Posts by freakybunny

Don't shoot for your calorie limit everyday. Look up the zig zag method of weight loss. Basically, the zig zagging means eating an average number of calories per day. Some days you eat, say, 200 calories less than your limit, and some days you eat more. I saved up a few hundred calories for the week-end or for special occasions this way.

It keeps your body guessing (and burning like mad) and allows you to live life like the other humans do.

Good luck! I zig zagged my way from 251 to 154...you can too!

Natashacakes, once again gi-jane saves the day! I think she's very wise, and spot on in your case. CC's calorie targets, etc., are meant for adults who have lower caloric needs than teens. Teens burn more calories per day, but as a part of growing up,  hormonal triggers cause girls to put on weight on in certain places. It evolution at work.

Don't worry about your binge. If you adjusted your caloric intake up, I bet you would find your average intake (and this is the number that really matters) is way too low for a person your age. You need those calories to think, grow, and function.

Cheers!

Mike

I can plan one, maybe two days in advance. If I try to go farther than than I get stressed with my plans have to change. But I've got a young family and an unpredictable work schedule, so there's that...

Great question. It's one that I've taken a almost half a year to find and answer to. I too have a sedentary job, but at home I am always on the go. I workout vigorously five days a week for 45 mins a shot, too. At first I set my activity level to "sedentary" and I added my workouts manually. After I reached my goal I set the level to "light" and continued to add my workouts as before.

Basically, if you move at all doing things like chores, etc., you'll burn more calories than sedentary. You may try setting the level at sedentary and then manually add (using CC's activity database) what you normally do in a day (cleaning, dog walking, etc) and see what your burn level is. Then simply choose the activity level that comes closest to the total you got after adding in your average activities.

After that you need to watch your intake of food and continue to weigh yourself at the same time of the day, under the same conditions, and see how things are working.

Much of this is trial and error. CC's burn estimates are based on the average burn for a person of your height, weight, and age. But they are just estimates. It's all about trying things out in the real world and finding what works for you.

Cheers!

Keep us posted :-)

I am 37, 5'6 and went from being 251 on December 15, 2008 to being 156 sometime in June. I've been maintaining since then.

Very quickly, here's how I did it. I averaged 1800 calories a day. I used the zig zag method of eating more some days, and less on others. But the average was 1800.

I worked out for 60 mins a day on my elliptical cross trainer for 6 days out of 7. Why? Because it was the one workout I would actually do. The key is getting your heart rate up to around 80% of max. That burns calories.

My deficits went from being over 1000 a day to less than that as I lost weight...you burn less when you weigh less. I chose not to change my program as I lost, and it worked out fine.

These days I average 2575 calories a day, and workout for 45 mins 5 days out of 7. This is my current sweet spot.

We are all different, and we all have to find our own ways of dealing with our own situations and our own weight issues. The good news is men generally have an easier time with it than women. Good luck! Don't be a stranger.

Oh yeah...if you don't have a food scale get one, and if you are guesstimating your calories stop it...we humans almost always underestimate the number of calories we eat. Something to do with evolution...

It is based on your actual stats. CC takes your weight and age and uses them for an estimate. Back when I weighed 250 lbs, 45 mins on my eliptical burned around 900 calories. Now that I weigh 158, 45 mins burns around 650 calories.

Another thing, when you enter an activity, say my elliptical, your burn meter will increase by the amount of calories you've burned doing the activity minus your basal metabolic rate. I learned this after a few weeks of head scratching. Basically, I would have burned x amount of calories just sitting there. The burn meter takes these calories and subtracts them from the calories it says you burn doing the exercise.

Clear as mud?

Relax...just count your calories and remember that short fixes don't work, and by the same token, one, two, or even week-long lapses aren't catostrophic.

Four days is not enough time to lose a significant, noticable amount of weight. But I do get the bloated bit. Just drink lots of water, cut back on the salt, and eat some fiber...All Bran Buds are your best bet there.

You won't lose weight before you go, but you will feel better. Don't starve yourself. You're too important to those who love you and yourself to go down that road.

Cheers.

Hi! I just posted this elsewhere, but it seems relevant here, too:

I used the zig zag approach to lose around 95 lbs. I never, or rarely, ate my goal amount, but rather saw my goal amount to be my average caloric intake for the week. That way I could eat less on some days, when it was easy or convenient (low appetite days are the best way of achieving that... don't knock them) and eat more, sometimes way more, on days when I am being especially social or indulgent.

