Meal 1: 7AM
2 eggs scrambled (large eggs, yolks eaten)
1 Iced Venti Non-Fat No Whip Mocha (explained later) 260Cal, 4 Fat, 52 Ca, 13 Pr

Meal 2: 10AM
1/2 Serving Whey Protein 125 Cal, 2 Fat, 4 Carb, 23 Protein

Meal 3: 12PM
Spinach Salad
Blue Cheese Dressing (2TBSP) 154 Calories
Can of Tuna in Water with a dash of mustard 180 Calories

Meal 4: 3PM
1oz Almonds 154 Calories

Meal 5: 6PM
2 Garden Burger Patties
1 Slice Swiss Cheese

Meal 6: 9PM
1 TBSP Peanut Butter or some such treat with a couple of Almonds

I think I will be around 1500-1700 Calories with that.

On Fit day I was actually at 40Protein, 40 Fat, 20 Carbs.

I am trying to lose weight, not build muscle. I am currently 296.5 pounds, 6ft tall. As far as my Starbucks coffee thing went, I meant to get just an iced coffee (0-10 calories,) but since I am a regular they had made my drink as I walked in, and I could not say no to the free mocha from the beautiful young lady. ;)

Dwayne

Jumpin' Jesus on a rusty pogo stick...

I'm going to type up a thread on calculating "cutting calories" and ask John to sticky the thread to the top.

You need more calories! You're setting yourself up for problems in the future as well as catabolizing the muscle you have now. Do a search on these forums for the Harris-Benedict Formula. Calculate your RMR (resting metabolic rate) using the H.B. formulas. That number will represent your minimum recommended daily caloric intake. A good rule of thumb is ten times your body weight in calories. I used twelve times my body weight because I tended to be lethargic when I used the 10X number. Above all, do not let your caloric intake go below your Harris-Benedict calculation! It will encourage your body to retain fat!!!! If your body perceives a catastrophic reduction in calories (as your 1500-1700 calorie diet most certainly IS for a man your size) then it will hold onto every loose calorie you put in there... in effect, you're slowing your metabolism down by eating so few calories! Someone your size should eat in the neighborhood of 3000 calories per day to encourage safe, continued fat loss. As you lose weight, adjust your caloric intake to continue losing fat.

Secondary to that is the issue of loose skin and stretch marks. You're probably losing significant weight at sub-2000 calories a day for your current size. Losing weight too fast is harmful because your skin can't decrease in size with your fat loss. For the morbidly obese, loose skin will always be an issue, but if you carefully take off 1~2 lbs. per week using the dietary tracking method I described above, you'll minimize loose skin and stretch marks. I weighed 187 at one point... being 5'6", that made me quite hefty. I lost my initial weight at a pace of almost 2.5 lbs. per week, and I came away from that with stretch marks... you'll likely come away with worse.

Eat more, but eat quality. People rush into weight loss without considering the consequences... I was no different when I started out. You didn't gain your weight in a matter of weeks... so it should stand to reason that you can't take it off quickly - at least, not without paying a higher price than I know you'll want to.

Good luck.

-R

Meal 1: 7AM
2 eggs scrambled (large eggs, yolks eaten)
1 Iced Venti Non-Fat No Whip Mocha (explained later) 260Cal, 4 Fat, 52 Ca, 13 Pr

Are we sure that 2 large eggs are only 4 fat? Or is that just the mocha?

I'm going to type up a thread on calculating "cutting calories" and ask John to sticky the thread to the top.
It's been there since the dawn of time (just in the nutrition section). Marcus wrote up a fantastic guide a while ago that explains the whole thing...

http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=1222

As far as my Starbucks coffee thing went [...] and I could not say no to the free mocha from the beautiful young lady. ;)
Yes you can! Every day, people will try to push junk food on you, and a Starbuck mocha is defintely junk food. Tell the beautiful young lady that your new regular coffee drink is the simple iced coffee, otherwise she's gonna hit you up with it the next time you walk in the door. SHEESH!

I'm just going to keep tacking on posts here... did you know that 2 eggs is the only solid food you ate before noon? That's not good. The spinach salad with tuna is good. 1 oz of almonds is not a meal, that's bad. So you barely ate between noon and 6... bad. Garden Burger Patties are good. Again, 1 tbsp of peanut butter is not a meal. There are only 2 real meals in your list (2.5 if you count the eggs).

You need to spread out your calories more. Like Bluestreak suggested, you need more calories. Figure out how many more, and add them as real food items to meals 1, 2, 4 and 6. 40% fat is a little high, too...

Ok I didn't really want this to get into the "Where does starvation mode start" argument. I have done my reading. I have already lost around 90 pounds now. I am just trying to get back into a good eating groove and space my calories out in the day a little better. I don't plan on only eating 1500 calories a day, but I do plan on usually averaging around 1900 or so. It will actually depend on how much cardio I get in during the day. As far as stretch marks and loose skin? Well I already have and will have that. It is not really a bother.

