Am I Going About It The Right Way?

[sweetheart91]

Hi everyone,

 

Over the course of about 5 or 6 months I have gained about 40lbs. I didn't realize how big I had become until I saw some pix of me in a bathing suit and my thighs were SO HUGE! I am currently 5'6 and 205lbs. My build is not necessarily fat nor skinny but right in between. I would call it thick. I wear a large or extra large in shirts(depending on the shirt) a size 12 in pants(juniors, I don't think I've gone into women sizes yet. I still shop at places like forever 21), and a 38D in bra sizes. I have been feeling very down about my weight so I finally decided to do something about it. I am trying to lose 50lbs by my bday which is april 5th. I started my plan at the beginning of this month and as of last week I have lost 5lbs. My diet currently consists of an hour workout at the gym everyday(or every chance I get, but I may miss a day or two out of the week) in which I ride the exercise bike between 30-45 mins and run on the treadmill between 20-30mins. My only meal is smoothies all day. I buy fruit and blend a big bowl to take throughout the day and water. If I eat anything outside of it, its only salad, soup, and vegetables and fish. Is drinking smoothies all day everyday for the next month the best way to go or could I be hurting my body?

 

Right now my problem areas are my thighs, my tummy, and the baby fat under my armpits. My arms could be a lot slimmer and toner also. My butt is nice but I am trying to shape it a little more and make it a bit firmer. Also my breasts are too big for my liking. Will exercise help to reduce them?

 

Are there any other work outs I should be trying or any other foods I should be eating or am I on the right track? My plan is to drop the excess weight and then start toning up.

 

I would greatly appreciate the advice and suggestions. Thanks!

[OptomisticGirl]

50 lbs. in 2 lbs. is EXTREME. Your trying to fast diet and while the weight will initally come off easily, it won't stay off. In order to maintain keeping the weight off you need a balanced diet of healthy food, not starving yourself. When you starve yourself your body goes into over time and can actually HOLD on to fat. I think before anything you need a realistic goal set - it's healthy to lose about 1-2 lbs. a week.

[The walkingman]

Losing that much weight in that amount of time isn't realistic. 3-4 lbs\week is probably near the upper limit of a reasonable goal, gotta be dedicated.

As you lose fat weight will drop off everywhere, spot reduction isn't possible.

[coco9]

50 lbs by April 5th is extremely unrealistic! You should lose (healthy, so you don't gain it back easy) 1% of your body weight a week, for you, 2 lbs a week... Why reduce yourself to drinking smoothies all day? Everyone has a certain amount of calories their body needs just to run (your heart beating, breathing..like if you were in a coma|) This is called your BMR. Your BMR being 5'6" 205 lbs is around 1700 cals a day, now add exercise on top of that, and you are likely under eating and will end up screwing your metabolism and sabotage your weight loss. If you want to do it properly and healthy and it not come back, you can't crash diet, ya, you may lose 25 lbs max by April 5 if you crash diet, but it will all come back and you will have a harder time losing it because your metabolism is messed. If you are working out hard everyday, I would be eating at least 1800 cals a day to start. Keep a food log, it will be your best friend, sometimes you dont realize you consume 200 cals in your morning coffee or that cookie you took a few bites of was 100 cals. Log EVERYTHING, until you get an idea of what calories are in certain item. Weight loss is calories in vs calories out, you need to burn more than you eat (your bmr counts as 1700 cals, which is why you need at least that and if you exercise eat more)

 

3500 cals=1 lbs (roughly) so lets say you burn 2550 cals a day with working out (so 850 on top of bmr) and you eat 1750 cals, 2550-1750= 800, keep a 800 cal deficit for the week and the is a weekly deficit of 5600 calories, which is 1.5 lbs... Hope this makes sense? lol

I find to melt fat HIIT (High intensity interval training) is awesome. I did the Insanity program. I am 5'7" and was 160 lbs after having my daughter and in 2 months I lost 23 lbs. I have done this 2x now (after both children).. Make sure you eat enough, otherwise you set yourself up for disaster, don't crash diet, it wont last or be maintainable. Never eat under 1200 calories (this is minimum for a woman, over 21 who is 5'0 100 lbs and sedentary/sits on butt) If you have not been eating healthy (not enough) you may see a small spike the first week, it will start to drop once your metabolism and body see you are eating more. Breakfast is important to kick start metabolism for the day. Watch your sodium (soups are loaded, any canned food, frozen meals) you will retain water, try and stay under 1700 mg sodium a day...Variety!!! You don't need to eat just fruits and veggies, yes incorporate them! don't over do it, you can gain weight if you eat 20 apples a day or 20 bananas, moderation! Fat isnt bad, avocado, nuts, olive oil all great healthy sources of fats. Look at your options, you can have fun making healthy meals, you don't want to get bored, I couldn't live off smoothies everyday (once in a while, but I would binge if that's what I had everyday) Treating yourself once in a while is OK! If you have a super cravings, you can give in a bit, instead of 3 cookies, eat 1, instead of big mac, kids burger...Sorry i know myt post is long, nutrition and weight loss is something I am really in to and have lost weight the healthy way more than once (gained it back due to pregnancies) Please get 50 lbs by April 5 out of your mind, concentrate one day at a time, if you do this properly, you could have 50 lbs down by August-September ( realistic if you work hard) and it will be easier to keep off and you will feel so good about yourself, instead of feeling like crap by not eating.. Best of luck and so sorry this is long!!

