Hi everyone! So I have a few things to tell you, and a few questions to ask.
As you can tell from my ticker, I started out weighing 289lbs, at my highest. I am now 237lbs, which is a significant loss. However, I've been concerned about my calorie intake per day. I am taking in around 1300-1400 calories 6 days a week...sometimes I go as low as 1200, but I rarely get up to 1500. On one day a week (Mondays), I don't count my calories as this is my 'relaxed' day.
However, I am doing some research and I'm worried that I'm not eating enough calories for someone at my weight. At the same time, I am scared to bring them up because I worry that I will gain. Is it even possible for me to gain weight at 1600-1800 calories at 237lbs? Also, because I have been eating 1300-1400 for so long, how do I take in more calories without feeling...guilty or something?
One site that I was on warned that if I go below 1900 calories per day, my weight could stall. I can't imagine taking in 1900 calories per day anymore after eating so little for so long.
That said, my 'relaxed' days have been far too relaxed, and so I'm thinking that instead of a relaxed day, I should only have 1 relaxed meal per week. I'm trying to make it so that I can stick with this for the rest of my life. Does this sound realistic?
I guess my questions are:
1. Should I up my calories? Back when I ate around 1700-1800 per day, I was losing faster, but I weighed more at a time.
2. Will I see an initial gain if I do up my caloric intake?
3. Is one relaxed meal per week okay? Like, if once a week I want to just eat something totally off-plan...yay or neigh?

Oh, and the site that I talked about..
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/cal...alculator.htm#

Do they know what they're talking about?

Thanks...sorry I have so many questions, I just feel so overwhelmed with all the info out there on the web, so I could really use the input.

Thanks again!



(edited to say....)
I'm sorry, I left out something important! EXERCISE! I workout 6 days a week, twice a day. My total cardio minutes per day is about 60-75. It's mostly Leslie Sansone videos, nothing reeeeally intense. Though from time to time I'll sneak a Tae Bo, Turbo Jam, or Karen Voight DVD in there. Can't believe I forgot to add that...ha!

I'm sorry, I left out something important! EXERCISE! I workout 6 days a week, twice a day. My total cardio minutes per day is about 60-75. It's mostly Leslie Sansone videos, nothing reeeeally intense. Though from time to time I'll sneak a Tae Bo, Turbo Jam, or Karen Voight DVD in there. Can't believe I forgot to add that...ha!

I think you need to up your calories especially if you are working out. You are not eating enough at 1200 or so calories. When I went to a nutritionist she told me my goal was 1800 calories a day, (as long as I was exercising). You have to eat enough for fuel, or your body will think it is starving and won't get enough food, therefore it will slow your weight loss. So, yes, eat more calories.

As for the relaxed day or meal, or whatever. What do you eat on the relaxed days? If you go all out and eat all kinds of junk food, etc. then quit doing that. I don't even count calories. I just concentrate on eating healthy things as much as possible. I eat up to 6 times a day, but small meals/snacks. I just think about what I eat.

I found that if you ask yourself "what will this ______ (piece of food) do for my body?" before putting it in your mouth, you will consciously think about what you eat and pay attention to what you eat. After awhile, eating healthy will come naturally, and you won't even want the junk food.

I still eat pizza, or even french fries, once in a great while. I don't "diet". I have made a commitment to myself and made a lifestyle change to put healthy things into my body as much as possible. I don't have a problem with overeating, so I can do this. I eat raw baby carrots, apple slices, yogurt (apples dipped in yogurt is good), no fat pretzels, etc. for snacks. I eat healthy foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Once in awhile, I will get some icecream if we have it. But, I only get one scoop, not half the container.

I do not deny myself anything. I don't say, I am not "allowed" to have such and such. I just decide before hand if I really want it or not. Will it do my body any good? Is it good fuel? If not, I may decide not to eat it.

My stats are very close to yours. I know where you are coming from.

Eat clean, healthy food. Stay away from lots of processed stuff. Read up about nutrition, what your body needs. How many fruits, veggies, etc. Learn the basics. Exercise as much as possible (sounds like you are doing fine), And DON'T cut your calories too low. So many people make the mistake of limiting to 1200 cals or less. This is ok, if you are sedentary. But, if you are moving, exercising, etc. your body needs good fuel. Otherwise, it WILL hold onto the fat. That's why when you ate a bit more, it did make a difference.


Good luck.
Kathy

Hey Cassie,

I'm not a nutritionist, doctor, or expert--but based on what you say, my feeling is that you could eat more than you are and still lose weight.

Try raising your calories slowly--say, by an average of 100 per day, for a week or two. In other words, stay right around 1400. See how that goes, and if you are losing or at least not gaining, go up by another 100, to right around 1500. This is just because you say you're scared of it, and might feel guilty. Also, don't panic if the scale fluctuates a bit--record your weight once a week and go by that.

I'd second your idea about having only a "relaxed" meal, rather than a whole day. It sometimes stalls weight loss if you eat a whole lot on one day.

Congratulations on your loss so far!

