Need to lose 40 lbs~ gradually bridging the gap.

[jayjay]

I am about 45 pounds over my ideal (I'll bargain at a 35lb weightloss, for now), and need to calculate the Ultimate Lifestyle for my healthy weight, and then just>>> PLUG IT IN. I am starting today ! I began the day thinking "Oh heck, I'll just join weightwatchers..." then I decided after reading some threads on this forum, to try something different first. My program is about adhering to the caloric needs to maintain 135lbs at 5'2" and mid 40's, with active lifestyle of hiking most mornings and incorporating riding several days in the week.

If I calculate the calories needed for the *exact* lifestyle I wish to lead (as I have been : 30 to 90 minutes hiking most mornings, and just now beginning to train on my bicycle roughly 1 to 2 hour regular weekly rides at a slow-moderate pace, uphill!), and then figure maintenance calories needed around it. I will then have my base-line Lifestyle Healthy Caloric needs met. I should start losing a lot right away, and eventually it will slowdown, until I bridge the gap, and find the right balance.

In the mean time, I will have gotten a lot of practice for my healthy goal weight and healthy weight lifestyle diet needs, but catered around the whole foods I favor to cook from scratch (including a treat of a little bit of homemade icecream most days (with less fat & less sugar) and a big slice of homemade wholegrain toast some mornings, with a little bit of butter or a little more of peanut butter.)

There seem to be so many diet programs which profit on the dieters adjusting needs as they go, making it very complex and changing, and thus very difficult for many people to adhere to, and the dieter often never even reaches their maintenance lifestyle!

In my thinking , I need to do the shortest line between two points.. then, and now. I need to learn Who, Where, and What that point is. This means I must carefully calculate my caloric needs for the slender me, what I want to eat for breakfasts , lunches and dinners, what treats I want to allow myself daily, what my unreasonable cravings/binges are and how to win over them, what I want to look like, and how I want to live....and then just Do It.

It will be really hard at first, but it will get easier and easier and easier as the gap narrows, and eventually I will reach my goal weight. The best part of such a plan is that when I do reach my healthy weight, I will have had at least a year of maintenance practice ! :D

The question is now... how to figure out my caloric needs for my personal goal lifestyle?

[redrhodie]

Hi JayJay,

I like this website:

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/

Hope it helps you meet your goal!

[cyclechick2008]

Sounds like you are really thinking out your plan. I believe that is most of the battle. My method is to write down what I eat and keep it between calories I need now and calories I'll need when I weigh what I want to. I can check quickly to see if I can spend the calories on a candy bar when I want to. I feel that by not having "forbidden" foods I don't really have cravings.

Kim

[VeloVT]

Hi Jayjay,
I have to say, it caught my eye that you hike 30-90 min each MORNING. I wish I could do that -- it must put you in a great frame of mind to start the day! That's pretty cool.

So, I'm a big fan of the Calorie King software (www.calorieking.com). It's a one-time purchase of about $40, but the database of foods and exercises is huge and updates are free. Basically, it allows you to calculate your caloric needs, and then build daily exercise/diet plans to meet your "net-calorie" needs. It's much easier for me than "journaling" my food for some reason. I lost about 8 lbs pretty quickly and easily last fall using Calorie King. I then stopped using it because of stress/lack of sleep/holidays and gained weight. I need to lose about 15 lbs (eek) but I'm confident that it will work for me again (I WILL start tomorrow, now that it's no longer getting dark at 3:45 and the weather is warmer I think it will be much easier).

Good luck!!! (You can wish me good luck too, I could use it :D).

[Tuckervill]

+1 on the Calorie King. You can also do it online at calorieking.com.

Caution that it does estimate high on calories burned, in my case. As soon as I started using a heart rate monitor that gave calorie counts, instead of the CK numbers, I started losing faster.

Karen

[jayjay]

Sounds like you are really thinking out your plan. I believe that is most of the battle. My method is to write down what I eat and keep it between calories I need now and calories I'll need when I weigh what I want to. I can check quickly to see if I can spend the calories on a candy bar when I want to. I feel that by not having "forbidden" foods I don't really have cravings.THanks Kim, I am *still* doing the theory work , on different websites. there is no doubt that I think for a while I am going to need to keep a food journal in the kitchen. I've come to the point where I'm open about it all with DH now anyway, so there's no secrets, no shame, and that's the other half of the battle. Also, I believe you are right about including the treats , in order to eliminate 'cheating' all together. It's got to be for life, so we have to 'gear up' in proper mindset for the distance, so to speak.

