Something is wrong with your calculations. I can't think of any other source for calories other than fat, protein and carbs.

Try www.fitlife.com.[/URL" target="_blank"> It has a pie chart that shows your percentage of these.

Sodium does not contain calories. The sources of calories in the diet are: carbohydrates, fat, protein, and alcohol (alcohol is not the same as carbohydrates).

Your "runner's diet" is not really a runner's diet, it's just a rehashed form of finding daily metabolism and subtrating 500 calories a day, which would be the basis of any diet causing you to lose a pound a week. The problem of course is that this estimate of metabolism is EXTREMELY rough and probably will not come very close to your real daily caloric expenditures. The general form I've seen for this calculation is multiply by 10 to find your basal metabolism, by 13 is you're lightly active, by 15 if you're moderately active, and 17 if you're highly active. Obviously, you could stick to the numbers they gave you and see if it works, but it's likely you'll have to modify your caloric intake to match your real circumstance. 1500 calories a day is low for a regular, lightly active 20-something. Maybe you'll have more success picking something around 1800 or 2000 and see how well you do on that for a couple weeks.

Keep in mind that your TOTAL calorie deficit is supposed to be 500 calories per day. That's a combination of reduced food intake and exercise expenditures. I wear a HR monitor that tracks the calories I've burned during a given cardio workout. My C25K burns about 250 calories in 30 minutes. A Turbo Kickboxing class burns 450-500 calories. So, if I do the TKB class, I don't need to cut any calories from my food intake. But, if I only do 1/2 hour of C25K, I need to eat 250 calories less than my base rate.

BUT...weight loss isn't a matter of simple mathematics. The numbers a just a guesstimate. Every individual is unique. Someone with more muscle will burn more calories than someone who weighs the same but has more body fat. Age and gender are factors too.

I think your best bet is to eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full. Avoid eating from emotion and boredom. Eat mostly healthy, nutrient-dense foods in reasonable quantities. Eat slowly and savor your food. Don't make anything off limits. When you make a food forbidden, it sets you up for binging followed by guilt. Exercise for the joy of movement and for how good your body feels when it's doing what it's supposed to do.

Also, try not to beat yourself up for a couple of pounds if you're at a healthy weight. I think too many of us women have unreasonable expectations of our bodies and how thin we should be. I think when we try too hard to beat our bodies into submission, they rebel.

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Sandi

You probably need to think more in terms of a range of calories rather than a set number. 1500 would probably be the minimum.

How much time are you spending running each week? Is running 3x the only exercise you're getting? Are you doing any strength training? The National Heart Association recommends doing 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic activity most days of the week. Most fitness books I've read recommend 5-6 days a week. (I have a hard time working our even 3-4 days a week.)

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Sandi