Andrea's mom needs to lose weight

86-xr80r

86-xr80r

New member
I have not found a thread that feels "quite right," so I'm just starting a new one.
-Currently, I am 27 years old, 5'5", and 165 lbs.
-I want to (need to) lose 40 pounds, so my final goal is 125 lbs.
-I have given myself until Nov. 14 to reach my goal
-That gives me 5 months to lose 40 pounds. I have weigh-in days on Sundays and Wednesdays, and I hope to lose 1 pound at each weigh-in.
-I used to be in pretty good shape. I gradually gained a few pounds when I met my husband. Then, I got pregnant. I had awful morning sickness, but I didn't lose any weight. The only way I felt any better was by eating starchy carbs. I retained every gram. I had problems through my whole pregnancy, and ended up gaining a whopping 72 pounds:eek:. I lost 40 pounds in the 10 days after Andrea was born. I lost another 12 pounds since then. She's over a year old now, and it's definitely time I lost the baby weight.
-Exercise and calorie-cutting has been the only method that has ever worked for me, and I don't expect any different now.
-3 days a week ,(tues., thurs., and sat.) I weight train. I like the routine in the "Body Sculpting Bible for Women." It worked before, I'm just lazy and have a problem sticking to it.
-3 days a week, I ride my bike.
-On Sundays, I try to rest.
-My husband and I plan on having another child sometime in the next couple of years, and it was hard enough on me the first time. I have to take better care of myself if I expect to survive another pregnancy.
-My husband is one of those "he can eat 5000 calories a day, get an hour's worth of accumulated exercise in a week, and he'll stay 165 lbs. for the rest of his life" kind of people. So is his dad. (hey, atleast I know that my husband won't be fat and bald when we're 60 ;)) Needless to say, he is not a good source of motivation and support; he'll occasionally tell me that I need to get more exercise. I almost, but not quite, wish he was a little pushier.
-It is sooooo hard to get off my lazy butt and find time for exercise in between baby, husband, full time+ job, housework, etc., etc., but I have to do it.

Tomorrow morning, I'm doing weight training. I'm doing the same stuff that got me in shape before, so I know it works.
 
Yesterday, I did my full weight-training routine. On Tuesdays, it's more upper-body intensive, but the final set is squats and deadlifts, for the legs. I'm not using a lot of weight yet (16 pounds for the squats, 50 reps), but I have to start somewhere. Especially since I'm sitting down for my job most of the day. My diet still leaves a lot to be desired, but I'm improving. I used to keep track of exactly how many calories I take in for the day, and I'll start doing that again. Now, I'm just more conscious of what I'm eating. Every day, I still allow myself a couple treats. This afternoon, I had a mini Snickers bar (holy cow! that little 3-bite candy bar was 80 calories!). Tonight, after dinner, I had a beer (143 cals.) and a frozen Italian Ice thingie (20 cals.).
This morning, I did my abs exercises and rode my bike. I only rode for about 15 minutes, but it was on the hardest gear. My legs (quads) took a beating; they were a little sore from yesterday's workout. I know that as I keep working out every day, it will get easier, and today's workout will seem pathetic. I just have to keep going. Every day.
My goal is to lose 2 pounds a week, 1 pound at every weigh-in. I met my goal today. :hurray:
 
I love that you've broken your goals down into mini-goals - and congrats on meeting your first mini-goal. It sounds like you're off to a great start.
 
I am sooo sore today

Yesterday, I did my full Thursday workout. On Thursdays, It's more lower-body intensive. Squats, and lunges, and more squats, and deadlifts. I didn't think that I would have time to get it all done (I kinda slept in a little bit). But, I was half-way through, and I looked at the clock, and I decided "I can get the rest of my workout done, and get my stretching in, in 20 minutes." And you know what? I'll felt a lot better then, knowing that I did get it all done in the morning. I just don't the energy to exercise in the evening after I get home from work, make dinner, wash the dishes, get the baby ready for bed, etc. I must have one of the best babies, because she lets my husband and I have peace and quiet in the house until about 8:00 am. It all ends there, of course, but I do have time in the morning to work out.
Anyway, I am so sore this morning, that I did not ride my bike. Maybe, if my legs and I feel up to it this evening, I'll go then.
I lost another pound in the last few days. Yay!
 
Thanks, rebeccag. I've always read that breaking down such a big goal doesn't seem so daunting if you do it step by step. I know I can do it, if I just put my mind to it.
 
