hoping to lose 28lbs to start with! help needed!!

S

sophs987

New member
hello people! i'm glad I found this forum, it looks motivating and there is a lot of inspiration on here!

My name is Sophie, I'm from the UK and i am 23 years old. I have gained a lot of weight in the past year. I am 5"11 and my weight has gone up and down like crazy over the years. I am currently at the heaviest I have been for a long time- around 196lbs. At my lowest for this height I was probably 130-135lbs. I would like to get to 168lbs to start with.

My problem is that I have very bad eating habits. In the past I would say I had an eating disorder- surving on minimal food such as brocolli and salad with nothing much else. I lost a lot of weight, but as a consequence I am now sure my metabolism is really screwed up from eating so little for years.

I have started on a new regime of eating little and often. And also of exercising 6 days a week.

Yesterday I ate:

2 veg sausages= 114 cals
small piece of whole meal bread and spread= 100

Homemade vegetable soup= 250 cals?
3 crackers= 54

carrots, celery and low fat guacamole= 80 cals
snacks= weight watchers dessert=120, a few prawn crackers, a few walnuts, glass of pure apple juice, coffee.

hmmmm so probably didn't go over a thousand. And considering I spent and hour and a half in the gym I do not think that is enough if I am trying to raise my metabolism.


Today I have eaten:

2 quorn fillets= 98 cals
seeded wholewheat pitta=157 cals
helmans light=30
rocket, spinach
an apple= 60 cals

I should probably have lunch now, which will be veggie soup and more veggies. And then I will go to the gym after dinner, which will be more quorn and a salad.

If anyone could give me advice on how to raise my metabolism through diet and exercise that would be AMAZING as I have heard conflicting views.
 
hi

we're so similar, it's crazy xx
I'm 5'11 as well, but I do weigh more than you. At my thinnest I was also in the 130's. (Too thin in many people's opinions) I'm just hoping to lose 20 lbs. a month until I am a size 8 bottoms, size 6 tops again. Which is gonna take a loooooooong time.
Anyways, a little good news..since I have also kind of starved myself, I researched that whole thing about metabolism slowing down. I found a product that really seems to help with my metabolism. It's by Transform and it's called Forged Burner. It really seems to work. Controls appetite, gives me energy, and even raises my body temperature! Which to me means that my metabolism is being raised. Let me know if you're interested. Also, I've read a few studies that have said that starving actually doesn't effect your metabolism TOO badly, because thanks to evolution we were designed to go through times when we didn't have enough to eat. Good luck to you.
 
Thanks for your comment bwheeler, i will look into them as a possibility.

I just had lunch and had a small bowl of soup and half a pitta bread, then had a weight watchers dessert.

I think my BMI is around 27 (I remember when it was 18.5 :( ), gah so i am officially overweight. I have been in denial about it for a while now, because it happened quite slowly, but now it is time to face up to it.

I know my main downfall was alcohol. Being a student I had a lot of nights socializing around vast quanities of calorific wine/cider etc.... and boy am I paying for it now. The thing is I didn't only drink whilst socializing- I also drank to 'self medicate'.... thinking If i drank my anxiety would go away, if only for a fleeting amount of time. Now i realize that the drinking was a huge contributer to my anxiety/depression....

I started my new regime of eating healthy/not drinking/exercizing last monday. So I have been at it for a week and a half, with only sunday off from the gym.

But I dont think i have los any weight. I feel better, my skin looks clearer, my stomach is less protruding (I think), but i thought I would have at least lost a bit of weight.

Maybe I have...

Anyway, I am going to keep at it. I have time off from uni (I had to suspend my studies until next year due to anxiety/depression) so I have time to focus on getting myself happy and healthy.

I am glad I have started this diary to track any progress I make!!
 
I messed up my metabolism from not eating too much and then afterwards gained about 40 pounds versus what would have been my usual 20 pounds (but this was when I was 25). It pretty much messed up my max weight from 144 to 160.. UGH it sucked. So I have been up and down ever since but I have to say that my metabolism doesn't like going above 144 still but it will if I keep eating endless sweets with no end like I did last year from oct to dec. So it's possible now but it requires a lot of crap eating continuously. Currently though I just work out now and eat pretty well most of the time. I lost 20 pounds or so since January from doing that and I want to lose another 10.

I would skip on the fat burners. My sister used them and lost weight then stopped using them because they got recalled and then she couldn't find the energy to keep working out like she had been doing. It costs a lot of money and it's not something most people can do for the rest of their lives. Also I would think they would mess up your metabolism just because you may not feel hungry and end up eating the way you are trying to avoid eating anyways.

