Daily Calories??

I eat constantly. I really don't know what it is like to have to diet. From what friend tell me, I think it must be terrible. Before you start on a restrive diet be sure to figure out how much you need ot take in to not cause harm. Also, don't expect swimming to be your salvation.

I would suggest that you start cutting back slowly from where you are right now. Work in blocks of 2 weeks and monitor your weight. I would say to cut out calories in blocks of 10% at a time. If a 10% cut in 2 weeks yields no results then shave off another 10% and just keep working your way down. Depending on your skill level and your workout intensity an hours worth of swimming may burn from 200 calories to 600+. If you reduce caloric intake and continue to burn calories via swimming you are virtually guaranteed to see results. Fat is the bodys way of storing for a time when food is in short supply. If food is in short supply, such as a diet, your body will begin pulling from those fat reserves to sustain itself. What is important is to make the calories that you do take in count. Be sure that a large portion of your diet is healthy. Candy and ice cream are okay but as with most things they need to be enjoyed with moderation. Good luck with your diet and weight loss.

mainly drink water ditch sodas for club soda - fizzy water type drinks I now drink way less orange juice than I used to. in 2001 my weight crept up to 238 I currently weigh around 210, I probably need to lose another 10 or 15 pounds to swim faster. Ande

Craig, I am with you ... I have no clue how it is to watch my weight.I am lucky to have some really good metabolism and genes.I eat any time when I am hungry(though doing it in a healthy way) and never gain an ounce.Actually I find it harder to gain weight than to lose. But those who are prone to gain weight easily and watch their diet closely and keep it at their desired level I have to give a lot of credit to...That must be hard.It would suck to always be on a diet!

Pfffffft to you people who can eat anything! I am envious. I would start by tracking for a week what you are eating now, to see how much you are actually eating to weigh what you weight now. It will be an eye opening experience. Then to lose a pound, take away 500, or take away 250 and add 250 of exercise. There is a website, caloriesperhour.com, or something like that, that has a calorie counter for exercise. Also, the body does not lose steadily. One week you may have a big loss, the next week nothing, but it is what you lose over the long haul that counts. Another thing that helps with hunger when you reduce calories, is to up your protein a bit. Protein will help make a meal last longer. Plan snacks every 2-3 hours, and by snack, I don't mean chips, or a whole meal. A piece of fruit, or carrot sticks, thinks that are good for you. Drink water. Most people do not drink enough, and diet pop(OK I am midwestern, soda), does not count. Good ole water, put a twist of lemon in it, if you don't like it plain. Good luck, and remember, you did not get to your size overnight(even though it may feel like you did), so it will not come off overnight. Be patient.

'She also pointed out that swimmign is not necessarily as good as running with burning fat & to go very slowly" LOL! What, with the swimming, or the diet? If it's the swimming, if I swam any more slowly, I'd float! Thanks for the advice; it does make sense. I took some diet and nutrition courses in college, so I'll go dig out my texts and put together a sensible plan...

For years until 2003, I ran about 15 - 30 miles/week. Usually ran at a pace of 8:30 to 9:00 per mile, and raced at about 8:00 per mile. According to the caloriesperhour.com site, swimming at 1:20 per 100yd pace is the same as running at 9:00 pace. Running at 8:30 pace burned an extra 49 calories per hour. Given this data, I'd rather swim even if my main goal was weight loss.

If you can you may wish to try eating just three meals a day and no snacks.

Caloriesperhour.com bases the swimming calories on how fast you swim a 50, so somewhat useful. I agree with Old FLyer, it is really more about diet, exercise is the bonus. I have lost 35 pounds watching what I eat. It is not easy, and it does not stay off easy. You have to eat what would be correctly most of the time.

thanks for all of the suggestions... good ol' counting calories will be the way for me, rather than one of the popular diets... *sigh* I'm so jealous of you guys who don't have to diet... It's a lot of work and it really does suck! :mad: