Exteme Makeover: Amsterdam Edition

amsterdam1

amsterdam1

New member
I'm finally ready to do this. Finally, I have my head and heart set on losing the weight for good. No more excuses. No more days where I go: "Its ok...let me eat 5 slices of pizza,one chocolate bar, one ice cream today, and start my weight loss tomorrow." No more excuses. I am going to stop looking at myself in the mirror and having top pick and hate on every tiny aspect of my body. I am tired of looking at my clothes and being scared of wearing things because they cling to my body.
I am finally ready to take the right steps to do it right, to get in shape, to be happy with my body, ONCE AND FOR ALL. :hurray: I am so motivated, I can feel the rush and the need to exercise...even if its like.. 2 in the morning at the moment :sleeping:

So, yes, lets get started:
I am a girl
18 years of age
5'6 1/2
Weigh 144 lbs. (size us 8-10)
A few numbers:
36-30-40 (chest-waist-hips)
Tighs: 22 inch.right/left legs

Goals:
-Lose up to 20 pounds
-Atleast 2-3 inches waist/hips
-Eat healthy
-Maintain a healthy lifestyle
-Keep up exercise (I really want to work on cardio, so tomorrow I'll go for a run, and see what I can improve on, like my time for example)

I wil be keeping track of calories, and i'll be updating on here. I'm including progress pictures, so thats a motivator!

Gonna go to sleep, gonna go for a run in the morning!
 
Hi Amsterdam, first let me say that you look really fine as you are right now,
and second to lose those twenty pounds you only have to take a few
simple and very easy steps. Taking into account that you are young and
have plenty of energy, this should take you about ten weeks.

Here are the exact steps: (how I lost 110 pounds in a year)

1) walk twice per day, 30 minutes each session, the first walk should be
in the morning before eating breakfast, the second should be before
eating your last meal of the day

2) eat 4 meals per day every 4 hours, or eat 5 meals per day every 3 hours.
Four meals should be average sized, Five meals should be a little smaller than
average sized. For the 5 meals it is a good idea to use salad plates.

3) the structure of every one of your meals should look like this:

50% fresh vegetables and fruits, 20% complex starchy carbs (potatoes,
brown rice, beans, etc) 20% lean protein or sea food, and 10% good
dietary fat (walnuts, for example) The 10% dietary fat is because in all
the other food there is plenty of good fats, so only a little part of your
meals should have good fats.

4) drink plenty of water during the day, this is not easy first, because you
will want to go to the bathroom often, but after a week or two your body
will get used to it, and everything will be back to normal. Three liters or
about 3/4 gallons is a good amount for your weight.

5) Once you start eating right and walking, look into doing simple resistance
training (weight training) three times per day. The best approach for this is
to go to the gym for a month, and have the coaches explain to you how to
build muscle properly, and then just buy dummbells for home, and work out
at home to save money and time. Or, if you like, just keep going to the gym.

...if you do this for ten weeks you will lose those 20 pounds, and to maintain
it, just cut back on the walking, and walk only once, either in the morning
before breakfast, or in the evening before your last meal.

...by the way, Amsterdam is my favorite city in the world, and the place that
I go to twice per year on my vacations with my daughter, who is the same
age as you!!!
 
Hey there!
It looks like we have similar goals. I'm about the same height as you and around 140 pounds ATM. And I'm just 2 years older than you.
Your pictures do look pretty good, but I can understand wanting to lose a bit and get fitter! I'll be cheering you on.
 
Alex: Thank you for the recommendations, I will be keeping them in mind! I've been planning on walking to work every morning, which is basically a 5K walk..so we shall see how that goes! And yes, Amsterdam is the most amazing city in the world. My dream city!

Hanabi: Thank you girl! I 'll be cheering you on too, we can do it!!

Hana: Merci! I'm still rooting for you too!

