HELP!!! I'm new!

Hey guys,

 I am a confused girl, lol.  I have recently started doing this calorie count and am to do 1400 a day.  I work out at least 5 times a week and am very disciplined here.

My goal is to lose 50 pounds, but I wanna know how to get here.

 

here are my questions

1  Does it matter how and where we get our calories from??  Does it matter what time of day we eat them in, and does it matter what we eat or only if we stay under the limit?   i cannot find a consistat answer..

 

I am a cereal eater for breakfast, salad for lunch and I like lean cuisines for dinner

but appearently lean cuisines get like a C+ rating??  What is this, does that mean I shouldn't eat them?  I don't know what meal to eat at dinner that I will know exactly how many calories are in..

 see I'm lost, I would really appreciate any guidence or help  I just started in beginning this month, but have learned I've messed up a little..so I wanna get this right so I can lose the most I can.

I don't stray too much, but I'm just wondering, if I really want pizza lets say for dinner, can I save my caloiries that day and eat it guilt free?  Or is that considered a cheat?

 

please help me, I'm a lil lost! 

thanks guys!

In the terms of overall nutrition, it does matter where your calories come from. 400 calories of pizza is obviously not as good for you as 400 calories of whole grains, fruits, veggies and lean meats. In essence, a calorie is a calorie and weight loss is all about calories in vs calories out. However, you will feel better and your body will fuction better on nutritious food. (Not to mention, the good stuff will fill you up longer, thus leading to less binges, which is good for weight loss)

 To me and my body, it doesn't really matter when I eat my calories. Some say its better to eat more in the morning so you burn it off during the day. It's a debated thing, so the best bet is to find out what works best for your body. A lot of this weight loss is science, but part of it is finding out how it works with your own body.

Obviously, you should be eating foods that are going to fill your body (1400 calories worth of the good stuff, not fast food) but that doesn't mean you can't have it occasionally, as long as you keep in within your calorie allowance or offset it with exercise. I have chocolate, eat frozen yogurt and have the occasional pizza or cheese burger. I try not to "save calories" just because that makes me hungrier through the day and more likely to binge. Instead, I counter the extra cals with more exercise.

Experiment and find out what works best for you :) Stay healthy, and good luck!

Thanks dolceamara!

 I really appreciate your help on this, I do try to stay on track and work out a lot and pretty hard.

 

How much weight should I expect to lose in a month?  How long have you been doing the calorie count thing?? lol

 

I was a former Atkins follower, but found it too restrictive, and although I lost, I felt yech, and not well at all, that is a diet that you must follow to a tee and make sure to take supplements or else you can get really sick.. anyways, I'm trying this way now, just new so i thought I'd ask away!!!

 

Thanks again!

 

cheers!

I say eat pizza when you want, as long as it fits in relatively well.  Of course, I'm biased, as that's what I'm currently eating!

I largely agree with dolceamara, but I'm going to say it in my own words, I guess.

As far as weight goes, pretty much it's just a calorie thing.  If you eat fewer than you burn, your weight will go down.  However, the trick is to do that without losing muscle mass (be sure to get enough protein--that's what I have a hard time with) and while getting a decent fat-carbs-protein balance and getting enough nutrients.  So obviously a big salad with a chicken breast on top is better for you than pizza, but you can still lose weight (and healthily, I think) while eating pizza occasionally.

As far as the time of day, I don't think it matters too much.  People keep quoting a study that says that eating a lot at night does not affect weight loss (as long as you're not exceeding your calories), and I think that makes a lot of sense.  That said, you'll probably feel better if it's spread fairly well throughout (especially if you're working out).  I tend to eat about 250 for breakfast, 300-400 for lunch, 600+ for dinner, and a couple snacks in there (usually in the afternoon and evening), but I also tend to get up fairly late and stay up pretty late, so if you're the reverse, eating more in the morning may be helpful. 

I agree with the previous posts.  You can get a bit more edge if you eat more carbs and protein and less fat.  About  10% of the calories you eat is used to digest food. But fat takes way less calories to digest... per 100 calories, about 3 to 5 for fat, about 25 for protein and carbs. Also, fiber helps greatly with weight loss. The cellulose inplant foods in indigestible, so not received by your body,... but it is still part of the calorie count of that food, even though your body can't use the cellulose calories. Fiber also moves food quicker through your system, so fewer calories get absorbed. It takes little work for sugar to get digested so all tends to be absorbed. 

wow, thanks guys for your help!  I really appreciate that!  It's nice to be able to ask ppl who are actually following the same program that i am! lol  I will definately take the advice given here, and obviouly I know not to eat pizza or junk all the time, but I was worried that if I did have the occassional piece of pizza or beer that I'd be ruining my diet, ( as would be the case had I still been following Atkins...very restrictive, but super results fast!)

