Any tips?

[Hadean]

Hello, I'm new here.

My name is RJ. I am 20 years old, about 5'6 tall and weigh about 140 lbs. I know I'm not fat, but I'd like to lose some weight. Maybe down to 120 lbs? I want to have a fairly low body fat percentage just enough so you can see my abs. I was also born with large calves (mostly muscle) and I'm hoping they tone down at least a little bit.

I used to eat about 3000 calories a day with no regards for health and nutrition. Once I started dieting/"exercising" about two weeks ago, I stuck to a 1,200 calorie diet and some exercise (working my way up to be able to exercise more).

My diet usually consists of a 400/500 calorie breakfast at 9 am (example: One hard boiled egg, one slice of whole wheat bread, a bowl of cereal with milk and a cup of black coffee with no sugar), then a piece of fruit or vegetables at around 150 calories every 2 hours from noon until 6pm. Sometimes I eat an 8oz steak or fish for dinner with vegetables. Then I don't eat until I go to bed around midnight.

As for exercise, I jog/run around my block for about 20 minutes. I'm not gonna lie, I'm probably only jogging for about 2 minutes and walking the rest of the way, but I'm trying to build up my endurance. I do some push ups everyday, maybe like 50? My arms are getting a little stronger (thank god).

I do this every day and it seems to work. In the first week I lost about 2 lbs.. Regretfully, last week I went to a friend's birthday party, played 2 games of beer pong, got high and mindlessly ate the fatty food there. I gained the 2 lbs. back. But I got back into the regimen and re-lost those 2 lbs. At least now I know that it really works!

So I have some questions. I appreciate any advice!
1.) Is my diet okay? Am I not eating enough? I eat very healthy foods and try to keep it balanced. I rarely feel hungry because I eat often, but I just don't want to get sick someday. I also often hear that eating too little can cause weight GAIN. Any thoughts?

2.) With the things that I am doing now, will I ever reach my goal? I don't want to end up doing this in vane..

3.) When I jog, my body does fine until my mind tells me to stop. Any tips on finding the motivation to keep going?

Sorry if this was a little wordy, but many thanks to anyone who replies.

 

[MAR1984]

First off, are you male or female? sorry, just helps to be sure, don't want to give the wrong advice. Couldn't tell from you're post.

1.) Is my diet okay? Am I not eating enough? I eat very healthy foods and try to keep it balanced. I rarely feel hungry because I eat often, but I just don't want to get sick someday. I also often hear that eating too little can cause weight GAIN. Any thoughts?

Calories are about as low as you'd want to go IMO, depending on gender. At 140, you really don't want to lose more than a lb per week. Your maintenance calories are probably at a minimum, 1700 calories per day, and possibly as much as 2200, depending on you're activity and exercise. If you're at the low end, 1200 is about right to lose a lb per week. if you're at the high end, you'd want to consider adding up to 500 more calories per day.

The most important thing when you're eating low calories is to make sure you're getting enough protein. You still need some carbs and fats too, but protein will ensure you will hold on to your muscle mass.

Eating too little won't make you gain weight, but it could cause your body to burn fewer calories than it could over time, leading to a slow down or stall in weight loss. There are also some other signs, such as feeling overly fatigued or faint/light headed. For example, if you stand up quickly and start to feel light headed, you're probably not eating enough.

2.) With the things that I am doing now, will I ever reach my goal? I don't want to end up doing this in vane..

Don't think about it like that. Nothing you're doing is in vane. When you reach your goal, you don't just stop eating right and stop exercising, you'll just go backwards. Its a lifetime effort to maintain results. I think, you will eventually reach your goal. You might have to change things up from time to time. You'll learn more, try new things, try different things just because, etc. The only way you will ever not reach your goal is if you stop trying.

3.) When I jog, my body does fine until my mind tells me to stop. Any tips on finding the motivation to keep going?

First thing is, if you find something you really enjoy doing, you'll be more motivated to push harder. Maybe you're just not supposed to be a runner - some people just don't like it. you don't have to run to lose weight, there are lots of other things you can do.

If you really want to be a runner, one thing you can try to do is to set goals - times, distances, etc - rather than just going out to run. Maybe try a program like Couch to 5K, a program for beginner runners to work up to running a 5K, or 3.1 miles.

 

[Hadean]

Thanks for the input. I feel good about how I'm doing so far and I aim to do this for the rest of my life. I only have one last question: Once I'm at a weight/body fat percentage that I am comfortable with, would it be okay for me to go back to my regular daily 2,100 calorie diet (of healthy foods, of course) and not start re-gaining the fat???

I am a male by the way.

 

[MAR1984]

Thanks for the input. I feel good about how I'm doing so far and I aim to do this for the rest of my life. I only have one last question: Once I'm at a weight/body fat percentage that I am comfortable with, would it be okay for me to go back to my regular daily 2,100 calorie diet (of healthy foods, of course) and not start re-gaining the fat???

I am a male by the way.

You can go back to whatever your maintenance level is. 2100 calories might be a little high if you got down to 120lbs.

 

[Hadean]

Oh yeah, that makes sense. Thanks for the info!