New to board

So the story goes like this. I have been looking into having WLS, but our insurance, which is through my husbands workplace has an exclusion for any treatments related to weight loss. When I first found this out I was heartbroken and very angry.  I still am very disappointed that I can't have the surgery at this time as we will have to save for quite a long time to be able to pay out of pocket for it. But I am not going to just give-up on trying to better my health by losing weight, I need to lose weight and a lot of it. I am 5' 3.5" and 284 lbs. I can't just sit back and continue eating myself into an early grave..I have to do something now. I have tried so many diets in the past and have failed miserably. So although I am skeptical that dieting and exercise alone will work long term, it is the only tool I have at the moment. I am not looking for miracles and know I will have to do the work.  I started to change my way of eating on Oct. 23rd and as of today it seems to be going pretty well. I don't know if I have lost any weight yet, but will find out tomorrow when I go to Dr. appointment (like to weigh on same scales), but I feel like I have lost a little. I try to stay between 800 - 1000 calories a day...so far this has not been a problem and I am not left feeling hungry. By no means have the cravings for my favorite foods gone away, but for now I have been able to keep them under control by sipping water throughout the day.  I have been reading posts and taking note of all the great results and hope I will be joining the 'loser' team soon.   Colleen

I would like to make a recommendation that I hope won't offend you.  It is purely out of concern.  800-1000 calories is not a healthy eating plan and can make it more difficult the further you get towards where you would like to be weight wise.  Our bodies usually establish a tolerance to long term conditions that we set for ourselves.  When you hit a plateau at some point you will have to down your calories from that point. Most people on here will probably tell you it would be wise to calculate your BMI which is basically a number that indicates approximately how many calories it takes to sustain your weight as it is now.  It is only a guide and not an exact science but seems to be a good starting point.  Subtract a certain amount of calories from your BMR and that will create a calorie deficit which will (hopefully) cause you to lose maintainable weight.  If you exercise, the calorie deficit will be even bigger from burning additional calories.  3500 calories=1 pound so if you cut back 500 calories each day that would be a pound loss per week (in a perfect world, LOL) but you get the idea I think. As far as surgery goes, that is what brought the majority of us here.  After 2 insurance companies with exclusions and not enough money or capability to finance a surgery I decided that it was worth trying to change my lifestyle on my own first.  These are all change I would have had to make to make surgery successful long term anyway.  It does work but it takes, patience, determination, support and accountability.  You'll get lots of great advice on here too like good sites to track your food and journal.  All of these tools are so helpful. Welcome and best wishes in your journey to become a fit and healthy individual! skinny vibes!!!!

Hi Colleen!  Yes, i must basically agree with animator...don't go too low on calories.  it is not necessary to go under 1600 calories at your weight. Perhaps at some point as you get closer to your goal, you may need to go as low as 1200 calories to lose, but that will depend on how much you move. Too low (under 1000) does lots of adverse things.  For one thing, rarely can peeps stay that low, then they "fail" and forget about it all. Mostly, it is my contention that one thing fat peeps may well be is overfed and undernourished. It is near to impossible to get in vital nutrients much under 1400 calories every day! You will see that eating "enough" for you will hinder cravings.  Not eating enough may trigger them...your body's response to needing more nutrients. Better to re-teach yourself how to eat right - healthy foods in the correct portions.  Better to stay on a consistent plan that fits in all foods:  fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, lowfat dairy, healthier fats.  Anyhoooo, you made a giant leap just by popping in here. Good for you.  We're here to support you and give LOTS of advice!  LOL!!!!!!  welcome.

Welcome to the board.  There are some friendly and knowledgeable people on this board.  They have really helped me and I'm sure we can all help you as well. 

Brenda

 

Welcome and good luck on your journey :)

I strongly suggest that you check out www.thedailyplate.com  there you will have the ability to track everything you eat.  TDP can also help you set a reasonable calorie goal.  I am 5'6" and weigh 302 and I have a calorie goal of 1700 a day and I am losing consistently.  1000 is really very low and would be extremely difficult to maintain for any length of time. feel free to click the link in my signature if you want to see my daily plate. Welcome and good luck!

Welcome aboard!   I have to say that your calorie consumption is a bit on the low side.  I would suggest a higher consumption for more satisfaction and less risk of under-eating.  If you under eat, you could be nixing your metabolism at the beginning, and losing much less than you could be.  That wouldn't be good at all.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask!  That's what we're here for!

Just arrived home from Dr. visit.  She said 800 - 1000 calories is a bit low, but so long as I am not feeling hungry and taking my vitamins daily then it should be OK but she will keep an eye on my blood tests.  Week 1 down 8 lbs, I am happy with that. I input everything on fitday to track calories, fat, carbs and so on....but I did notice that their calculations are off on many items, so when I have the nutrition information on the labels I enter those instead. I am very careful to measure everything so I get the true value of the foods I am eating...and break my meals up throughout the day to keep my blood sugars as level as possible (type2 diabetic). Thank you all for your information and concern, and I will revise my eating plan if weight loss slows to much or I find myself feeling unwell or hungry.  Your support means more then I can express, thank you all!

welcome to the boards! i too am fairly new here. i also started out trying to keep my calories between 800-1000. after hearing the opinions of many diff ppl and doing alot of researching i decided it was in my best interest to up my calories. i do not want to risk putting my body in starvation mode. and you have to remember that as you lose weight you are supposed to adjust your calories down accordingly - taking into account your lifestyle. if you start out so low, you really have no where to go. i try to keep myself around 1200-1400 now but if i get up towards 1600 i don't sweat it. i use fitday to track my foods too. one thing my dr told me once was that people who keep track of what they eat have a higher chance of not only losing but maintaining the weight loss. every time i start to slip on my tracking, i remind myself of that. there are several other sites out there that does the same thing as fitday as well. i prefer fitday atm. but you might want to check out the others. some of them, i've heard, make it easier to put in your foods without having to customize everything yourself like you end up having to do so much of at fitday.  thinnerself.com, thedailyplate.com, and sparkpeople.com are just a few of them. good luck on your journey!

I suggest you start attending meetings of Overeaters Anonymous as soon as possible.  I got to the point where I couldn't diet any more.  I weigh 271.0 pounds and am 5'1/2" tall.  I've lost 23.5 pounds so far going to OA, and I get the help of a support group, as well as my Higher Power.  I was failing miserably going to Weigh****chers back in February 2006.  I knew I needed something more serious, so I started attending OA meetings.  Since then, I've been successful at eating three moderate meals a day with nothing in between, and I've managed to give up junk foods like cookies, cake, candy, etc.  It is a spiritual program, I feel I have to warn you.  But the nice thing is you can choose to have a relationship with any Higher Power you choose, whether it's God, Jesus, Allah, or just the OA group.  It does work, and you can achieve what we call abstinence (refraining from compulsive overeating) if you work their simple program.  This is a suggestion, not a command.  I'm sure the other people on this Website have good suggestions, too.  This is what's worked for me. Denise Phares/kitties4