Starting the Journey

Today I'm starting my journey down to my goal weight of 165. Today when I weighed myself, I was at 303 - my highest EVER. So...I'm formulating a plan to succeed.


I had a scary incident last night. I woke up and the left side of my body was numb - just arm and leg. I wasn't having a stroke, but it sure scared me. Also, my husband told me my breathing has gotten VERY labored when I sleep. Not good...so let's change that.


My BMR (basal metabolic rate) is 2100 calories. This means that if I just stayed in bed all day long I'd need 2100 calories to maintain my current weight of 303. Looking at that number it sounds like a LOT of calories, doesn't it? So, I must be eating WAY over that 2100 in order to have gotten to where I am - cause God knows I'm not in bed all day. Although...I'd be willing to give it a try :)


Okay...so BMR is 2100 calories. Since I don't lay in bed all day, I have to figure out my daily caloric needs based on a formula by Harris Benedict. Because I don't have any formal exercise program, my lifestyle is considered sedentary. To figure out my daily caloric need, I now need to multiply my BMR of 2100 by 1.2 which is the modifier for a sedentary lifestyle.


2100 x 1.2 = 2520 calories


So - I finally have the answer that in order to maintain my 303# weight, I must eat at least 2520 calories. Okay....this is depressing. I thought looking at the 2100 was bad...this makes me want to cry. I've been eating over 2520 calories a day in order to get to where I'm at.


That's what I'm changing - and I'm starting today.


I know that 1 pound of fat = 3500 calories. So in order to lose weight, I need to eat less than my 2520 calorie daily need. How much below that 2520 I go will determine how fast the weight should come off.


Of course, I want it all off yesterday. But eating 1200 calories is not in the cards right now. In fact, it could push my body into starvation mode where I would begin storing calories - stopping any weight loss.


I am shooting for 1800 calories a day. This is reasonably doable for me and would give me the expectation to lose about


2520 (daily caloric need) -1800 (calories in) = 720 less calories than my daily caloric need


This means that if I stick to 1800 calories a day, I should have eaten 5040 LESS calories that my body needs resulting in an estimated weight loss of 1.44 pounds. If I incorporate exercise into my day, the rate that I lose will rise. But for now, I'm content just losing that 1.44 pounds a week.


So I'm going to limit my intake to 1800 calories a day. I plan to eat 4 meals a day (B, L, D & a snack). This means that each meal I have, I get to eat a whopping 450 calories! This is something I think I can easily do :)


What kind of calories do I want? Ultimately, I want nutrient dense, calorically low foods like veggies and fruit. But, I am not a rabbit, never have been. So, I'm going to do my best to incorporate a protein and carb at each meal while also adding in fruits, veggies and nuts.


For example, my breakfast today was a bowl of cereal with milk. While it's not a bad breakfast, the cereal I ate could have been healthier. Also, I was using 2% milk which is higher in fat and calories. Tomorrow I'll have some oatmeal with walnuts and honey.

Oatmeal = 158 calories per cup
Honey = 64 calories a tablespoon
Walnuts = 185 calories an ounce


Going with this, I can have 1 cup of cooked oatmeal with 2T. of honey and 1oz of walnuts and this will equal 413 calories. I have 37 calories to spare!


How about a sample lunch?


Baked boneless-skinless chicken breast = 30 calories per ounce
Green Beans steamed = 17 calories per 10 beans
Baby Spinach = 12.5 calories per cup
Poppyseed Dressing = 65 calories per tablespoon
Croutons = 58 calories per 0.5 ounce
Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce = 35 calories per tablespoon


This means I can have 8 oz of bbq chicken (240), a 1c. spinach salad w/ 1T. of dressing and 0.5 oz of croutons and 20 green beans for 444.5 calories. Again, still under the 450 I am allowing myself to have!


Okay...feeling WAY more confident about this now.


How about a snack example?


Walnuts = 185 calories and ounce
Chobani yogurt = 100 calories a container
Large Apple = 116 calories


Add them together and I'm at a snack of 401 calories - almost 50 calories less than I planned for!


My plan is to keep up this schedule as long as it takes to lose the weight I need. I'll add in exercise later, but this is enough for me to concentrate on for now.