dwilliamca Member

I think it is more of a challenge for older people to lose or maintain weight because our BMR's drop every year and we require less and less calories to live, yet our appetites and eating habits remain the same. No one ever told me that every time I have a birthday I should drop my daily intake of calories. Over the years…

Congrats on quitting smoking and on losing weight. They are both tough things to do, so you know you can do it again. I quit smoking in my 40's...about 20 years ago and after I quit couldn't figure out why it took me so long. I also started putting weight on in my 40's although I'm pretty sure I would have even if I'd…

Have you lost any weight and then stopped or are you just starting? You don't mention any of your statistics other than weight, but it is possible that with being 54 your BMR is fairly low and perhaps your activity less than you estimate. The other problem of course is logging food incorrectly. I'm 63 and on a 1200 calorie…

I'm confused. Where is your NEAT or activity level figured in here? You can't just go on BMR. How did you calculate BMR? I don't see your statistics but 1200 is a very low BMR unless you are a very small or elderly female. My BMR is lower than many at 1400*1.25 for sedentary lifestyle=1750 plus 250 calories in modest…

Mine have been quite accurate so far, but I rarely fluctuate from my daily calorie target. I consistently lose 2 lbs/week. I jot them down every few weeks on my calendar just to make sure I am on track.

Welcome. All you need is a calorie deficit to drop pounds. Glad you are liking the diet chosen for you. South Beach diet is pretty popular so you should have no problems finding ideas on the Internet or from your dietitian. Logging calories is easy to do but you must be accurate...most foods need weighed. I do plan several…

2500 is reasonable for a young male your size. The number is based on your BMR times your activity level which you chose, minus the deficit you chose for how many pounds per week you wish to lose. I'm assuming you let MFP calculate it for you and yes it should be accurate if what you submitted is. You can use the tools to…

Try not to think "diet". I'm basically eating the way I always have, just limiting quantities, alcohol, late night snacking, and added sugar. I'm losing 2 lbs a week sticking to my numbers and doing a little extra exercise about 4 times a week. Just focus on logging (I find logging before I eat helps me know what I can…

I'd like to know what happened to the people who started this thread last March. Burn out or success? I can't imagine eating such a ridiculously low calorie limited food diet. I've lost 14 lbs. in a month and a half eating around 1300 calories of real food a day and that is tough enough for me. At least when I hit…

Ditto the above statements about Europe. AMs we ate a croissant and coffee or maybe some fruit from a street market. Even B&B's served healthy breakfasts with great choices. For lunch we usually stopped at 3 or 4 different establishments and bought fresh bread, meat, & cheese....plus often a bottle of wine. Crepes are also…

Open your diary logs, post your goals and statistics and find friends on the same/similar amount of calories whose log you can look at and who might be willing to take a look at yours once in awhile and give suggestions.

Most nights I drink mocha or hot cocoa in the evenings so I don't go to bed hungry and it meets my chocolate craving....cashew milk, cocoa powder, decaf coffee, stevia and sometimes a squirt of whipped cream....50 calories total. Other nights I drink herbal teas my favorites being cinnamon, mint, and berry.

I too like a variety of vegetables especially colorful ones in my diet and grow some of them. Some vegetables like carrots are so cheap to buy I quit trying to grow them, although purple ones would be fun. In my climate (southern California) I grow artichokes as perennial and usually get 3-4 "flowers" per plant a couple…

I love bacon but only eat occasionally because it does add up. I do eat turkey sausage more often because they are lower calories and fit in with my regular breakfast. I think the turkey sausage is good, but can't even look at the turkey bacon.

To lose weight all you need to do is stay in a calorie deficit (eat less than you burn through metabolism, daily activity, and exercise), which is why you will log all your calories consumed by weighing/measuring everything...guessing doesn't work well at all. To figure out what that "magic" number of calories is for your…

I don't mind logging at all and will save a list of ingredients as a meal when it is something I log frequently like a stew or soup (don't usually account for salt/spices). I use the recipe builder for large, complicated recipes, both my own and from the Internet. Sometimes import works/sometimes not. I think it is kind of…

Total calories are at the bottom under ENERGY listed as kcals/100 grams.

Being aware of the reason we need protein is not an obsession, it is science based nutrition. Look it up.

I love the bar code scanner and find it to be accurate most of the time. I do double check everything the first time I scan because I have had small differences (like 10 calories off probably due to change over time). The other day I scanned a low-fat fudge-sickle and it came back as Weight Watchers, which it wasn't, but…

Essene bread (sprouted wheat berry) is fun and easy to make but it comes out more like a pumpkin bread than sandwich bread. The simplest recipe just has the sprouted wheat pureed in a food processor and baked on a pizza stone. I like to add nuts and raisins. It is good and healthy, but not low calorie and very high carb.…

Yes. If it is something that isn't included in your average daily NEAT then I'd add it. Here is a site that you can search for those kind of "exercises". http://calorielab.com/burned/ I put in painting for 150 lb person and it gave me 238 calories an hour for a 150 lb. person.

Swelling in one foot only doesn't really sound like water. If it continues you probably need to talk to your doctor about it. Does it hurt or have redness? When you press on it, does it leave indentations? Do you sit with legs crossed for long periods or stand for long periods without enough moving around? Do you have high…

Here is a great site I found that lists different rolls because nobody eats just one kind of roll....or just one roll for that matter. All you can eat Sushi is a killer, and sounds soooo good. http://www.sushifaq.com/sushi-health/calories-in-sushi/

Sugar-free chocolate desserts (pudding or ice cream) and cocoa powder/stevia drinks are my best friends. I have 2-3 doses of chocolate per day.

If you decide you still want to lose 1.5-2 lbs. week, add the extra calories in exercise and don't eat them all back.

I like variety too and I want to keep eating the same way when I hit maintenance. So far the only thing I've given up is daily wine, too much high calorie snacking after dinner, sugar.

I jot down the projections MFP gives me and write in on my calendar. When I get to that date I check against where I am for a reference. So far, so good.

I've been thinking and worrying a bit about it myself. So far I've only had two bad calorie days, both family events. Both times I either planned ahead and ate lighter before, or made up some of it the next day or both. Adding extra exercise is another fix for me. Those are the same strategies I'll use with the holidays.…

Unless you have a specific diet plan in mind, why don't you start with the defaults and see where you fall after logging a couple of weeks? You can alter them once you get a better feel of where you are and how you feel. Honestly, it doesn't make a difference as far as losing weight goes. You'll find your happy place. Just…

I'm also a nightime TV snacker and trying to get a hold on it. I save about 200-250 calories for snacking every night. Popcorn is a great snack...just watch the butter. Pizza is high, but a slice or two with some salad isn't bad for dinner. I had to break down and start eating no sugar desserts, but now I'm used to the…