______________________________________________________________________

So today, the weather is lovely; sunny, warm...a bit humid uhhh, but BEAUTIFUL, and so, I had a eureka moment: going out for a run! And I did! It was... the first time in a long time since i did any actual physical exercise..since the beginning of the month, so about 3-4 weeks...
And i jogged/walked/ran an uphill distance of 5K (go and back)!!!! It was so hard! But I'm happy I did it! It took me about 40 minutes, so I'm planning on bringing that time down to like 30 minutes. I don't know how long it'll take me, but I just really want to do it!
I think for a first run, it mightve been a bit too intense, especially with the weather, since I actually don't feel that great right now, but tomorrow, I'll try to walk to work, which is a 5K distance. That means I need to get up extra early...FUN!

As for the comments on pictures, I'm flattered, but I'm sticking with my goals. That shirt I'm wearing is one of my favorite shirts, but I've never worn it outside because I'm not comfy in it. So really, I'm gonna update with pictures wearing the same outfit!
I'm flabby all around. I have a 26.75% body fat percentage, and I really want to lower it to 20% and I got about 38 lbs of body fat. So, my goals are to get fit, toned, and really just try to be lean!

I had a scrambled egg for breakfast with fruits, and tonight, I think we're having burgers for dinner! yum :)
 
Hii!
OH, I am so tired right now, let's see how many words i can type in order to construct full sentences... alskjdsijgsoij! I'll make this quick:
-Walked to work this morning,felt amazing, the weather is GORGEOUSS!! FABULOUS!!! GLAMOROUS!!! It took me about 50-55 minutes to walk a 5K distance.My legs really hurt right now though, especially my thighs and knees (after runnin yesterday too...) Plus, at work, I keep having to go up ladder, climb, up, down, bend,stand, walk here, run there... It's tiering! But it's all good.
I don't think that tomorrow I will be walking to work, but I will go for a light jog when I get back, that is.. if I don't fall asleep on my doorstep.
Diet and food wise.. its ok. I could be doing a lot better. I'mfinding it hard to go back to counting calories as meticulously as I used to... I gotta do it though!

goodnight people!
 
It's so great that the weather is nice for you! It's so hot where I am...
Sounds like you are getting a lot of nice exercise. :)

I had a bit of trouble getting back into keeping better track of my calories as well, but it really helped a lot! I'm not super meticulous about it, do a lot of rounding, but that at least let's me know when I'm having way to little or too much!
 
hanabi said:
It's so great that the weather is nice for you! It's so hot where I am...
Sounds like you are getting a lot of nice exercise. :)

I had a bit of trouble getting back into keeping better track of my calories as well, but it really helped a lot! I'm not super meticulous about it, do a lot of rounding, but that at least let's me know when I'm having way to little or too much!
Click to expand...

Heyy Hanabi! yea, the weather is nice! but i'm stuck inside all day at work. SUCKS. Plus it's really humid!! I wish I could see the sun for atleast one hour!
_______________________________________________
Today was fine. Had breakfast with some friends... I ended up getting an omelett with salsa and jalapeno peppers AYAYAYAYY CALIENTEEE. It wasn't that bad...but it's wasnt great. So i had half of it, and my toast with pb with green tea. I didn't walk to work or anything today, nor was I physically ready for a jog, but tomorrow morning I shall run it!

Update tomorrow!
I am getting serious about calorie counting from now on!
 
OH!
and may i add... today, was hot, humid, sticky, icky, sunny. During my break, I walked around the foodcourt, and I was still full from breakfast... I ended up getting juice, a mango +orange juice smoothie, yummmsies. Then after, I was going gaga about whether or not I should buy ice cream, and thankkk the heavens that the people infront of me took hours to decide, because if not i would've had ice cream and I would've not been too happy right now! But i didn't, so yesssss! GRRRRRREAT SUCCESS!
 
So I just got back from a 20 min run outside. My knees are killing me, I don't know why! :(
But anways, I'm finally seriou about my calorie intake. Gonna keep ita 1300-1400 cals/day! Will update more later tonight!

Happy thursday everyone!
 
