Counting Calories

[krisy]

I have found this to be a great way to loose weight. I found a website that said most women will loose weight eating 1500 calories or less a day. Minimum of 1200. When I started I was only eating 1200 or less which was fine in the beginning,but after a while wasn't enough because of the physical job I have and the amount of excercise I do everyday.

You don't have to deprive yourself on anything,BUT you have to moderate those goodies if you want to eat the rest of the day. I have dropped a lot of weight,but I am in a plateau right now and I'm pulling my hair out!! I only have 20 more pounds to go,but it is dripping off and I'm hungry all the time. From what I have read,this is a plateau. Your body starts making you hungry non stop because it feels its being starved. I'm supposed to up my cals slightly and up my workouts.

Might be a good idea for anyone struggling that doesn't want to give up fattening food completely. Eat as healthy as possible so you can have more,but slip in some good stuff too.

[jimnyc]

I went this route for awhile and it drove me nuts. I was trying to stay on a strict 1600 a day calorie count. It will work if you're patient and stick to it. That's the bottom line, take in less calories per day than you work off = weight loss. I figured it would be easy. But for me, I found myself eating about 300 calories up till dinner time, then about 600-800 for dinner, and then about 4000 more on junk food at night! LOL

[Shadow]

One of the things that worked for me was... along with counting the calories, also eat lots of foods that are natural fat burners like cabbage,tomatoes,radishes,stawberries etc...

Along time ago I bought a book at the grocery store that listed them and talked about the benefits. Works pretty good in place of the fat burning diet pills.

Here is a link to a list of some of them:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Free-List-of-Fat-Burning-Foods&id=29877

[krisy]

I went this route for awhile and it drove me nuts. I was trying to stay on a strict 1600 a day calorie count. It will work if you're patient and stick to it. That's the bottom line, take in less calories per day than you work off = weight loss. I figured it would be easy. But for me, I found myself eating about 300 calories up till dinner time, then about 600-800 for dinner, and then about 4000 more on junk food at night! LOL

I was thinking of you jim after reading your other posts,thinking it might work for you. I thought the website I was at gave men an 1800 cal a day diet.

I have trouble with eating at night too. I love to eat while watching tv. I was also starving myself up until dinner so I could eat more at night. I figured out pretty quickly that if I had a bigger breakfast and filled up a little more throughout the day and drank water(yuck),Im not as hungry at night. I will admit tho,I still do save more cals for night than day. They say the key is a big breakfast. At night I try to have low cal stuff like popcorn to make me feel like I'm pigging out even tho I'm not.

Also,depending on your activity level,you may be able to go over 1800 and still loose weight. A couple of websites I was on said I could eat 1700-1800 and loose weight because of my activity level. Look around the grocery. There are a ton of low cal "junk food" out there. From ice cream to meat. It will cost you tho.

[krisy]

One of the things that worked for me was... along with counting the calories, also eat lots of foods that are natural fat burners like cabbage,tomatoes,radishes,stawberries etc...

Along time ago I bought a book at the grocery store that listed them and talked about the benefits. Works pretty good in place of the fat burning diet pills.

Here is a link to a list of some of them:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Free-List-of-Fat-Burning-Foods&id=29877

I will check this site out when I get on my other computer,this one won't go to the site. Good to know these foods really burn fat. I haven't had a radish in years!

[ConHog]

I just ate some of my smoked fatty. My closest estimate is about 5,000 calories worth :laugh2:

It was COLD out at my 6 am run to. But oh so worth it.

[krisy]

I just ate some of my smoked fatty. My closest estimate is about 5,000 calories worth :laugh2:

It was COLD out at my 6 am run to. But oh so worth it.

Awesome discipline getting up at 6 and running OUTSIDE! My excercise has moved indoors some days since winter has arrived,some days are pretty warm here in Cincy lately. Not today tho.

[jimnyc]

I was thinking of you jim after reading your other posts,thinking it might work for you. I thought the website I was at gave men an 1800 cal a day diet.

I have trouble with eating at night too. I love to eat while watching tv. I was also starving myself up until dinner so I could eat more at night. I figured out pretty quickly that if I had a bigger breakfast and filled up a little more throughout the day and drank water(yuck),Im not as hungry at night. I will admit tho,I still do save more cals for night than day. They say the key is a big breakfast. At night I try to have low cal stuff like popcorn to make me feel like I'm pigging out even tho I'm not.

