Need to lose weight

[rose35]

i worked out again last night because i am thinking i may not be able to later by the time i get home etc and work tomorrow.

 

I am hoping to stay on track today!! i have a month before my trip and would love to be at 172 by that time. My problem is i have been at 180 before and then it will just increase i guess from socializing--drinks, food, stress which caused me to eat.

 

So I am trying to stay more focused..i don't even wanna go on the dating site b/c i feel that could be a distraction from working out.

[MakeItCount]

How's it goin mjj?

[rose35]

hey!!

 

i was nervous because i knew i was going out with a friend yesterday..we went to a burger place so i ordered sliders and i ate mostly the meat and probably half of the amount of bread only..i had some fries but definitely could have eaten more and i didn't order a beer. We did have drinks later but we had a winter type drink..liquor with cider..so i am hoping that is a little better than light beers atleast..i woke up without any sort of hangover so i didn't crave a heavy breakfest.

 

I weighed myself and now i am 179.8..it will probably fluctuate up a little tomorrow but i am gonna try to go to the gym later tonight, tomorrow and monday.

[rose35]

i would love to be at 169 by the time i leave which is in a month exactly...its not a beach trip and i will be wearing layers but i just want to look skinny in my jeans and no double or swollen face.

[annie24]

hey!!

 

i was nervous because i knew i was going out with a friend yesterday..we went to a burger place so i ordered sliders and i ate mostly the meat and probably half of the amount of bread only..i had some fries but definitely could have eaten more and i didn't order a beer. We did have drinks later but we had a winter type drink..liquor with cider..so i am hoping that is a little better than light beers atleast..i woke up without any sort of hangover so i didn't crave a heavy breakfest.

 

I weighed myself and now i am 179.8..it will probably fluctuate up a little tomorrow but i am gonna try to go to the gym later tonight, tomorrow and monday.

 

ahhh, cider has more calories than beer (great, huh??) half the bread is good. another good option at a pub would have been getting a soup, or getting some chili. or a grilled chicken salad with the dressing on the side. or a turkey or veggie burger.

 

glad the scale is down!!

[rose35]

well my weight fluctuated back up..183.8..in a few days to a week i will weigh myself again..i was trying on jeans i would like to fit into again and i thought i had lost more weight than this..i can get them up my legs but definitely cant button them and they aren't resting easy on my hips i have less than a month..i worked out yesterday for basically two hours..almost 40 minutes on the elliptical, then the treadmill and then some of the weight machines for legs and crunches..i can't do that every night though b/c sometimes it is hard after work and i have to just do some cardio and crunches.

[annie24]

are you tracking your food? journaling?

[italiannmf24]

Loosing weight isn't an easy road but it's very possible to get down to the size or weight you want. Start walking everyday for about 20-30 minutes. Then after 1 week start walking an hour for the second week, then start jogging 20-30 minutes the third week. Then start jogging for an hour each day the fourth week, join marathons, making a schedule etc. Keep a clean diet, drink a lot of water and stay away from fast-food. Good luck and don't loose motivation!

[rose35]

well yesterday i went to the gym and did about 40 minutes on the elliptical on an 18 level..did the treadmill for about 10 minutes and then did the elliptical again and i took a break from the weights although i did a few minutes of arms..i counted the calories afterwards and it was a little over 900

 

i feel like i have been fighting a cold so i didn't go to the gym today..i did have a craving for something sweet so i had a little chocolate of a symphony bar but definitely not alot compared to what i could eat..it was basically the top line accross i had..im kinda mad i had it but i felt like i needed a little something.

 

In the morning i had oatmeal, then a fruit cup and then for lunch fruit, grilled chicken, vegatables..dinner..salmon w dill sauce, roasted potatoes, later on i had a bowl of cereal.

 

I felt kind of weak today i think from fighting off a cold and i was more hungry.

[annie24]

how many calories was that?

[rose35]

how many calories was what? what i had today during the day was pretty healthy..if i had anything less i would probably feel like passing out..i dont have the time unfortunately to calculate all my calories.

[annie24]

how many calories was what? what i had today during the day was pretty healthy..if i had anything less i would probably feel like passing out..i dont have the time unfortunately to calculate all my calories.