Since my life tends to swing between moderate, some light weeks, some very active weeks, (it's difficult to be the same every week), I'm averaging between numbers to come up with a target number. You think this is good?

Thanks others for the links, I will choose what works best and.. (I forgot to mention) ... what doesn't cost a dime. I am bent on not being trapped into any profit monger program, just makin' it harder on myself maybe, but it's a thing of principle. :cool: :D ;)

So, on "CaloriesPerHour" I calculated my average BMR and RMR over my leanest weight I can hope to weigh and maintain (125) and the heaviest weight I will allow myself to be while being in the healthy weight range for my body type (135). Between 125 and 135 I think is reasonable, to maintain for life, without dillusion ;) So, I'm looking at an average between moderate activity (now) and hard athletic sports (then) and it's all averaged at: BMR =2040 and RMR=1870

Question... I'm not sure what these BMR's or RMR's really are... still reading.

[VeloVT]

Tuckervill --
Grrr, don't get me started on the idiocy of the Calorie King exercise calculator. For running, aside from the fact that no runner who runs with a stopwatch ever calculates their pace as "miles per hour" (instead of "minutes per mile"), necessitating tedious conversion, it measure "calories per minute" instead of calories per distance. Of course, the increase in calorie burn per minute running at a faster pace is much smaller than the increase in time gained by running at a slower pace -- and the completely WRONG result is that if I run 4 miles at a 9 minute pace, Calorie King tells me I burned more calories than if I run 4 miles at a 7 minute pace. This is just not true, sorry! This makes me absolutely crazy. I tried to send their tech support people an email about how stupid this way of calculating it is but after carefully composing a long email on their support form and clicking submit, the page failed because I didn't have the right cookie permissions enabled... arrgh.

Anyway, for running and biking, my two most common activities, I just use the rough estimate that running burns about 100 calories per mile, and biking burns about 40 (this last estimate is very rough and doesn't really take speed, wind etc into consideration, and they make a much bigger difference biking than they do running. On the other hand, I will take off a little bit if a lot of my riding was done in town with lots of stopping for lights). Then I randomly pick a pace and enter in a number of minutes that (according to their formula) produces the number of calories I estimate I burned :rolleyes:...

[jayjay]

From this website : http://nutrition.about.com/library/bl_nutrition_guide.htm

I have done averages until I am blue in the face. So the information I was wanting is this > to weigh my goal weight of 130 pounds I should eat 1725 calories per day to maintain without exercize. That is what I am basing my absolute bottom intake. Here is a little chart I've made for an example, based completely on my age , gender, and size:

130 goal weight maintenance~
no exercize needs 1725 cal per day
30 min exercize needs 1930 cal per day
60 min exercize needs 2185 cal per day.

>>THIS IS THE CALORIE NEEDS I AM PLUGGING INTO AS OF NOW, @ 172 pounds. <<<

So, do you think 1725 minimum, 2200 maximum (average 2000) to lose 40 pounds is reasonable?

I still have the huge task of learning the caloric value of the things I eat, most all of which is cooked from scratch. So, if I stay around 2000 calories per day, take or give a couple hundred, I think that is my personal losing rate and goal weight maintenance number for an average through the weeks of some days very lite to others heavy days of exercize.

I am thinking I have been consuming somewhere between 2500 and 3000 per day in recent years, while hiking mornings, and still gaining. sheesh!

ps. I suppose until I get it figured out I can eat packaged foods with the caloric value posted, or even ... buy... weightwatchers foods. Any tips for someone who is a diehard 'no prepared food' eater?

[VeloVT]

That doesn't sound right... I think once you have reached 130, those calorie levels will allow you to maintain it. I think you need to create more of a deficit than that in order to lose... Calorie King has me eating about 1200 calories per day for losing (closer to 1500-1600) for maintenance (these are both "net" counts -- that is, calories consumed minus calories burned -- so if you ride for a couple of hours and burn 1,000 calories, you could theoretically eat 2200 calories and still lose, as long as the difference between what you consume and what you burn is within your goal range). I find this a big motivator to get me exercising, (that is, when I"m using CK diligently), because if you don't exercise at all, you are only allowed to eat 1200 calories that day. It's hard to put together a nutritious day, much less a satisfying one, on 1200 calories (it can be done, you just can't eat any junk). Once you start exercising, you find that the additional hunger is smaller than the additional amount of calories you're allowed to eat.