I am looking to learn how to break my meals up, and I am also not looking to gain muscle. I would like to maintain "most" of what I have, but I can build muscle quickly and that is not a big concern to me. I guess what I was really asking was, "Where would you add some calories in and distribute it throughout the day?"

On days where I do more than sit in front of my computer I plan on having closer to 2200 or so depending on how much I burn. Believe me I am not doing this crazy fast, I spent from March 2003 till today getting from 380 to 296.

I am really looking for good ways to pre-plan my meals at work now that I am going to be in one place working where I have a microwave and fridge and can pre-package and prepare stuff at home. Any ideas in this area would be appreciated as well.

Thanks for all the comments and concerns,

Ok I didn't really want this to get into the "Where does starvation mode start" argument. I have done my reading. I have already lost around 90 pounds now. I am just trying to get back into a good eating groove and space my calories out in the day a little better. I don't plan on only eating 1500 calories a day, but I do plan on usually averaging around 1900 or so. It will actually depend on how much cardio I get in during the day. As far as stretch marks and loose skin? Well I already have and will have that. It is not really a bother.

Still too low. I know you may not believe us, but it's true. You'll find out for yourself as time goes on... experience is the best teacher. I won't try to convince you otherwise as there's no point in wasting the time.

I am looking to learn how to break my meals up, and I am also not looking to gain muscle. I would like to maintain "most" of what I have, but I can build muscle quickly and that is not a big concern to me. I guess what I was really asking was, "Where would you add some calories in and distribute it throughout the day?"

Eat six small meals throughout the day. Try to maintain something of a 40/40/20 (protein/carbs/fat) ratio, and that's that. If you're not interested in hypertrophy, the time and placement of the calories means little. Make sure you're eating every few hours to keep hunger and binging to a minimum.

On days where I do more than sit in front of my computer I plan on having closer to 2200 or so depending on how much I burn. Believe me I am not doing this crazy fast, I spent from March 2003 till today getting from 380 to 296.

That's on the order of a little more than a pound a week through simple dieting. An accomplishment in and of itself, though I think this collective will agree you'd have done it more healthily, efficiently and be at this point with a more impressive transformation through training with weights as well as dieting than you have by dieting alone. Cardio is key, too... though you make no mention of what you're doing in that vein either. Of course, morning fasted-state tends to work best for many, but not all.

To each their own. Glad to see you losing the weight... keep it up.

-R

I spent from March 2003 till today getting from 380 to 296.

I am really looking for good ways to pre-plan my meals at work now that I am going to be in one place working where I have a microwave and fridge and can pre-package and prepare stuff at home. Any ideas in this area would be appreciated as well.
Hey, that's an awesome accomplishment, I hadn't seen that in your sig line before, many congratulations on what you've achieved so far. My comments were written in response to the question, "Was today a good day?" and on the day you detailed for us, it had some problem areas. I would cut some of the fat and add more complex carbs like veggies that will fill you up and give you vitamins and energy, and spread them more evenly over the course of the day. Cook them the day before and have them ready to bring with you the next morning. Plus, it's a great way to eat more if you are set on staying at the same caloric level.

Jumpin' Jesus on a rusty pogo stick...

I'm going to type up a thread on calculating "cutting calories" and ask John to sticky the thread to the top.

You need more calories! You're setting yourself up for problems in the future as well as catabolizing the muscle you have now. Do a search on these forums for the Harris-Benedict Formula. Calculate your RMR (resting metabolic rate) using the H.B. formulas. That number will represent your minimum recommended daily caloric intake. A good rule of thumb is ten times your body weight in calories. I used twelve times my body weight because I tended to be lethargic when I used the 10X number. Above all, do not let your caloric intake go below your Harris-Benedict calculation! It will encourage your body to retain fat!!!! If your body perceives a catastrophic reduction in calories (as your 1500-1700 calorie diet most certainly IS for a man your size) then it will hold onto every loose calorie you put in there... in effect, you're slowing your metabolism down by eating so few calories! Someone your size should eat in the neighborhood of 3000 calories per day to encourage safe, continued fat loss. As you lose weight, adjust your caloric intake to continue losing fat.

Secondary to that is the issue of loose skin and stretch marks. You're probably losing significant weight at sub-2000 calories a day for your current size. Losing weight too fast is harmful because your skin can't decrease in size with your fat loss. For the morbidly obese, loose skin will always be an issue, but if you carefully take off 1~2 lbs. per week using the dietary tracking method I described above, you'll minimize loose skin and stretch marks. I weighed 187 at one point... being 5'6", that made me quite hefty. I lost my initial weight at a pace of almost 2.5 lbs. per week, and I came away from that with stretch marks... you'll likely come away with worse.

Eat more, but eat quality. People rush into weight loss without considering the consequences... I was no different when I started out. You didn't gain your weight in a matter of weeks... so it should stand to reason that you can't take it off quickly - at least, not without paying a higher price than I know you'll want to.

Good luck.

-R

Exactly. Well said! :tu: