Posts by haiko

Suz - I think I agree with your method. Now that I have "learned" portion control and calorie counts of the food I eat on a daily basis, I now have a solid "baseline" to work with. in other words, I now have the ability to guage or estimate how much above or below the baseline I go every day without actually having to log everything as I did for over a month previously. I feel confident that I can hit my goal weight based on this new-found knowledge or awareness of what is going in the ol' pie hole!

That being said, I also feel it will be critically crucial to resume daily logging for another month or so when I switch to "maintenance mode" so I attain knowledge of a brand NEW baseline to work with. In maintenance mode, I will be able to consume more calories especially in light of my commitment to keep my daily exercise regime for the rest of my life. But it will be important to know precisely how MUCH more without tipping the scale th other way again.

At the risk of attaching a stigma to this whole weight loss process, I am almost assuming that it must be similar to what an alcoholic experiences in kicking a drinking habit. Since I was an over-eater, I must assume that I will always be "wired" to over-eating unless I develop a plan that keeps me on track for the rest of my life or I will lapse back to my old ways (not unlike an alcoholic).

Plateau city! I leveled-out again. I am holding at 10 lb loss since January 6! I better add resistance training or something to my daily exercise schedule.

Check this out:

Firstly, let me say, I absoluteley LOVE and CRAVE the burritos at Chipoltle. For those of you who are not familiar with this restaurant - they serve these marvelous custom-made burritos that are bigger than yer dang head! Prior to January 6th, it was not unusual for me to get one of these gut bombs nearly every day! After meticulously keeping track of my diet, I was curious what one of those bad boys had in the way of calories. I found the following site:

http://www.chipotlefan.com/index.php?id=nutri tion_calculator

Here you can "build" your burrito and get the nutrition info as you build it. I entered all the info and I almost fell over! I built my typical chicken burrito with rice, black beans, tomato,  hot sauce, chease and sour cream. This monster packs 1028 calories!!!!!! Holy cow! Then it also was not unsual for me to have already eaten a sausage and biscuit meal at McDonald's earlier that morning including hash browns. Then I would go home and eat a nice big meal my darling wife made for me. I bet I loaded up on over 3000 calories per day at times on a fairly consistant basis. I typically burn 2650 calories without exercising and just shy of 2900 with exercising. It is no wonder why I was slowly but surely turning into the incredible expanding man! I have cut my caloric intake by 50% - easy! What an eye opener.

How wonderful, Janet!!!!

Being so new, I did not know you were going through this. What a blessing this must be to you and your whole family. Way to go. It makes all of this weight loss stuff seem so trivial when you realize how important your very life is! Staying slim and healthy is the next step, right? Happy for you in Texas... Haiko

Hi Adrana!

I don't know if there is a way I can share my food log, but here is what I have been eating since the 6th and I have stayed just under 1500 Calories per day. According to more experienced dieters on this site, I probably should be consuming more, but I am pretty sure that this is a reasonably balanced diet regardless of the relatively low calories. Let me know what you think...

Tue, Jan 06 2009 Grade Grams Cals

Half & Half Creamer 30 Chicken, Light Meat, Meat Only - Cooked, Roasted B 140 242 Wine C 206 171  

Breakfast Sausage McMuffin with Egg F 164 450 Dasani 600 0  

Lunch Saltine Crackers - Side Selections 6 25 Chili, Small - Side Selections B- 227 220  

Dinner Tomato Soup - Campbell's Condensed Soup B   90 Baby Spinach Salad - Packaged Salads, Fresh Discoveries A 85 20 Salad Dressing, Kraft Light Done Right! Italian Dressing A- 31 53  

Snacks 100% Whole Grain - Harvest Selects A 28 70

Total Calories Consumed 1,371

Wed, Jan 07 2009 Grade Grams Cals  

Breakfast Coffee (Filter) 237 2 Cream, Fluid, Half And Half C+ 15 20 Total Raisin Bran A 55 170 Milk, Nonfat, Fluid - Without Added Vitamin A (Fat Free Or Skim) A 245 86  

Lunch Chili, Small - Side Selections B- 227 220 Saltine Crackers - Side Selections 18 75  

Dinner Chicken, Breast, Meat Only - Cooked, Roasted B 210 347 Salad, Vegetable, Tossed - Without Dressing A 207 33 Newman's Own Lighten Up Honey Mustard Dressing B+ 45 105 Wine C 206 171  

Snacks Carrots A 64 26

Total Calories Consumed 1,255

Thu, Jan 08 2009 Grade Grams Cals  

Breakfast Coffee (Filter) 237 2 Total Raisin Bran A 55 170 Milk, Nonfat, Fluid - Without Added Vitamin A (Fat Free Or Skim) A 245 86 Cream, Fluid, Half And Half C+ 15 20  