Also, you can't plug in generic values for "minutes of exercise" -- it really matters what you are doing. Running for an hour is different than biking for an hour or walking for an hour or swimming for an hour.

And yes, prepackaged foods work fine. I find that cutting up lots of fruits and vegetables and putting them in little bags helps keep me feeling full without eating that many calories (I do count calories for those too -- but, once you get past the psychological aspect of wanting comfort food, which is hard for me, I do find that two carrots (about 50 calories) can be a lot more filling than a mini-bag of pretzels from the vending machine with 2-3 times the calories).

[GLC1968]

Any tips for someone who is a diehard 'no prepared food' eater?

Yes - stay that way!!! Don't start buying prepared foods to lose weight...you'll just compromise your health unnecessarily. Many of the web calorie counters allow you to build recipes and then eat only servings of them. You can 'build' them with fresh foods from their database, so it's not like you have to key them in yourself. You just pick the foods you cook with and then save the recipe for future use. I have lately been using www.MyFoodDiary.com (http://www.MyFoodDiary.com)and it's really, really good for this. (Best I've found so far but it is $9/mo.)

I think that your basic calorie calculations are pretty good, but keep in mind...if you eat those calories now to lose weight (which is likely because your BMR is higher due to your current weight), you will probably have to adjust these numbers as you get closer to your goals. As you lose weight, your body becomes more efficient at functioning on lower calories, so you'll have to lower them again to keep the weight loss going. That's one of the reasons why you don't want to drop the calories too drastically to start...

Good luck with it!

(I just put together a plan for myself...7 months to lose 30 lbs...so I'll be following your progress!)

[jayjay]

That doesn't sound right... I think once you have reached 130, those calorie levels will allow you to maintain it. I think you need to create more of a deficit than that in order to lose... Calorie King has me eating about 1200 calories per day for losing (closer to 1500-1600) for maintenance Okay, I'll keep that in mind. My whole fascination with this method I've come up with is to start with my goal weight's caloric maintenance needs. I will lose weight gradually, slowing down, until I am maintaining. Okay, maybe some readjustment will need to happen closer to that happening, but to start off, at 172 pounds I think in order for me to not go into a starvation mode from my abundant calorie intake in the present, it's not so off ?


I find this a big motivator to get me exercising, (that is, when I"m using CK diligently), because if you don't exercise at all, you are only allowed to eat 1200 calories that day. It's hard to put together a nutritious day, much less a satisfying one, on 1200 calories (it can be done, you just can't eat any junk). Once you start exercising, you find that the additional hunger is smaller than the additional amount of calories you're allowed to eat. I want to lose slowly, with practice in proper maintenance being my number one focus. If I wanted to drop 10 pounds per month, sure, I'd have to eat a lot less. I'm thinking maybe to base the minimum 1725 calories to be a bit more reasonable then? That way, any exercize calories burned , are just icing on the case. I tend to like to base a scenario on worst case, just for a lot of safety zone.


Also, you can't plug in generic values for "minutes of exercise" -- it really matters what you are doing. Running for an hour is different than biking for an hour or walking for an hour or swimming for an hour. I totally get that. Everything I'm gauging is bikeride time uphill, up a steep climb in lowest gear, and walking uphill. I will begin to not count downhill minutes. How's that? I think it sounds about right.

And yes, prepackaged foods work fine. I find that cutting up lots of fruits and vegetables and putting them in little bags helps keep me feeling full without eating that many calories (I do count calories for those too -- but, once you get past the psychological aspect of wanting comfort food, which is hard for me, I do find that two carrots (about 50 calories) can be a lot more filling than a mini-bag of pretzels from the vending machine with 2-3 times the calories). I'm with you there. The hardest part of the whole thing in lifestyle change is looking for other aspects in life which offer comfort... or, other non-caloric things. For me black coffee is a comfort food, even decaff. I also get a good comfort feeling from teas of all kinds. And by all means, I've got to learn to replace starchy and sugary snax with vegie/fruit snacks ~ ! Thanks Liza! :D

[Tuckervill]

You can use Calorie King and Sparkpeople online for free.

