Hey! I introduced myself in the introductions section but I'm definitely in the 300+ club. I'm not proud of it but here I am and I'm ready to do something about it.

The doctor gave me a right good scare on Monday (elevated blood sugars, liver enzymes and cholesterol - the fat trifecta). Unfortunately, this has trigged my OCD in the worst way...meaning I'm freaking out over what I can/should and can't/shouldn't eat.

Oy! The doctor offered me weight loss meds and, while I don't knock anyone for trying them, I've seen enough episodes of daytime talk shows to know that weight loss drugs are often not worth the side effects that they cause. Surgery is also not an option for me...again, not knocking anyone who does it, it's just not for me.

So, that leaves me heading things off in the old fashioned way with nothing more than diet and exercise. I'm trying to eat healthier, using the daily plate to track my calorie/nutrient intake and exercising everyday in the hopes that it will be enough to really get me on track.

It's hard this, though, isn't it? I'm still trying to figure out how many calories to take in. The doc handed me a 1500 calorie a day diet and told me to make adjustments to "cut it down from the 1500" but wouldn't give me a number to cut it down to. Am I supposed to be eating 1200 calories? 1000? 800?

Hi Sunshine,
I agree with you, just good old diet and exercise is best for me also. I try to stay around 1500 calories a day and I don't see why that wouldn't work for you too. Just make sure you drink lots and lots of water. I try to get about 100 oz. a day. Good luck to you and welcome back to 3FC.

Sunshine, I'm so glad that you're here and I look forward to getting to know you better. I invite you to join our exercise thread, it really does work.

Don't by shy, jump on in and start posting on the threads. Get here as often as you can, it really does help....ALOT.

You'll find more support here then you ever thought possible. Is calorie counting what you are most comfortable/successful with?

I'm sorry but I think your doctor is insane for suggesting you cut down to under 1500 calories. Specially if you haven't been exactly a healthy eater. At your weight it's safe to say you've probably on average been consuming over 3000 calories per day- to cut it more than half would be a huge shock to your system.

For you to maintain generally it's thought that it's 100 calories per every 10 lbs you weigh (or 10 calories per pound). At 327 that means you can consume 3270 calories a day and maintain. My old trainer would recommend cutting that to 75% so that your body gets a good deficit but isn't shocked. So for you 75% of that would be 2450 calories. I know that seems huge but I'd try to stick to that many calories a day and then for every 10 lbs you lose adjust the number, so at say 317 you will calculate 317 x 10 x 0.75 (for 75%) = 2378 calories.

I know that seems like so much and it seems logical to cut out as much as possible- but I have seen so many people practically starving themselves thinking the larger deficit is better but it's not. In fact, I think it makes you more likely to binge. And it's also harder on the body if you have a lot of medical issues to change things up so drastically.

I've had a lot of success with the south beach diet (after a lot of trial and error) but you have to find what works best for you and you can stick to longterm

Just an example, my trainer had a client, well over 300 lbs, eating 1200 calories per day because the doctor said to. He was always starving and wasn't losing a lb with my trainer despite all his work. When my trainer finally sat him down he asked him about his food and stuff (because he was concerned that his client wasn't losing) and was shocked at what the doctor told him to eat. He changed his diet up, made him eat more calories, and after that the weight started coming off.

I had a bad experience with my previous doctor also- she told me I SHOULD lose 3 lbs per week- I finally went to a nutritionist on her recomendation and the nutritionist said my doctor was expecting too much from me and that many doctors don't understand nutrition themselves and just think the lower the better.

Go to a nutritionist they would be better equipped and more knowledgeable.

Good luck.

Hi Sunshine.
That seems like a huge drastic cut to me, calories wise. I tried a few times (well more than a few times) to count calories and cut them down drastically, and I found that I totally binged and ended up giving up. Which means of course that we gain it all back and then some. I hit my highest weight right around labor day (September of this year) the scale had hit that "magic" number that I said I would never get to. 300lbs! (Amazing isn't how high that is) anyway, I started South Beach that very next day. And I LOVE it. No calorie counting, and eating the RIGHT foods. Because lets face it, when you just count calories, you can have a big greasy cheeseburger for lunch and just take those calories out of your daily allowance. (at least that is what I did) and then you are starving for the rest of the day. I have learned through the South Beach Plan, how to make GOOD choices. I am also inherently lazy, so the less work I have to do, the better. With South Beach I just plan my menu's for the week, and go from there. Counting Calories and/or points got tedious and difficult.

