Hey guys,

So today I started counting my calories as accurately as I could (weighing everything using a kitchen scale) and I'm shocked at how badly I've been estimating my calories!!! I'm already over my limit and it's lunch time! Very obvious why I haven't been losing now, don't think it's a plateau at all, just me eating at maintenance if not higher.

I wanted to break down my meal and see what you guys think about it.

Breakfast
Oat bran+flaxseed with fage yogurt
1 egg omelet (with tomato, spinach, onions, 1 slice of ham)

=597 (This is much higher than i thought!!

lunch
chicken salad (made at home) 5oz rotisserie chicken
-1/2 tomato, 2oz spinach, 2 tbsp mayo, 1 tbps relish
-2 wasa crackers with peanut butter and medium banana
-milk tea

=1141 (OMG!!!!!!)

Dinner (I stop eating for the day around 6:30)
but I usually eat the oat bran +flaxseed at night minus the yogurt
=196 calories

So my total calorie intake is about 1934 calories!!! Here I was thinking I was eating 1200 net! I jog 3miles a day (just started that this week) so I subtract 400 cals so my net is around 1500. Is this why I'm not losing anything? It might be too early to tell, but diet wise, should I be getting rid of the mayo and peanut butter? or switch to low calorie versions?

I only use nonfat milk as of right now. but ughhh what do you guys think? Things to add/remove from my menu above?

Would appreciate any advice!! Thank you!!!

I used to count calories as well. And I did lose weight doing it. But not for long. When I hit my goal weight and started "maintaining", I gained back more than a few. Now, I dont count calories anymore. On days that I think I ate more than I should, I try to be as active as I can. Counting calories is very stressful. I ended up feeling "food deprived" which made it so easy for me to fall off the wagon.

Well you could try using light mayo/miracle whip. Honestly the 2 wasa crackers are less of a snack and more of a meal on their own...I mean, if you think about it, it's basically a peanut butter and banana sandwich.

For how long have you been stuck?

You may be losing, but slowly because your calorie deficit isn't large. I don't eat at a large deficit, so I'm averaging a 1 pound loss a month. How much have you lost over the past 3 months?

How did you calculate the calories burned for your run? Do you have a heart rate monitor? If not, I found this site helpful for calculating calories burned. http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-l...ng?page=single

It lists your net calories burned when running a mile as .63 x your weight. It's important, for weight loss purposes, to track net burned. That's b/c you would've burned the extra calories regardless; those extra calories are already a part of your bmr.

If you need around 1900 calories to maintain, and it takes a 3500 calorie deficit to lose a pound, you could pick a calorie amount that gives you the rate loss you want. Would you be comfortable with 1500 calories a day? That would have you losing about 3.5 pounds a month (from diet alone).

That might be too tight a restriction for you though and make weight loss more of a pain than it needs to be. It really depends on reconciling the rate of weight loss you want with the calorie number you'd be happy sticking with. I don't mind getting really strict every now and then, but for the most part I keep my average calories high and sacrifice speed.

Once you know which calorie number you want, then you could play around with finding the foods that best satisfy you within that range. You may end up finding that foods different from what you're eating now help you more, that simply taking away from what you eat now leaves you too hungry.

Personally, I'd eat your menu like this:

B: I'd keep the egg omelet. I'd scrap the yogurt entirely. I'd have the oat bran and flax on hungry days, but most of the time I'd have just a piece of high fiber toast and some butter or pb.

L: Fage yogurt. Chicken salad with an ounce of walnuts thrown in. One plain wasa cracker. One banana. (Instead of mayo, I'd sometimes change up the chicken salad ingredients and use guac as the condiment.)

D: A lean protein and lots (like 3 servings) of veggies that I like.

But that's just what would work well for me.

I am a calorie counter I counted while losing and still count calories while maintaining.

I actually haven't lost in 3 months, it's been up and down. I haven't been too strict either though, and after counting my calories, I realized I'm eating at maintenance!! I never thought that was the case, honestly thought I had reached a plateau.

My bmr was calculated to be 1570 so if I'm eating close to 2000 a day and exercising off around 388 (estimate off the site you gave me-thanks!) my net becomes 1612, so I wont be losing at this pace right?

I think I need to change my diet, and find foods that are more filling and less calories, ugh! I'm glad I figured this out, I totally thought what I was eating was 1200 cals before exercise, such a huge difference.

The only reason i don't get rid of the yogurt is, I dont like eating a whole lot of meat, so I try to make it up with the fage yogurt (the plain fat free one). So before I was losing close to 10 lbs a month, not sure how because I feel like food wise I haven't changed much, I have added in more carbs, maybe that's why? I'm just not losing at the pace I used to, which I was expecting at some pt but I still have a while to go!!

