so i have been reading up and trying to figure what exactly I needed to do.

I would absolutely love to meet my goal within 2 yrs 2 months that is my birthday of 2012. I know that sounds like a long time but I figure instant results got me nowhere last time so a slower more consistent approach may be better.
I went to fitday.com and this is what they say I need to do to meet my goal.
Calories You Burn -2,667
Calorie Restriction -1,044
Calorie You Can Eat-1,623

this is at my current level of activity which is almost none.

so my plan is to not only count and meet the calorie restriction but to get more and more active as time goes by. cutting out junk foods, fast food, and sodas

I will not only watch calories but carbs and fats as well. I plan on keeping a food journal to help keep me honest, so i do not eat more than I should.

I am not sure the amounts of carbs and fats I should be staying under though.

does this sound like a good plan to ya'll? can you make any suggesting on anything I have not thought of?

If you ask me, I don't think that is enough calories. I don't trust Fitday on figuring out what you need calorie wise. Use this calculator that will give you both your BMR and RMR.

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php


Also, if you are going to watch carbs...then you should not restrict fat (as in no fat or *very* low fat). It is not healthy to do that with a very low carb diet. My best advice would be to find a plan that you can see yourself following for life. I have tried over and over the Low fat/Low cal way and I was always hungry and i would end up binging and gaining weight back and then some!

Low carb works for me. I follow the Atkins plan, but there are others out there like South Beach and Protein Power for example.

Regardless of what you want to follow, just make sure it is something that you can see yourself doing for life because losing the weight is just one part. Maintaining it is often much harder.

I think you're making good decisions here. And I've been told again and again that taking it off slowly, no more than two pounds a week, is best for retention of muscle mass and for establishing really good, lifelong habits.

As far as your BMR and your calorie restrictions, your numbers might be somewhat high for your height. Writing everything down at first, so you can get a real feel for what you're actually doing, is great. Then you have a more accurate idea of what you've been doing. Then try cutting out about 15% of your calories. That way, your metabolism will keep firing and not go into starvation mode.

Cutting out the list of illicit foods and behaviors is a great action to take immediately. Replace them with good foods/behaviors.

I've noticed that for myself, if I have butter in the house, it doesn't sing it's siren song to me unless I have sourdough bread in the house as well. So, while I still use butter in some few recipes, I don't need that bread in the house. It's a gateway food to poor choices. I also have taken to locking my purse in the trunk so that I'm not inclined to take a quick detour at the drive thru. I won't even stop for diet beverages there. Too tempting for me. I bring my own water with me now.

Regarding carbs and fats and protein, a healthy calorie percentage mix is 50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fats. Make those carbs come from whole grains, the proteins should be lean and include wild-caught cold water fish, and the fats should include the healthy fats from olive oil, avocados and walnuts. Try to get 35 gm of fiber as well.

As for activity, remember that aerobic exercise burns fat while you're doing it, and weight training burns fat throughout the day. Walk as much as you can everyday. Then start with weights, three full body workouts a week.

If you want a really good overall plan, read Tom Venutos The Body Fat
Solution. Don't be intimidated by his body building expertise. His principles are sound and apply to reducing body fat.

I wish you great health and success with your efforts!

Those numbers from calorie count are too low for your starting weight. I'd start somewhere around a range of 2000-2500, and even without exercise you will lose at that for a while. Save the 1600 for when you get under 200 pounds, and work up your exercise over time to compensate a couple hundred extra calories a day. It's better for your metabolism to not shock it like that all at once.

Your goal is certainly FEASIBLE, that's about an average of 2 pounds a week.

If you don't under-eat, starting from your current weight, you can safely lose~3 pounds a week for some time (think 1% of your body weight per week). Somewhere in the 200's you'd drop to ~2 pounds a week, and in the 100's more like 1-1.5, getting to more like 0.5-1/week once you are within 10-20 pounds of goal. Assuming you can keep it up, you can reach your goal.

HOWEVER! This is going to be REALLY HARD!! You are going to need an incredible amount of will power to match your motivation and goal, so be prepared for some seriously tough times. This is a two year commitment, and it is TOUGH! I started about 100 pounds less than you, and it has taken me over a year and a half to get where I cam now, from a slightly lower weight than my highest weight.