I avoid alcohol since most of the time unless you are a light beer drinker or something like that then usually its filled with tons of calories! I love mixed fruit drinks and some of them are crazy fattening and super carby.

You are doing super well so far though :) Remember to give yourself lots of time to lose the weight! But most importantly start healthy habits now and keep them forever :) The only skinny girls I know now (I'm 29) are the ones who workout and eat sensibly. You want to be hot for a lifetime not just for a summer :)
 
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Thanks Tally :)

I know it is going to take a while, there are no quick fixes that actually last and are possible to maintain, it has to be a change of my whole lifestyle, not just a temporary diet... its just I wish it would happen sooner, I want to cry everytime I look in a full length mirror!

anyways.... for dinner I had a salad with quorn, half an avacodo, a few boiled potatoes, a teaspoon of pumkin seeds, rocket, spinach, watercress, lettace, a few olives, spring onion and some helmans light! it was really tasty and very filling- probably quite a lot of cals but my intake was quite low for the day.

Then I went to the gym and did 20 mins on the cross trainer on level 6 then 12 for minute intervals and then 25 mins on the treadmill on incline of 5.5 and speed 5.5. After that I did some weights for half an hour, now I feel knackered!

Tomorrow I plan to walk, a lot... and go to the gym for at least an hour.

:sleeping: time for bed soon!
 
Right, it is currently 2pm in sunny England (loving the weather!!) and I have eaten:
2 quorn fillets- 98 cals
1 seeded pitta- 157 cals
rocket and spinach
helmans light- 30 cals

lets say 300 cals then.

for lunch i will have home made vegtable soup and maybe pineapple, and for dinner I want to make spicy sweet potato and parsnip soup- yummmy!

and I will go to the gym for an hour later hopefully- althugh my boyfriend just called me to say he is comming to see me in the next couple of hours (YEY!) but that means I probably wont want to go when he is here... booo... maybe just go for a long walk with him?!

mixed feeling today- I have been on my healthy eating/no alcohol/ exercizing regime for nearly 2 weeks now and i havnt lost anything according to the scales! but I think I look a bit better.

In the past when I wanted to lose weight I would just eat about 500 cals a day- really bad i know- and the weight would drop off. But I can't live like that. So i will persevere with this because I want to be healthy for LIFE!!

I have noticed a couple of stretch marks on my tummy- I have never had them there before- and it really shocked me cos they came quite quickly... gahhhhh- will they fade when I lose weight?? I want to be able to wear a bikini when I am super slim and healthy!!!
 
AHHH! i have been so bad over the past couple of days, I had my boyfriend to stay and kinda lost control a bit....

I went to the gym on thursday and friday.... not today but walked along the hills for a couple of hours.

Today I have eaten:

1 veggie sausage- 57 cals
2 pieces weight watchers toast= 140 cals
2 sandwiches made with low fat cheese and weight watchers bread= 400 cals?
homemade burger with 5% fat mince and salad- 400?
White wine spritzer with sparkling water

hmmmm and a home made gluten free crumble in the oven- no sugar added but might be about 200 cals

maybe 1500, oh dear... and not enough exercise...

GAH i feel like I need to get back on track, but the gym is not open today or tomorrow cos its easter weekend.

Monday I will get back on it hard and fast!

If i go for a drink with friends in the future, what is the lowest cal alcoholic drink to have? I know its all bad, but realistically... I probably will drink a bit over the summer.

Also how can I control myself with eating if other people are having unhealthy food? I hate feeling seperated from my family/friends when I have to eat healthy stuff and they cn have what they want...!!
 
Maybe put some cream on the stretch marks? With drinks I would say probably choose a light beer but I'm not 100% sure on that. I usually avoid drinking or if I feel like drinking I usually just drink a mixed drink which is probably terrible for you lol

I guess if you guys have huge food events daily then you probably can eat what they eat just eat smaller amounts and then start with a big salad so you have less room for the other stuff. If its infrequent then eat perfectly before and after and it won't even phase any of your efforts.
 
Hi Sophie!
I used to have an eating disorder too, but am mostly beyond it now. I used to worry about having damaged my metabolism too.. But eventually I accepted part of it is probably just age, and we all have to adjust. I hope, at least, that's all it is..!

As for alcohol, I quit beer almost completely (unless I'm 'allowing' myself one for the taste on occasion,) and drink just whiskey now. A shot has about 60 calories, which is considerably less than a standard 12oz beer. I also used to abuse alcohol, but have it down to once a week if that, and no longer for emotional reasons.

