This is my personal information. You can plug in your info. to get the amount of calories etc. that you need to eat.

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1357 BMR (2108 calories to maintain weight to lose weight - 20% = 1682 calories)
926 carb calories
285 protein calories
213 fat calories

Your BMR is how many calories your body needs to stay alive. This is how much your body uses to keep your heart beating, making blood etc.
60% complex carbs
20% proteins
20% fats

This formula is the healthiest way to eat. Just make sure that your carbs are complex (fresh fruit and vegetables - I do eat a lot of canned beans) Don’t get your carbs from sweets, or white flour/pasta/bread

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To find out exactly how much fat etc. you are eating a day go to:
http://fitday.com/

Use the free sign-up. This is a pain, but it is good to do it for several days. I was shocked at how much fat I ate. I really didn’t think that I ate that much. :0

To find your BMR (basal metabolic rate (what your body needs to stay alive)) go to: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

To find out how many calories you need to maintain your body weight go to:
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

Take this number of calories and subtract 20% to find out how many calories to consume to lose weight.

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This is the “menu” I followed to lose weight. I found that it was best to stick with eating the same old things over and over again at first to control calorie intake. This way, I knew exactly how many calories I was eating.  If you just pick up anything and eat it, before you know it you have eaten a whole lot more than you meant too. (like my one harmless cornmuffin is 350 calories!)

As you can see, to lose weight, I need to consume about 1680 calories a day (according to all the “formulas”). I really tried for 1400 calories instead. This sounds like you are starving, but if you eat the healthy foods that are listed below, it really adds up to a whole lot of food. When I was following this closely, most days I couldn’t eat it all.

It’s only when you start eating the junk (processed foods/sweets etc.) that the calories add up fast and then you don’t get to eat very much. So eating healthy means that you get to eat a lot of food - it’s just less calories. When you eat the junk and fast-food meals - you don’t actually get to eat as often and it is loaded with fat.

Once you get your calorie count under control, you can add more foods and stay within your limits. This is also what I didn’t mind eating. You need to stick to the guidelines and find healthy things that you like.

The snacks are important.

**It keeps you from feeling like you are going to starve to death before your next meal.

**If you eat just from habit during the day, with the snacks, you don’t feel like you are being deprived.

**Most important - this keeps your metabolism going. When you cut calories and meals, your body tries to preserve itself by going into starvation mode and you will not lose any weight. So by eating these snacks, you are keeping the digestion process going and tricking your body - so to speak.

I have fats in this menu, but they are healthy fats. Nuts and olive oil actually raise your HDL, so I feel free to eat them.

My stir-fry is from Aldi’s. It is called Oriental Stir-Fry made by Asia Specialties. Serving size is 4oz and has 50 calories and 0 fat and 0 cholesterol. I think you should be able to find something like this at any grocery store. Just make sure it isn’t high in sugar, fat, or calories. I would try to find a frozen stir-fry though. If you have to make stir-fry from scratch every time, you won’t stick to eat. This is easy, just pour it into a skillet and eat.

My dressing is Kraft Light Balsamic Vinaigrette. It has 25 calories and 1 gram of fat per 2 tablespoons. I use 3 Tbs per salad. Nobody likes it but me Rachel likes the Kraft Fat Free Ranch okay. She says it’s not like the real thing, but it has no fat.

When I make my salad, I use spinich and Romain lettuce. Much healthier than Iceburg lettuce.
I put in 1/4 cup of cheese, 1/8 cup of sunflower seeds, tomato, onion, and any other salad stuff (like cucumber) that I have. I also put beans on my salad a lot of times (this adds calories). Black beans, kidney beans or garbanzo beans are great to add fiber (cleans those arteries out) and makes the salad more filling. No meat.

I also keep as an extra snack (you can see that the menu totals are less than 1400 or 1600 so I eat extra sometimes to raise the calories) a mixture of beans (rinsed) with one can of Rotel. It has flavor, it’s good for you, and is filling. It’s quick to grab and is already fixed for when you just NEED something to eat.

In the tuna, you can add fat-free mayo, onions, pickles etc. even a boiled egg or egg white.

If you don’t like prunes, just use another fruit. I like prunes and they are high in iron.

If you really want to go “crazy” go to www.whfoods.com This whole website is about the 100 most healthy foods you can eat. It has good information.

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I think I told you everything that I could think of. If something seems weird or doesn’t make sense, just call me or e-mail me.

Also, tell Molly (if she’s interested) that the exercise videos that Rachel and I used to lose weight (yes, unfortunately cutting calories wasn’t enough), we used the TransFIRMation System by The Firm. It has several DVDs and weights and will get you in shape - if it doesn’t kill you first! We like it.

I am not going to recommend any exercise for you except whatever your doctor tells you to do.

I know this all sounds pretty fanatical, but at this point in my life, this is what it took for me to lose weight. I have no intention of becoming decrepit (sp?) and sitting in a rocking chair. I homeschooled my kids ONLY because God directed me to do so. That job will be finished in a few more years and I figure God will have something else for me to do so I am getting prepared for “phase II”. If I let myself become stiff, rickety and fat, I won’t be able to do it. That’s my motivation behind staying in shape - looking good wasn’t enough motivation. I can always wear plenty of clothes Hope this helps.

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MENU
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MONDAY
Breakfast - 1 whole egg + two egg whites (scrambled), grapefruit - 72 + 104 = 176
Snack - nuts - 170
Lunch - stirfry -  120 + 60 + 90 = 270 (1 1/2 c. stirfry, 1T olive oil, 1c sugar snap peas)
Snack - 2 oranges - 130
Dinner - salad, beans - 353 + 100 = 453
Snack - apple - 81
Monday Total - 1280

TUESDAY
Breakfast - 1 whole egg + two egg whites, 4 prunes - 104 + 50 = 180
Snack - nuts - 170
Lunch - salad - 353
Snack -  2 oranges- 130
Dinner - tuna/brussel sprouts - 157 + 60 = 217 (1 can +1c)
Snack - apple - 81
Tuesday Total - 1181

WEDNESDAY
Breakfast - 1 whole egg + two egg whites, grapefruit - 72 + 104 = 176
Snack - nuts - 170
Lunch - stirfry - 120 + 60 + 90 = 270 (11/2 c. stirfry, 1T olive oil, 1c sugar snap peas)
Snack - 2oranges - 130
Dinner - salad, beans - 353 + 100 = 453
Snack - apple - 81
Wednesday Total - 1280

THURSDAY
Breakfast - 1 whole egg + two egg whites, prunes - 104 + 50 = 180
Snack - nuts - 170
Lunch - salad - 353
Snack - 2 oranges - 130
Dinner - salmon - brussel sprouts
Snack - apple - 81
Thursday Total - 1181

FRIDAY -
Breakfast - 1 whole egg + two egg whites, grapefruit - 72 + 104 = 176
Snack - nuts - 170
Lunch - stirfry -  120 + 60 + 90 = 270 (11/2 c. stirfry, 1T olive oil, 1c sugar snap peas)
Snack - 2 oranges - 130
Dinner - salad, beans - 353 + 100
Snack - apple - 81
Friday Total - 1280

SATURDAY
Breakfast - 1 whole egg + two egg whites, prunes - 104 + 50 = 180
Snack - nuts - 170
Lunch - salad - 353
Snack - 2 oranges - 130
Dinner - salmon - brussel sprouts
Snack - apple - 81
Saturday Total - 1181

SUNDAY - FREE DAY