Stupid Questions about Calories

I want to start a program of eating that restricts my calories so that I can
try to lose weight. I plan to up my exercise as well. I have been paying
attention to WHAT I since the begining of the year, as I became a vegetarian.
I have been trying to go back to whole foods, avoiding fatty foods, etc. I am
mostly sedentary, but I do walk the dogs on occasion, play in the garden, and
have more recently started riding my bike back and forth to work (2 miles both
ways).

My problem is that I eat too many CALORIES, so I have not noticed any
significant weight loss at all. My weight has been about the same since I
started paying attention (didn't really eat all that horribly to begin with, as
I had been planning to switch to vegetarian this year). But the QUANTITY of
food I can consume would make an average girl blush.

So I'm thinking for spring, I'll start counting the calories, and watching the
portions. But here are the questions:

1. Do I want to set the calories I should eat at my goal weight? (50lbs less
than my current weight?) If not, how do I determine how many calories I should
eat?

2. Do I want to include my exercise into that calculation, and if so how? I
mean, if to weigh my ideal weight, I would intake 1300 calories daily, but I
work out and burn roughly 200 calories a day, should I eat 1500 calories?

I have never really "kept track" with any accuracy for more than a few days,
and these two questions are really why I don't. I don't want to mess up my
body, or put it in "starve" mode which I've read will keep you from losing
weight.

I have started using Fit Day, but the same questions occur. Are the calories
they say I need a day calories to maintain my current weight, or to lose
weight?

Any basic help with this is appreciated.

Nai

"Naijayob" wrote in message
...
I want to start a program of eating that restricts my calories so that I
can
try to lose weight. I plan to up my exercise as well. I have been paying
attention to WHAT I since the begining of the year, as I became a
vegetarian.
I have been trying to go back to whole foods, avoiding fatty foods, etc.
I am
mostly sedentary, but I do walk the dogs on occasion, play in the garden,
and
have more recently started riding my bike back and forth to work (2 miles
both
ways).

My problem is that I eat too many CALORIES, so I have not noticed any
significant weight loss at all. My weight has been about the same since I
started paying attention (didn't really eat all that horribly to begin
with, as
I had been planning to switch to vegetarian this year). But the QUANTITY
of
food I can consume would make an average girl blush.

So I'm thinking for spring, I'll start counting the calories, and watching
the
portions. But here are the questions:

1. Do I want to set the calories I should eat at my goal weight? (50lbs
less
than my current weight?) If not, how do I determine how many calories I
should
eat?

2. Do I want to include my exercise into that calculation, and if so how?
I
mean, if to weigh my ideal weight, I would intake 1300 calories daily, but
I
work out and burn roughly 200 calories a day, should I eat 1500 calories?

I have never really "kept track" with any accuracy for more than a few
days,
and these two questions are really why I don't. I don't want to mess up
my
body, or put it in "starve" mode which I've read will keep you from losing
weight.

I have started using Fit Day, but the same questions occur. Are the
calories
they say I need a day calories to maintain my current weight, or to lose
weight?

Any basic help with this is appreciated.

Nai

Those are not easy questions to answer. Losing weight requires a "calorie
deficit" (i.e., consuming less calories than you burn each day, within
reason). Most authorities recommend a calorie deficit of 500 calories per
day, which should result in weight loss of 1 lb per week. But, even a
modest calorie deficit of 200 calories per day will result in losing 21 lbs
in a year.

But, counting calories is pretty hard, and even if you do, it's hard to tell
what it means for weight loss because that's only the "input" side of the
equation. It's nearly impossible to get an accurate estimate of your daily
calorie "output"...it can vary a lot due to the amount of exercise you get,
sleep patterns, etc.

Since you already recognize that you have an issue with portion size and
quantity, I think that would be a good area to focus on. Try eating a
little less each day. Make your portions smaller, and drink lots of water.
If you are losing around 1/2 to 1 pound per week, you will know you're on
target.

Best of luck.

GG

Naijayob wrote:

My problem is that I eat too many CALORIES, so I have not noticed any
significant weight loss at all. My weight has been about the same
since I started paying attention (didn't really eat all that horribly
to begin with, as I had been planning to switch to vegetarian this
year). But the QUANTITY of food I can consume would make an average
girl blush.

The first way I dealt with this was to simply eat *half* the food I had
been eating. Use a smaller plate or bowl than before and don't have
seconds.

--
Walking on . . .
Laurie in Maine
207/110 60 inches of attitude!
Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03

I agree about portion control. I started by cutting most portions in
half.

And if you're using fitday.com, you already know how about many
calories you are consuming to maintain your current weight at your
current exercise level. Take a week or two weeks average, then cut 500
calories daily from that.

As your exercise increases, so will your calorie deficit.

As always, YMMV.

Kasey
365/275/???

(Naijayob) wrote in message ...
I want to start a program of eating that restricts my calories so that I can
try to lose weight. I plan to up my exercise as well. I have been paying
attention to WHAT I since the begining of the year, as I became a vegetarian.
I have been trying to go back to whole foods, avoiding fatty foods, etc. I am
mostly sedentary, but I do walk the dogs on occasion, play in the garden, and
have more recently started riding my bike back and forth to work (2 miles both
ways).