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The last few days have not been good for me, weight-loss wise. My husband's uncle was in town for the first time in 20 years. We all got together with my in-laws and had pizza on Friday. On Saturday, we all got together for dinner. My mother-in-law loves my fettucine alfredo, and I make it for special occasions. I make it completely from scratch, hand-made pasta, freshly grated parmesan, the whole bit. I never have figured out how many calories are in the dish, because I don't want to know (it might not taste as good, then). This morning, we all had breakfast; scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, buttered toast. In the last three days, I've probably un-done all the good I've done in the last week. He's leaving today, though, so I can get back to business.
On a positive note, the soreness in my legs that has been plagueing (is that how you spell that?) the last two days is gone.
I ordered a swimsuit (tankini, actually) from Victoria's Secret a couple of weeks ago, in my pre-baby size. I'm not so big now that I can't fit into it, it just doesn't look good. I figured that it would be a good source of extra motivation for me, to take a picture of me now, and every couple of weeks, until I get to my goal. I think it's more effective than wearing something different in before, during and after pictures, because you can see exactly where you are making progress.
 
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Today, I got in a workout for the first time in 4 days. Last week was my first week that I have really been putting in real effort. Maybe I over-did it a little. My legs were so achey the last few days that I just couldn't make them work any more. Today was better. I rode my bike, did all my ab exercises, and did lots of stretching (after warming up, of course). I just have to be persistent, get out there every day, and keep on going.
I bought some new cookbooks last week. Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child. Not diet-friendly stuff, most of it, but there are some new techniques and ideas that I am trying. I like the idea of treating a vegetable as if it could stand alone as a seperate course. Last night, I butter-sauted a whole sliced summer squash in a teaspoon of butter, with a little salt and pepper, with my pork chop, a little dab of mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus. It was very tasty, enough that I ate another one with lunch today. I think that the most important part is making sure that the pan and the butter is hot enough, so the veggies sear on the outside, and don't soak up all the butter. Otherwise, you have to use more butter, and everybody knows what that means.
 
Yesterday, I didn't get my weight training workout in. I woke up too late, as a result of staying up too late the night before. That's a really, really big problem for me. That's when my husband and I get most of our quality time together. The baby's in bed, dinner's done and the dishes are washed, and I just want some time to relax. Problem is, I usually end up getting sucked into some dumb TV show (or two or three shows) and stay up past my bedtime. Or we're playing cards, and he says, "Come on. Just one more game."
Last night, my husband actually told me "Don't take this the wrong way, but your workout is a joke." That, coming from a guy who hasn't gotten any exercise in about 3 weeks. Way to give me support and encouragement, sweetie. If I didn't know any better, I would think that he wanted me to be a whale forever.
This morning, I went out on my bike. I got in 20 hard minutes. Then I did my abs, and stretched.
Today was weigh day, and I didn't lose any pounds at all. I have got to get my diet straightened out if I ever expect to make any progress.
 
Last night, I ate better. I had (probably about 5 oz., I didn't weigh) grilled pepper-lime chicken, about 3/4 cup penne (that multi-grain Barilla stuff. It tastes almost exactly like regular white pasta, but it has more fiber), 1/3 cup marinara sauce, and half a plate full of sauted snow peas.
This morning, after weight training, I had a strawberry smoothie; a cup or so of strawberries, and skim milk, 2 tbsp. flax meal, no sugar. It must be the extra fiber from the flax meal, but that seems to hold me over until lunch better than Honey-Nut Cheerios or oatmeal, or even some nice greasy bacon and eggs (imagine that, no fiber at all). My diet still needs work, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. :banghead: I have more of a problem at lunch than I do with any other meal. All I have access to at work is a microwave, so I have to prep my lunch the night before. And that doesn't happen very often, so I end up eating junk more often than I would like.
I took it a little easy with the reps in my weight training today. I didn't want to be so sore tomorrow that I couldn't get in a decent bike ride.
 
Our stories are so similar, it's weird lol. It sounds like you're doing great. I don't know why your hubby said that to you, but it must have hurt because you're working so hard and getting sore from it. UGH. Do you feel better about it? It's so important to have your hubby support you

It's hard to balance the wanting to work out more but trying to decide if it will make you too sore to work out the next day.

