I have a hard time believing

I have a hard time believing the amount of calories everyone says I'm supposed to eat.  Never in my life have I eaten 2100 calories a day even if I was doing major exercise. Granted now that my metabolism is active again I'm always hungry and i do eat.  but 2100?  i'd think maybe 1600.  I'm so torn.  I don't know what to do.  I'm scared if I eat 2100 I'm going to stay fat.  If only Jillian from the biggest loser was here.  She'd tell me what I needed to eat.  I mean on here it told me that I'll hit my goal weight in 2010.  On the biggest loser when they literally work their butts off they drop a significant amount of weight.  yes I need to lose a little over 100 pounds.  but 2 years really?  Tell me whatcha think.  Thanks.

Honestly, I don't even count calories anymore.  I just eat a wide variety of plant-based whole foods and exercise and the weight just keeps coming off.  Focus your diet around leafy green veggies, other vegetables, and fruits.  Round it off with some whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds.  Avoid oils, sugars, and anything refined or processed.  Eat when you're hungry, stop eating when you're full.  Get at least an hour of exercise every day.

Check out the book Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman to get an idea of what you should be eating.

Right, and not just what you should be eating, but why - here's an excerpt on the effects of eating meat; cancer - etc.

Flesh was never the best food; but its use is now doubly objectionable, since disease in animals is so rapidly increasing. Those who use flesh foods little know what they are eating. Often if they could see the animals when living and know the quality of the meat they eat, they would turn from it with loathing. People are continually eating flesh that is filled with tuberculous and cancerous germs. Tuberculosis, cancer, and other fatal diseases are thus communicated.—emphasis added.

Working with the Rous sarcoma virus, known to cause cancer in chickens, Bishop and Varmus found that a gene similar to the cancer-causing gene within the virus was also present in healthy cells.

In 1976 Bishop and Varmus, together with two colleagues—Dominique Stehelin and Peter Vogt—published their findings, concluding that the virus had taken up the gene responsible for the cancer from a normal cell. After the virus had infected the cell and begun its usual process of replication, it incorporated the gene into its own genetic material. Subsequent research showed that such genes can cause cancer in several ways. Even without viral involvement, these genes can be converted by certain chemical carcinogens into a form that allows uncontrolled cellular growth.

Because the mechanism described by Bishop and Varmus seemed common to all forms of cancer, their work proved invaluable to cancer research. By 1989 scientists had identified more than 40 genes having cancer-causing potential in animals.—"Bishop, J(ohn) Michael," Encyclopedia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite 2004 DVD.

I know it can be very frustrating and overwhelming to realize it can take as much as 2 years to reach your goal. Try to think of the positives... when you lose weight quickly, there is a higher likelihood that your skin will not be able to keep up with your weight loss, and you may be left with lbs of extra skin just hanging. Also, taking a longer time, will also give your body a better chance to change your body composition and build muscle mass, instead of just dropping weight and decreasing mass in general.

If it helps, don't focus on the long term goal for now. Pick a short term goal, say 30-40 lbs and focus on reaching that. Short term goals bring the goals closer to the present making them seem more feasible as well as making you more competitive to reach them. As you reach the short term goal, set another one. Overall it may take you 2 years to reach your goal, or it may take less than that (at the rate of 1.5lbs lost per week, it would take you much less than 2 yrs to lose 100 lbs). Just focus on the smaller picture for now, and that will lead you to the bigger one.

The website's tools calculated 2100 daily cals from your current stats, which means that as you lose weight, it will re-adjust to assure that you will continue to lose weight. 2100 is not that much... if you think you may feel guilty eating that many calories, reach that daily goal with fruits, veggies, etc... something healthy that will not create any guilt.

PS. WELCOME to the website =)

Try to make smaller goals for yourself.  Tackling over 100 lbs. to a huge challenge for anyone.  Give yourself 10 or 20 pound mini goals to keep yourself focused and happy that you are accomplishing something.

A safe, healthy weight-loss averages about 1.5lbs a week.  So in the space of a year you could reasonably expect to lose 75lbs.  The heavier you are, the quicker it tends to come off.  The nearer you get to a healthy weight, the slower it comes off.  Congratulate yourself when you have a great day or a good week rather than thinking too far into the future.  Appreciate ALL the benefits of a healthier lifestyle rather than just the number on the scales.  It all adds to your sense of achievement.

It is important to get the right level of calorie intake.  Too low and your body hangs onto its fat stores rather than giving them up.  You have to trust that this is true. If you need to be taking in 2000 cals at the moment then focus on getting the best nutirition.  Foods like nuts, seeds, cold-pressed oils, avocados and dried fruit are very energy-dense but light-weight.   Cheeses are good in small amounts.  So you could get your daily intake very easily and healthily with just a little extra food.   Get a little more active and that's all there is to it.

As your weight comes down, you'll need to adjust your intake a little to keep step.  But do start with that 2000 cals and enjoy every second.  You don't need 'Jillian', you're totally capable of doing this yourself.

I've always been so impatient.  You watch stuff like the biggest loser and it makes you believe you could lose all your weight that fast too.  than I hear last nights episode where they said they work out 6 hrs a day.  I don't know how their bodies are not falling apart it's insane.

