to lose wt once you started to eat better or less calories? I am at the end of my 2nd week and havent lost a pound. I am eating between 1500 and 1800 calories, focusing on healthier foods, less carbs, exerecise 6 days a week, running 4 days, doing bootcamp class 1-2x week. wts 2x a week.
How long did it take for you
- Thread starter runfree
- Start date
hrcfitness
Cathlete
About 7 years ago I lost 25lbs in 5 months (so about 1lb per week) and have kept it off ever since. My best advice is this...be patient and be consistant. Eat 3 meals and 2 snacks every day. Eat real food, no box stuff. Eat vegies and fruit and whole grains. Exercise 5-6x per week. Vary your workouts and again, just remember that it is a LIFE STYLE. Your changes have to be things you can live with. don't think of yourself as on a diet...diets fail every time. You have to say this is the new me and eventually it will be the new you. There is no secret formula, no quick fix, it's actually very easy....Eat well, exercise often and sleep well.....the weight will come off.
oh one last thing..keep a log of your food daily and remember if you bite it you write it...you'll be amazed at how fast all of those little bites add up to big calories.
oh one last thing..keep a log of your food daily and remember if you bite it you write it...you'll be amazed at how fast all of those little bites add up to big calories.
syzygy314
Cathlete
At 151 pounds last February, I finally decided to do something about my weight since I was experiencing shortness of breath and difficulty with easy tasks! By the end of August, I had reached my goal weight of 125 and now, I'm staying around 122!
Now, I'm just trying to get my body fat down and define my muscles! Oh, yeah, and stay healthy and fit!
Now, I'm just trying to get my body fat down and define my muscles! Oh, yeah, and stay healthy and fit!
Are you eating enough? I experienced this when exercising and not eating enough calories, with running- bootcamp- 6x a week?
other things that helped me, food combine, eat proteins with vegetables; starches with vegetables; but not protein & starches together; fruits by themselves.... it's much easier to digest that way, I think digestability of meals is mostly overlooked, but it works for me!
Heaviest meals earlier in the day, lighter meals later, I found fruit in the evening works because it digests quickest.
according to Prevention magazine, green tea is a weight loss booster, but a this point I'm thinking if you drink green tea you can probably catch speeding bullets & jump tall buildings too, (hmmm? time to give up the coffee? never!
)
Linda
I only lost about 1/2 a pound a week & it went slightly up and down throughout 12 weeks +, 14.1 lb so far...
other things that helped me, food combine, eat proteins with vegetables; starches with vegetables; but not protein & starches together; fruits by themselves.... it's much easier to digest that way, I think digestability of meals is mostly overlooked, but it works for me!
Heaviest meals earlier in the day, lighter meals later, I found fruit in the evening works because it digests quickest.
according to Prevention magazine, green tea is a weight loss booster, but a this point I'm thinking if you drink green tea you can probably catch speeding bullets & jump tall buildings too, (hmmm? time to give up the coffee? never!
)Linda
I only lost about 1/2 a pound a week & it went slightly up and down throughout 12 weeks +, 14.1 lb so far...
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Lynn M.
Cathlete
Have you upped your exercise from what you were doing previously? Sometimes if you do that you will retain additional water from the muscles swelling that will make your scale number appear higher than it officially is. ( Like maybe 1-3 lbs)
Don't be discouraged.. sometimes it takes a while for the scale numbers to actually go down. Know that if you are eating clean and staying within a deficit caloric range it will move.
Lastly, have you done a "mirror check?" Does it look better than it did? If so be encouraged that what you are doing is REALLY working!
Lynn M.
Don't be discouraged.. sometimes it takes a while for the scale numbers to actually go down. Know that if you are eating clean and staying within a deficit caloric range it will move.
Lastly, have you done a "mirror check?" Does it look better than it did? If so be encouraged that what you are doing is REALLY working!
Lynn M.
Amy Steppe
Cathlete
I fell off the wagon big time during the holidays. Now I am back on the wagon with a new attitude......I only eat fruit after 7 pm.
I had lost 15 lb before the holidays. I know I have gained some weight. I am afraid to get on the scale, but I am back to healthier eating habits.
I feel so much better about myself when I am eating right and working out!
I had lost 15 lb before the holidays. I know I have gained some weight. I am afraid to get on the scale, but I am back to healthier eating habits.
I feel so much better about myself when I am eating right and working out!