That should be enough daily exercise to keep your metabolism up.

My problem is that I eat too many CALORIES, so I have not noticed any
significant weight loss at all. My weight has been about the same since I
started paying attention (didn't really eat all that horribly to begin with, as
I had been planning to switch to vegetarian this year). But the QUANTITY of
food I can consume would make an average girl blush.

So I'm thinking for spring, I'll start counting the calories, and watching the
portions. But here are the questions:

1. Do I want to set the calories I should eat at my goal weight? (50lbs less
than my current weight?) If not, how do I determine how many calories I should
eat?

Play it by ear, everybody has different metabolism and eating habits,
and after 50 lbs of weight loss you will have a different metabolism
than now.

For me, I've cut out all sugary stuff from my diet, limited my starch
intake to what's reasonable, cut out ALL junk food (things that have
no nutritional/protein value), and started eating 3 regimented meals a
day (more like a small breakfast, small lunch, regular early dinner).

My daily calorie intake is around 1500, and my daily shortfall is
around 1000 kcal/day.

I have lost 20 lbs over the past 2 months (9 weeks) -- my rate goal is
2 lbs/week, and I am about 3 days ahead of schedule on my diet.

It's important to TRACK your weight changes daily.

Also I think it's important to give yourself some fats as part of your
daily diet. Fat is very satiating, and I think (in strict moderation
of course) it helps keep the body out of "starvation mode".

2. Do I want to include my exercise into that calculation, and if so how? I
mean, if to weigh my ideal weight, I would intake 1300 calories daily, but I
work out and burn roughly 200 calories a day, should I eat 1500 calories?

From my reading I think it's important to work out for tone and
fitness rather than calorie consumption.

Use diet to control calories, and exercise to build/retain muscle to
keep burning calories all day.

Weight yourself every day, keep a running average of your weight, eg:

today's average = yesterday's average + (today's weight - yesterday's
average) * 0.25

to help filter out water differences, make a plan, and adjust your
eating to keep your loss at the planned rate (not too fast or too
slow).

I have never really "kept track" with any accuracy for more than a few days,
and these two questions are really why I don't. I don't want to mess up my
body, or put it in "starve" mode which I've read will keep you from losing
weight.

I don't count calories, but I've limited and regularized what I have
for breakfast and lunch eat so much that I don't really need to.

"Naijayob" wrote in message
...
I have been trying to go back to whole foods, avoiding fatty foods, etc.

Don't cut the fats too much. As someone posted, they bring lasting satiety.
But you also need your daily intake of essential fatty acids for your body
to work properly.

I am mostly sedentary, but I do walk the dogs on occasion, play in the
garden, and
have more recently started riding my bike back and forth to work (2 miles
both
ways).

Then, you're not really sedentary anymore
I still think this kind of exercise is better than forcing yourself to go to
the gym and hating every minute of it. At least, riding to work is something
you can keep doing for most of your life, especially if you find pleasure in
it. It's also very environment friendly

My problem is that I eat too many CALORIES, so I have not noticed any
significant weight loss at all. My weight has been about the same since I
started paying attention (didn't really eat all that horribly to begin
with, as
I had been planning to switch to vegetarian this year). But the QUANTITY
of
food I can consume would make an average girl blush.

Yes, calories in vs calories out is all that really matters.

So I'm thinking for spring, I'll start counting the calories, and watching
the
portions. But here are the questions:

1. Do I want to set the calories I should eat at my goal weight? (50lbs
less
than my current weight?) If not, how do I determine how many calories I
should
eat?

If you're writing down what you eat, do that for a couple of typical weeks.
Then, calculate the amount of calories you usually eat. Cut some from that
(20% maybe), but stay above 1200 calories. Don't cut the proteins either.
Also, you can build some flexibility by considering weekly calorie intake
instead of daily intake.
If you don't want to count calories, just keep eating as usual, but use
small plates. Eating 2/3 of what your currently eat should do the job, as
long as you don't cheat (like, eating denser food).

2. Do I want to include my exercise into that calculation, and if so how?
I
mean, if to weigh my ideal weight, I would intake 1300 calories daily, but
I
work out and burn roughly 200 calories a day, should I eat 1500 calories?

It depends on how fast you want to lose, how hungry you actually *feel*...
I don't think the purpose of exercise is to burn calories anyway. The real
purpose is to build and protect the lean mass and to up the metabolism. So,
even if exercise makes you eat more, you still get the main benefit from it.

I have never really "kept track" with any accuracy for more than a few
days,
and these two questions are really why I don't. I don't want to mess up
my
body, or put it in "starve" mode which I've read will keep you from losing
weight.

It's hard to give precise numbers, because there is no real way to know your
metabolism. The only numbers are that you should stay above 1200
calories/day on average (to avoid lack of nutriments), above 1g of protein
per kg (to protect your lean mass) and above 8xyour current weight in lbs
calories.
The most reliable way is just to listen to your body. If you go into starve
mode, it will tell you If you feel intense hunger, if you start to think
about that next meal all day long, or if you feel exhausted and apathetic,
that's your body telling you that it feels it is starving.