I know what you mean!  I am overwieght myself and have been all my life pretty well.  I am supposed to eat around 2000 or 2100 calories and it's hard to wrap my little brain around that!  I am scared too!  Last night I weighted myself and I gained instead of lost, but I had kinda given up the last month.  I am back on, although today I kinda blew my calories again, but I am not giving up!  I agree, set small goals, and try to achieve them, (now this is where I have to listen to myself!) and once you achieve them, you will know you can do it!

 YOU CAN DO IT!!  I know, I was at the same place as you, I was so confused by how much I needed to eat.  I mean I watched biggest loser, (and I'm hooked) and I was like, how much do I need?  I tried to do 1400 calories and I was always hungery!  Anyways, I hope this helps, a tiny bit at least!

thanks.  you can do it to girl!

i grant you it is hard to get your head around that amount of calories. i allow myself around 1890 cals aday, that and exercising. my problem is im getting bored with counting. although stick with it as the end results will make it all the sweeter!!!!

I agree with the advice to look at the smaller picture.  Also, your body will be going through a great amount of adjustments.  Remember, as you get older your metabolism will decrease.  I don't want to be 50 years old and fat.  I figure, teach my body now to burn calories, and then when I am 50 I can still eat a decent amount of food and maintain my weight. 

My mother-in-law only diets by eating less, throughout her whole life.  Finally, about two years ago she went to the gym and did not increase how much she ate.  She lost a lot of weight initially, and was super skinny.  Now she has probably gained about 30lbs.  She barely eats 1200 cals a day, how is she going lose weight?  She has jacked up her metabolism with the same sort of thinking you have  

I like to eat! I have lost 35 lbs in the past 9 months by eating 1800-2300 calories a day.  Eating healthy calories is important, avoid sweets and fats.  I did not lose weight for the first two weeks while my body was getting used to eating more.  But, since I have steadily lost weight with a few plateaus.  As I have lost more weight, I am able to be more active,  my back and knees don't hurt.  You have to be on the journey to get to the destination.  Don't give up because it is taking too long.  losing 1/2 lb a week is progress, and better than losing zero pounds.

Good luck.

If you are 100 pounds over weight, you probably can eat 2,100 calories and still lose.  The larger you are, the more calories you need to stay that size.  Also, fifty pounds a year is a lot to lose!  That is one pound a week.  Two years sounds about right to me.  If you go any faster, you run the risk of certain problems:

1.  Excess skin.  Rapid weight loss is a recipe for flabby, lose skin.  Your skin needs a little time to adjust to new weight, so it is better to lose it slowly.  Going along with this, if you lose weight too fast you will wind up with saggy breasts.

2.  Extreme diets don't teach you how to effectively manage your weight.  Most people who go on a diet and lose weight end up gaining it all back because once they are off, they go back to eating as they did before.  Basically, don't diet.  Eat sensibly, listen to your body, exchange junk food for more healthy alternatives, and exercise.  It is unrealistic to think you will never touch cake again, that you will get to the gym every day, that you will never eat McDonalds, and that you won't ever have cravings after you have lost your weight.  You need to learn to adapt your diet to your day rather than adapting your day to your diet.

3.  When you lose weight that rapidly you end up losing a lot of muscle because your body is in starvation mode and will use the most nutritional type of cell to sustain you.  Hint:  Fat is not what the body uses up first.  Fat takes and provides way fewer calories than muscle.  That is why if you build muscle, you will increase your metabolism.  One pound of muscle requires sixty calories a day to sustain, as opposed to one pound of fat which requires less than ten.

4.  Rapid weight loss kills your metabolism as your body is worried that is is starving and slows down to hold onto every ounce of fat.  If you are eating very healthily and working out and still not losing weight, it could actually be because you don't have enough fat in your diet.  Yes, you need fat in your diet.

5.  Biggest Loser is a horrible show.  The rapid weight loss it promotes is horribly unhealthy, the diets are not realistic or nutritious, and the physical extremes which contestants are pushed to are also detrimental.  It may be reality TV, but it is definitely not reality.  It paints a false picture about weight loss that is very dangerous.

 

I am 5'7" and currently weigh 165.  I am trying to get down to 135, but it has been hard since I have hypothyroidism and PCOS.  Both are disorders that slow metabolism and cause weight gain.  :P  It is only thirty pounds, something most people could lose in less than half a year.  But because of my conditions, I know it will take me a full year.  At first it was a bummer, but I am ok with it now.  I want to be healthy, fit, and attractive.  And the best way to do that is go slow.  Becoming fit is a journey, not a destination.

 

Not sure if this is a helpful comment, but you can change the goal date on your calorie target if 2010 is too far off.  You can lose the weight on 2100 cals a day, and of course, there's nothing wrong with the slow and steady route...it will give you time to adjust to a new lifestyle and such...but if you find it discouraging to have that final date so far in the future, it might be more helpful to choose a date that is mentally satisfying to you (so long as it isn't too soon...obviously there is a limit to how quickly you can loose 100 pounds...but you can find a happy medium.)

...yeah, and don't idolize Jillian and the biggest loser contestants too much.  Look at some of the "where are they now" pictures and note that a lot of them just lost weight for the show (and the money) and are back to their old ways.  In the long run, you're better off being in control of your own weightloss because you KNOW you can do it, and you HAVE to discipline yourself, and it makes you learn to be self-accountable and use the weight loss tools available to you in "real life."

You can do it if you want it.  No question.