Karen

[jayjay]

Yes - stay that way!!! Don't start buying prepared foods to lose weight...you'll just compromise your health unnecessarily. Many of the web calorie counters allow you to build recipes and then eat only servings of them. You can 'build' them with fresh foods from their database, so it's not like you have to key them in yourself. You just pick the foods you cook with and then save the recipe for future use. That sounds like a terrific idea. See , I'm just really out of the loop. I didn't realize that i only have to 'make the recipe' once, then, if I adhere to the recipe, and carefully cut portions, I'm probably close enough. It will just take a long time to figure out a serving size of my favorite dishes (lazagna, paella, enchilladas, pizza). But, I consider the veggies 'free' except for the dressings that I may toss 'em with, I will get use to pigging out on salads and mounds of brocolli/cauliflower/zuchini again. :D


I think that your basic calorie calculations are pretty good, but keep in mind...if you eat those calories now to lose weight (which is likely because your BMR is higher due to your current weight), you will probably have to adjust these numbers as you get closer to your goals. As you lose weight, your body becomes more efficient at functioning on lower calories, so you'll have to lower them again to keep the weight loss going. That's one of the reasons why you don't want to drop the calories too drastically to start...
My thinking exactly. But I think that between 1700 and 2000 calories is a good safe start with least amount of metabolic freak-out. :eek:

[/UOTE]Good luck with it! (I just put together a plan for myself...7 months to lose 30 lbs...so I'll be following your progress!)[/QUOTE] Are you doing something similar? Hey, Thanks !!!:D:D:D

[tulip]

The calorie counting is one aspect, important for weight loss, but I fear you might be losing something with all that math.

Eat well. Live well. Be active.

Eat an apple every day, and carrots and salads, preferably from local gardens and markets. Walk places. Eat whole grains-bread, pasta, rice...Eat local, humanely-raised meat (if you eat meat) and milk (if you drink milk). Your plate should be filled with color.

For me, personally, a more European approach is what works for me. I go to local markets frequently and buy what is fresh and in season. I love to cook, the freshest foods make the best meals. I eat slowly and enjoy a good meal. I stop when I've had enough--before I'm full.

So, count calories if you have to, but don't obsess about it. Change your lifestyle wholistically, not just the counting. Counting gets boring and boring isn't sustainable.

[jayjay]

You can use Calorie King and Sparkpeople online for free. KarenThanks! I've been browsing over them....

[jayjay]

The calorie counting is one aspect, important for weight loss, but I fear you might be losing something with all that math.
Eat well. Live well. Be active. I am too much the other way... never count anything, just ride or hike when I feel like it (or the dog makes me) and really , at 46yrs have not hardly learned what true discipline is . It's not like I think counting calories will keep me from eating them, (I notice this seems to be some kind of a method with some?) but will allow me to be aware of what I'm taking in. Once I get my favorite foods, and proper portions down, I think that I will just 'get it' and I wont' have to count anymore. I think though, honestly, that just about every method incorporates calories, or points, or some such keeping track. I have never successfully done that before though, and i'ts difficult for me to brace myself for doing it now, too. :(


Eat an apple every day, and carrots and salads, preferably from local gardens and markets. Walk places. Eat whole grains-bread, pasta, rice...Eat local, humanely-raised meat (if you eat meat) and milk (if you drink milk). Your plate should be filled with color. Honey, you're preaching to the choir...I couldn't agree more! :D


For me, personally, a more European approach is what works for me. I go to local markets frequently and buy what is fresh and in season. I love to cook, the freshest foods make the best meals. I eat slowly and enjoy a good meal. I stop when I've had enough--before I'm full.
So, count calories if you have to, but don't obsess about it. Change your lifestyle wholistically, not just the counting. Counting gets boring and boring isn't sustainable. I live out in the boonies, so runs to the market must be more frugal, once a week I try to keep it. I have to learn to slow down that's for sure, but I am a manic frenzied person anyway, so that's tough. Maybe I need to drink a little wine before my dinner, maybe that will help (but more calories...oy) Learning where 80% full is, is a tough one for me. Leaving a little hunger, is wise, but just not me. The times when I was really fit though, and slender, I didn't need food to sedate me, so, like so many things, it's the law of inertia... it will gain momentum as it goes, jsut difficult to begin. Thanks a whole lot !