I found that shaking things up like this kept my body guessing, and therefore burning, everything I ate instead of storing up calories as I would if I were in starvation mode.

My average per day was 1800 calories. I started out at 251, and kept this zig zag thing going until I was 165. Now I eat an average of 2700/day, and am maintaining a weight of 154.

I think this might work well for you. You can have your low calorie days, and then "make up for them" on the week-end, or whenever you choose. I found this to be a fun way to plan my week, and to keep me losing weight like crazy.

Cheers and Good Luck!

Mike

I used the zig zag approach to lose around 95 lbs. I never, or rarely, ate my goal amount, but rather saw my gaol amount to be my average caloric intake for the week. That way I could eat less on some days, when it was easy or convenient (low appetite days are the best way of achieving that... don't knock them) and eat more, sometimes way more, on days when I am being especially social or indulgent.

I found that shaking things up like this kept my body guessing, and therefore burning, everything I ate instead of storing up calories as I would if I were in starvation mode.

My average per day was 1800 calories. I started out at 251, and kept this zig zag thing going until I was 165. Now I eat an average of 2700/day, and am maintaining a weight of 154.

I think this might work well for you. You can have your low calorie days, and then "make up for them" on the week-end, or whenever you choose. I found this to be a fun way to plan my week, and to keep me losing weight like crazy.

Cheers and Good Luck!

Mike

thank you, thank you, thank you! that makes sense.

I agree with everyone above who advised you not to panic. If you look-up and try the zig zag method, you'll find that the odd high calorie day is not only forgivable, but helpful when losing weight.

I used this as I lost around 100 lbs. Basically, some days you eat more, others you eat less. You log everything, and shoot for an average based on your per day deficit goal. This means you rarely eat your limit, but rather you eat over or under it in such a way that your average is attained.

It takes a little getting used to....but some days you can and should eat well over your limit, as long as you eat well under it so you maintain your average.

I did this on a monthly basis and found it kind of fun. You can actually plan for these wicked high calorie days two, three weeks in advance, and you can atone for things like 800 calorie breakfasts in just a few days.

You don't have to make up for your big breaky on the day you have it. You literally have all month to do that. It's just basic, yummy math 

I am all about the zig zagging. I've been doing it for 7 1/2 months and have lost around 100 lbs. When you think about it, it's a pretty natural way for us to be. We are conditioned to be at optimal health in times of feast and famine. Zig Zagging approximates this natural rhythm.

I log my calories religiously and shoot for an average knowing that week-ends and social occasions are a wonderful part of life, and they often come with extra calories. If you plan ahead, or make amends for splurging, even a binge can be worked into your average. If your average intake is creating a deficit you will lose weight, faster, than just sticking to a set amount every day.

Enjoy!!!

The burn meter goes up as your day progresses. It simply keeps track of the calories you have burned by the current time of day. When you add an activity the meter goes up by the number of calories burned by the activity minus the number of calories you burn just metablolizing.

That's why it's lower in the AM than it is in the PM....it goes up as the day goes on...

Does that help?

I think the calorie counts are pretty accurate. I've been using the site every day for seven months and have gone by their estimates the whole time. The math seems pretty close...I've lost 99 lbs using CC's calorie counts. It may help to enter your own labels of foods you eat often. You can then tag them and enter them whenever you eat them. Also, I tend to err on the side of caution. I look for the 2nd highest calorie content for whatever I eat and enter that. For example, there, are wildly differing calorie contents in lasagna. I tend to find the higher calorie entries and use them. Just to be on the safe side.

Good luck! But rest assured, even if you are off by 100 calories a day, you'll still lose weight if you err on the side of caution time and again.

Cheers!

I used to think this way all the time. I would say "screw it. I just blew it for the day so I might as well go crazy". Nowadays I track every calorie I eat, even when I have a big-eating-day. That way I can see how to get my average calorie intake per day within my daily limit of 2575. It may help you to not shoot for your daily limit/goal of calories every day, but rather make that number your average calorie intake for the month. I used the analysis tab for this and it's worked out amazingly.

For instance, on Saturday I scarfed down 3200 calories. It made my monthly average go well above 2575, but after just two days at around 2200 calories I am right back on track.

The opposite is true. If I have a big BBQ on the horizon, or if I just want to eat a ton of chips and dip on Friday evening, I'll just get my average down so I can absorb the extra.

Play around with it. You can go way way way over your daily average limit and still make your month with just a few adjustments. It's basic math, and after losing 99 lbs, I can honestly say it has worked for me.

Cheers!