But whatever you choose, listen to your body. It will tell you if something is not right. (mine did anyway) It is going to be uncomfortable at first, but you will find the right direction. Do not be afraid to try different things. And do not kill yourself trying to do too much at once. That is bound to fail because you get overwhelmed. But good luck!

Thanks everyone!! I'm looking forward to getting to know you all around here. I'm adding this to my daily internet "rounds". LOL.

@ learningtoliveagain: Water is one of my biggest issues. UGH! I know I need to drink it but I loathe water...it just tastes nasty to me. I'm allergic to most artificial sweeteners so even non calorie flavored water is out for the most part. BUT. I'm sitting here at my desk with a bottle of water at my side. I haven't had but a couple of sips of soda all week. So I'm getting there.

@sweetcakes736: I will check out the exercise thread, thanks! As for calorie counting...I guess I don't know what else to do. I've been overweight all my life and nothing has really ever "worked" for me but I do know that when I have previously counted calories, etc. I might not have lost a ton of weight but I did definitely feel better because I was more aware and deliberate in my food choices. So, I'm hoping this works.

@beerab: I know everything you say makes perfect sense and is exactly in line with the nutrition courses I took in college (LOVED being the fat girl in the nutrition class. ) but my doctor really managed to freak me out and put me into panic mode. I'm working hard to make healthier choices without being extreme about it (because that's where my OCD mind tends to immediately go)...but I was sitting at the table last night crying because I felt guilty over being hungry enough to eat a roasted chicken breast. Logically, I know that's nuts...but with the doctor's words ringing in my ears every bite of food is now a death sentence. Bleh!

I'm going to check and see if a nutritionist would be covered under my insurance. I know my mom met with one ages ago and she was extremely helpful in sorting stuff out for her.

Thanks for the great advice!!

Hmmm...I'm not familiar at all with the Sout Beach Diet. I'll definitely give it a look. A few years ago I'd managed to establish and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I was exercising nearly every day. My calorie/fat/cholesterol counts were well within daily dietary allowances and, while I didn't lose a ton of weight, I know that I was healthier and I definitely felt better.

So I'm going to try to get back to that place of balance because you're right. Saddling ourselves with unrealistic expectations is only setting ourselves up for failure.

Hi Sunshine and welcome!

Making changes is hard but I am really happy to see you here You will get a lot of support, advice, and hand-holding here through your journey should you want it.

You and I are just about the same height and I started out at just about the same weight. I am 10 months and 10 days into my journey, and you can see from my ticker what a wonder finding the right lifestyle changes can do for you!

Everyone on this thread has already given you terrific advice, so I will not bother rehashing I think the most important thing at the start is to figure out what will work for you in the long term. For me, it has been a complete lifestyle change in the way I eat, as opposed to going on a "diet" which I just know I would go off of sooner rather than later.

I also want to add this: BABY STEPS! As you figure out what you want to do, do it slowly, working up to a level that you can stick with. Nothing will spoil your motivation faster than burning yourself out if you "fail" in your own over-eager expectations right off the bat. This applies to everything from cutting calories, to exercise, to how much water you drink.

~Bee

YES to all of the above. Baby steps, baby steps baby steps. For me it was sticking to a lifestyle change for two weeks, then a month. SBD helps with that because of the phases. Now it is getting off my butt and actually doing some exercise.

Welcome back to 3FC!

I think you've gotten some great advice above. I'll second seeing a nutritionist or dietician (be sure to have your ins. co. confirm which they'll pay for - mine won't cover a nutritionist). I'm a diabetic and my dietician told me she doesn't really care about calorie counts or anything else right now. Until I get my A1C back down, she only wants me concentrating on my carb intake.

I have read a lot of material that supports beerab's position on how far to reduce your calories at this point and that approach makes sense to me. You'll find what works for you.


And thanks for this ^; I'm off to add it to my signature.

Hello Sunshine.. Welcome! In my calorie counter book, its states on calorie need daily, you take your goal weight x 13 with moderate activity. I choose my short term goal and am aiming on 2600 or less. Hope this helps and Good luck with your efforts!

Welcome and good luck !

Thanks everyone!!! I'm learning loads already and one of the best things that I've learned is that there isn't a simple solution that is going to work for everyone and that it's okay to play around with calories, carbs, etc. until I find the formula that works for me. It's just having the patience to stick to it in the meantime.

I'm also seriously reconsidering my calorie intake because, after listening to you wise folks here and doing some research on my own, it doesn't appear that the doctor was giving me the best/healthiest advice regarding my calorie needs.

It's all a work in progress isn't it?

Welcome and good luck with your goals