Yes, I should probably consult with a doctor, but I just wanted to run
it by here and see what comments you might have.

Today is Day 8 of my New Life -- I hesitate to call it a diet, because
most people think of a diet as something temporary.  I call this a New
Life.  I quit smoking (I'm on the three-step patch), I started
excercising, and I started watching what I'm eating.  I'm not doing
Atkins or any other "fad" diet (yes, I still consider Atkins a fad, just
a long one -- not looking for any holy wars, though).  I'm using the
pure science of caloric intake and excercise to burn fat relatively
slowly, recognizing as absolute fact that a net deficit of 3500 calories
results in a pound of weight loss, balanced with the fact that you have
to have enough calories to sustain your body at your current weight, or
your body goes into survival mode, storing fat.

So, having said all that, a little about me.  I'm somewhere between 245
and 250 pounds (I started at just about 250 pounds a week ago) with 30%
body fat (I have a body fat scale).  I'm 6'3".  My "Air Force weight"
was 207, so I consider that a reasonable goal, unless I'm doing some
working out specifically to put on muscle, in which case I probably
won't get down to 207.

My excercise is walking about a mile and a half a day through my
neighborhood, which is just hilly enough and just flat enough to be a
decent workout.  It's a brisk, deliberate walk, but not speed walking.
I do that first thing in the morning, about 5 minutes after I roll out
of bed, starting with a glass of water and a vitamin C chewable.

Caloric intake: I used all the calculators I could find online for BMR
maintenance calories.  I was getting somewhere around 3000 for all of them.

My daily target intake is 2000 calories with 70 grams of protein and
that's ALL that I'm looking at.  I pay no attention to carbs, fat,
sodium, vitamins, etc... I eat whatever I want, prefering foods that
have at least a 30-to-1 calorie-to-protein ratio, since that will give
me 2000 and 70 at the end of the day.

So far I feel great.  As I said, I'm on Day 8.  I drink water all day
long and urinate clear all day long.  If there's too much color in my
urine, I know I'm not drinking enough water.

Weight loss has been obvious, on the scale anyway.   There's a lot of
flucuation, though, because I don't have a consistent time to weigh
every day.  The scale instructions say to weigh in the early evening,
which hasn't been very convenient so far.  But I'm pretty confident that
I've lost about 3-4 pounds in the first week.  I have read here and
there that weight loss can be quicker during the first week, until the
body's metabolism catches up with the change.  That's consistent with
what I've seen.

So... comments?  Am I neglecting anything serious in my diet?  Is the
caloric intake too low?  I had first decided to reduce my net calories
by only 500 per day (1 pound of loss per week), but I found that the
2000 calorie diet gives me everything I need, as long as I get enough
protein.  So I accidentally ended up on the 2-pound-loss-per-week system
(lucky me if it holds up).  What kind of adjustments, if any, should I
make now that I'm starting the second week.

Just looking for people with more experience in this to guide me in the
right direction.   I'm feeling great, morale is high, and I'm excited
abou the New Life to come.

Thanks,
John