Bargoo! I just saw your info and wow! we have very similar stats, if you don't mind me asking what did you eat/exercise until you reached goal??

To lose a pound, you'll need 3500 calories less than your total calorie needs. Your total calories needs are based on your bmr, but are higher than that number. How much higher depends on your activity level. This site shows how to calculate your calorie needs. http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-ca...dict-equation/

So let's say that outside of exercise you're sedentary. Then your needs would be:
BMR (1570) x 1.2. That makes your needs about 1890 a day.

So if you continue eating about 1900 calories a day but burn off 380 calories every single day, you'd lose about 3 pounds in a month.

Rest days are important though.

Also, when starting a more intense exercise routine, the body tends to hold onto water weight. So even if you're diligent with running, you may not see a drop on the scale for a few weeks.

I think it was wise of you to get precise info about your calories.

Oh, and I think fage is great! I lost a lot of weight while eating that every day. I just meant I'd scrap it from breakfast. Basically, in addition to the omelet I'd eat either the yogurt or the oat bran, not both.

[quote=hhm6;4832670]Bargoo! I just saw your info and wow! we have very similar stats, if you don't mind me asking what did you eat/exercise until you reached goal??

I started out belonging to a gym and then fell and broke my shoulder ( not at the gym ) so that curtailed my exercise a lot, I pretty much limited it to walking. I also lowered my goal several times but mostly limited my calories to about 1400 a day.

Here is my basic day 1500 cal

Breakfast:
Egg and salsa omelette 90 cal
banana 105 cal
Coffee 45 cal

Lunch:
Flat bread 100 cal
Chicken breast sliced 140
Lettuce 10 cal
dressing 40 cal

Dinner:
Flat bread 100 cal
Turkey burger 160 cal
Mustard 0 cal
Salad w/ dressing 150

Dessert: my remaining calories

Your BMR isn't the number you want to be subtracting from. Your BMR is the number of calories that your body needs to maintain it's weight if you are doing absolutely nothing the entire day, like if you were to sleep for 24 hours.

The number that tells you how many calories your body needs to maintain which includes normal day to day activity is your TDEE. Now this number will incorporate your exercise as well as calories burnt from doing mundane activities like watching TV, eating, walking around the house, etc. A good number to use to lose weight is your TDEE -20% or TDEE -500 calories, which would get you to a pound a week. Here are two sites to get your TDEE. http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

As for your meals, your breakfast looks pretty good. But maybe you need a smaller amount of the Oat bran+flaxseed. It's all about portion control. When I have granola for breakfast my 50 gram serving is at least half of what it would be if I didn't weigh it but somehow keeps me full.

With lunch I'd look at going to skinless chicken breast. 5 oz is about 250 calories. Keep all the veggies and I'd even recommend adding more and then use a low calorie oil based dressing. Mayo is on my not allowed in the house list, it took a bit for my fiance to get over it, but he did. If you add more veggies to you lunch you should be able to skip out on the peanut butter and crackers (never heard of them before so can't comment) which will save you a ton of calories. Or you could eat it later on in the day.

I am weary of "non fat" or "low fat" products because almost always they remove the fat and replace it with sugar.

I count calories. But I also know that a calorie is not just a calorie. The more carbs I eat the more hunger I have and when I'm plagued with hunger I can't stick to any plan. You don't have to be drastic, but keeping your carbs in check, being on the lookout for hidden sugars, and raising your protein will keep you more satisfied. Also, carbs are loaded with calories so by keeping those to a minimum you can meet your caloric goals easier.

Hi Changergirl!

So I used the second link and my TDEE came out to 2415, so if I netted this amount of calories (with exercise), I would maintain at 170? Seems like a lot of calories!! I imagine I would gain...

It says to lose I should be eating 1800, which also sounds high? I'm confused, don't most people who diet eat a net of 1200 cals/day? That now seems really low with the numbers I got? Or am I doing this wrong? Sorry for the bombarding questions, I appreciate the help!!

Thanks! I might keep the oat bran in the morning and nix it at night, add more veggies. I think the oat bran takes up too many calories. I might add the omelet on days I don't want oat bran?

I actually just used a measuring spoon for the mayo so that probably could be higher, everything else I measured seemed to be higher! My carbs are definitely a problem. I snack on little carby things which really needs to stop.

This was my meal today
breakfast- oat bran+flaxseed
lunch- broccoli and chicken
snack-milk tea with agave
dinner-omelette with broccoli and red onions

So far this is 1450 cals!