Changing goals as you lose weight

WarmDontBurn

March 2010 I was 170lbs. When I joined here I was around 168/164 and set my calorie intake to 1200 and was execising quite a bit ( walking nightly + Wii). I did really well in August and September where I lost the bulk of my weight. I always ate most of my exercise caloried and found because I was working out I could eat more. October I sort of fell off the wagon and gave in to eat crap. November I made a promise to get bacon track and have once again let myself down. I eat like crap and have not been exercising.

I am at an ok weight. I mean I am comfortable and my clothes fit again but I would like to lose another 12lbs or so. The way I have been going though I am more likely to gain then maintain. I need to either get back on the 1200 calories and get losing or up them a bit and although it may slow my weight loss it would still be a loss.

Should I be changing my goals and slightly upping my calorie intake? If I were to have just stumbled on this site today and enter my info it would be different since I am 28lbs lighter then when I was before.

Can anyone help me with the best way to proceed.

TIA:flowerforyou:

reesegirl521

*Bump* I'd like to see the responses to this as I have been in the same position!! Good luck!! I wish I had some great advice but I can't seem to get myself back on track either!!

AggieCass09

I would readjust your calories to your current weight since thats what you are today. If you set your weight for your original weight you may be overeating for your current needs. Eating healthy and exercising is a LIFESTYLE...you must commit that everything you do is favorable to the healthy lifestyle. I put sticky notes and motivational pictures at my desk at work and on my fridge at home so that when I am tempted to eat poorly I have an immediate reminder of my goal...to be healthy for life. In terms of exercising, it MUST be scheduled in your day and viewed as an essential part of the day (like showering).

In terms of the number of calories, I NEVER eat back my exercise calories except for an extra 200 calories when I do runs that exceed 8 miles (about 1200+ calories burned, 1200 is my daily limit). I have been very consistently losing weight by not eating these calories back and working out about 4 times a week (about 400-700 calories burned per work out).

Best of luck with your endeavors and Happy Holidays (focus on family not on food!)

treetz1979

My own opinion, just based on how well I know myself and my experiences.....

I have a lot of weight to lose to get back to a "normal" for my height (about 80 pounds). I've been a member for about 45 days and have lost about 13 lbs consistently.

I am on the 1700 (now 1650) daily calorie, exercising 3 times a week at least for 30 minutes, which will estimate my weekly loss at about 1 pound. I opted to not do the 1200 because I knew I couldn't stick to it. I've tried it before (not with this site, but on my own) and, like you mentioned, I did well for a little while and just completely gave up because I was STARVING all the time.

I would eat well, binge, eat well, bing...finally binging won out and then I would give up when my weight came back.

With 1700 calories, I eat well/healthy and am not hungry at night and still have extra calories to use, but I just don't. Also, I don't typically eat my calories burned from exercising. The result is that I stick to it and not get frustrated/mad at myself if I go over once in awhile. And, on average, I do lose about 1 pound a week.

Good luck...you need to find what works for you based on what you know about yourself, and maybe through some trial and error!

knittygirl52

I would try letting the site complete your goals. I have mine set so that I am "scheduled" to lose 1/2 pound per week. In reality I usually gain a little more than that--my metabolism must be set a little higher than some people my age. I also eat most of my exercise calories, though if I really work out hard and burn a ton of calories, I only let myself eat up to my usual calorie intake or a little more. I find that the site's goals work well for me, and also for my daughter. THere is no reason to either starve yourself or overeat

WarmDontBurn

Thanks all. I let it do it for me and it was still giving me 1200 cal per day. I upped to 1400 just to see how I do. I was always told to eat most of my exercise calories because you need to replace some of what your body burns. I would be too worried of going into starvation mode by not eating them.

I was not starving at 1200 calories but I just figured that I am not that determined for the 2lbs a week like I once was. I am actually ok with where I am at. I could be happier and do better of course. I also just assumed that the set up would be different compared to the weight difference.

Thanks again