Diet, Week 1

So, it's been a week. Things have gone fairly well. I know that both Sam and Ron have lost a bunch (10ish and 6 respectively), and that Ingrid isn't having much luck with her plan (my uninformed opinion is that she's not eating enough, but it's too quick to judge). I've no idea about the others.

Anyway, I've not weighed in this week, so I have no idea how well I've done in those terms. I do know I've cut out a bunch of food, and while I'm not deprived, I definitely think about all the food cravings I'm ignoring (or satisfying with a carrot or orange). Exercise is the key for me.

See, I'm targeting 2000 calories a day, plus whatever I exercise. I figure my basal rate has got to be at least 2500, probably more. So I'm cutting out 500 calories * 7 == 3500 == 1 pound a week. 6 months == 26 weeks, 26 pounds. I'd like to lose more, but I also want to end up with an eating habit I can sustain.

So, 2000 calories isn't really enough to satisfy me mentally, but if/when I exercise I can pretty easily tack on another 300-600 calories, and 2500 calories is pretty doable. Today, for instance, I ate 2650 calories - and that included a bunch of home-made pizza and 2 (yup, count them, one... two) whole cookies. Sure, I'm not eating my standard dozen cookies, but I'll live.

Anyway, here's how I fared with respect to my target eating goal this past week:


The big negatives are because I exercised and didn't eat enough during the day. Come dinner time I didn't want to just stuff myself, so I ended up a bit shy. I'll get better at planning that.

One problem both Sam and I have had in figuring out how much to eat is that all of the online calculators give different caloric measurements for both basal rates and for activity. Sam got some basal rates that differed by 1000 calories! So it's confusing and difficult to know where to start. As with most things, experience is what really can guide you.

Mary has been great - she's planned and cooked some great meals. I've just limited portions. So far, so good, I think.

Update: Sunday, Jan 26, 4:30pm. Down 4.5 pounds.