Jay

The weight loss stall people talk about generally takes weeks (and not just 3) to develop. So, one of the best ways to guage your calorie intake is by your weight loss. The first two weeks of weight loss you may lose a little extra in water, but by week 3 your body should be getting used to weight loss. You should aim for no more than 1/2 to 1% your total body weight per week. So if you're losing more than 2.5 lbs, then you should be eating more. If you're losing less than 1 lb per week, you should decrease your calorie intake ONLY if you're unhappy with the rate you are losing. More studies are showing that the slower weight is taken off, the more permanent the weight loss tends to be.

Thank you all for your input.

I think that next week, I will try to keep my calories around 1500/day and see what that does for me. I've been eating 3 meals a day plus one snack, so I think I'll enjoy adding another afternoon snack in there, because I do get quite hungry at around 3:00.

As for my relaxed days, yes, I was using them to pig out most of the time. This is why I want to cut it back to ONE relaxed meal, because every Monday I would find myself binging and out of control...and I hate that feeling.

But really, doesn't 1900 calories sound really high? Maybe it does to me just because I've been eating 1300-1400 for so long.

Hey Cassie,

Sounds like a good plan.

I think I would slowly gain if I were eating 1900 cals a day, but I'm older than you are and not quite as active. For you, if you were keeping up with as much exercise, that might be a maintenance level. You can try it when you get there!

Jay

Cassie, I'm a little confused. You need to look at this as a whole 7 day period. If you're going so high on your Mondays' then you aren't AVERAGING 1300 calories a day. You need to tally up a 7 day period and divide it by. 7 to get an AVERAGE calorie count. That one Monday of "pigging" out, can spoil the remaining 6 days of hard work. If you're eating 6 days of 1300 calories and one day of say, 3500 calories, that averages out to over 1600 calories a day.

I eat at least 6 times a day. Smaller, more frequent meals works well for me. It keeps my blood sugar levels where I need them to be, and more importantly it keeps me satisfied and not hungry. And I always know that more food is coming up shortly, a good thing for me.

IMO, 1900 calories is quite high. Depending on that treat day/meal of yours is how I would determine your calorie count. Again, if it's a very large number, then you will need to keep it lower the other days in order to compensate for it.

You're right, I'll have to start counting my calories on Mondays to get a weekly average. I'm sorry, I should have had all of my information before posting. I'm not great at seeking input.

Thanks, everyone!

There's no need to be sorry Cassie. This is a learning experience without a doubt. And learn you will. As you go along you will learn what works for you and what doesn't and you will fine tune it as you go along.

You've lost 52 big ones Cassie, so obviously you're doing many things "right". But as we go along, we do need to change it up a bit, if we find what we had been doing is no longer working for us.

It's natural for us to ask "what will happen if I (fill in blank here)," and certainly other people's experiences can be helpful, but weight loss unfortunately often has to be a very personal experiement, where we are forced to be both scientist and lab rat.

Your metabolism is unique to you, as is your frame of mind, and the techniques you find helpful. If you are able and willing to journal, it can be a wonderful way to help you understand how your body and mind work, because you have a permanent record to help you understand yourself. If you document your exercise, food, and emotions, you can find patterns that help you do the fine tuning rockinrobin spoke of. If you find journaling a pain or a bore, try to find a way to make it fun. It may sound a little stupid, but I found a cute journal in a gift shop. It is a bright pink spiral bound notebook with black graphics proclaiming "It's all about me." Obviously it was meant as an adolescent girl's diary, and with a purple felt tip pen, writing in it does take me back to memories of junior high, but hey, whatever keeps a person motivated, you know? (Heck, I even use sticker charts and little rewards to keep this fun and interesting.)

The 1900 calories IMO isn't really all that high. I didn't track calories when I first started eating healthier. But out of curiosity later, I tallied up what I would've had in a normal day at my highest weight once I had changed over to healthier eating, and it was about 2000 cals a day. And I lost weight WITHOUT exercise. I didn't start exercising until nearly a year after I'd switched to lean meats, whole grains and such. Now I wasn't losing fast...about 40 pounds in around a 10 to 11 month period. But I wasn't cutting calories or doing any exercise. That was just a change to healthier foods. At higher weights, even small changes can help us to lose weight. 1200 cals a day is more in range with someone who only has a little weight left to lose. Even I shoot for 1300 to 1500 a day, with about 5 days of intense exercise. But I do tend to have those "relaxed" days as well, which is why I haven't dropped anymore.

One thing about your relaxed meal - have you thought about having a relaxed meal only when the opportunity arises for something special? Like dinner out or a holiday meal? To me, it seems like this would be part of a lifestyle change. Most times, you would be eating simple, healthy AND always tasty food. On special occasions, you would enjoy some special treats, always practicing portion control. Now, if every day in your life is a holiday - ignore this adivce.

Personally, I wonder what they mean by regular or intense workout sessions on the link you posted, Cassie. I walk about 40-50 minutes per day, back and forth from school. I'm not really exercising - definately not busting my butt! Is that exercise?

Hey luey,

I like to think in terms of "activity" since "exercise" sounds like gym clothes, grunting, etc. Walking that much definitely counts as activity, and it's also a good exercise, especially the faster you walk.

Some folks get a pedometer that tells them how far they go in a certain amount of time, and from that they can figure out how fast they are going. A pace of 3 miles in an hour is a good rate.

Jay