Appointment with the nutritionist

I just got back from my appointment with the nutritionist. She was really nice but she seemed a little nervous and unprepared. I told her about my weight loss and she was very impressed that I've done it all on my own, without subscribing to a specific "program."

She got some basic information about me and chatted with me while doing some calculations. I explained the main reason I was there was to determine the maximum number of calories I can eat per day and still maintain a 1-2 pound weight loss per week. She told me that in order to maintain my current weight with the amount of exercise I do, I could eat 2200-2400 calories per day. So to lose 1 pound per week (which is recommended at this late stage in the weight loss game), I would need to create a deficit of 500 calories per day, which would take me down around 1700-1800.

This pretty much falls in line with many of the online calculators I've been using, give or take a couple hundred calories. I shared my fears with her about upping my intake and seeing a gain on the scale. She told me to go up gradually and not freak out if I temporarily gain a couple pounds. She said to go up to 1500 for a couple weeks and see how it goes.

So, that's what I'm going to do. Sadly, I paid $55 to have someone tell me what I basically knew already. I guess I needed to hear it from someone with credentials, and not a dot com.

We also discussed the fact that I have high cholesterol. I told her about my dad, who can't weigh more than 160 lbs. soaking wet, eats well and exercises, and still had a triple bypass a few years ago. She told me I need to add more healthy fats to my diet and watch the saturated fat. Now that I have more calories to play with each day, I won't feel bad about doing that.

Tomorrow I'll put the "1500 Plan" into action. On March 15th I'll evaluate the situation and see how things are going.