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03-30-2010, 03:35 PM
#11
Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,083
Hi Amylee!
Sounds like you made it through today okay. I had to laugh at your looking for the scale. I have gotten a little too scale focused myself these days and decided to have my husband take it to work with him for 2 weeks starting tomorrow. Great minds think alike!!
Here's a link to a calculator that has been very helpful to me in figuring out how many calories to eat, and also how to cycle them to hopefully avoid the body figuring out how many are coming and slowing down the metabolism:
Calorie Calculator - Daily Caloric Needs
You may want to do a little research on 1000 calories a day. Conventional wisdom is that your metabolism slows down on less than about 1200, making it even harder to lose weight, even though it seems like you should lose faster with fewer calories.
At any rate, great job on your logging, great job on your exercising, and good for you for coming and posting the worries. Somehow it's easier to let them go that way
. Hope tomorrow is a successful day as well!
P.S.: Lizzie, your perseverance is awesome! You are really committed and I know you will reach your goals!
Here's a link to a calculator that has been very helpful to me in figuring out how many calories to eat, and also how to cycle them to hopefully avoid the body figuring out how many are coming and slowing down the metabolism:
Calorie Calculator - Daily Caloric Needs
You may want to do a little research on 1000 calories a day. Conventional wisdom is that your metabolism slows down on less than about 1200, making it even harder to lose weight, even though it seems like you should lose faster with fewer calories.
At any rate, great job on your logging, great job on your exercising, and good for you for coming and posting the worries. Somehow it's easier to let them go that way
. Hope tomorrow is a successful day as well!P.S.: Lizzie, your perseverance is awesome! You are really committed and I know you will reach your goals!
Last edited by cjohnson728; 03-30-2010 at 03:37 PM.
03-30-2010, 09:22 PM
#12
FitDay Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 687
CJ: Thanks 
I'm battling a plateau right now, but it's OK. A little frustrating because I'm bouncing from between 158.5 and 161, and 158.0 is my halfway mark 
. I think I need to hide the scale for a while too lol.
I'm battling a plateau right now, but it's OK. A little frustrating because I'm bouncing from between 158.5 and 161, and 158.0 is my halfway mark . I think I need to hide the scale for a while too lol.
04-01-2010, 06:06 AM
#13
FitDay Premium Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 2,042
number of calories???
Hi Amylee and everyone else,
CJ is right that our bodies are pretty miraculous things and will try to protect us from starvation when consumption gets below a certain level. Typically, the number seems to be about 1000 calories, BUT it really depends on the person. My doctor told me that the 1200 calorie limit for "healthy" weight loss was established by the American Medical Society (actually a subcommittee of that organization) as the limit a person can do without medical assistance. The theory being that at less than 1200 calories a person will not be able to get enough of the required vitamins, minerals and other nutrients to sustain a health body, so monitoring by an MD is important. In his experience 1000 calories is fine for a relatively short period of time (like 3 or 4 weeks), particularly if the person is doing a good job of monitoring essential nutrients. Luckily for us, that is exactly what FitDay enables us to do.
So use all the tools available to check nutrient status, protein-carb-fat ratios etc.
My standard calorie load has been 1200, but as I approach my goals I tend to shoot for 1000 or so. Unfortunetly the difference between 1000 and 1200 is a regular Starbucks latte, or an extra helping or rice (brown, white or green), so it can be a little challenging.
If you find yourself not losing any more weight after a sustained diet of 1000 calories, up it to 1200 or so. One of the best tools in Fid Day is the "weight goal" tab. Once you establish your beginning and ending weight and set a time period for accomplishing it, the program will calculate how much of a calorie deficit you need to maintain. You can approach the calorie deficit by either reducing what you eat or increasing your exercise. The program will then track how successfully you have followed that regime.
It's a pretty cool tool.
And, in my experience - throw that scale out! LOL (at least for a while until you drop a dress size) For me it causes more heart ache when I don't reach my goal than feelings of accomplishment when I do Now that I am on the landing path to my goal, I will weigh myself - but once a week MAX
BTW all of your stories continue to inspire me! Thanks so much for your honesty and openness.