Jaffas
Cathlete
When my size 16 clothes started getting tight I bit the bullet and joined Weight Watchers. It took a little under a year and I got down to a size 4/6. For some reason pound wise my numbers seem to be higher than other people that wear the same size. On the one hand it's good that I look like I weigh less than I actually do but on the other it's really hard for me to not want a lower number on the scale. My goal was to be a size 6 so I have to constantly remind myself that I'm there, no matter what the scale says.
As far as getting there, I agree with everyone else, it's about eating real food, not too much, and making that a way of life. I too fell off the wagon a little over the holidays but as of the 1st (the day after my in-laws went back to England) I'm back to writing down everything I eat, measuring everything that goes on my plate, and hardest of all remembering that wine is a sometimes food!
As far as getting there, I agree with everyone else, it's about eating real food, not too much, and making that a way of life. I too fell off the wagon a little over the holidays but as of the 1st (the day after my in-laws went back to England) I'm back to writing down everything I eat, measuring everything that goes on my plate, and hardest of all remembering that wine is a sometimes food!
martijean1
Cathlete
Crazy as it sounds, and the theory has been disproven, but it works for me as well...I don't eat animal protein after lunch and have given up dairy...
MJ in MN
I increased my exercising from 5 days to 6 days a week and sometimes not always I have double workouts for the day like this past sunday and monday, I ran in the morning and then had to teach class in the evening unexpectedly so I definately have increased my exercise and also the past two weeks really upped my number of days running from 1 day a week to 4-5 days cuz I had a two week break from bootcamp classes for the holidays. I tried chalean extreme for a month and felt that i was getting bigger not leaner. She works legs 5 days a week if you count the cardio portions with the band as resistance and it was making my legs bulky, even my brother asked me if I was lifting heavy wts cuz I looked bulky. I was mortified. He said when you were running more you looked leaner. Nice huh. anyway, for me to cut calories back and not eat junk is a big thing. I have always been one to eat whatever I want and however much of it so I thought as soon as I gave the junk up and increased exercise that I would see the weight fall off. I am 5' 2 1/2 and weigh 134 wanting to get back down to 125lbs. I feel best at that weight. I definately feel like my legs and butt are firmer but bigger. I told myself I had to give it 6 weeks and if I didnt see results then I could decide what I was gonna do. thanks for the advice ladies.
well i managed to drop 1/2 pd in 2-2 1/2 weeks. How depressing. I was hoping for a pd a week. I still feel so pudgy thru the abdomen. I have really cut back, especially the junk food . I am not having cravings anymore but now that I am limiting how many calories, I find myself thinking about food and when I can eat again. How ridiculous to let food have that kind of control over me.
It might help to cut back on the cardio and up the weight training: http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/training/the_final_nail_in_the_cardio_coffin
Good luck in finding what works for you.
Good luck in finding what works for you.
syzygy314
Cathlete
Stay positive! That's 1/2 lb. less you have to go! Also, the slower you drop it, the easier it is to keep it off!
If you are still hungry, then you are not giving your body enough of something. Check how much of each nutrient you are taking in. You may be low in protein or something else and may need to increase intake of one or two nutrients. Also, work in a healthy snack between meals, nothing big, just something filling that will keep your mind off your next meal!
Just a suggestion to try. It may help!
If you are still hungry, then you are not giving your body enough of something. Check how much of each nutrient you are taking in. You may be low in protein or something else and may need to increase intake of one or two nutrients. Also, work in a healthy snack between meals, nothing big, just something filling that will keep your mind off your next meal!
Just a suggestion to try. It may help!
Make sure you are measuring/weighing your food. Portions have a tendency to creep up on you. Also, keep a food journal. You might be surprised at how the stick of gum here, the coffee creamer there add up. If you're doing all those things and still not losing weight, you might have your thyroid checked. It's a simple blood test and it's a very common reason for diffuculty losing weight. If it's not that, at least you can rule that out and look for other reasons. The key thing is not to give up. It took me five years to figure out why I couldn't lose weight.
Shari
Shari
I mostly lurk here, but this thread caught me eye and i had to comment! I fell off the exercise/ eating right wagon 3 months ago, and gained a couple of pounds as a result. My biggest problem was (is) eating out. I don't know if you tend to eat out a lot, but I know that for me, that is a huge trigger for weight gain, as portions are always huge and you never know what hidden calories are in there.