 

the entire day. how many calories did you have today? i know you say you don't have the time, but it's not that hard, it takes a few extra minutes a day, but it makes all the difference. eating healthy and exercising isn't enough. if you are taking in too many calories (even if it's healthy food) you're not going to lose weight. a serving of rice/potatoes is the size of a tennis ball. a serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards. i recommend measuring out your food, looking up calories on labels or online and tracking everything - like on link removed or any other site, there are hundreds of them.

[rose35]

well hopefully that isn't the case.

 

I am feeling tired today but a little better since i didnt work out yesterday so i can probably go to the gym today..maybe i should do extra cardio again.

[annie24]

well hopefully that isn't the case.

 

It absolutely is the case. I'm confused why you are so resistant to tracking your food portions and calorie intake? people tend to overestimate how many calories they are burning at the gym and under-estimate how much they are consuming. Weight loss is all math - calories in need to be less than calories out. you need to burn 3500 calories to lose 1 lb. that number comes from burning calories while exercising and not eating as many calories. then the weight will come off. if you are working out hard, but you're eating 2000 calories a day (even if it's 'healthy food'), you're not going to lose. you might tone up, but you're not going to lose any weight.

 

i'm in weight watchers, we use 'points' instead of calories, but the end result is the same.

 

i would go get some women's health magazines and look up their sample menus (including portion sizes!!!) try around 1600 calories a day, they have a lot of suggestions there. and then do cardio every day, and i bet you will start losing between 1-3 lbs a week.

[rose35]

maybe i should do cardio for the next 3 days..i did the elliptical for about 35 minutes on level 18 and then did it again and then did the treadmil and it was about 900 calories that i burned..overall my butt, legs and stomach still need to be thinner

[rose35]

well i did the elliptical again for almost an hour with a break after 30 minutes were up. Did the bike for a few minutes, then the treadmill..added up to a little over 900 calories. I didn't do weights really b/c i felt tired from that.

 

If i go today i think i will just do 500 calories worth of cardio, maybe 600 and then do crunches and use more of the strength machines.

 

I haven't weighed myself in a few days..hoping there is some difference tomorrow..i am not gonna go out tonight to avoid dinner out and also drinks, gonna relax and gym hopefully..

[Mercurial Girl]

mjj, I really advise you to count calories. Count carbs, if it's easier even. But you need to be somehow tracking your food intake.

 

When I am not counting calories, I easily take in 3000-4000 calories per day. 2 days ago when I just ate whatever (and EVEN forgoing my night time snack) I ended up recording it later and tallied everything up to 3459 calories!!! -- and I was still hungry before bed...my lord haha!

 

Yesterday, I counted calories and chose carefully what I ate because I saw that I was getting close to 2000 calories/day so I made sure that what I chose was highly satisfying and would keep me full for longer. I ended up eating 1800 calories worth of food that day.

 

Counting calories makes a huge difference, if only to make you aware. It takes a bit of time in the beginning, but you get the hang of it quickly. If you have an iphone, try toe foodtracker app...all you have to do is scan the barcode or search for foods and enter how many servings you put in.

 

You might also want to look into strength training in the future. More lean muscle mass = higher basal metabolic rate = higher daily calorie allowance.

 

In the meantime though, body conditioning may be a good form of exercise for you to add to your cardio routine. You will get nowhere fast if all you do is the same routine on the elliptical everyday.

[rose35]

i have only done the elliptical that long for the past few days..other than that it is still apart of my routine along with a little bit of the tradmill, bike, rowing machine..

[MakeItCount]

Doesn't matter how much you do on the machines.

 

1) Keep your heart rate up. Look up the ratings for your specific age. Generally, 120-150 is for fat burning, anything above is cardio.

2) Calories in vs out. Count your calories. No excuses.

[itsallgrand]

I don't understand your motivation for finding excuses NOT to track your foods and calories in an organized fashion. Maybe you can explain that?

 

Did you know that if you push yourself too hard with the cardio, too fast, you can end up burning out and what will happen is your muscles will not have a proper chance to recover and so your efforts will be worth so much less. ? You can't take the x of calories on those machines too seriously; they are a ball park figure. It takes time to get an idea of how hard you need to push on a given day and what the result of that will be.

 

Now if we add in that you aren't tracking your calories nor exactly what you are eating in terms of protein, carbs, fat (at the very least) - well there is no way to tell if say, maybe you are not eating enough protein even to maintain your muscle? Or enough fat to keep things healthy? Or enough carbs to keep your bod fueled and your brain?