Pam
CJ is right that our bodies are pretty miraculous things and will try to protect us from starvation when consumption gets below a certain level. Typically, the number seems to be about 1000 calories, BUT it really depends on the person. My doctor told me that the 1200 calorie limit for "healthy" weight loss was established by the American Medical Society (actually a subcommittee of that organization) as the limit a person can do without medical assistance. The theory being that at less than 1200 calories a person will not be able to get enough of the required vitamins, minerals and other nutrients to sustain a health body, so monitoring by an MD is important. In his experience 1000 calories is fine for a relatively short period of time (like 3 or 4 weeks), particularly if the person is doing a good job of monitoring essential nutrients. Luckily for us, that is exactly what FitDay enables us to do.
So use all the tools available to check nutrient status, protein-carb-fat ratios etc.
My standard calorie load has been 1200, but as I approach my goals I tend to shoot for 1000 or so. Unfortunetly the difference between 1000 and 1200 is a regular Starbucks latte, or an extra helping or rice (brown, white or green), so it can be a little challenging.
If you find yourself not losing any more weight after a sustained diet of 1000 calories, up it to 1200 or so. One of the best tools in Fid Day is the "weight goal" tab. Once you establish your beginning and ending weight and set a time period for accomplishing it, the program will calculate how much of a calorie deficit you need to maintain. You can approach the calorie deficit by either reducing what you eat or increasing your exercise. The program will then track how successfully you have followed that regime.
It's a pretty cool tool.
And, in my experience - throw that scale out! LOL (at least for a while until you drop a dress size) For me it causes more heart ache when I don't reach my goal than feelings of accomplishment when I do
Now that I am on the landing path to my goal, I will weigh myself - but once a week MAXBTW all of your stories continue to inspire me! Thanks so much for your honesty and openness.
Pam
04-01-2010, 07:14 AM
#14
Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,083
LOL; I agree about that scale! Someone on another thread had a really good idea (I'm sorry I don't remember who) to put it on the kilometers mode if it is digital. That way you know if you are losing but you aren't so emotionally vested in the number. Also, it could go all wonky during that time of the month, and you don't need that negative feedback.
Pam--what's green rice? Never heard of it and it sounds really intriguing! I know what you mean about little things making a big difference...some days I will sit and add things in and take things out of the FitDay food log just to see the impact and make a better decision.
Hang in there with that plateau. I had one for three weeks and eventually it worked itself out. You'll get there!
Pam--what's green rice? Never heard of it and it sounds really intriguing! I know what you mean about little things making a big difference...some days I will sit and add things in and take things out of the FitDay food log just to see the impact and make a better decision.
Hang in there with that plateau. I had one for three weeks and eventually it worked itself out. You'll get there!
04-01-2010, 08:40 AM
#15
FitDay Premium Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 2,042
Green rice
I was just being facetious. Some of my friends seem to have this awe of brown rice as if it was some sort of magic food. I know that it is better than white rice, but it is still just another carbohydrate!
Although... did you know that there are like 50 different varieties of rice grown in India? Each with a very different flavor. I've been exploring a few, but with the current diet my explorations are mostly on hold.
Love the idea of setting the scale to kilograms - your right, you'd know which direction to the weight was going, but not have an investment in the number.
Although... did you know that there are like 50 different varieties of rice grown in India? Each with a very different flavor. I've been exploring a few, but with the current diet my explorations are mostly on hold.
Love the idea of setting the scale to kilograms - your right, you'd know which direction to the weight was going, but not have an investment in the number.
04-01-2010, 11:39 AM
#16
FitDay Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 687
Unfortunately for me, I can swap kg's and pounds in my head thanks to years of calulating drug dosages. Drug companies like to write all their dosages in milligrams per kilogram. I'm definitely pms right now and need to stay off the scale this week
04-01-2010, 03:25 PM
#17
FitDay Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 42
I checked out the calculator, but it told me I should eat about 3100 calories a day. I must have done something wrong, haha. It seems extreme to me to eat that much when that's what got me to this, ahem, 'pleasantly plump' stage. 
