Just wanted to introduce myself
my name is Nicci I am 21 years old and have been married almost a year. I have a 6 month old baby I am trying to lose around 85 lbs to be between 125 and 130 I have tried alot of different thing and I hope this cal counter is the right thing for me. I am currently eating between 1200-1300 cals a day I know need to incorporate more exercise. I would appreciate if anyone had success stories using calorie counting it would really help motivate me!!! My husband has told me when I reach my goal weight we are going on a trip to california (always wanted to go there) so its a big motivation for me! I am super excited about this

Welcome Nicci and congrats on deciding to give calorie counting a try! I first started counting in 2003, I really wanted to learn what real portion sizes look like instead of eating the same amount as my husband I lost around 35 pounds. I got comfortable and stopped counting and my portions increased and I gained 17 of those pounds back. In April of this year I had enough and decided to go back to counting. So far I have lost about 15 pounds. I usally stick to around 1500 calories a day, give or take 100. This second time around my husbad and I decided to change our diet to reduce carbs, sugars, and processed foods. I eat a lot of lean meats, veggies, fruits and try to get lots of protien and fiber to keep me full. I stay a lot fuller and never feel deprived eating this way like I did the last time just counting and not really changing what I was eating.

Best of luck to you!!

Welcome, Nicci! I've lost over 100 pounds counting calories and trying to focus on nutrition (I also exercise a lot too). Like amber, I haven't starved myself to do it!

I do write down everything I eat and weigh and measure all my food at home. For me, when I don't do this, extra food wanders my way and I am not as successful! So, I stick with the weighing and measuring and writing everything down.

Hi Nicci,
I've been doing calorie counting for a few weeks now and I'm loving it! In my opinion, it's the best way to go. It's a sensible way to eat and you really start paying attention to what you eat and your portion size. I've lost 12 pounds so far (I don't weigh myself too often though so it might be a little more than that) and am hoping to lose about 40 more.

Good luck and I'm sure you'll get to your goal and make it out here to California soon!

Welcom Nicci! I started loosely calorie counting in January and really started getting a bit more precise with it after about a month. I started at around 1600 calories and I currently eat 1450 calories per day. Although I may be lowering that a tad to help with these last 5 lbs. I try to walk on most days as exercise. I've lost 58 lbs since January 6th. I love calorie counting because it is the most flexible plan that I've found!

One quick question: Is your baby weaned? If you are still bf you may need to eat more calories then 1300. There are a couple of new Mom's on the monthly thread that can answer questions for you. Plus, I think there is an entire forum for new Moms and losing weight while bf. Of course, if you aren't bf then ignore my suggestions.

Calorie counting is the best! I lost about 40lb a couple of years ago and then re-lost 15 of them this year.

You might want to think about increasing your calories a little. At your weight, 1200-1300 is pretty low. I bet you could still lose 2lb a week on 1600, especially if you added in some lovely exercise. You don't want to be so hungry that you give up, and you don't want to plateau and not be able to reduce your calories further.

And definitely get to exercising! It helps to increase the calorie deficit and it makes you feel good. Put on your walking shoes and get out there

Hey all thanks for the quick responses and words of encouragement

zenor: I was unable to breastfeed but thank you for thinking of that that would defenitly be something to think about if I was also you are such an inspiration to me losing that much in such a short time do you just count calories or do you count fat, carbs etc as well just curious. also what type and how much exercise do you do

Baffled: I am actually quite happy on 1300 it gives me a nice set goal but a little bit to "cheat with" if I want to. I have 3 meals at 400 cals a meal and one 100 cal snack so far so good!! if I do find myself drained or hungry I will be sure to relook at my cal count

I just count calories and walk. Although I didn't consistently walk until after I stalled at 175lbs. My route is 1.5 miles and I walk on my lunch hour. It takes me 20-30 mins depending on how fast I walk, although in the beginning it took longer. I try to walk every day that I'm at work, but usually I end up walking 3-4 days a week. I also try to get in extra steps where ever I can. I'll park farther away when I go to the store, take stairs when I can, etc.

I do track my fat%, water consumption, and fiber intake. I try to keep my fat under 30%, drink 80-100oz of water daily, and get AT LEAST 35 grams of fiber per day. These are my goals, but I still fall short some days. I think I will be a work in progress forever, but I think the main thing is to improve little by little over time.