Also,depending on your activity level,you may be able to go over 1800 and still loose weight. A couple of websites I was on said I could eat 1700-1800 and loose weight because of my activity level. Look around the grocery. There are a ton of low cal "junk food" out there. From ice cream to meat. It will cost you tho.

Yep, you can do a 2200 a day if you like, you just have to work a lot more off! I'm treating my junk food like an addiction, and slowly working my way off of them. It's like crack to me! LOL

[krisy]

Yep, you can do a 2200 a day if you like, you just have to work a lot more off! I'm treating my junk food like an addiction, and slowly working my way off of them. It's like crack to me! LOL



LOL! I know what you mean. I was so pissed at myself that I got mad enough and just did it. I don't crave chips and cookies too much,but I love big dinners and there a few restaurants here that I crave a lot. Larosas pizza and Skyline Chili being 2 of them.

[Thunderknuckles]

I have found this to be a great way to loose weight. I found a website that said most women will loose weight eating 1500 calories or less a day. Minimum of 1200. When I started I was only eating 1200 or less which was fine in the beginning,but after a while wasn't enough because of the physical job I have and the amount of excercise I do everyday.

You don't have to deprive yourself on anything,BUT you have to moderate those goodies if you want to eat the rest of the day. I have dropped a lot of weight,but I am in a plateau right now and I'm pulling my hair out!! I only have 20 more pounds to go,but it is dripping off and I'm hungry all the time. From what I have read,this is a plateau. Your body starts making you hungry non stop because it feels its being starved. I'm supposed to up my cals slightly and up my workouts.

Might be a good idea for anyone struggling that doesn't want to give up fattening food completely. Eat as healthy as possible so you can have more,but slip in some good stuff too.
Fad diets are OK for temporary weight loss but this is just the fundamental way in which all living things live. During my years of exercise and weight training, I never picked up any "diet". I just followed the basic principle outlined in your post. It's basic physics. Never felt better in my life and once you reach a comfortable zone it's easy to maintain as it becomes your "lifestyle".....moderate activity combined with moderate energy intake to reach equilibrium.

[Jess]

A gain of 5 -10# in winter is pretty normal. Unfortunately, I started early on that. (Gunny's fault.;)) My normal work is very physical and outside. Right now I don't have as much work and I don't have to work as hard, which means ... I don't burn off as many calories.

And when you have kids, even if they're older, one tends to have adopted a habit of finishing the couple bites they leave or something they won't eat, etc. Or at least I did. Ugh. Plus, their growing little bodies burn off the food faster than they can shove the stuff down their gullet. If I eat/snack every time they do, I gain. Not fair.

[Gunny]

I have found this to be a great way to loose weight. I found a website that said most women will loose weight eating 1500 calories or less a day. Minimum of 1200. When I started I was only eating 1200 or less which was fine in the beginning,but after a while wasn't enough because of the physical job I have and the amount of excercise I do everyday.

You don't have to deprive yourself on anything,BUT you have to moderate those goodies if you want to eat the rest of the day. I have dropped a lot of weight,but I am in a plateau right now and I'm pulling my hair out!! I only have 20 more pounds to go,but it is dripping off and I'm hungry all the time. From what I have read,this is a plateau. Your body starts making you hungry non stop because it feels its being starved. I'm supposed to up my cals slightly and up my workouts.

Might be a good idea for anyone struggling that doesn't want to give up fattening food completely. Eat as healthy as possible so you can have more,but slip in some good stuff too.

The actual formula is to burn off more calories than you take in to lose weight. There are too many variables to the topic to have any one set program. It starts with you as an individual, your body type, and how your body uses calories and goes from there. It also depends on your goal. If it's just to drop pounds PERIOD, that's a different goal than just getting rid of fat (especially while retaining lean body mass).

If you're at a plateau, try something different for 3-5 days. Your body is going to adjust to whatever you try, one way or the other, and your body WILL protect its fat stores at the expense of lean muscle. You have to trick it, basically.

[Mr. P]

Check out this site. A wealth of GOOD info, tracking, personal diets and workout programs for "your" goals and much more. FREE
It's really a NO BS goldmine of information and resources! :2up:

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/main.asp