So, I did some further research and found the same things mentioned: around 1200 calories, don't do 1000 calories too long. I also found an article on zig-zagging your calories to boost weight loss. Might try that. I had a root canal yesterday, which was a BLAST (insert sarcasm here), so eating was not an issue for me yesterday. Still sore today, so haven't wanted to eat much either. Hovering around the 1000 range still. Hopefully my mouth feels a little less beat-up tomorrow and I can try to get around the 1200 range. I stepped on the scale today (AGAIN, sigh) and was thrilled to see I am officially down FIFTEEN POUNDS today! I was so dang excited!! I jogged again tonight and almost made it a half mile without stopping!! I think the whole 15 pound thing really boosted my self-confidence. 
I worry about the holiday this weekend. My family is having a huge grill-out instead of the traditional Easter dinner. I am hoping to stay in a somewhat decent range. I'm still embarassed to make a big deal about watching what I eat. I'm afraid of what people will say to me...I don't foresee a lot of support. At least my sister will be there, and she is by far my biggest support system!
I love reading these posts. I really feel so much better to know that I am not the only one with these struggles. Thanks for making me feel better!
So, I did some further research and found the same things mentioned: around 1200 calories, don't do 1000 calories too long. I also found an article on zig-zagging your calories to boost weight loss. Might try that. I had a root canal yesterday, which was a BLAST (insert sarcasm here), so eating was not an issue for me yesterday. Still sore today, so haven't wanted to eat much either. Hovering around the 1000 range still. Hopefully my mouth feels a little less beat-up tomorrow and I can try to get around the 1200 range. I stepped on the scale today (AGAIN, sigh) and was thrilled to see I am officially down FIFTEEN POUNDS today! I was so dang excited!! I jogged again tonight and almost made it a half mile without stopping!! I think the whole 15 pound thing really boosted my self-confidence. I worry about the holiday this weekend. My family is having a huge grill-out instead of the traditional Easter dinner. I am hoping to stay in a somewhat decent range. I'm still embarassed to make a big deal about watching what I eat. I'm afraid of what people will say to me...I don't foresee a lot of support. At least my sister will be there, and she is by far my biggest support system!I love reading these posts. I really feel so much better to know that I am not the only one with these struggles. Thanks for making me feel better!
Last edited by amylee32; 04-07-2010 at 03:07 AM.
04-01-2010, 03:47 PM
#19
FitDay Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 42
Haha! Maybe that should be my secret weapon. Oops, sorry, can't eat that 4 layer chocolate cake, my tooth hurts! Oh, bummer, I would LOVE some mayo..I mean HAM...salad, but my tooth hurts! Actually, I thought about eating before I went, so I wouldn't be hungry and less likely to go overboard?? Maybe it'll work!
04-01-2010, 04:49 PM
#20
Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,083
Congrats on your pounds gone!!!
I zig-zag and find it very effective. I go low on the days I know I will be busy and not be bored and feel like snacking and make the high calorie days ones when I know I will be going out for dinner or celebrating or something like that.
I like the feeling of "tricking' my body...it has disappointed me for so long that it's nice to feel like I'm finally the one in charge, I guess.
With the calories, if you are on the heavy side to begin with, that calculator does bump them up...but the good news is that you are losing and seem like you have developed a really healthy plan! Keep it up and good luck!
I zig-zag and find it very effective. I go low on the days I know I will be busy and not be bored and feel like snacking and make the high calorie days ones when I know I will be going out for dinner or celebrating or something like that.
I like the feeling of "tricking' my body...it has disappointed me for so long that it's nice to feel like I'm finally the one in charge, I guess.
With the calories, if you are on the heavy side to begin with, that calculator does bump them up...but the good news is that you are losing and seem like you have developed a really healthy plan! Keep it up and good luck!