Thanks again guys!  Good luck as well!

No problem!

I've been on the site for almost 2 years, but I've just now settled into making it a serious lifestyle to eat healthy. I've been at it seriously for about three weeks, and though I don't know what i weigh (don't have a scale), I can see a noticable difference in the way I look and the way my clothes feel.  Most of this is probably from drinking enough water and flushing out sodium so I don't bloat up, but I've also been doing a lot of muscle work, so I think my muscles are just beginning to tone.

Doctors say that healthy weight loss is from 1-2 lbs a weeks. So, you could lose anywhere from 4-8 lbs in a month. It'll depend on your calorie deficit and how much you exercise etc etc.

Though, if you do a regular muscle regime, you might not see the scale move as much, as you are putting on weight through muscle. At this point, I like to rely on measurements or get a body fat % test done to see how my stats are.

Good luck! (Atkins is evil!! Just my opinion :P) I'm finding success in calorie counting and getting exercise. Hopefully you will too! Oh! and I meant to comment on the frozen dinners. Processed foods are packed with sodium, which isn't good for you (I saw a box the other day and it had 1200mgs of sodium. Half your daily value. Sheesh!). While they are not bad for you if you eat them occasionally, you wouldn't want to eat them religiously. After a while, you'll probably find you lose taste for them anyway. I find now, after eating lots of fresh foods, that those kinds of things are quite bland, just tasting salty :P

Are those 1400 calories you eating before or after your exercise is factored in?

Eating 1400 and then working off 500 of those means you are at a net of 900 calories at the end of the day, which is not healthy at all. 

I eat 1400 a day and do 60 min of cardio on the elliptical and then 30 minutes of weights.  I work out hard, burn about 900 calories when I go.  I don't really see too much of a differece, but then I just had a long weekend with my friends at a cottage and was drinking a little, ( not really a habbit) but I drink a lot of water, and sorry to say 1- 2 diet cokes, lol I really am trying to lose this by January, thats the goal anyways..

hehe thanks for the tips on the lean cuisines, i eat those every night, that could be a problem, but its a time thing, and I'm sortta lost as to what is a good dinner choice thats also easy ( single girl).  So you say fresh food is best, I will definately have to try that, oh and what about this skinny cow ice cream, 100 calories per bar!  Is that a no no?  They're so yummy, and if the calories are calories for the most part, is it ok to eat the occassional one?  hehe I like the sweets..

Absolutely have a Skinny Cow every now and then! :-) I've been doing this for about 3 weeks. I'm trying to lose 25 pounds, and I've lost 7 so far. I've had McDonald's hot fudge sundaes, a Frosty, pizza, Denny's, and gone out drinking with my friends. I think what I like best about using the site is that it gives me so much freedom to make my own choices. I eat Special K or a yogurt for breakfast, a Lean Cuisine with a piece of fruit for lunch, a snack that's about 100 calories, and then pretty much whatever I want for dinner and dessert, as long as I stay near my limit. So it's pretty clear to me that as long as I don't exceed my recommended calories, I'll lose weight, no matter what I eat (yeah, I could eat more nutritious foods, but oh well). As for the Lean Cuisines, I got an F for nutrition the other day because I had one for lunch and French Onion soup for dinner. I had something like 5 times the recommended daily sodium!

More than anything, you have to know your body. Since you say you like cereal and salad already, you can stick to this while you're trying to lose weight and be fine. Make sure you eat food that will carry you to your next meal or planned snack. If you don't, you'll probably end up snacking on whatever you can find, which is usually not very good for you at all. Good luck to you!

heheh thank you for that Zolar!  you must have a really great metabolism!!  Lucky you!!!  I don't think I could be as liberal with my diet and lose, since I don't really feel I look too different but have been doing this for about 4 weeks.  I appreciate all the responses everyone! Wow!

 

Also, what is everyone's take on diet pills?  yay or nay?  i've sorta been on hydroxycut hardcore, but I don't think it works too well other than making you feel like you're sweating like a pig and on speed or something, lol

 

is there any that anyone has tried that works?

