Here is my October so far. I do Sunday - Saturday weeks, so starting with the 3rd. I don't eat a lot of bread, though my carbs look high. I do usually have bread with breakfast or lunch though each day, in the form of a bagel thin or sandwich thin. Rest comes from fruit. I don't do frozen meals like Lean Cuisines. I make my food 95% of the time. I do have to eat out, there is no getting around it, at least 1x a week. It tends to be a salad or soup.

October 3rd 261.2

4. 259.9 Cals: 1857 Prot: 70 Sod: 2607 Carb: 229
5. 259 Cals: 1475 Prot: 79 Sod: 4611 Carb: 198
6. 259 Cals: 1889 Prot: 90 Sod: 3486 Carb: 247
7. 258.2 Cals: 1815 Prot: 50 Sod: 3240 Carb: 239
8. 257.7 Cals: 1526 Prot: 65 Sod: 3016 Carb: 188
9. 258.4 Cals: 1813 Prot: 80 Sod: 4192 Carb: 187
10. 256.6 Cals: 1116 Prot: 51 Sod: 2635 Carb: 142 (sunday, low day, busy day. didn't actually regard the weigh in as correct, since it was 3 hours later than normal)
11. 257.9 Cals: 1311 Prot: 51 Sod: 3006 Carb: 190
12. 259.3 Cals: 1606 Prot: 80 Sod: 2694 Carb: 248
13. 260.1 Cals: 1629 Prot: 65 Sod: 1787 Carb: 240
14. 259.3 Cals: 1527 Prot: 79 Sod: 3669 Carb: 156
15. 259.3 Cals: 1529 Prot: 53 Sod: 2610 Carb: 179
16. OOT Cals: 1556 Prot: 48 Sod: 2460 Carb: 179 (in chicago, no scale)
17. OOT Cals: 1945 Prot: 100 Sod: 3505 Carb: 135
18. OOT Cals: 1697 Prot: 70 Sod: 3993 Carb: 210
19. missed Cals: 1592 Prot: 64 Sod: 3459 Carb: 203
20. 264.1

I've actually called my doctor. I know my sodium is higher than it should be. I'm sure some has to do with my TOM due on Friday too. This is just defeating. I have a scale and measuring cups / spoons I keep at work. I drink 96-120 oz a day. Such a swing is crazy.

I'm totally going to go through and see what my problem is with sodium. Eating salads 3/5 days for lunch, but it may be the lunch meat I'm using.

I've actually took a break from working out 6 days a week this month to really focus on my food and make sure it's in check. I still try to walk / jog 3 times a week.

My measurements haven't changed. My rings and pants still fit me. I'm not pregnant ( I pee'd on a stick this morning).

I don't know what's up. lol

Am I really going to have to drop my calories a ton lower just to lose?

If I were you I would not go lower than you are on calories. In fact I think you are on the lower side- you could eat 1800 calories per day and lose weight at your current weight (275x10x0.75= calories to eat, I user 75%).

Mind posting a sample daily menu? I agree I see a lot of high sodium days (yes lunchmeat has a lot of sodium in it) and a lot of carbs but not much protein- I mean your protein is okay but it could probably be higher. And what about your fat?

You say when you eat out you are eating a lot of salads- but those salads can be very high calorie/fat/salt. I mean I always thought for the longest I was doing so well when I got my quizno salads but boy was I wrong. I ended up changing them to where I take out the bread and save a lot of the calories/carbs.

Will try to do this as condensed as I can.

Breakfast is alwaysone of these:

bagel thin, egg, lc wedge - 219 w/banana (309)
2/3 cup light yogurt, 23g grape nuts, raspberries 44g - 240
oatmeal, 1tbs peanut butter - 205
if I'm running late I stop at subway for egg white muffin w/cheese onion tomato and jalapeno- 190

Lunch:Almost every day I have 3oz of carrots (35cal), 50g of broccoli (20cals) and a fruit with my lunch. apple, plum, raspberries.

sandwich thin, 2oz ham, 1oz cheese, mustard - 260
half pita, 1 can tuna, 1 tbs miracle whip, jalapenos, onions tomato - 280
3 cups romaine, tomato, onion, 1 svg tortilla strips, 2tbs vinaigrette - 170
random left overs from dinner

Snacks: I don't eat a morning snack. And I don't have anything standard. Some days I'm hungrier than others, so I will combine a fruit with my crackers etc.

apple w/ 2tbs peanut butter - 280
banana 60g - 100
cheez-its 1 svg - 150
lc wedge w/thin triscuit (12) - 185
yogurt - 100
anything i have left over from lunch

Dinner:
3oz of pasta, sauce, 1 cup lettuce, onion, tomato, 1tbs vinaigrette - 400
4oz chicken breast, 1/4 tbs olive oil (i use 1 tbs to cook 4 - 4oz chick breast), 1/2 cup brown rice, green beans w/1 tsp margarine and dill - 355
sandwich thin, 2 oz ham, 1 oz cheese w/ 2/3 cup tomato soup - 410
Quiznos Pan Asian salad - 480

As far as sodium goes..