 

The result could be more burn out, your muscles getting literally 'eaten into', and you can end up feeling weak and like crap.

 

You shouldn't feel like crap. You should feel better than ever. Even if you are working hard.

 

I think maybe you'd benefit from having a trainer or nutrionist or someone to help keep you on track. If you are serious. It just sounds to me that you could be doing damage to your body out of a misguided sense of stubbornness of how you figure weight loss works. I'm not trying to be rude; rather honest about my concerns of what you have posted. Several people have tried to offer some sound, moderate advice....and you ignore and continue on with what you had in your mind pre-posting this thread asking for guidance in your weight loss. Doesn't make much sense to me?

[rose35]

i know the calories given by the machines is a ball park figure, i don't go by that and even knock some of the calories out in my head

 

Tracking my calories--i am basically eating mostly the same thing every day--breakfest a fruit cup or a small cup of oatmeal, lunch--fruit with veggies, little bit of salmon--chicken

 

and then dinner would be salmon at times, a pork chop

 

I am not ignoring anyone's suggestions. There is nothing really off the wall about my diet right now..and i know people who lose weight and they aren't driving themselves crazy counting everything; they are just working out and eating less or eating more healthy stuff.

 

I am not against counting calories but i really don't want to count every single thing like a vegetable that is going in my body.

[Mercurial Girl]

i know the calories given by the machines is a ball park figure, i don't go by that and even knock some of the calories out in my head

 

Tracking my calories--i am basically eating mostly the same thing every day--breakfest a fruit cup or a small cup of oatmeal, lunch--fruit with veggies, little bit of salmon--chicken

 

and then dinner would be salmon at times, a pork chop

 

I am not ignoring anyone's suggestions. There is nothing really off the wall about my diet right now..and i know people who lose weight and they aren't driving themselves crazy counting everything; they are just working out and eating less or eating more healthy stuff.

 

I am not against counting calories but i really don't want to count every single thing like a vegetable that is going in my body.

 

If you're "basically eating the same thing every day" why don't you count your calories ONCE, ONE DAY and you'll have a good idea of what you're eating. You might be eating too LITTLE or too much, only way to tell is if you count calories. It takes like 10 minutes, and if you're eating the same things/amounts every day, it's not much of a huge sacrifice of time is it?

[annie24]

well - the proof is in the pudding - how is your weight loss going? if you can lose weight without keeping track of calories, but eating healthy foods when you are hungry, stopping when you are not hungry, then great. but if what you are doing is not leading to weight loss on the scale and looser clothing, then i think there is a problem and you need to assess every aspect of your diet very carefully.

 

for myself, i lose weight when i track what i eat carefully. i gain when i don't.

[annie24]

I also want to add- there are so many hidden calories in our lives, especially if we go out to eat. restaurants put butter in EVERYTHING. something you think is a good choice, really is not. how are you preparing the pork chops or salmon? 1 tablespoon of oil has 120 calories. Most dressings and sauces have that amount also. a little here, a little there, these are the kinds of calories that can derail weight loss. now, olive oil and other oils and nuts are healthy, but you have to use them in moderation. portion size is everything!!

 

you can have a Big Mac for breakfast, a Big Mac for lunch and a scoop of ice cream for dinner, and you would lose weight. 1 big mac is 540 calories, 1 scoop of ice cream is about 120 calories. That would make for 1200 calories in one day. You can lose weight on that. Not that I recommend that diet, but just pointing out that it's about the calories. If you are eating "healthy" foods - but you're not keeping track of portion sizes, you can be having way more calories than you think. there are so many times i've been at a restaurant thinking that i ordered a "healthy meal" like a grilled chicken salad - only to come home, check the calories online and it was 1000!!!

[rose35]

yea one of my coworker does that..says she needs to lose weight and then gets a salad with a ton of dressing on it.

 

I don't use any dressing..i put pineapple on the grilled chicken and it gives it tons of flavor and i love it.

 

My weight is 180.4 today. I think if i stick to more cardio a few days a week i will lose a little more...i don't have much time left..would love to be 175 or 174 by the time i leave..i only worry i will gain it back b/c its vacation so we will be eating and i want to enjoy the food of the culture there but we will also be walking alot probably. I will have to definitely keep it in my head when i am there.