Hi Inly, I'm in Texas too! Farther south though. Well, you've come to the right place for advice and support. To answer your first question(sort of) carbs account for only part of your calories. There are 9(some say 9.5) calories per carbohydrate gram. There are good carbs which is your whole grains and such, the bad carbs come alot from processed foods. white rice, white bread, white sugar, even white potatoes. Seeing a pattern? I know that the no carb/low carb diets can produce quick weight loss, but a healthy diet does need carbs. Your body uses carbs to create energy. This is a general idea of what I do. Everbody is different and you'll have to work through and find what works best for you, but here's my "program". Total calories between 1000 -1200 a day. I break it down this way. Carbs 40%, protein 35%, fat 25%. Also, watch for keeping the saturated fats as low as possible. I try to make sure that my activities for the day burn at least as much as I ate. Your normal body function also burns calories, but don't count those. Example: I eat 1000 calories; my workouts, housecleaning, mowing the yard, etc. burns 1100 calories. Now, my total calories burned for the day is actually around 4800 when you consider the basic stuff you don't control. I don't know how much you weigh, but the "basal"calories burned is high for me, because I weigh 240. The less you weigh the less calories your body burns to function. I know that doesn't sound good but it is, because it means that your heart and lungs aren't having to work as hard. I suggest that to learn more about how to break down your calories you eat and burn, go to FitDay.com It's not a forum like this, it's a free program where you log in everything you eat and do and it creates charts and graphs to show you what your doing. It helps you learn to adjust your habits. You can find the calorie breakdown for just about any food. I hope this helps a little to start you off. Sorry if I rambled too much. I tend to do that!!