You're doing great, keep it up
 
Thanks for the encouragement, Purpleshirt. Yeah, my husband is a jackass sometimes, and he'll be the first to admit that. He could probably say the same thing about me. It's not reasonable to expect too much support from somebody who spends 4+ hours on the couch every day. Enough negativity!
There was a new challenge started here on the weight loss forum, called the 6 month challenge. I am signing myself up. Their weight loss model is pretty much the same thing that I do, just a lot more organized. It should help me keep on track.
Yesterday, we all went to the motorcycle race. My husband, his brother, his dad, and one of his friends raced together in this 6-hour relay motorcycle race for his dad's 60th birthday. It was pretty intense, riding off-road bikes in the desert for 6 hours when it's 115 degrees out there. I was running around taking pictures of the riders. I probably lost a couple pounds in water weight, but it all came back as soon as I drank about a gallon of water. If I wanted to be petty, I would tell hubby that if he got in better shape, he could be as fast as you used to be. But that's just mean.
Part of the 6 month challenge is knowing exactly what I am going to eat (and sticking to it, of course) for the next 7 days, and figuring that out every week. That's what worked for me before, so this challenge is perfect for me. I kept a journal every day, and wrote down every last calorie I took in that day. At the end of the day, I knew if I could have desert or a glass of wine, or if I should skip it. I also kept track of all the exercise that I did, and how many calories I burned doing it all. That was a little easier when I lived right by the gym, and the cardio machines told me how many calories I had burned. The gym is soooo boring. That, and it's a 15 minute drive from here. I don't have time anymore to spend half an hour every day just driving to and from the gym. What mom does?
Well, I'm off to figure out my weekly diet/ exercise plan.
 
I only had time for half of my workout this morning, but that's better than nothing.
Breakfast: 1 cup Cheerios (140 cal.)/ 1 cup skim milk (90 cal)
Snack: 1 cinnamon roll thingie (200 cal.)- wasn't worth the calories, but I was obligated by the person that brought them in
Lunch: 2 oz. pork loin roast (170 cal.)/ 4 oz. ciabatta bread (220 cal.)/ 1 tbsp. light mayo (65 cal.)/ 1 1/2 cup tomato salad (53 cal.)
Snack: 1 light string cheese (90 cal.)
Dinner: 2 oz. yolkless noodles (210 cal.)/ 4 oz. braised beef shanks (300 cal.)/ 1/3 cup wine sauce (70 cal.)/ 1/2 beer (55 cal.)
Total: 1663 calories
Not outrageously horrible, but I'd like to keep it to 1500 calories a day. Which I would have done, if not for that awful cinnamon roll. It wasn't even a good cinnamon roll! If it had been, it probably would have been more than 200 calories. If I'm going to splurge, it should be worth it. :ack2:
Gotta hit the bike tomorrow, so I'm getting my butt to bed early tonight. Besides the time constraints that I have, it's 100 degrees by 9:00 am, so the earlier, the better.
 
Today, I am working on planning out my diet. I looked at several calorie calculators online, and it seems that if I were 125 pounds, and totally sedentary, I would need 1519 calories a day to maintain my weight. So, I am going with 1500 calories for my diet. I know from experience that if I don't have my whole week's food planned and prepped, it is way too easy to get off track.
I have also figured out approximately how many calories I burn in my workouts. It's about 5 calories a minute for weight training, and 10 calories a minute for the speed that I ride my bike. So, I burn 200 calories riding my bike for 20. I burn 60 calories lifting weights for half an hour.
I have found from experience that it helps me stay motivated, if at the end of day, I know exactly how many calories I ate that day, and how many extra calories I burned exercising. Then, I can say, "I had a 600 calorie deficit today." It's a great feeling. Right now, I have found estimates that say I need about 2100-2600 calories a day to maintain my current weight. I'm going to take an average of 2300.
 