I have, since the new year, begun being more strict about what I eat, and am going to eat out less, if at all. So far so good. Let's see if the scale reflects it later this month!
Good luck!
I have, since the new year, begun being more strict about what I eat, and am going to eat out less, if at all. So far so good. Let's see if the scale reflects it later this month!
Good luck!
interesting threads
also find myself looking at thes kinds of threads here's one I came across while searching for another...
http://www.thecathenation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=270661&highlight=zig+zag+weight+loss
and another for basal metabolic rate, good to have a starting point
http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html
there are other calculators that may be more accurate for BMR & training zones, etc depending on your level of fitness (it sounds like you do a lot regularly, hence the first link to other members Cathe w/o suggestions)
I agree with eating 5 smaller meals or 3 meals 2 snacks per day, by watching that my calories didn't go more than 100-200 above BMR, the weight came off and stayed off through the holidays (barely) but it didn't start immediately, and I wish I could find the thread, it did zig zag the whole time, but the trend was more down than up, I hardly even noticed it, until 3 months later, when I measured. (I burned approx. 2000 cal extra each week with the workouts I was doing, guesstimate)
I know I gained muscle, so some of that weight loss, I gained in strength, not necessarily relying on the scale, but more on a look and fitness level to achieve.
Good Luck!
Linda
more about BMR http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal_metabolic_rate
also find myself looking at thes kinds of threads here's one I came across while searching for another...
http://www.thecathenation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=270661&highlight=zig+zag+weight+loss
and another for basal metabolic rate, good to have a starting point
http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html
there are other calculators that may be more accurate for BMR & training zones, etc depending on your level of fitness (it sounds like you do a lot regularly, hence the first link to other members Cathe w/o suggestions)
I agree with eating 5 smaller meals or 3 meals 2 snacks per day, by watching that my calories didn't go more than 100-200 above BMR, the weight came off and stayed off through the holidays (barely) but it didn't start immediately, and I wish I could find the thread, it did zig zag the whole time, but the trend was more down than up, I hardly even noticed it, until 3 months later, when I measured. (I burned approx. 2000 cal extra each week with the workouts I was doing, guesstimate)
I know I gained muscle, so some of that weight loss, I gained in strength, not necessarily relying on the scale, but more on a look and fitness level to achieve.
Good Luck!
Linda
more about BMR http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal_metabolic_rate
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I am eating 5-6 meals a day. I am trying to stay around 1500-1800 calories a day. I am cutting out bread, limiting potatoes to hardly nothin. eating veg,fruit,cottage cheese, cheese sticks, almond, granold with almonds or proteing bars as my mini meals or snacks. trying to incorporate protein with each meal. I increased my workouts from 5 days a week to 6 days. I get at least 3 days of wts in. 1 with my bootcamp class which incorporates cardio and wts together, I do jillian michaels no more trouble zones 1 x week which is a total body wt workout, high reps lower wts. I tried chaleane extreme for amonth and all I did was gain wt and get bulky so I sent it back. I am getting really frustrated tho. I cut back the sweets by 90 percent + carbs too. The only thing is I am having trouble staying at the lower end of my calories. I usually eat more towards 1800 so maybe I need to drop my calories more but if I do I find myself not necessarily hungry but just thinking about food. I havent limited myself with food since after having my babies so I thought cutting back and exercising more that the weight would drop off no problem. I dont understand why it isnt. I get so pissed. I workout hard and eating this good has been hard for me but i have been doing it so why isnt my body responding? Is it because I am 40 now and no matter what its not gonna budge. I just want to cry.
morningstar
Cathlete
I have two suggestions - get Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle and the Body Fat Solution. Then consider getting a GoWearFit (now called BodyMediaSync). I really think that you are so frustrated and obsessed with your weight that Tom's program would do well for you- as it works well for people willing to put in lots of time and thought into their diet and exercise. And the GWF really gives people obsessed with losing weight a lot of information to work with. I'm not insulting you by saying this. I have and use both Tom's programs and the GWF and it took absolute obsession for one year for me to lose 125 pounds (although I didn't use either of those things to lose that weight). Tom gives you direction, GWF gives you information.
Do what Morningstar suggested, and can I ask how old your babies are?
morningstar
Cathlete
And isn't that the key to a happy life?
As a matter of fact - put it on a plaque - hang it in the room where you do all your groovin'