aggie_d07's Journal, 04 June 2015

1500-1700 may not be enough for you. If you know what your body burns in a 24 hr period, you can figure out what you need to eat to lose. Just google TDEE calculator. I'm 5'3" and 148lbs and in order for me to lose, I have to eat 1500-1600. If I want to maintain my weight, I have to eat 1850-2000. You can eat 2000 calories of clean healthy foods. Just don't drop down because you THINK 2000 is too high.  

Thank you for the suggestion. It does put things into perspective but I also think it's a way for people to justify overeating. I know caloric intake isn't necessarily the biggest thing when it comes to changing your lifestyle. It's about what you are putting in your mouth that matters more….then how much of it. Eating 'clean' (as the fad term has become these days) is important beyond measure. But the calorie goal is what is going to help me be more aware of WHAT I'm putting in my mouth and making better choices.  

Just be careful not to go too low. I know for me, when I started my weight loss this time around, I was only eating 1350 calories AND working out 5x a week. Nothing was happening for almost 6 weeks until I UPPED my intake and then the pounds started coming off. 5lbs in 5 weeks. It is very important to eat clean food, yes. That's what certainly helps. We eat clean here, too. But one of the goals of weight loss is to be able to eat as much as you can and still lose weight. You eat to lose, workout to sculpt. :-) I saw a picture not too long ago that said "Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym." :-) People need to NOT be afraid of food. And not completely deprive themselves of their "loves" such as chocolate or cake. Those things are ok in moderation and if you deprive completely, you'll only want it more or you'll over eat it when you DO get it. If I want ice cream or cake, I limit to just one serving size ONCE a week. I don't stay away from it altogether. And I don't eat fat free or light either because those are filled with chemicals our bodies cannot process. We just eat Real. Good. Food! And it's working :-) 

If you don't eat enough calories it certainly can stall your weight loss. 1700 calories a day probably doesn't put you in danger of that but as Amyskids mentioned it's a good idea to check out (if you havnen't already) a good online calculator and figure out your Basic Metabolic Weight (BMR), Total Daily Expenditure (TDE) and then you have a good basis to set a healthy level of calories to consume each day. In time we learn what the balance of calories in vrs. calories expended works for us, we're all different to some degree. 

Don't worry, unless you are 7 foot tall and training for a marathon, you are fine at 1500 calories, which is pretty high in itself for anyone that has had gastric bypass. Sounds like you eat out of boredom, as many of us do. Even if all you do is walk briskly for 30 minutes a day, and maintain an RDI of 1500, you should start seeing a big difference. You don't have to kill yourself in the gym or at the table. Good luck!