Lunch Chili, Small - Side Selections B- 227 220 Saltine Crackers - Side Selections 6 25 Saltine Crackers - Side Selections 6 25  

Dinner Cheddar Cheese C 8 32 Vinegar, Balsamic 15 10 Chicken, Breast, Meat Only - Cooked, Roasted B 140 231 Salad, Vegetable, Tossed - Without Dressing A 207 33  

Snacks Tortilla Chips B- 6 29

Total Calories Consumed 883 Fri, Jan 09 2009 Grade Grams Cals  

Breakfast Coffee (Filter) 237 2 Cream, Fluid, Half And Half C+ 15 20 Total Raisin Bran A 55 170 Milk, Nonfat, Fluid - Without Added Vitamin A (Fat Free Or Skim) A 245 86  

Lunch Chili, Small - Side Selections B- 227 220 Mandarin Orange Cup - Side Selections B 142 80 Saltine Crackers - Side Selections 6 25 Saltine Crackers - Side Selections 6 25 Saltine Crackers - Side Selections 6 25  

Dinner Wine C 103 86 Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce - Smart Italian Menu - regular sized B- 567 670 Sausage, Italian, Pork, Cooked C- 83 286  

Snacks Rolls, Dinner, Whole-wheat A 43 114 Carrots A 50 21 Candies, M&M MARS, "M&M's" Plain Chocolate Candies C- 6 30

Total Calories Consumed 1,858

Sat, Jan 10 2009 Grade Grams Cals Wine C 309 257  

Breakfast Coffee (Filter) 237 2 Cream, Fluid, Half And Half C+ 15 20 Total Raisin Bran A 55 170  

Lunch Wheat Thins 100 Calorie Pack Mini C+ 11 52 Rolls, Dinner, Wheat B+ 28 76 Swiss Cheese B- 28 106 Newman's Own Lighten Up Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing B+ 15 23  

Dinner Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce - Smart Italian Menu - regular sized B- 567 670 Sausage, Italian, Pork, Cooked C- 83 286 Rolls, French A- 28 78  

Snacks Apples - Gala A 152 75 Diet Coke 360 2 Candies, M&M MARS, "M&M's" Plain Chocolate Candies C- 48 236

Total Calories Consumed 2,051 Sun, Jan 11 2009 Grade Grams Cals Oranges A 368 173  

Breakfast Coffee (Filter) 237 2 Cream, Fluid, Half And Half C+ 15 20  

Lunch Hamburger, Regular, Single Patty - With Condiments B+ 106 274  

Dinner Enchilada - With Cheese And Beef B- 384 645 Spanish Rice - Side Dishes (individual) C- 140 162 Refried Beans, Canned - (Includes Usda Commodity) A- 252 237 Tortilla Chips B- 28 137 Salsa A   72  

Snacks Carrots - Whole, Raw 224 65 Candies, M&M MARS, "M&M's" Plain Chocolate Candies C- 48 236 CHEETOS Crunchy Cheese Flavored Snacks C 28 160

Total Calories Consumed 2,183

Mon, Jan 12 2009 Grade Grams Cals  

Breakfast Apples - Red, Delicious A 170 90 Coffee (Filter) 237 2 Cream, Fluid, Half And Half C+ 15 20  

Lunch Chili, Small - Side Selections B- 227 220  

Dinner Beef Stew B 232 220 Salad, Vegetable, Tossed - Without Dressing A 207 33 Newman's Own Lighten Up Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing B+ 15 23 Rolls, Dinner, Egg B- 35 108 Wine C 155 129  

Snacks Apples - Red, Delicious A 170 90

Total Calories Consumed 934

Tue, Jan 13 2009 Grade Grams Cals  

Breakfast Coffee (Filter) 237 2 Cream, Fluid, Half And Half C+ 15 20 KELLOGG'S SPECIAL K RED BERRIES B 31 114 Milk, Nonfat, Fluid - Without Added Vitamin A (Fat Free Or Skim) A 245 86 Bananas A 118 105  

Lunch Chili, Small - Side Selections B- 227 220 Saltine Crackers - Side Selections 6 25  

Dinner Beef Stew B 232 220 Salad, Vegetable, Tossed - Without Dressing A 414 66 Newman's Own Lighten Up Italian Dressing B+ 45 90 Rolls, Dinner, Egg B- 35 108   Snacks Apples - Gala A 152 75