 

i want to lose the same ammount of weight as you in the same ammount of time! whats your current weight? i also do the same exercise as you i think, though i dont use the eliptical i use the tredmil w varrying speeds and inclines. how often do you do cardio and how often do you do weights? i do cardio everyday and weights every other day. i am really excited i found someone who has the same goal as me!!! i am going to friend you.

hi stephan1e!  yea thats cool!

 I too try to go everyday to the gym, but at least 5 times a week.  I do Cardio everyday for 1 hour, fat burn at a good speed, I like to sweat.  every other day I do circuit, this is new to my routine I just got a personal trainer and he has implemented this into it.  My goal is to tone not to bulk I wanna be a girl, lol.  I'm tall, 5' 11" and am 175 pounds.  my goal is to lose 50 by mid Jan, and I'm trying pretty hard to do this, but I had a couple stumbles here and there, ( it is the summer afterall, and what can you cook on a fire for real, lol)

I'm glad to fine out you do the same, this will be good to compare notes and experiences!  I'm new to the calorie count plus side of things, didn't even know about adding friends until yesturday, so lemmie see how to do this! lol

Hey guys! 

I was also wondering if smoking inhibits weight loss, I like to do this only at work, lol, stupid yes, agreed, one thing at a time I suppose

and can you do weight watchers and calorie count together??

also is coffee super bad?  I love my Timmies ( Candadian) and i only have 1 a day with 2 half n half creams.  I know its not great, but its a love, and appearently only makes up about 100 at most calories...any other coffee drinkers out there?

miss_sassy - I think I have the answer for why you haven't seen a noticable weight loss yet...

You have to increase your calorie intake. If you are working out as much as you are (it's alot! :) you need to replace those calories. You are burning something like 900 calories, but only consuming 1400? That mean you are netting only 500. From what I understand from this site - you need to NET at least 1200 to be healthy.

Before discoving this site, I was doing the SAME thing as you are. Working out all the time (sometimes 2 times a day) and eating somewhere between 1100-1400 calories a day. I didn't lose a pound! I actually gained one or two :(. I was totally discouraged and frustrated!

I found this site and posted almost the same thing you did. Everyone told me I was in starvation mode and to quit it! I increased my calories to about 1600 on the days that I workout and stay around 1300 on the days that I don't workout. I've lost 5 pounds since then. It's not a ton, but it's a lot better than nothing at all!

Anyway, there's my advice :) Good luck to you!!!

oh - I'm a coffee drinker too.

I've trained myself to drink my coffee black once I started on this site. With cream and sugar (how I used to drink it), a small coffee is like 80-100 calories!!! Too much!

It's best to drink it black so you don't have to worry when you NEED that second cup (upping it to 200 calories), but I understand that not everyone likes it black (I will say that  I find that I get a stronger boost from black coffee than creamed down coffee).

As long as you are honest with the amount of cream and sugar (and number of cups) you consume and it fits into your daily allowance, then you are fine and will still lose weight. Hey - as I said in my last post, you need to up your calories anyway :)

wow really?

I still don't exactly follow that to be honest, why would I lose more if I ate more?  I know when you starve your body saves, but what about if you do it for a long time?  I'm just going on what this site told me to eat given what I do.  Isn't it true that over a longer period of time I would lose more if I ate less calories?

I really appreciate that!  Also, if you don't mind me askin, are you male or female and how long did it take you to lose the 5 pounds?  i'm thinkin its slow for me because I've done some crazy diets in the past, and its probably not understanding what will happen.  I do feel a lot better and am feelin harder rather than soft, so its doing something, but still no weight lost, I actually went up 2 pounds one day, BAH!

I'm not really that overweight to begin with, appearently slightly overweight by 5 pounds, but I really wanna get to my goal of losing 50, and I'm determined to do whatever it takes.

Thank you so much for your help! I appreciate those who are like me helpin me out!

It's good to get a book with the glycemic indexes for each food you eat.  Some foods, like breakfast cereals, last only 60 minutes, then they're gone and you're hungry again.  you want to eat them together with something that slows down digestion - to get you to lunchtime or into the afternoon.

undercooked (tough) rice is a good example of a food with a slow digestion index.  also, undercooked pasta.  natural fresh vegetables and nuts, and uncooked foods are also much more slowly digested, hence, no candy vending machine will ever carry them because they won't lead to another instant sale !!!!

"Lose your Love Handles" is a book - actually about weight training - that has a great table in the back that ranks foods by glycemic index.  Check it out from the library and copy the table !! 

And the next time you're thinking about something to eat for a snack, eat something that will stay with you for 2 hours, not 20 minutes !!