[Tuckervill]

Get a kitchen scale and measure all your servings. Measure all your ingredients, too.

Use only recipes that have provided the calories per serving.

Use nutritiondata.com to analyze your original recipes. (free).

I have made a bunch of incremental changes over the last 4 years or so. I've been meaning to take time to list them, because some of them are so ingrained in my life that I don't recall off hand what they were anymore. But it started with:

*eliminating Diet Coke and replacing it with unsweetened iced tea.
*eating breakfast within an hour after rising
*eating oatmeal with raisins and walnuts for breakfast
*Using the salad plates instead of dinner plates for every meal.
*Measuring all my food
*Recording all my food.
*Adding exercise, of course.
*Adding more activity, of course.
*refusing to feel guilty about anything I eat
*reading labels
*journaling my struggles with food/exercise
*eliminating high fructose corn syrup, which led to
*eliminating processed foods
*became a student of everything exercise and nutrition related
*watching work outs on TV, even when I'd already worked out that day
*search harder for restaurants which have fresh food (we eat out often)
*pretty much eliminated fast food (but I have a kid and sometimes we need something QUICK)

A couple of changes I am now making...I'm replacing iced tea with water at most meals out. Thinking about how to implement never eating anything that I don't know exactly how many calories it has.

There are more changes to be made. I'm not perfect and never will be. And I'm not giving up my daily hot cup of tea with real sugar--and I put sugar in my oatmeal, too!

Karen

[VeloVT]

Get a kitchen scale and measure all your servings. Measure all your ingredients, too.

-and I put sugar in my oatmeal, too!

Karen

Measuring really helps you keep on track. I bought a scale mainly for pasta -- but once I started measuring everything -- the milk I put in my tea, wine, etc -- I started losing a lot faster.

And Karen -- maple syrup in oatmeal = mmmmm (I like to throw in walnuts and chopped apple too).

(I like it unsweetend with banana and milk too, but my boyfriend finds cooked banana revolting, so when we eat it together...).

[GLC1968]

Jayjay - I am doing something similiar. I've been on the diet wagon for the past 15 years (well, all my life, really - I've always been a 'weight fighter'), so I've got the experience...I just need to put it all into play again.

I've gained a bunch of weight since I started cycling (it gave me a new reason to EAT!) and the worst of it in the past 6 months or so.

My plan is to eat clean, track calories and nutrition as a reference, exercise consistently again (something I've slacked off on lately), and generally get back into living the way that makes me feel good. It actually should be a lot easier for me now that I live in a place where healthy foods are more plentiful and where people are generally more accepting of a healthy lifestyle. This was sorely lacking in my last city of residence, so it was always a constant battle (to get foods prepared the way I wanted them when we went out, to find healthy ingredients/foods, to not get run over when biking to work, to constantly have to justify my lifestyle choices, etc)

I think you have the makings of a good plan, and I also think you have a good attitude about it. One thing to keep in mind (that it sounds like you already are) is that numbers are one thing, reality is something else. Even if you are hitting all the right numbers and doing all the right things, the human body often doesn't cooperate. There are tons of other factors (hormone balance, age, thyroid function, etc) that can influence how easy or difficult weight loss could be for you as an individual. Keep a healthy perspective on what is a reasonable amount of time in which to reach your goals and what is a reasonable weight for YOU. Mark your progress in the development of healthy habits, your improved health, your improved performance and your improved attitude...that way, when the scale or the measurements don't move the way you expect them to, you can remain positive and on track.

(easy for me to say, not so easy for me to do!!:p)

[cyclingmom]

Jayjay, I'm right there with you. I've got 51 lbs still to lose til I get to my goal weight. Slowly but surely getting there.
Yeah, I hate the changing needs thing too. For me, I am on a reduced calorie diet, which has worked well for me for about 2 years now. And on days of long rides, I do up the amount on that day, and just that day. For me, I eat abour 1300-1600 calories a day for average workout days (anything 2 hours or less in duration of mdoerate activity). ON long ride days, since they run about 5-6 horus, I take in around 2000 calories for that day.
For maintaining, it's about 1800 calories on a daily basis.