Total Calories Consumed 1,131

Wed, Jan 14 2009 Grade Grams Cals  

Breakfast Coffee (Filter) 237 2 Cream, Fluid, Half And Half C+ 15 20 Milk, Nonfat, Fluid - Without Added Vitamin A (Fat Free Or Skim) A 245 86 KELLOGG'S SPECIAL K RED BERRIES B 31 114 Bananas A 118 105  

Lunch Chicken Tortilla Style Soup - Canned Soups A 239 170 French Roll - Specialty Breads 57 151  

Dinner Soft Taco - Beef - Tacos D+ 198 420 Wine C 412 342

Total Calories Consumed 1,411

Wow! I did not realize that I was the only man! That seems to be quite a commodity in this group. (I hope I can represent my brothers well.) Just to let any of you know...I am quite new to posting stuff on forums and certainly am a rank amateur at dieting/losing weight. I just have never tried before.

The "muffin top" squishing out the top of my jeans after the 1st of the year got me in gear. I finally got so sick of a major portion of my daily thoughts preoccupied with how fat I am getting day-by-day. Every day, my clothes were getting tighter and tighter. Several years ago, I bought some jeans (without my wife's help) that were waaaay to big and I never got around to returning them til it was too late. So I kept them. I stuck them in the back of my closet. Well, over the years, all of my other jeans were getting too tight. One day, I could barely squeeze into my normal jeans. When I did, it was so tight they gave me a darn headache with all of the pressure exerted around my belly. I saw those "fat boy jeans" way at the back of the closet and was shocked to find that they fit perfectly!

Another year or so went by, and now those same "fat boy jeans" are too tight. I'M SICK OF IT!!!! That is how I finally came to the realization that I have to take a serious look at what the heck is going on here. This web site is amazing because the most important thing, at least for me, is educating myself on the amount of calories I actually consume. You see...I don't have any psychological hang-ups about food, feel sorry for myself and comfort myself with food, etc, etc, etc... I just plain EAT TOO MUCH!

In my own defense, I really had no idea. This site has this amazing food log which is the key for me. Once I entered the foods I ate and saw the shear amount of calories I consume on a daily basis...wow! What an eye opener!

Since I now now how many calories I burn and how many calories go in my pie hole, it is jst left to simple math. I think the first 3 days were the hardest for me because I thought I was actually starving to death. My average caloric intake since I started (January 6th) is about 1450. If I keep walking/jogging my 3 miles per day, my caloric burn rate is just over 2800. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the reason I have lost 6.5 lbs so far is because of this new awareness. I am still a little bit hungry most of the day, but it honestly is not so bad that I feel like cheating. I keep reminding myself "This is the gift I am giving to me!" I made friends with the hunger. "Hunger is my friend - not my enemy." As the days go on, the hunger is lesss intense.

Sorry for rambling on. Just thought I might share what I am going through so maybe y'all could hold me continuously accountable. I will weigh 180 lbs by April 15th!

Okay. I started 0n January 6th and I lost 5 lbs so far. I have been logging my calories down to the knat's behind and it has been a REAL eye-opener!!! I know these 5 pounds are the "easy" ones, but how encouraging is that?!

This Calorie Counting web site has been the best thing for me because it empowers me with the knowledge of what is actually going in my mouth. It is common sense to know that you will get fat if you eat more than you burn; but my problem was that I never really knew what was going in. Now I know. For me it seems not to be so much of a motivational thing but rather a more pragmatic math problem. Maybe that's the geek in me. And as a bonus, if I move a little more, I can increase the amount of stuff that goes in. Cool!

I know this sounds like a real over-simplification of what is really a complex and sometimes emotional issue. But for me, approaching the problem as...well...a problem that can be solved using simple math; I'm all over it. I never ate because I felt sorry for myself or wanted to comfort myself. I just plain over ate. Now that I am learning what a 48 year old, 6' man can intake and expel - problem solved, eh? We'll see. I am a real rookie at this so I hope I haven't over simplified this to the point that I am oblivious to the REAL struggles ahead. But so far - so good.

I'm your Huckleberry! I need a buddy (or two) also.

Okay. I am a 48 year old male. 6 feet, 0 inches and weigh 208 lbs. My BMI is 28.2 which indicates tht I am extremely overweight. (A BMI of 30 is obese!!!) What the heck?! I thought I was not that bad, but all  these stats and charts have me thinking I am a giant pig! It automaically calculated that I should be 165.2 lbs by October 28, 2009!!! This seems extremely skinny to me. I think I weighed that when I was a 10th grader in High School and I was skinny. Should a 48 year old man be that skinny?

I want to weigh 180 by April 15, 2009. I guess this is realistic. I'll see if  can do it. I have never tried anything like this before in my life - so we will see how it goes.