Today, went well. Just well. My calorie intake was at 1650... which isn't bad. My main problem is evenings... During the mornng and at work, I'm fine. I eat, and that's that. But when I get home, usualy late in the evening, I may not even be THAT hungry, but I still devour everything that might be in front of me... well devour as in; dates, dried prunes, olives... It's not junk, but ithe calories pile up quickly.
I'm really really going to try hard this week to:

-control my eating during the evenings, calculate beforehand how many calories I have left, and then decide what I want to do with them

-write inmy diary everyday, to make sure that I'm on track

-Since I said I would exercise 6 days out of 7, and today I didn't have a chance to... I shall bexrcising for the following 6 days, whether its walking to work, going out for a run, hitting the gym, or pulling my 30 day shred dvd. It's gotta happen.

FIRST MINI-GOAL:
Get to 139 LBS by June 19th. 5 pounds, 3 weeks. I can do this.
 
I also seem to have a problem with evenings sometimes, for some reason. Something that helps me is to try and schedule things to do after dinner- that way I don't have the free time to just sit around and munch on things!

Good luck with your goal!! I know you can do it :)
 
hanabi said:
I also seem to have a problem with evenings sometimes, for some reason. Something that helps me is to try and schedule things to do after dinner- that way I don't have the free time to just sit around and munch on things!

Good luck with your goal!! I know you can do it :)
Click to expand...

I like that idea!!Except sometimes i come back from work being exhausted and the only thing i want to do is lay on the couch and relax.... but thatll change! My mom and I go for long walks during the summer, usually at night, so I'm going to convince to do that with me this week!


Today is going by great!! I woke up at 10, ate a banana and headed to the gym! Ran about 4 km, I saw a friend and so got all distracted! I actually really enjoy running.. I mean, yes, I was on a treadmill, but there was a tv right in front, and so I watched a movie and didn't even think about running... Then afterwards, I got into an indirect speed race with the person running next to me..it was fun...for the two minutes it lasted ahaha.
Food wise: I'm under control! Drinking my water! Eating wisel! I had an eggplant and tomato stew (my favv yummmm) with pita and since I only had 1/2 cup of it, I added protein on the side = red kidneybeans (mmmmm more yummminess) and salad!
After the gym, did the groceries, bought the kraft restaurant-like salad kit.. I'm not a fan of Kraft dressing or any salad dressing because high in fat and calories, but the chicken marinade isn't bad at all! I cant wait to try it!

Thats all...I think for dinner we're having rice + celery stew... I'm really not gonna go for seconds.. gonna eat it slow and enjoy!
Tomorrow: planning on hitting the gym!
 
good night!
im rly sleepy, but i promised myself id write on here every day so here it goes:

yes, i was supposed to exercise, but i had to run so many last minute errands for my mom's bday that i just didnt have the time, and i hate havng to use that as an excuse, because it rly isnt an excuse.
iwalked here and there but mehh....
food: did well, had cereal and like 1/4 cup eggplant stew with 1/4 pita bread, had 3 dates, 5 dried prunes... we went out for dinner to this italian restaurant... yes, i had bread and butter :( BUT BUT BUT as a main course i stayed away from pasta/pizza... and had chicken + green salad with roasted patatoes and zuchini... I had 1/2 of the chicken breast and 1/2 of the patatoes. SO WOOT WOOT. I did good! Im gonna use the left over chicken to make a salad for work tomorrow mmmmmmm

Then of course had cake...choco + almonds.. so rich and sweet.. im definitly done with sweets for another month ;)
month of june has started... ie got a clean slate... signing up at the gym in the morning

JUNE... IM GONNA ROCK THIS WEIGHT LOSS.
 
Good job eating out! Italian food can be difficult to navigate sometimes, for me.
Yay for signing up at the gym! I am really loving it, as the weather gets hotter and hotter here.
Keep it up! :)
 
Thank youu hanabi!!! :)
---

Todayy: signed up at the gym, gotta love the y's summer special ahaha. I was in a bit of a hurry due to work, but i hit the treadmill for 30 minutes, burnedd 300 calories!!! (well 250 since the treadmill isnt too accurate!) But ahhh it feels amazing! its like if the fat is dripping away!
Hwever, i had a pretty shit day at work... I work in retail and today i just wasnt feeling it. Nothing was going right, I was movng at such a slow pace, as though all the energy had been sucked out of my body. I had so much to do, and I barely got through it... I'm just dissapointed, cause it's a new job, and it's so much more different than the other job i had, and I just want to do well and ughhhhhhhhhh. blah.