I dont do many prepared food either unless I'm in a hurry, I tend to cook things myself. Healthier for me and my family. I use sparkpeople to journal my food each day and my calories burned. They are free, though you do have to sign up. I only use it for the calculators though, cause they have been the most accurate for me. It's helped a lot.
You are about 5 lbs lighter than I am I see after reading further. A calorie book is great too, you can just look up the amount of calories in certain foods.

The basic forumla is to burn more calories than you use. The BMR and RMR tell you your metabolic rate so you know how many calories a day your body burns on average (which for most people of an average weight (meaning not obese), it's about 1200 calories for your every day bodily functions). So, you automatically burn that just living. Then your goal is to burn at least 500 additional calories a day for loss. So, say you east 1200-1400 calories a day (which is the average amount for those looking to lose weigh who are under 200 lbs for a female). You should burn 500 additional calories a day for weight loss.
Like I said earlier though, I eat at a higher amount as I find that leave me feeling hungry to be that low. If you have been eating 2500-3000 daily, you could safely start off at around 1600-1800 (which is where you are saying), and start losing weight as it will be less than your system is used to.

Sounds like a few of us have some weight loss goals, it's good to be in good company :)

[jayjay]

Jayjay - One thing to keep in mind (that it sounds like you already are) is that numbers are one thing, reality is something else. Even if you are hitting all the right numbers and doing all the right things, the human body often doesn't cooperate. There are tons of other factors (hormone balance, age, thyroid function, etc) that can influence how easy or difficult weight loss could be for you as an individual. Keep a healthy perspective on what is a reasonable amount of time in which to reach your goals and what is a reasonable weight for YOU. Mark your progress in the development of healthy habits, your improved health, your improved performance and your improved attitude...that way, when the scale or the measurements don't move the way you expect them to, you can remain positive and on track. You know, I am hearing you loud and clear. The more you wise women respond the more I'm thinking "what was I thinking?!". I think that for now, just wading into the waters of calorie counting is a big step. I am writing everything down in a little notebook on my kitchen worktable, beginning to measure and write down amounts as well as just what, and look at labels closely and try to do the math for a serving if it's on the label> and that's a huge step all in itself, even if I never add up the calories. Thank you so much~ !

I did see a picture of me this weekend taken and I didn't know I look so heavy. I think it's wise for me to be reasonable, but heck, I want to look good too, after all the effort I see this is going to take. I mean, there's got to be a little icing on the cake... sheesh ! Kinda depressed about the mountain I have to climb, metaphorically and literally....:(

[Tuckervill]

Measuring really helps you keep on track. I bought a scale mainly for pasta -- but once I started measuring everything -- the milk I put in my tea, wine, etc -- I started losing a lot faster.

And Karen -- maple syrup in oatmeal = mmmmm (I like to throw in walnuts and chopped apple too).

(I like it unsweetend with banana and milk too, but my boyfriend finds cooked banana revolting, so when we eat it together...).

Yes, I'll have to stock up on maple syrup when I'm in Vermont in September. We can only get it in tiny little bottles for about $5 a pint...and it's from CANADA. ;)

Karen

[jayjay]

Jayjay, I'm right there with you. I've got 51 lbs still to lose til I get to my goal weight. Slowly but surely getting there.
Yeah, I hate the changing needs thing too. For me, I am on a reduced calorie diet, which has worked well for me for about 2 years now. And on days of long rides, I do up the amount on that day, and just that day. For me, I eat abour 1300-1600 calories a day for average workout days (anything 2 hours or less in duration of mdoerate activity). ON long ride days, since they run about 5-6 horus, I take in around 2000 calories for that day
For maintaining, it's about 1800 calories on a daily basis. . If you've been eating so few calories for 2 years, you must have lost quite a few pounds !

I dont do many prepared food either unless I'm in a hurry, I tend to cook things myself. Healthier for me and my family. I use sparkpeople to journal my food each day and my calories burned. They are free, though you do have to sign up. I only use it for the calculators though, cause they have been the most accurate for me. It's helped a lot.
You are about 5 lbs lighter than I am I see after reading further. A calorie book is great too, you can just look up the amount of calories in certain foods. Yes, I need a good calorie book of basic food ingredients rather than long lists of already prepared and fast food stuff. got any tips?