 

Spot reduction is not possible..A good mix of cardio 5-6 days a week 45 min and strength training 3 days a week (40 mins or so) should get you a nice toned figure eventually. I work out and still have some love handles and my arms are not as I would like, but getting there!

 

Here is a link you can add you stats in to, will give you a realistic goal date (keep in mind, plateaus are common) I used this site a lot when I started out, it has a food log you can use and forums and VERY knowledgeable people that can help and support link removed

[sweetheart91]

Thank you all so MUCH! Especially the last post(although it was long lol) I used to have this app on my phone called calorie counter or something like that. I think I'm going to start using it again. It was just that I tried so many different things and I've been trying to find what works for me. I just got on the scale this morning and I went from 205 to 198lbs. I think I will keep going with the smoothies but just not eating it everyday. Maybe every other day I will have it as a snack or something. I will gradually start adding different and healthy foods so that I don't gain back the weight I've lost. The last post really helped and with how many lbs I'm losing a week(between 2-5lbs) I have put the idea of dropping 50lbs by april 5th. I am aiming for dropping 5-10 more pounds in the by the end of this month and to keep working down from there.

 

Thank you all so much! (The food diary was a good tip also!)

[Fudgie]

Unless you cut off your own leg, you're not going to be able to lose all that weight by april. I'm glad you have put that idea out of your mind.

 

Sounds like you are already making progress! Keep it up! Calorie Counters work great as long as you can stick with them. Remember to eat lots of protein. Carbs are what makes people bigger. I personally believe low-carb is the way to go.

 

Good luck.

[coco9]

Also remember, in the beginning you will see the scale drop faster. With your diet change you have likely cut a lot of sodium, so you may see a 10 lb drop in a week, it isn't all fat, the most fat you can lose a week safely is 1-2 lbs, it is water weight (still be proud though!!!) I just don't want you to get discouraged if next week the results slow to the more normal 1-2 lbs a week. Drink tons of water!! I agree to an extent with low carb, not super low carb. I did lower carb (45% protein, 35% carb and 20% fat) and I lost weight and felt great, I wouldn't eat pasta/bread or rice (I substituted with spinach, which is awesome with tomato sauce on it lol) I got most of my carbs through fruits, from some vegetables (corn, baked potato, carrots and squashes) and I needed my coffee every morning, so a tsp of sugar is carbs, and usually any sauce/dressing or condiment will have some carbs in it. Carbs are not evil! Just pick the right ones (no white bread or pasta and things that have processed sugar, so alcohol ) Some people go very low carb (under 15-20%) and do lose the weight, unfortunately if you plan on going back to eating carbs again (normally) the weight will come back.. There are good carbs, brown rice, whole wheat pasta,lentils, beans (protein), baked potato (lol no sour cream, butter or cheese) although if you want to put some low cal sour cream or small bit of butter, it wont ruin everything, just measure out and account for the calories

[Thorshammer]

To add on to what I think wasnt touched.

 

Use your mirror as an indicator, not the scales so much. People here and on other sites tell people to eat XXX calories, but its unrealistic for many. All of this is a lifestyle, it has to be something that you can maintain. And saying you want to lose 50lbs on x day is quantification, this will lead to extreme diets and workouts that can not only make your body look worse when you realize you cant maintain it and drop it altogether (or you wreck your metabolism due to lack of nutrients and over-training), and you can be doing your body harm as well.

 

Its all an experiment. A good personal trainer will tell you he fits the diet and workout to the client, not fit the client into a diet/workout. Its all an individual thing. I would start by cutting calories, eliminating all junk food (this should be done regardless if you need to lose weight or not). Doing a strength training workout, and doing a cardio session afterward in interval-hiit type training.

 

I would add weights to your workouts. Working out with weights shoots up your metabolism, which helps burn fat inside and outside the gym, hence why anaerobic exercises are a benefit. Aerobic exercises do burn more calories (not always fat), but they dont come close to the benefit of the above. So, muscles = better metabolic machine and tone and burns calories, typical cardio= burns calories (not always fat, hence why its important to strength train, it maintains your muscles, which again... promotes the metabolic machine going).