So, today, I made chicken salad with the leftover chicken with no dressing. SCRUMCIOUS! Had dates, dried prunes (as always), an apricot, 1/2 cup yogurt + koshi cereal, and for supper.. I had 1/2 chicken breast + salad.

Tomorrow will go just as great!
 
heyyyy guys!

So today, I hit the gym again.. it will have been 3 times in the past 4 days :D! I basically just hit the treadmill for 30 minutes, and today I managed to run 3 miles!! It was a bit harder today, but i'm gonna try to take it easy tomorrow and take a day off, orrrrrr, even better, i'll go in the evening and hit the elliptical, cause my knees won't take another day of running.

Food wise... :( I started off well, had a banana before the gym, had my 3 dates, came back home, had chicken and salad... but then... I had 1/2 mango, a tsp of peanut butter, 5 gummi bears (yes, i counted :p) and then after work, I came back home and had 1/3 cup rice, salad....and then it all went downhill... I had a few bites of cake, which i rly don't mind, but then i also had cheese (it had been so long since i had any) and i had 2 sesame crackers :(

Overall
IN: 1550
OUT: 300
 
Yay for going to the gym! I have inherited bad knees, as well, so I have to mix it up with the elliptical fairly often, as well.

1550 calories is not bad at all! Believe me, I've had a lot more than that several days in the last few weeks and have still been seeing losses anyway. What I've done is calculated the calories I need for maintenance at this weight (which is surprisingly a lot, if you aren't familiar with it!), and as long as I stay below that, I feel good because I know it's helping me lose weight at least a little bit.

Keep it up!
 
Hanabi, thank youuu! :) But I think what i was mostly dissapointed with wasn't the number of calories, but what I had eaten... I should be eating 1500 cals/day, but when its made up of junk... it still isnt good :(

----------------

Today went really well exercise wise. I was meeting up with a friend, so I had planned on hitting the gym afterwards, but luckily she had the same idea in mind so we went to the y together! I went on the elliptical for 30 minutes @ level 8 and burned 350 cals and reached a distance of 3 miles!! :) Another 5K... it's weird though, as much as I was pouring sweat.. I wasn't tired. I mean, yes I was tired, but it wasnt the same thing as going on the treadmill, so I just feel as though I wasnt working hard enough?!! Should I go at a higher level? Is 8 even high?!!

Food wise though... AHHHH!!! Another dissapointement today. I should be more in control of what I eat. I end up throwing a hard day's work... So breakfast went well... I came back home in the evning and made chicken + 3/4 cup rice + mixed vegies and it was delicious. Then, I decided I should have ice cream, because... I should! One ice cream won';t hurt! And then I grabbed the chips.... and then I went for the chocolate... and then for the pb.... I don't get it. I'm so confused with myself. It's not like if i wanted any of those... I wasn't starving, I wasnt going to pass out if I didnt have my sweets.. But I just went for it because it was the first thing I thought of doing. And now, I don't feel good, physically or emotionally. But I cant do anything about it now. I ate what I ate and that's that.
Tomorrow's just gonna be a better day. Final.
 
Ah, I understand! Yeah, I don't feel as good when I eat mostly junk food for my calories, either.

Sorry you went a bit crazy on the food... I actually did yesterday, too! But well done on not letting it affect you too much- "I ate what I ate and that's that." That's the way to get back on track! :)

I know what you mean about the elliptical! I can get my heart rate into the same range it's in while I'm running, still sweat as much, but on the elliptical, I feel like I could just keep going and going, whereas running seems so much harder. Not sure why that is, really. :/
 
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