Hello I'm new

Hi there,

have found this site through another member and it looks great.  I started my diet in July.  I was 279lbs!!!!  Now I am 261lbs.  I still have a long way to go but taking it day by day.

I have been following a 1500 cal a day diet but on here they say I should be eating 2650 cals a day.  How is that possible????  For one thing there isn't enough hours in the day to eat that many calories surely.  Although I must have eaten more than that to get to this weight.  have I been given that amount to make sure I don't lose too much too soon?

To exercise I do 3 line dancing classes a week.  I couldn't bare to go to the gym or walk but I'm quite happy to dance for 2 hours at a time.

Hi Gemillow!  Welcome to CC.

Congrats on your weight loss so far.  Keep up the great work.

Is the 2650 calories calculated to lose weight or maintain?  Which tools did you specifically use?

It was to lose weight.  I'm not entirely sure what I used.  That's what it came up with when I was registering.  I have tried to change it but it keeps coming back with that figure.  It reckons that I will reach my goal weight in Jan 09.  That's fine but I can't see that happening on that amount of cals a day.

have I done it wrong? What tools should I have used?

there are "expenditure" tools for maintenance, and "allowance" tools for weight loss.  be sure you use "allowance."   and it sometimes helps to list yourself as "sedentary" and then log in your activities for a day or two, just to see what you are really burning each day.  the "light" activity, etc.  is very approximate, but does help to get you in the right ballpark.    

it sounds as if you are doing extremely well, in the weight loss, but you want to make sure you do it in a sustainable way, not too quickly, because you want to establish an eating plan you can stick with for the rest of your life.

congratulations on the great start!!!

Thank you for that.  I have managed to change it to 1977 which seems more sensible. 

I don't want to lose it too quickly mainly because i'm scared of having a sad sack of skin left hanging round my middle. 

Congrats on the weigh lost so far!! ya Im 5ft, 125lbs and its say i should eat 1800 but to lose weight i really have to eat 1200! I go to the gym 3times a week and do 1 hr cardio and a half hour weights but i really want to start a dance class they seem like alot of fun!

You should join a dance class if you want to.  It is so much fun that it doesn't feel like exercise.  Line dancing (for example) can burn over 500 cals an hour!  Sometimes, when I'm at home, I put on my mp3 player and dance around the house.