Questions for "regular" diet.....

[DisneyDad413]

I have finally decided to lose weight. I am already started and I am in Day 3. I really find it hard to try any special diets for my lack of liking most vegetables-salad and tuna.
I lost 75 lbs before my wedding 5 years ago-and I know I have the will power to lose 50 this time. But...
I need some answers if you have them..
-What should be my calorie intake?? I am 6 ft 283 lbs
-What are some good ideas for foods to eat low in calories\fat??
My first 3 days included:
NO POP-water and 1 gatorade
Slim Fast Shake for lunch
Popcorn and yogurt.
Total Cereal

Many thanks for your suggestions and best of luck to everyone.

 

[TigH]

Welcome to WISH!



I have read that men shouldn't eat any less than 1500 calories a day. I don't know if that's a rule or what, but I would suppose that at your height you would be burning over 2,000 calories a day at rest (or at work, without extra exercise).

Have you been to the site http://www.fitday.com? It's a great site - it's free and you can enter in everything you've eaten for the day and find out what percentage of your diet came from carbs/protein/fats. And it counts your calories for you too. You can also enter in any type of activity that you do so you will have a running total (estimate) of calories burned per day that includes what your body will burn just to keep you functioning and anything extra you do (like yard work, cleaning, exercise, etc.)

There are loads of WISH members following different eating plans. Atkins is low carb, South Beach Diet is lowish carb, Weight Watchers is anything goes as long as you stick within a certain amount of points, Ohiominnie is eating only when she has hunger pangs, etc. I'm sure there are others that I have missed.

I am eating several small meals 5-6 times per day, thinking of my metabolism as a fire that I need to keep adding kindling to in order for it to keep burning steadily. I try to eat non-processed foods as much as I can but I do still have the occassional low fat ice cream and I do use protein shakes, which are obviously a processed food. I find that sticking to my eating program is very easy as long as I have one "cheat" meal a week to indulge in my favorite food (Mexican).

I think most people here have realized they need to make a change for life, so try to bear that in mind. "Diets" where you change your eating habits temporarily to lose weight just aren't a smart idea, because if you go back to your old habits in the end you'll end up gaining the weight back. Making changes you can live with are what really works!

Good luck and sorry for the wordy message. I had some extra caffiene this afternoon and it's thrown me for a loop!

 

[Poly Pal]

I like alot of what TigH said.

I am 6'1" and was 234-236 at my heaviest. I've lost 51 lbs since I weighed in at 230 lbs. on 1/6/03. Here is what worked for me:

Try to keep my calories to 1800 per day.

Avoid "white" refined carbs (white bread, pasta, rice, potatoes). I still have them but maybe once or twice a week in limited amounts.

I try to eat low fat as well, so lean meats, lots of fish (at least 6 meals a week), lots of vegetables, and not too much fruit (maybe 2 servings a day).

Work out for at least an hour 6 days per week. 20 minutes with weights to preserve and build muscle which is more metabollically active and 40 minutes of cardio / aerobics to burn fat. I have since increased this to about 1 1/2 hours a day most days.

I eat 6 times a day at roughly the same time each day: 7:00 am, 9:30-10:00 am, 12:00- 12:30 pm, 3:00 - 4:00 pm, 6:30 - 7:00 pm, and 9:00 pm. So I'm usually not hungry and if I am, I can stick it out until my next snack or meal time.

I drink more than a gallon of water per day. Other than 2 cups of coffee in the morning, I almost exclusively drink water. It helps to have a refrigerator with water and ice on the door.

I jump right back on the wagon whenever I fall off!

Good luck to you!

 

[PartyofSix]

What's your weakness? We need to help you find alternitives to those so that would be helpful in helping you. Me and my husband are eating sensible no special plan so there's nothing we can't eat or have. Next I'd love to second the fitday that's a big help to you then i'd like to tell you about a weight loss desktop program i found that's fantastic. I'll keep up with your weight loss in graph form tell you calorie intake and keep a history of your measurements for you. It's great and simple to you and your allowed two copies of it i have one for me and my husband and weight in days i pop the new numbers in. You can find it at www.dwlz.com and try it out for a week free. If you like it you snail mail the guy 9.95 and it's yours for life. He made the program to help a friend loose weight and is sharing it with anyone who wants it. Trust me a lot of people would benefit from it and it's password protected if you like. Okay here's my major thing nothing fried well not with grease and oil i pan fry with veg spray or broil in the oven for fried tastes. I don't eat a lot of meat but when i do it's chicken on the formand grill or filet mingon or boneless porkchops all on the grill dress it with something you love bbq sauce or we prefer mustard bone sucking mustard to be exact it give us a great favor and satifsify our buds. Another thing we love is zatterani's rice mixes the red bean and black bean are really love in fat hardly any just leave out the margerine you'll never miss it and it's pack with favor. I love sweet potatoes so i cut them like fries turn on the oven to 425 and cover a cookie sheet with foil then spray with pam or something similar and "fry" them. My whole family loves these i cook broccoli and sqaush the same way in the oven. Also for making cabbage, greens, bean tastes great without the fat we use swanson's flavored broth we love the itlalian and garlic and onion flavors the best. Hope this helps you.

 

[anniet]

Another good site www.myfreediet.com even if you don't follow their diet it will give you ideas for food, along with a daily caloric intake.

good luck!

 

[bicker]

Men and women have similar minimum nutritional requirements; generally staying over 1200 calories per day intake is necessary unless you're under medical supervision.

Losing weight shouldn't really be about "power" but rather should be a matter of adopting a new lifestyle. That way, the weight you lose is gone forever.

Slim-Fast has been discussed here before. While meal replacements have been proven to a great tool in weight-loss and on-going maintenance, Slim-Fast isn't a very good meal replacement, since it has way too much sugar. I use Myoplex Lite, which is packed with a lot more protein.

As much as it is tough, we do need to make friends with vegetables. It is not only because they are low calorie -- indeed that has relatively little to do with it. Rather, it is because they have vital nutrients and fiber. I have found that many folks who don't like vegetables simply don't like the way the vegetables they're eating are prepared (typically because they're overcooked), and can readily find other preparation methods that are healthy and palatable.

 

[RaySharpton]

You've received a lot of good advice from everyone. I just wanted wish you luck. I'm on Atkin's and I try to get all my carbs from vegetables. And I'm still learning new things every day.

You can do it.

God bless, best wishes, and encouragement, RaySharpton