three years out....does this sound right

I have been tested and shown to have pretty low metabolism. My nutritionist's recommendations are similar but with a slight twist: 1400 calories for 3 days with similar values as your note, 1100 calories for 2 days by cutting down on carbs,then keep repeating the cycle. Her belief is that with slow metabolism you need to trick your body into thinking you're going to feed it more continuously. On the 1100 calorie days it is recommended that most of my animal protein come from fish/seafood. that's great for me because you can often eat more fish that say chicken or beef and stay but lower calories. Bring on the tuna an shrimp! I've gone back to this plan and have lost 4# in two weeks (of the 11 I gained). That's not a lot but it's the right direction. Of course, exercise is an important part of this and I'm still struggling to get that motivation back regularly. I will not lose confidence in myself to be able to manage my weight. Anewme

Yer farther out than me. What Pat said is where I have to be. The carb number you gave is really high for me too. I would yack on that much. I stay around 30 grams if I can. Just remember we are differnt on the inside now so you probably have to experiment a little. kp @ goal

Thank you, everyone, for your responses. I appreciate the input tremendously!!!

I would say try her formula and if it doesn't work for you...cut back the carbs and fat and add more protein. Exercise and water intake are important to the process as well. luvitsunnyv

It really depends on your body. 200 grams of carbs sounds high for someone that has struggled with weight issues. It may be okay for the people that have never struggled with their weight. For me, I function and lose the best when I keep my carb count between 75 to 100 per day. I follow the GI diet. It is required to keep your carb count between 20 to 30 at each meal and 10 to 15 for your snacks. You have 3 meals per day plus 2 to 3 snacks. The carbs should be complex carbs. Refined, "bad" or quick digesting carbs are not eliminated but if you have them you must consider the Glycemic Load. They have a high glycemic index so if you have them you need to cut way back on the portion size to keep the GL low which may not be very satisfying. For example, I bring my own low carb bread (1 slice) to work to toast each morning. If I forget to bring my bread, I have 1/2 slice of the regular wheat bread from the cafeteria. If I have pasta, I only use 1/4 cup pasta and add 1/4 cup non-starchy vegetables. Vegetables slow down the digestion of the carbs. For fats I cook with cooking spray and I also use healthy fats like Olive oil. I eat nuts for snacks (10 almonds or 1/2 serving bag of nuts), nonfat light yogurt, cheese. I don't always get to 10 or 15 carbs for my snacks but I definitely try to get adequate carbs for breakfast lunch and dinner. It keeps your metabolism burning, keeps your insulin level so that you don't have cravings. My best remedy for cravings is a small serving of a complex carb. I have beans (field peas, black beans, etc) at least 3 times per week. 1 tablespoon gets rid the cravings and keeps you full. I mix my with mixed vegetables and a little cooking sherry. For breakfast I drink my protein shake on the way to work (5-6 grams carb, 30 g protein) and I have my 1 slice of toast with 1/2 packet of jelly when I get to work (approx 15 carbs). I eat a boiled egg about 2 hours later. Lunch 2 hours later (chicken or fish and my bean and mixed vegetable mixture or a chef salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing), snack of nuts with yogurt 2 hours later, dinner is similar to lunch, evening snack of a shake and nuts or cheese. Here are some links to the GI diet. I hope this helps. It has helped me to get my weight loss moving. It is the diet recommended for people that are diabetic but it was found that many overweight people are insulin resistant even if they are not diabetic. Nutrisystem is based on a low GI diet. http://www.mendosa.com/gi.htm http://www.lowglycemicdiet.com/lowglycemicdietfaqs.html

The number of calories you need to take in daily in order to maintain weight (known as Basal Metabolic Rate). Through food consumption and exercise, if you have a deficit from your BMR, you will lose weight. (1 lb for ever 3500 calorie deficit). The opposite holds true as well in terms of weight gain. There is no magic number of calories that is universal to everyone. You need to follow up with your dr or nutritionist rg this. Also, BMR will go down with weight loss so what may be a deficite now may be too much later as you lose more weight. Hope this helps! Caroline -225 lbs and maintaining goal http://picturetrail.com/carolineam http://abutterflyemerges.com