So, don't get discouraged if a year down the line you need to slow the pace and adjust that goal. Sometimes it's better to take longer to lose weight and enjoy eating at the same time. That's pretty much my take, when I decide on a little extra food or desert. I wanted to be at goal by last summer, or at the very least my birthday of this year (was in February) but that sure didn't happen These last 10-or-so are KILLERS!

I am about right where you are weight wise. I try to eat around 2000 calories a day and avoid carbs and high fat foods. Good luck!!! You can do it! We can both do it!!!!

I agree that your numbers are way off. Fitday says I burn something like 3200 cal a day and I weigh 280 pounds. Something went wrong with your figures. I'd say not to eat less than 2000 calories. Maybe even start a little higher, at like 2200...

thanks for all the good info.. I went to the site that was linked to find what they said about bmr and rmr and it said for Sedentary Little or no exercise and desk BMR is 3,344 RMR is 2,848

based on my height and weight.. which is actually around and higher than the one from fitday.

I did not know that watching both carbs and fat at the same time was bad.. I did consider the Atkins diet, so now that i know this I will do more research on it.

I know maintaining will be harder, I lost it before only to regain it all. I had a gastric bypass in 2003 I lost around to 200 pounds only to be here 7 years later having gained it all back. I did not have good after care, I had the surgery may 3rd 2003 was released 3 days later was handed a sheet of paper and a plastic medicine cup and was told to only eat 1/2 and ounce by volume 6 times a day.. I had a follow up to have my staples removed and he said i was doing great I had lost 45 pounds .. but it was not till a year later when I ended up pregnant that I found out I should of been on b12 injections, and I was doing tons wrong. not to mention I should of been on birth control because I was not able to eat enough of that point to support the pregnancy and ended up delivering a still born at 5 months along. I have thought long and hard about everything .. to me this is not just a diet but a life changing plan. I feel if i had been more aware I would of made some way different choices.


thanks for the info on the fiber as well, I knew i needed to get enough but did not know how much.


over time I have gotten so lazy that I get winded after only 20 minutes of activity.. so I am having to just try and get my body used to moving again. As it is a as embarrassing as it is this morning I was cleaning, something other people usually do, I had been at it 20 minutes and i just wanted to sit down, my heart was beating fast and my back hurt. I pushed for 30 minutes. then I rested, I intend to continue do that, in hopes eventually I will not think of something like house work as exercise. it is sad that I have let myself get this way. I used to be very active, growing up and even at this weight before I had the surgery I was active. any more not so much.

now i am just depressing my self.. but yea i know it will take time, I did not get this bad over night heck it too 7 years from 150 pounds to here.

sorry for the novel, and thanks for the support. and all the great info. I am looking at this all as a one day at a time.

I hear you, Ev2, I hopped on an exercise bike yesterday and couldn't believe that I had to push and push and push just to get to 15 minutes. I had thought I'd be able to do a good 30-45 minute of exercise every day on top of the walking I do now, but I'm realising now that I'll have to work up to it. It's a harsh wake up call. But if cleaning is exercise for you right now and you keep it up and push through it then you should be proud of yourself... you'll be working toward a fitter body and you'll have a cleaner house! You're doing great by being so open to suggestions and help. Keep at it!

Ev2...so sorry to hear about the loss of your baby!! Heartbreaking!

Well..the good news is..that you are here and trying to get on track. I started at a little bit more than where you are...and here I am...still working on it, but definitely closer to goal and a lot healthier.

Whatever plan you choose...just get educated and work that plan as written and it will work for you. I follow Atkins with success, but others do Weight Watchers, etc. Find one that you can do long term.

Post here as well. Its a great place for support!

EV2,
when first started working out in the middle of Dec, a half hour of exercise wiped me out for just about the whole day. But I kept going and now I can do around 60-120 minutes daily. don't let small beginnings discourage you, you'll make advancements as long as you stay consistent.

Totally with Sweetcakes here...at first 30 minutes was torture...let alone stength training as well! Now, 8 weeks later, I am running (I can't believe it sometimes) for 1 minute at 5 mph and walking for 4 minutes (my intervals) for 60 minutes on the treadmill! It gets easier...but once it does...you gotta push yourself a little harder. You can do!