I decided Jan 1 would be a new start for me. I'm new here to posting...but lurk alot. I'm the mom of 4 girls ages 17,14,10 & 3. They stress me out so much..lol. I'm a SAHM & DH works FT & side jobs. In 2006 I had weight loss surgery & went from 227 pre op weight (highest weight had been 240) to lowest weight post surgery of 133. I still try to put a '2' infront of all my numbers. Anyway, I got down to 135 after baby, but then went thru a "who cares" stage & did whatever & also have issues w/ thyroid. I'm currently 154#s, 5ft 2 inches , 36 years old. No, I can't eat a bunch of food at once but I'm bad about grazing & not as sensitive to some food like most people post op WLS. Anyway, I love to eat & I'm just starting my range at 1500 for a while to see what happens. If I don't lose on that amount, I'll try to decrease. Sad to say at this point I don't exercise cuz I'm always with my 3 yr DD & she's a handful. But gonna try to figure that out. I do have workout dvds I can try when someone is busy with her. Not sure what I want my final goal to be. My surgeon had my goal set for 126 which I didn't make , but everyone was telling me at 133 I was thin enough. I atleast want around 135...but would like to know what smaller feels like. I was around a 6 or 8 @ 133. Sorry this is long & drawn out. Maybe I can make a ticker soon. Thanks for taking time to read this.

Welcome!

Calorie counting did the trick for me! I did get plenty of exercise, but nothing really strenuous until several months in. Taking walks with my kids, chasing them around the yard, etc. it all counts! Sometimes I would just put on some good tunes and dance with my little one. He weighs about thirty pounds, so I would lift and swing him.

I started with 1200 calories, but I had more to lose than you do. 1500 sounds perfect, and I'm glad you are aware that you might need to adjust up or down. Good luck!

Thanks. You look great! Great job!

I am a calorie counter, too.I plan all my meals ahead of time staying within my calorie allowance. Once you get the hang of it, it will take about 5 minutes to plan a days menu.

Welcome! Congrats on maintaing a good chunk of your weight loss!!

I'm a grazer too, and calorie counting worked great for me while losing and works great for me while maintaining. I can graze to my heart's content as long as I account for it!

Good luck!

A few tips I've learned along the way that are very helpful to remember:

Never never never be unprepared. It leads to cheating. Plan your meals ahead of time and count your calories that way.

Keep a food diary so you can easily go back and recall how many calories something has. I keep mine in an excel spreadsheet.

Do research ahead of time for the nutrition facts at different restaurants. Never leave yourself unprepared when someone wants to go out to eat. This way, youll always know what to eat when you go out. Make yourself your own mini menu of things to choose from.

Drink lots and lots of water to supplement your meals. It helps keep you full.

Don't start your caloric intake too low or your body will compensate and start burning fewer calories. I googled "how many calories does my body burn" to give me a starting point. Slowly come down from there if you don't want to plateau too soon.

I hope some of that helps.

Thanks everyone. I've been MIA & I've been bad too. My 3 yr old has been sick. Had to take her to dr Thursday & just been stressful. Haven't accounted for anything in last few days & have ate bad choices. Oldest 3 started back to school today so I'm also trying to get back on track. I'm so mad at myself...I bought a calorie counter book last year...a good one...& pretty much could locate it at any given time. Now it's come up missing! I want one on hand but don't want to buy another one...hoping it shows up soon. I'm so unorganized. But not giving up. Baby steps for me I guess.

I am a new calorie counter as well! I am so far finding that it is working out quite nicely. I agree with the other posters that planning ahead is key, even if it's just one of your meals. This helps avoid the nighttime disaster where you input everything and suddenly you're over and didnt see it coming!
When you find snacks that are low calorie, you won't feel as guilty grazing either. For example, baby carrots are very low calorie but have that satisfying crunch!