Has anyone been counting calories and eating low carb at the sametime? What calorie number goal have you made for yourself? How much have you lost?

My fitness pal is a website or an app for the iPhone to log your calories, weight, and exercise. It has a large database of foods do you don't have to always enter in new items. Great way to keep track of your progress. Www.fitnesspal.con

Sorry to sound dumb but what is the fitness pal?

It's an app on smartphones (there is also a website). It's keeps track of the calories you take in every day. Helps you to realize what you're actually putting in your body. A real eye-opener! I highly recommend. Friend me... Corilinn is my username...

I don't know how you can keep your calories at 800 a day. That's what my doctor wants too but there's no way. My two protein shakes a day total up to 500 calories. I don't eat a lot but I do eat about 1200 calories a day. That's what my doctor wants for her mainenance patients. I could easily keep my calories at 800-900/day if I didn't have to drink the shakes.

I typically use the powder protein and add water, not milk, #1. I but the other pre-made one's that I'll grab when I know I'm going to be out for a few hours and I get hungry.

I sometimes just eat a hardboiled egg with some hummus for breakfast. Sometimes I can only eat a half one, and save the other half for my mid morning snack.

I have a few teaspoons of tuna fish with REAL Mayo {there are just some things that I will not compromise on} with a few wheat thin crackers from Trader Joe's or Nabisco.

Dinner might be a cup or so of Hormel Turkey chili. Since having my first fill I no longer can eat steamed chicken from the Chinese restaurant which I enjoyed. However, like steamed shrimp and broccoli in it's place. I then have another powdered protein drink at night which has 27 gms of protein for one scoop. And drink lots of water. So far, so good for me.

I definitely don't think I'm at my sweet spot because I can eat a LOT more than that.

I probaby can too but won't allow myself. I make sure I always have protein in my meals as protein is also known for holding your appetite hours longer.

My DH and I went out to dinner the other night { his 1st week PO from having his lapband surgery} to one of our favorite family places. I typically order a crock of their french onion soup and a 10 oz cheddar burger with fries and use to eat everything and sometimes even had dessert! I ordered the soup and the cheddar burger without bun or fries. I ate the soup and was full. The burger came and I had two little bites and took the rest home for lunch and dinner yesterday. I'm sure I was always full after having the crock of soup beforehand but my mindset was set to eat everything!

Oh, I still limit my portions. But I don't think I'm where I should be yet. But I'm relatively new and working to find my sweet spot.

According to My fitness pal, I had 1,100 calories yesterday. Weekends are usually higher calories than during the week...I wasn't told to watch calories but guess I need to get the calories down. I stink at keeping a food diary but my goal is to keep up with this. I was told stay away from Protein shakes and Soups (anything liquid) now. When I told the nutritionist that I had soup, she jumped right on that.

A typical meal during the week:

Breakfast

4 sausage patties (12 g protein)

lunch

grilled chicken breast- (19g)

veggie

dinner

lean meat

veggie

And she's the one with the Dr. Pepper sitting on her desk and telling me where to buy sugar free marshmellow dip. Really? Geesh.

Sick. I used to live with a dietitian. Most annoying roomate I ever had in my life. She ate straight up garbage all day everyday and couldn't stand that fat people didn't really give a **** what she said. She would normally complain to me about her patients while eating a giant burrito. ha. man i couldn't stand her.

The dietitian my husband and I work with is great though, She just told us to stick to around 800 cals a day and get 50-80 grams of Protein.

I am not recommending this to anyone, you should follow your Dr.'s directions.

But:

I have not counted calories, or concerned myself about portion sizes since last May.

Reason:

My band is tight enough, and I have enough restriction,that even if I wanted to I cannot overeat. My portions are automatically controlled by the band. Plus, I am rarely hungry the majority of the time.

So, if my portions and appetite are set, all I need to do is make wise food choices. I don't need to refer to a chart or labels to know what is good to eat, low cal, high Protein, and what is not.

I cannot eat anything solid first thing for breakfast in the morning, so I have a high protein smoothie for 40-45 gm of protein. Not hard to make up the difference for the rest of the day.

To me, that s being in the "Groove"' "Sweet Spot" "Green Zone" etc.

I live a normal day to day life, not worrying about being on diets, and loosing weight without even trying.

I am not recommending this to anyone' date=' you should follow your Dr.'s directions.

But:

I have not counted calories, or concerned myself about portion sizes since last May.

Reason:

My band is tight enough, and I have enough restriction,that even if I wanted to I cannot overeat. My portions are automatically controlled by the band. Plus, I am rarely hungry the majority of the time.

So, if my portions and appetite are set, all I need to do is make wise food choices. I don't need to refer to a chart or labels to know what is good to eat, low cal, high Protein, and what is not.

I cannot eat anything solid first thing for breakfast in the morning, so I have a high protein smoothie for 40-45 gm of protein. Not hard to make up the difference for the rest of the day.

To me, that s being in the "Groove"' "Sweet Spot" "Green Zone" etc.

I live a normal day to day life, not worrying about being on diets, and loosing weight without even trying.[/quote']

B-52, you are an inspiration!

I don't know how you can keep your calories at 800 a day. That's what my doctor wants too but there's no way. My two Protein shakes a day total up to 500 calories. I don't eat a lot but I do eat about 1200 calories a day. That's what my doctor wants for her mainenance patients. I could easily keep my calories at 800-900/day if I didn't have to drink the shakes.

Ducker-Maybe you could slim down your Protein drinks. Mine are only averaging about 150 calories and about 20 protein.Thats only 300 calories that leaves 400 for dinner and 100 for a light snack. This is what I was eating b4 surgery and what I want to start back with as soon as my liquid diet is up----I wasn't hugry at all

8 am-Breakfast 150cal/22protein/8carbs

coffee Protein Drink

11 am-Lunch: 85cal/13protein/0 carbs

2 egg white

2 strips precooked bacon

3 pm- Snack: 95cal/21protein/0carbs (if I exercise...If I don't, then I skip this snack)

New whey Protein drink

6 pm-Dinner: (aprx) 400 cal/25 protein/ 30 carbs

3 oz lean meat

1/2 cup Green Low carb Veggie (cucumber,broccoli, cabbage, spinach, green beans)

1/2 cup Not so low carb veggie (carrot, corn,peas, limas)

OR 1/2 cup starch (potato, sweet potato, Pasta, rice,bread)

Brings the total to: 730 Cals/60-81 Proteins/38 carbs

Has anyone been counting calories and eating low carb at the sametime? What calorie number goal have you made for yourself? How much have you lost?

I certainly have to wonder if any of these doctors or nutritionists have any real practical and personal experience from these methods - or are they just preaching from literature... These methods never caused me to do anything but lose a quick chunk of weight and then stall out... Low calorie and low carb is so counterproductive in the long term...

Is there anyone out there who made it to goal solely on a low calorie or low carb diet and then continued to live that way for years happy and fullfilled without gaining any weight back??? Because if these methods really worked LBT should be chock full of these people... But normally what you see is people complaining because they are living low calorie like their doctor or nutritionist says but they aren't losing or their losses ceased - and they're a LONG way from goal...

Everyone talks extensively about their intake side (eating)... but the export side (exercise and activities) is just as important! You can't effectively assess one without the other...

Brad