I just looked at my spreadsheet and it says one cup of brown rice has 587mg sodium. is that right? I mean, rice has sodium in it without me adding it?! LC cheese has 220 mg of sodium?! My sun dried tomato has 350mg Boar's head honey ham has 570mg. this is eye opening!!

well I just looked up meijer brand brown rice and it says 0 mg of sodium per serving. I don't add salt to my food, ever. I wonder how many other foods are just plain wrong now.

I would recommend adding strength training to your exercise routine, as well as more strenuous cardio. (Walking only burns about 100 calories/mile.) Your exercise routine needs to be a balance of aerobic (cardio), anaerobic (strength training), and flexibility/stretching (like yoga or t'ai chi).

Your carb amounts fall within "average" guidelines, but maybe you aren't average. If your body isn't metabolizing carbs properly, they will be stored as fat. Experiment with dropping your carbs (maybe between 100 and 150?) and see if you see any improvement.

You probably won't need to drop your calories. Just do some tweaking in some other areas. (And definitely deal with that sodium! Yikes! "The Experts" recommend a max of 2,300/day and you are way above that.)

Just remember 1 tsp of salt adds 2000 mg of sodium instantly. You want to shoot for under 2300 mg. I usually get 1800 mg/day, some days more, but I am careful to get below that.

Also I think there are a lot of carbs and you could slightly cut back, like on the snack, I know Triscits are so yummy but maybe have a an ounce of straight cheese instead? Or instead of apple with peanut butter how about celery with peanut butter? Or just some dry roasted nuts? Nuts have good fats and while they are higher calorie one serving of almonds is yummy and satisfying Lower carbs usually mean you can eat slightly more calories anyways.

Also instead of sandwich thins and pita's I'd go with salads- that's what I did- large salads instead of sandwiches- bread can also have a lot of sodium.

Oh and also you can try the low carb tortillas (la tortillas are good) and those are like 10 grams of carbs, half of what a sandwich thin has (22-25 grams of carbs).

Here's my menu for today: I'm kind of eating higher carb right now since I'm doing the P90X.

Breakfast- 1/4 cup of granola mixed with light yoplait yogurt (this is actually a treat for me I usually use plain yogurt and add blackberries), one hard boiled egg: about 400 calories, 55 grams of carbs (again this is high for me).

Lunch: Barley soup with chickpeas and steak meat: 320 calories, 52 grams carbs

Snack: Strawberries, half a cup, 25 calories, 5 grams carbs

Dinner: Baked chicken breast topped with cheese and tomato with sauteed green beans (olive oil and garlic) on the side: 500 calories and 17 grams carbs.

Another snack I'll have after dinner is cauliflower with some ranch: 150 calories, 6 grams carbs.

Overall this is about 1400 calories and 141 grams carbs, 50 grams fat, and 90 grams protein. If I'm still hungry I'll eat some low carb stuff like another hard boiled egg or something.

Oh and my salt is around 1700 mg today.

Btw here is my list of low carb snacks:

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/snacks.htm

It's a great list

Oh btw my carbs are 40% of my intake for today- usually I shoot for 30-35% and I lose faster.

Thanks for the ideas ! I love the la tortilla wraps, I need to get back out to the store. I tend to eat salads for lunch 3 days a week. If I do more, then I tend to get burnt out. I'm also going to try making some home made soups for lunches this winter.

I never salt anything (minus french fries and I haven't had those in a long time!) I am finding a lot of errors on the sodium front in my software, it makes some of those higher days not look so bad. Which is good, but I need to cut it down more.

I am also going to cut down carbs a bit and see what's up. Going to aim for the Gestational Diabetic Diet I was on with my son. 30g carb for breakfast, 45 for lunch and dinner, 15 for snacks. See how that does for me.

Hey Shylah!!
I know one thing I had to do was get away from simple carbs. I googled complex carbs and started eating from the suggested list.

Happy trails and I know you'll resolve it soon.

Howdy,
I do not know if this will help you, but if *I* ate at those calorie levels *I* never would have lost weight. And I wouldn't have the fun in adding back in calories to find my maintanence range.

When in the losing phase I really did not want a self induced plateau, so as I became aware of the tendancy for my body to hold on to weight if I ate grains, starches, sugar, alcohol, I very, very rarely ate them. So where the calories come from really matters to me. It is also easier to eat lower caloire if these foods are not part of the diet. Nothing to put gravy on if I am not eating mashed potatoes.

As I am maintaining and still losing, I am adding in more cal/carbs but not this stuff. These foods for me need to be kept firmly in check.

For the record I eat out frequently, travel often, have many food events as part of my life, and I lost the weight throughout it all. It is possible with a plan.

Best wishes on your journey.