First let me say this site is so inspiring... I've been a lurker- mainly in calorie counters- all during my pregnancy and am finally happy to be able to start my weight loss plan!

All my life I've struggled and obsesssed over my weight, even though I was never really even overweight... I basically lost and gained the same 20 pounds over and over, my weight was usually between 110 and 130. I was always dieting and then binging, dieting then binging.... I've never had a healthy relationship with food. After I had my son in 2007, I went back down to 125 lbs fairly quickly... and then over the next 3 years I proceeded to gain about 70 pounds (!!!), until I got to my all time high of 195 last summer. I attribute this to becoming a stay at home mom after my son was born; suddenly I had no where to go and no one to see, and it was so easy to counter the stress of taking care of my son all day by binging and indulging at night. (My son has some medical issues that have been insanely stressful.) My husband works long hours, so there were many nights it was just me, a pizza, wine and the tv to unwind with. Or chinese food, or McDonalds... salty food is my weakness. I really started to dislike and disgust myself, not only b/c of how I look but b/c of my lack of will power.

Then I got pregnant last July, at 192 lbs, and a strange thing happened... for the first half of my pregnancy I LOST weight, getting down to 176. I believe this was b/c 1) I had a sped up metabolism b/c of being pregnant, 2) I gave up alcohol and 3) I tried to eat better foods for my baby. During the second half of pregnancy I gained some back, but only got back up to 186. Now at 2 and a half week postpartum (I had a beautiful baby girl April 19th), I am 171, YAY! (Although I never thought I'd being saying yay to 171, lol.) So it's TIME to lose this 40-50 pounds. I have a goal of Sept 18th, which is when we go to FL for vacation- I hope to be 130 by then. And then hope to continue to lose 5-10 more pounds.

So... this is my plan, and any advice/opinions would be appreciated. I need to have room for indulgences, other wise I panick and binge, so I need a little something to look forward to- whether it be a meal out at a favorite restaurant or several glasses of wine on a Sat night (I am a bit of a wino!). B/c of this I decided to sort of do a zig-zag calorie plan. For a 7 day week I will give myself calorie amounts of 1300, 1400, 1500, and so on up to 1900 to cover the 7 days. This will give me an average of 1600 cals per day. On a day I want to indulge, I'll take the 1900 cals, and on a day where I know I can rigorously stick to plan I'll take the 1300 cals, etc. If I go off plan a bit and have say 1800 cals instead of 1400, I'll just make a different day a lower cal day. Get it? This way I'm not too "trapped" into a certain calorie amount.

Does this sound doable? I also plan to get on my elliptical at least 4 days a week.

Sorry for the long post! Any advice? Looking forward to being a fixture here and I'll actually really excited about starting this journey..... good luck to everyone else on their goals and thanks for reading!

Welcome, RJ! Congrats on your little girl! Your calorie plan sounds very doable. I tend to have a range, too. Some days I just need to have a white russian or some extra sweets -- it's nice to have a range so you don't go crazy -- it's nice to be able to still eat what you are craving while still being able to fit it into your calorie count for the day.

My main advice is to just be patient with the scale. Our bodies are all different and we all lose weight differently. You might not lose weight for 2 or 3 weeks and then you might lose 4 pounds in one week, or you may be one of the lucky ones that loses a pound every single week! Just be patient and know that if you are watching your calories, then the scale will go down.

Good luck! It sounds like a doable plan.

The only caution I would give you is to make sure you take care of yourself. Giving birth and taking care of a newborn are both hard. Make sure you're getting the rest and nourishment you need to keep yourself going.

I agree. I also want to add that to make sure you're getting a nice balance of proteins, carbs, and fats to keep your engine running well.

Thanks for the replies! Eating a balanced, healthy diet is actually a problem for me b/c I tend to just grab what's easiest... for example for lunch today I ate a quick lean cuisine, then for a snack grabbed some cheez its instead of taking the time to cut up an apple or make something healthier. It's tough with the two kids, but I've got to plan for it and make healthy pre-portioned foods in advance. Or try to take the time no matter how busy everything is.

I'm horrible at eating enough protein! Seems most of what I eat is carbs, carbs, carbs.

WELCOME!!!!!!!!! I wish you plenty of success. I really like your calorie idea. I am no dietician, but I don't see how it wouldn't work.

As far as needing food that is quick, food companies have caught on to the fact that there is a demand for quick and easy to grab foods that are healthy. So, some of your problem can be easily solved by clearing your pantry and doing some new food shopping.

Instead of a bag of cheez its, Whole Food sells bags kale chips. http://rhythmsuperfoods.com/ Instead of a lean cuisine grab a package of pre-made sashimi. For fruit, buy cuties. Your son will like them and so will you! Or bananas. Buy yogurt in tubes for easy eating. Or string cheese. I mean, there's PLENTY of food to grab while on the go.

So, maybe start there? Get the food that fits your new lifestyle.

I definitely think keeping it simple is the way to go. Like Amberelise suggests, if you can replace the quick foods with healthy alternatives you'll make huge leaps in getting started. I'm also finding bulk cooking to be helpful. Precook a big batch of soup or beans or chicken and then you can just heat it up when you are ready to eat.

Thanks, I will be doing some serious grocery shopping on Monday and I plan to stock up on protein rich snacks/meals that are easy.... single serve cheeses for crackers, beef jerky, peel shrimp, chicken. I already love cuties and buy them all the time, yum!

A problem I have is, if I like something, I'll eat the whole bag.... for ex I'll eat a whole bag of beef jerky b/c I just can't stop. I'm thinking about putting single servings in seperate bags and having my husband hide all but one serving a day. Sounds crazy extreme lol, but I have no will power sometimes and need help!

If you are breastfeeding you need more calories. Otherwise, looks good!

It sounds like you have a wonderful plan intact! Best of luck to you.

~Monique