Hey.. i've been thinking a bit, lately my weight loss has slowed down A LOT, and even stoped and ive been gaining a lb or so.. well this is an example of a standard day and what i eat.. so can you people tell me what i should change to help improve my weight loss? Thanx in advance..

Breakfast - Rolled Oats, Glass of Water, Apple.
Lunch - Some Salad ( smedium size bowl, with 'light' dressing ) Glass of water.
Dinner - Some Steamed Veggies, and a skinless boneless roasted chiken breast. Glass of water.

Other Sometimes throughout the day i'd have an extra orange or apple or sumthing, but thats about my daily diet... so can someone help me with why my weight loss has slowed down!?! Also, please note that i spend about an hour a day walking.

In just looking at this it looks like you may not be getting enough calories and your body maybe going into starvation mode.... somethimes when you hit a plateau if you add a few hundred calories a day for a week or two then go back to normal that will trick your body into going lower....

What you need to do is find out how many calories you really need.... you can go to www.jimkaras.com and at the bottom of the page on the right hand side the is "THE HARRIS BENEDICT CALCULATOR" click on this - it will go to a screen that asks for your name, zip, and email (i always give a bogus one) then asks for the important stuff (age, height, activity level, weight) it will then tell you what your BMR is and the calories you need on a daily basis.....just figure what you need now and then deduct only about 500 calories a day from this to know how much to eat a day and still lose weight.... (for example - I am 35, 5'2", 200#, and put in light activity which tells me I burn 2137 calories a day.... so if I eat 1637 calories a day I would lose a pound a week) .....

Then I would add some strength training... walking is good but you need to build up some muscle and when you first start you may gain a little weight because muscle weighs more than fat but you will lose inches and also you will be increasing your fat burning metabolism because muscle eats up more calories than fat does....

Make sure you never eat less than 1200 calories a day... it isnt healthy and you body will slow down....

And drink lots of water!

Good Luck!!!!

I AGREE, YOU ARE DEFINITELY NOT TAKING IN ENOUGH CALORIES!

Another sight is www.kimberlysslimpickins.com and she has great links for calculators also try fitday.com

Wow.. thats all i have to say lol, well thanx for the site Angel26519, i went there, and i found out that my BMR is roughly 2603 ( i used a moderate excersise level which is maybe even underestimating my lvl a little bit lol ) well anyway, according to this i shoul eat roughy 400 cals MORE then what my diet is right now.. so im going to try that now, and hopefully get my weight loss back on track as a matter of fact, im gonna have a muffin right now! ( a low fat apple flavoured one mind you ) But they are so000000000000000o good And then Im gonna have a nice glass of water, and go for a 30 min walk before my girlfriend gets outta school Thanx again for the help! and i hope you both get down to your weight loss goals! Whish me luck

P.S. If anyone else has information about this topic! Please respond, i always like to read many suggestions Bye.

You are Welcome!!! Keep up the good work!!!

Yo! I agree with the replies you've received, Defcon! Please continue to check the Harris Benedict calculator (I put it into a spreadsheet on my hard drive to use whenever my weight changes) and get either a good calorie counter in print or a website and/or talk to your doctor or a nutritionist. I lost 100+ pounds on 1800 a day ... although I've had a slight regain, I know that I will never want to go below 1500 a day. Everyone is different though and you need to get your eating right for YOU ... but considering your menu makes me worry ... (sorry, you did ask for input)

Just off the top of my head, look at the calories in your menu:

Rolled Oats (150 for a 1/2 cup serving), Glass of Water (0), Apple (100).
Lunch - Some Salad, medium size bowl, with 'light' dressing (100-200), Glass of water (0).
Dinner - Some Steamed Veggies (maybe 100?), and a skinless boneless roasted chicken breast (250), Glass of water (0).

Heavens! At best that's approximately 800 calories; if this is a typical day, you are eating starvation rations and it's no wonder your metabolism has slowed down. You cannot possibly be getting the nutrients your body needs to be healthy and strong.

Please, eat more than a muffin ... and are you getting calcium and some healthy fat? It is old science that fat is bad for us ... your menu has very close to zero fat and you really need more of the good kind ... there are also essential fatty acids your body doesn't manufacture that you need daily ... your menu is a good skeleton diet but you need to flesh it out and you'll start to lose again, IMO (since you asked)!

Eat!

Thanx again for the input, keep it coming! This week i play to keep my cal intake to rought 1600 +- 100 cals. And keep my activitly level to around the same that it has always been, see what that does me!!! But i have one question! what does IMO Mean?

IMO ...In My Opinion
IMHO ... In My Humble Opinion

makes sence Thanx lots ! , Anyone got sum ideas of a nice healthy meal i can have at dinner ( supper time )? I can think of a few things.. but I would like to know what most of you other guys like, maybe i'll like em too

I absolutely agree.... eat more!

About 1½ months ago the same thing happened to me. My calories intake was 800/900 per day and I was gaining weight. After talking to a few folks here and doing some research, I decided to up my calories to a minimum of 1200 per day. It took 3 weeks of no weight loss/gain but I did finally start losing again!

Wow.

This was helpful for me, as well. I usually consume 1000 calories, which seems enough. But, this is suggesting I need to consume 2000/day. Although that's quite a difference, I may lift the levels a little more, as I'm not losing much.

April Marie

I agree defcon... you are not getting enough calories! One thing my own doctor cautioned me about last week is eating enough... although I do and she agreed when she heard my typical daily menu. BUT she said that if you don't get the proper calories (for me at 5'10" and exercising a lot a minimum of 1200) at first you will lose and then your body will just begin to break down.

Crash plans will work at first... but what you really need is a healthful plan with proper eating and exercise.

Sue

Hi, April Marie! IMO (not particularly humble ) 1000 calories a day is not enough, although sometimes the Harris Benedict thing seems a bit on the high side. If you jump from 1000 a day to 2000 a day, you will likely gain ... but as you say, if you just add a few hundred back in, you should be good. Honestly, sorry for being so push and opinionated, but dance4joy, 1200 calories seems very low for a person of your height ... but then I'm not your doctor!!! Anyhow if that's a MININUM ...

For me, what has worked (until recently) has been calorie cycling ... they're calling it the Wendy Plan and a lot of other names these days, but it's basically just eating low on some days of the week and high on others. That way your body won't think you are starving and shut itself down.

Anyway, good luck to all. I shall return to lurkdom now!

Amarantha... I was interested in your comments about losing on 1800 calories a day. My doctor just told me with my height I could go that high but NOT to go under 1200 (yes that is a MINIMUM). I think I am usually closer to 1400 or maybe even 1500.... I don't count them; just eat right and healthful foods. And I take a supplement which she also approved of. I shared a "typical" day's eating with my doctor and she felt it was very good. I do appreciate the input but yes... I listen to my doctor. FWIW my former doctor (before I moved) said the same thing... told me "Whatever you are doing, keep doing it."

I am losing steadily and "tightening up" and feeling GREAT!

Sue