I stuck to my caloric plan for the day, but not in the way I wanted to. I had a good breakfast, but I couldn't eat lunch until 2:00 pm. My husband took me to lunch and a movie. I didn't eat much for dinner, I just wasn't hungry. I did atleast get my bike ride in this morning (200 cal.)!
Breakfast: 3/4 cup Honey-Nut Cheerios (110 cal.), 1 cup skim milk (90 cal.), and 1/2 a banana (55 cal.)= 255 calories
Lunch: cheeseburger (500 cal), onion rings (500 cal.), light beer (110 cal.)=1110 calories
Dinner: 2/3 ciabatta roll (150 cal.), 1/2 oz. proscuitto (35 cal.), 1 tsp. butter (35 cal.)=230 calories
Total calories for the day= 1585
Calories needed to maintain weight= 2300
Extra calories burned today= 200
Caloric deficit= 915
 
Yesterday, I stuck to my diet, and did my weight training.
Breakfast:
3/4 cup HN Cheerios (110)
1 cup skim milk (90)
1 banana (110)
Snack:
1 low-fat string cheese (80)
7 reduced-fat Triscuits (120)
Lunch:
1/2 can tuna (88)
1 tbsp light mayo (50)
2 slices whole grain bread (240)
1 cup baby carrots (60)
Dinner:
1 proscuitto-chicken roll; 3 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast (140), and 1/2 oz. proscuitto (35), dry seared and roasted
1/4 recipe eggplant parmesan (118); 1 lb peeled and cubed eggplant, 3 cups chopped tomatoes, 1 oz. freshly grated domestic parmesan, and 1 cup Classico marinara sauce, all sauted with no fat
2 cups asparagus, roasted in 3/4 tbsp. olive oil

I also did 30 minutes for my weight training session, so that burned about 150extra calories.
Total calories for the day; 1419
Total calories needed: 2300
Additional burned calories: 150
Calorie deficit: 1031

:hurray:
 
I started off today with a 20 minute bike ride. It was hot and muggy outside, even at 7:00 am (it is, after all, monsoon season in Arizona), so I was dripping after only a couple of minutes. That burned an extra 200 calories.

Breakfast:
3/4 cup HN Cheerios (110)
1 cup skim milk (90)
1 banana (110)
Snack:
1 low-fat string cheese (80)
7 reduced-fat Triscuits (120)
Lunch:
2 oz. shredded dry roasted chicken breast (93)
1 tbsp light mayo (50)
2 slices whole grain bread (240)
1 cup baby carrots (60)
Dinner:
3 oz. grilled ribeye steak (261)
corn on the cob (80)
1 cup sauted zucchini (30)
3.25 oz. baked potato w/ skin (110)
1 tbsp. butter (100)

Total calories for the day: 1534
Total calories needed: 2300
Extra burned calories: 200
Caloric deficit: 966
 
I didn't get my whole weight-training session in today, but I did do the intense, lower body, what seems like a million squats and lunges and more squats part done.
Breakfast:
3/4 cup HN Cheerios (110)
1 cup skim milk (90)
1 banana (110)
Snack:
1 low-fat string cheese (80)
Lunch:
2 oz. shredded dry roasted chicken breast (93)
1 tbsp light mayo (50)
2 slices whole grain bread (240)
1 low-fat string cheese (80) -I forgot to grab my carrot sticks when I left for work this morning-
Dinner: (my husband took me out, but I did make better choices than usual)
about 6 oz. char-grilled chicken breast (279)
1 oz. slice swiss cheese (107)
1 1/2 slices bacon (104)
3 slices tomato (20)
sandwich roll (250)
3/4 cup coleslaw (63)
plain iced tea (0); no high-calorie cocktails or dips tonight!

Total calories for today: 1676
Total calories needed: 2300
Extra calories burned: 100
Caloric deficit: 724
 
Although I have not really lost any weight in the last couple of weeks, my jeans are getting looser, so I know I'm getting smaller. My body fat percentage must be horribly high, and I'm trading out enough fat for muscle that it's not showing up on my scales. I have gotten my diet more under control in the last week, so I'll be seeing better results soon.
 
I rode my bike this morning, for 20 minutes (I'm working on it! I'll do more and more as I keep it up!), so there's an extra 200 calories burned.
Breakfast:
3/4 cup HN Cheerios (110)
1 cup skim milk (90)
1 banana (110)
Snack:
1 low-fat string cheese (80)
Lunch:
1 butter chicken bowl from Fresh 'n Easy (680)not my first choice, but I realized that I forgot my chicken salad at home, and two pieces of bread a cup of carrot sticks didn't sound like a tasty lunch
Dinner:
5.4 oz. grilled mahi mahi (162)
1 cup pasta salad prepared with low-fat mayo (260)
1/2 tsp. butter (50)
1/2 medium bell pepper, sauted (15)
1 cup summer squash, sauted (40)

Total calories for the day: 1597
Total calories needed: 2300
Extra calories burned: 200
Caloric deficit: 903
 
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