The basic forumla is to burn more calories than you use. The BMR and RMR tell you your metabolic rate so you know how many calories a day your body burns on average (which for most people of an average weight (meaning not obese), it's about 1200 calories for your every day bodily functions). So, you automatically burn that just living. Then your goal is to burn at least 500 additional calories a day for loss. So, say you east 1200-1400 calories a day (which is the average amount for those looking to lose weigh who are under 200 lbs for a female). You should burn 500 additional calories a day for weight loss.
Like I said earlier though, I eat at a higher amount as I find that leave me feeling hungry to be that low. If you have been eating 2500-3000 daily, you could safely start off at around 1600-1800 (which is where you are saying), and start losing weight as it will be less than your system is used to.Sounds like a few of us have some weight loss goals, it's good to be in good company :) Thank you so very much. It is all a lot of help!

[Tuckervill]

Kinda depressed about the mountain I have to climb, metaphorically and literally....

You can only climb a mountain one step at a time. :)

Here's some inspiration. www.littlechanges.com

Karen

[jayjay]

Get a kitchen scale and measure all your servings. Measure all your ingredients, too. I have made a bunch of incremental changes over the last 4 years or so. I've been meaning to take time to list them, because some of them are so ingrained in my life that I don't recall off hand what they were anymore.... Thanks Karen, for all of the tips! I agree with all of them. I am rethinking a little bit, these first days into TheRetroaction back to Fit & Slender, and thinking I need to do more, a lot more, but I really am being picky and choosey. One thing I am implementing is lowering the morning caffeine, because that makes me on edge, quick to fire off, which keeps me in a bad mood, which is harmful to my self esteem, and a higher self esteem is paramount to success in self overhauls.The other I think that is screaming obvious is to religiously take vitamins, and drink more water.
~Jen

ps. I enjoyed reading about Priscilla's journey. I need to have such courage! I'm working on curbing my ridiculous self-consciousness about being fat, and to stop hiding, and to put on the lycra and ride anyway, whiile all of the slim riders pass me up the mtn. That's okay. It may not have been 10 years ago, or even 5, but it is now.

[tulip]

Jayjay, +1 on the caffeine. I let go of coffee a few years back, and I'm calmer and happier and much more patient (with myself and with others).

In my case, I also lost alot of weight when I stopped drinking coffee because I stopped going to Starbucks and stopped having those high-calorie (empty calories) coffee drinks and muffin-cakes. I wonder also if eliminating caffeine also changed my metabolism somehow. I stopped the coffee and the weight just came off without a whole lot of extra effort. I did start eating more fruit, and I was riding my bike alot already. I don't know about the metabolism thing, though. Just a guess.

[Tuckervill]

When I gave up Diet Coke, I gave up much of the caffeine I was used to consuming. Now it's a cup of Earl Gray in the morning, and 1-2 times a week a large unsweetened tea that will probably last me all day.

I don't miss the caffeine, really. I had rapid heart rate sometimes just from the caffeine. I can live without that.

Karen

[redrhodie]

Jayjay, +1 on the caffeine. I let go of coffee a few years back, and I'm calmer and happier and much more patient (with myself and with others).

In my case, I also lost alot of weight when I stopped drinking coffee because I stopped going to Starbucks and stopped having those high-calorie (empty calories) coffee drinks and muffin-cakes. I wonder also if eliminating caffeine also changed my metabolism somehow. I stopped the coffee and the weight just came off without a whole lot of extra effort.

Doesn't sound like the coffee was the culprit! Black coffee, with no fake flavors, has no calories, and won't make you gain weight. Those drinks probably had high fructose corn syrup and other junk in them.

[Pedal Wench]

Jayjay, good luck with this.

I've been trying to drop just a few pounds in the past two months, and I'm amazed at how hard it has been. (everyone who says that as you get older it gets harder, and also, the closer you are to your goal weight, the harder it is)

While doing the research and counting numbers is all good, someone else mentioned just starting to 'eat clean'. Make that a life goal. I just don't eat certain things -- they're not part of my lifestyle. So, no fried stuff, no white bread, no cream sauces, limit cheesy/milky things, no beef, no pork. But, add veggies to each and every meal. Make fruits your snack of choice. Drink lots of teas (decaf) if you don't care for water. It's a quick, easy start

[tulip]

Doesn't sound like the coffee was the culprit! Black coffee, with no fake flavors, has no calories, and won't make you gain weight. Those drinks probably had high fructose corn syrup and other junk in them.

no doubt, and I always had them with those tasty bakery goodies. I don't like black coffee. I do tea now.