on average. That dropped to more like 1.5 pounds/week. I also really increased my exercise over that time too, which may have helped me keep my calories up.
Currently I'm going through a maintenance phase. When I hit 179 (non obesity for me) I really started having mental battles with myself and after a while decided that a 115 pound weight loss was still to be celebrated. I've stopped trying to actively lose weight, for now. I'm maintaining this weight on 2100-2200 calories/day on average, with a lot of weightlifting, yoga and cardio. I expect that as the weather warms and moving around gets easier that I will be more prepared to lose again...
Ginger, listen to Wyllen - she has the Yoda wisdom.
Checking Fitday, I seem to be averaging about 2150 calories a day, ranging from 1600 to 2500. Losing nearly 2 lbs. a week. However, I began at a high weight and I'm still quite zaftig. Even then, yeah, it's a lot of calories, but it has the bonus of not stressing me out and the comfort of wiggle room.
I love that different "levels" of calorie restriction (I hate calling it that but I can't think of a better word) work for different people. It gives us options to try out to see what works best for ourselves.
Ginger, Yes, I had to adjust down for the reason Wyllen mentioned. Some people can eat more, some less. For me, being hypothyroid, I probably can't eat as many calories as others at similar weights. For me at least, finding the right level seems to be such a moving target. I'm considering lowering calories slightly again to get closer to a pound a week weight loss. I'm not hitting that lately.
Good luck. I know you will get lots of good answers here.
I have found that being 1200-1350 is good. If I go above 1350 then I'm up the next day.
Forgot to add that generally I suck at working out. I really want to join a gym because knowing I'm paying for it would help to motivate me. Once I get started with it it becomes habit and is much easier.
Last edited by Soggy; 02-18-2007 at 04:58 PM.
Reason: forgot to say something
I started at 234 lbs. on the Atkins plan. Was amazingly surprised to find that I had lost all my weight eating approximately 2300 calories a day with cardio five times a week for about an hour.
Now that I'm at goal and maintaining, I stay at 1600-1700 calories a day. Since a greater number of my calories are now coming from carbs instead of protein, I don't think I could possibly continue to maintain on 2300 calories. I know it should work out the same but for me it doesn't. I used to think there was something wrong with my metabolism and I couldn't lose weight, but I was wrong.
I average about 1400 calories a day, but that is an average - during the week, I'm around 12-1300 per day, but I tend to be anywhere from 1400 - 2000 on the weekend, since I don't deprive myself of the occasional cocktail or dinner out. It's worked well for me so far - I also run about 20 miles a week, when the weather is cooperating.
Just a thought for you, as hard and strict as you're being, if you're stuck, may I humbly suggest you try adding some calories (temporarily!) to give your metabolism a boost? The weight will probably start moving again, and when it does, you can go back down to normal. It's worth a try....
What's YOUR daily calorie count?
