Okay today I am just about spot on my calorie limit but know I havn't eaten as well as I should, but having been called for jury duty this morning the day was a bit messed up!

Tomorrow is another day!

Sarah that sounds really nice!

Natalie - my skin has improved a lot already!

Even though I don't follow the MFP limit for sugar, I keep it on just to make sure I am not going TOO far over, and have been amazed the amount of sugar in things too!

On Friday I plan to post how much I have (hopefully) lost, and will try to do that each Friday when I weigh myself, so you can all tell me off if I gain weight!

Thanks Sarah, I will need to have a look through at some point and really plan things out. Banana is really good in chicken too, you know I'd forgot all about that!

Tonight I had a curry and I weighed everything and cant believe it really, I'm still around 400 calories under my allowance. Just goes to show the difference between take aways, pre-made etc and cooking at home (well I borrowed someones kitchen lol) I'm actually kinda surprised how much meat I can still eat too.

sorry for the lack of multi-quote, we must have been posting about the same time

I'm not counting sugar yet as I thought I may scare myself off but sort of keeping an eye on it if you know what I mean, I think I will later but more so when I get the hang of it/planning etc

Out of interest is anyone here going by their measurements? I never took mine but perhaps I should...

No-I gave up as statistically 98% of dieters regain the weight they have lost and more. Why put yourself through all that stress and deprivation when you may not be one of the 2%?

I am "traditional build" as Mme Ramotswe calls it and I do exercise a lot so am not a coach potato.

No as I found I would measure different parts so end up with bizarre measurements

"biggest part of stomach" or "biggest part of thigh" could easily go up or down an inch in a week depending how I measured so I gave up!

We aren't talking about dieting though, more a change of lifestyle

If you're the sort to get discouraged by getting on the scales and finding you've lost 0 pounds then definitely. I take my measurements every week and find that sometimes I'll lose an inch off somewhere but lose no weight.

That's because they look at it as a diet and once they've lost the weight they want to lose they go right back to eating exactly how they ate before the diet. Of course the weight goes back on, they're doing the same thing they got fat doing in the first place!

Why put myself through it? Because if I don't lose the weight I'm going to have real health issues because of it. I'm not "dieting" I'm changing my eating and exercise habits. I don't deprive myself of anything, I just eat the less healthy things in moderation (one square of chocolate rather than a whole bar for example). I don't find this stressful at all, I feel 100% better for eating well. I maintained a 40lb weight loss for over a year doing this before being put on meds that made me gain 4lbs a week eating the same way I ate to lose and maintain that weight loss.

thanks for the vote of confidence
I think it depends on whether you think of 'diet' as a faddy, get it off fast and all is fine sort of thing/my life will change in every way if only I was thin, or if you think of it as health care and lifestyle maybe.
I'm hoping that once I reach 'target' I will be keeping this up as a lifestyle more than a constant diet.

thats what I was thinking, rather than get discouraged I could see the difference still..maybe
Have to admit that was my worry, either that or go about like I'm 'going under the knife' all marked out



Third day in and its going ok actually. I thought somehow it may be harder but I have stayed under my allowance each day without feeling like there was anything I really wanted and couldn't have. Havent been feeling 'starving' either.

My calories consumed has been creeping up each day though, so I need to plan tomorrows meals tonight and be prepared. I'm thinking thats the issue all along actually. My schedule and circumstances led me to fast food and I'm now starting to work around it Might see if I can do an exercise class tomorrow if I have the time etc, otherwise a brisk walk and maybe some more step.

Does anyone feel that their calorie allowance seems high? Because you eat back what you have burned off, kinda, sort of confusing me a bit I'm tempted to weigh myself but will put off til monday!!

Mine actually seems quite low but I am trying to follow the targets on MFP just now - and my calorie target each day is only 1220, some days I am finding it hard hitting that! other days I am up at 1600 lol

But if I go off the "your weight in lbs x 10 - take that number and if you eat that many calories a day you will lose 1lb a week" - I am still under that at 1600

I started off having loads of really bad food as if I was hungry I would go down and aim for sandwiches or chocolate, for the last 2 weeks (since wanting to lose weight) I solved that by keeping a lot of low calorie cereal bars in my room so if I was hungry I didn't "have" to go near the fridge.... and this worked well! But now I feel I am going to now remove these as that could easily turn into a habit having them here, but I feel now that I would go for something healthier downstairs, so it should be okay

ETA: I also keep a 2 litre bottle of water near the comp(in my room) as I am good at drinking just because it is there... which increases water intake and subdues hunger

Some people don't eat their exercise calories back and swear by that but MFP already calculates a deficit in, by not eating them back you make that deficit too big and your body can start holding on to everything. Some people eat them all back and swear by that.

It's a hot topic of contention on the forums over there It's more a matter of finding what works for you. Eating back enough to stay over the 1200 NET works for me, I don't eat them all back in case I've over estimated how many I've burned.

I get 1600 calories a day at 5ft3ish and 220lbs. That's to lose 1lb a week at sedentary activity level. I've calculated it on other "how many calories shoudl I eat" calculators and it's come out at between 1600 and 1700 so I figure it's about right. As I lose more weight I'll get less calories to eat.

Kammi, what have you set your weight loss for? 2lbs a week or 1lb a week? If you're finding your calories too low and are set to lose 2lbs a week change it to 1.5lb or 1lb a week. 1200 is what I get to lose 2lbs a week but if I stick with 1200 I don't lose any weight at all. I'm losing roughly 1.5lbs a week at 1600 calories.