Okay, I've been going at this diet thing for a couple of weeks now. I have been doing about 20 - 30 minutes of cardio everyday. I started logging my food intake at dailyplate.com and I don't know if these numbers are ok for losing weight and inches so that I can get healthy. So here it goes:

Calories today: 1300 = 94.5% of daily intake

Fat today: 35g = 54.31%

Cholesterol: 85mg = 25.33%

Sodium: 2,328mg = 96.98%

Carbs: 219g = 72.93%

Sugars: 69g

Fiber: 22g

Protein: 60g = 119.6%

It is soooo hard to keep sodium and such under a certain amount when watching calories and fat and the ones they really stress. What to do?! Any input is welcome. By the way, I have not put in the nutrients in my daily multi-vitamins, glucosamine supplement and such but this is just from food intake. Please help! Is this healthy?

Thanks for any help in my confusion. And good luck to everyone.

Well, if you're eating a lot of diety pre-made meals such as Lean Cuisine or others of the like, you are probably getting a majority of your salt from that. Basically whatever you buy you just need to look for the amount of sodium in it and decide whether or not you want to take in a bunch of salt or cook things from scratch with you controlling the salt levels. Also, what are you getting that has so much sugar?

Unless you have high blood pressure or any related medical issues, 2400 mg of sodium is fine. As for the rest of your stats, I would suggest more calories (1300 is way too low for a woman of your size... you're going to lose a lot of muscle this way), more fiber, and more protein. A little more healthy fat wouldn't hurt, either.

Good luck to you!

No need to be concerned with salt unless you have been diagnosed with high blood pressure. As Drina said, 2400 is OK. Water retention weight is not fat--it comes and goes. Just be sure you are drinking enough water.

At your current weight, you can probably lose eating more than 1300 calories, so if you find yourself feeling too hungry, try raising your daily target.

Good luck!

Jay

I second Drina. More calories, protein and fiber.

You could probably increase your calories to 1600-1800. You're going to be so much more satisfied.

Okay, thanks for all the feedback. I noticed yesterday I took in quite a few more calories and I wasn't as moody and I actually didn't feel hungry all the time. As far as where I was getting all of my sugar; the biggest part of it was my fat free yogurt which was 22%, and my 2% milk which was another 16%. I really agree my calorie intake was way too little. As I feel much better today. And much of my diet does consist of Lean Cuisine and fresh fruits plus yogurts. Anyway, thanks again everyone and good luck!!

Hey, girl! Our stats are fairly similar. I'm shooting for 1800 cal/day, and I've lost 9.6 pounds in the past three weeks. Good luck!