Ok... I am still trying to figure this all out and have a few questions... Forgive me if this is not the correct forum to ask this.
I have been on a healthy lifestyle change plan for about 3 weeks now. I am simply trying to eat smaller portions, healthier foods and exercise. Today I logged all my food into fitday.com just to see an average of what I am taking in. I don't know what to make of the results. Here is today's chart...
Total: 1291
Fat: 31 279 22%
Sat: 8 69 5%
Poly: 8 68 5%
Mono: 4 38 3%
Carbs: 203 762 60%
Fiber: 13 0 0%
Protein: 56 225 18%
Alcohol:

My questions....
1) Am I taking in enough calories? I don't feel hungry or deprived at all. I am 5'9 and last week weighed in at 308.
2) Is the fat percentage & protein percentage ok? I know the carbs are a little high, I never knew how many carbs are in things, healthy things even like bananas, lol. I was not meant to be on Adkins, lol.
3) Based on calculations on fitday I burned about 3600 calories (basic daily calories plus 55 mins of aerobic video)... Is this ok? am I burning too much and eating too little or vice versa? Is this a good average to lose weight with?

I am just concerned about doing this the healthy way. I don't want to lose too fast or too slow. I feel good. I am eating healthier than I ever have and I am exercising which use to be a curse word to me, lol

Thanks for any input you can give me. You all are great, this website is wonderful.

IMO I would say you aren't eating enough. They say you are supposed to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week. A little more or a little less should be ok. To lose two pounds a week you need a 1000 calorie deficit per day. At you're rate you have a 2400 calorie difference. Of course fitday isn't 100% accurate. However I would say you could try eating more and if you aren't losing you can then cut back. The problem is if your body adjusts to thrive on 1200 calories a day at 300 pounds, what are you going to do when you get to 250?Or even 200? A lot of people will agree, a lot won't. You'll have to see what works for you. Good luck and welcome to the board!

Oh and as far as the percentages, you're fat intake is great, but I would suggest increasing your protein. Especially if you are doing any type of weight training. Remember, muscle burns fat!

WELCOME!!!! I agree with what stacy said -- at 300 pounds you are going to find it hard to get enough nutrients for your weight! And yes, you may lose weight, but may find yourself losing muscle, not just fat! And if you stall in your weight loss, will you be able to lower calories to continue?

I would think you could DOUBLE your calorie intake and still lose weight (especially with exercise -- you might want to start adding strength training as well). Personally, I have been steadily losing and at around 230 pounds average 1800-1900 cals/day. I started higher.

If you want to be healthy, I would recommend upping the cals. Again, you may get differing advice, but this has worked for me and many others.

Also, if you haven't found them yet, check out the 300+ and ready to lose again forum (under support groups) and the 100+ pound club (under clubs). Also the exercise forum and the maintainers forum are excellent places to find good information

Welcome!
IMO, Stacy and Ellen gave you great advice. You WILL lose weight on 1200 calories...but you will also lose weight on 1800-2000 calories and some exercise. If you start at 1200 and plateau, you have nowhere to go and by the time you weigh significantly less, you'll need to either eat less or exercise a lot more to keep losing or maintain the loss. You really don't want your body adapting to such a low calorie level.

I've found that adding more protein and less carbs (no, not Atkins!) keeps me feeling fuller. I eat a LOT of protein because I lift weights heavy usually 5 days a week, but I'd suggest trying to up your protein intake to at least 30% at first.

Additionally, a lot of us have found that fitday's "calories burned" bear little relation to what is really happening in our bodies. Do your exercise and track your food, but I'd ignore how many calories fitday thinks you are using. If I went by their calculations, I would have ceased to exist a few years ago. I'm very much still here

Mel

I'll second what Stacy and Wyllenn said above (Mel, too -- apparently we were posting at the same time, so I didn't see hers -- sorry Mel!). First thing being, !

I'm new to the boards, too. The area I tend to frequent most is Calorie Counters. There is an ongoing thread there (KISS) where folks are accounting for their daiy deficits -- that is Calories Eaten versus Calories Burned. That sounds like what you're asking about.

In essense, the way I understand it, to lose 2ish pounds a week, you aim for about a 1,000 calorie deficit per day. 1000 calories x 7 days = 7,000 calories = 2 pounds (since 3,500 = 1 pound). If your activity burns 3,000 calories, you could eat about 2,000 calories and still have a 1,000 deficit.

As you go lower in weight, the Calories Burned will automatically decrease (because it will take fewer calories to maintain your smaller body), so you'll have to make sure to downwardly adjust your intake. I balked at that concept until I thought it through more thoroughly. At my goal weight I'll want to slow down the rate of loss anyway, so I won't be aiming for a 1,000 daily deficit -- I'll probably be looking to break even.

Let's say your goal weight burns 2,000 calories a day -- glory be, that's what you're eating anyway, with the 1,000 deficit! See? Not much major change needed!

At least, that's how I hope it works .

Fitday is an excellent way to help you account for things. There are others, as well (Nutridiary and others whose names I can't recall at the moment). I just started using FitdayPC (after a week on the online version) and, for the most part, I like it. The key is keeping track.

Gah sorry for rambling on so. As I said, I'm still new to all of this, so I'm just brimming with enthusiasm!

Looking forward to hearing more from you and wishing you wonderful successes (on- and off-scale)! Good luck, you're off to a fantastic start!

There is a new book out there called "CALORIE QUEENS". I just got it myself... but it is written by a mother and daughter who has lost over 300 pounds already! Check it out on www.amazon.com... and you can also check it out on there own web site as well.... www.caloriequeens.com.

This book totally explains calorie counting in easy terms.... even makes it fun! Again, I have just started reading it... but from what I have read already it seems awesome. Plus, I have talked to the mother author.... very nice people! It could be helpful! And it is only $10.00 roughly! Hope this helps.

I would say calories are too low, carbs are too high. Sweet and starchy foods are all high in carbs. That includes fruits, rice, potatoes, pasta, corn and other grains, and beans. If you eat carbs you should make sure they include all the fiber they should have. This means no "white foods". Whole grain is better. Brown rice, green beans. For people who are very heavy, calories are often not the problem. Many very heavy people have restricted their calories a lot more than one would expect and have pushed their bodies into a mode where their metabolism is slowed to the point where they can't lose weight.

Carbs however can be the problem. They become sugar in the blood, which the body has to deal with in some way. It either deals with it by using it for fuel, or if it has enough fuel, it stores the rest as fat. To get to that "reserve fuel" the body's fat stores, one must reduce the amount of sugar in the blood. This requires the body to access the fuel reserves and convert it into usable fuel. One effective way of doing this is to reduce your carb intake.

Everyone has already said some really smart things. I'd say even though you aren't hungry now, you very likely will be on so low a calorie count compared to how much your body is burning naturally. I think I've heard it said that it's easier to start higher and than gradually reduce lower. Also, my percentages were much like yours to begin with. I was pretty low on fat, equal on protein, and somewhat high on carbs. I wouldn't worry about that *too* much right now. You will probably see the lbs come off after a few weeks without having to worry too much about that. After a while I did start to look at protein, and added protein shakes and such and paid closer attention to my meat to get the percentage higher. Don't push yourself to move too fast though, you can always work on protein as you go. Some days will be better than others and you will just have to take it as you go. Good luck, we are all here anytime you have questions or need support!