Best of luck!
 
For what you're trying to do, I seriously recommend more strict calorie counting (weighing/ measuring/ taking careful note on the sides of packs/ calculating calories in recipes). Not only does it allow you to keep track of your intake, but you can also "save" some of your allowance towards nights out (you'll still need to take it easy) or other food based events. If you look at my diary, I measure everything. I do this with a digital scale that I got from Argos (it was on sale for 10 quid when I got it, unfortunately it's gone back up to 15, but if I had to buy it again I'd pay full price). That way I have a fairly exact idea of what I'm eating and when I can splurge a little (yesterday I had some chocolate, and I know it was in my allowance).

If you're eating with friends and family in a situation that calls for things to be cooked, why don't you offer to cook and bring something low calorie that you can eat with a clear conscious? (I've found plenty of wonderful recipes on BBC Good Food and searching under low kilojoule or low calorie- feel free to steal any of mine, or find your own) Alternately, you could test your own recipes through a recipe calorie calculator (the one on Calorie Count is the one I find most useful, although there are others). I also can't speak for your boyfriend, but my boyfriend is more than happy to eat the low calorie food I present him with.

It took me a couple of weeks before I started losing weight, so don't stress too much about that, particularly if you're noticing a change in shape.

Edit to add: I agree with what was said above, don't touch the supplements/ appetite suppressants, they'll mess you up in the long term.
 
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Thanks for the input Tally, PiratePunk and Amy :waving:

With regards to the alcohol, I think I will try and refrain from drink as much as possible, and if I do have a vodka and soda water, because the vodka has 55 cals per shot and soda water= calorie free!

And yes I do need to be more strict with looking at calorie counting... I will start tomorrow!!

just looked in the kitchen and my brother has a big chocolate egg with his name on it haha... thankfully I have not craved chocolate even once whilst I have been eating better!

I am making a roast chicken for lunch (family meal), with parsnips, sweet potato and other green veg. I will try to only have a bit of breast meat and fill up on green veg!

Gym is closed today :( booooooooooooooooo!

I will try and get in a bit of exercise some how :)
 
I've read most of the thread and here's my take

You say you are 5 feet 11 and trying to get by on 1000 calories a day. This is much too low. You need to follow the formula of working out your Resting metabolic rate and then subtracting 500 to figure out how much to eat each day. Or you should at least be eating probably about 1400 for your height. That's just a guess bit i would say that 1200 (which is the number many people quote) would be too low for you.

As you are not eating a lot of meat, i would suggest looking at my thread and how much food i eat. I am losing weight on what i eat though i am not too sure how many calories it is and I always feel full after a meal.

There are useful links on my page as well. Its called I'm aiming for 59kg.

I note that you are not too much over your healthy weight maximum. So it shouldn't be too long before you reach your goal if you work out a good diet you can stick to.

I must say that i am loveing my food and finding it not hard at all to follow this diet.

Do a bit of exercise as well.

About the metabolism. I don't think you need to worry too much about what you've done in the past but if you don't eat enough now it will be slower and you won't lose weight as fast so that's why you need to eat more.

I would say work out your rmr for the weight you want to be and then subtract 500 rather than going on what you weigh now, although you could do it that way also and gradually reduce it.

Don't take those pills.
 
I've just run your figures through a BMR calculator, and I second what fortyfour has said. 1000 calories is about half of what you should be eating, I reckon.

If you characterise your activity as "moderately active", then you should eat 2444 calories a day to maintain your weight, 1944 to lose a pound a week, or 1444 to lose two pounds a week.
If you characterise your activity as "highly active" (I suspect this is you), then you need 2720 calories a day to maintain your weight, 2220 calories a day to lose a pound a week, or 1720 calories a day to lose two pounds a week.

Adult women should never eat under 1200 calories a day as habit (it's about averages, so the other day when I was sick and had 800 calories that day it wasn't so bad, because I'm getting back to normal- but don't plan to have under that number).
Anything less than that 1444 figure and I'm pretty sure you'll be starving yourself given how tall you are, so fortyfour's estimate was dead on.
 
Actually, on the calculator I'm looking at, I presume that would be "extra active", which would be the figure above (highly active is hard exercise/ sport 6-7 days a week- and she works out 6 days a week- whereas extra active is "very hard exercise/ sport and physical job or 2x training"), which I didn't include for that reason.
 
Thanks guys... I reckon 1400 would be good for me at the moment. I dont think I am very active in the because although I work out, I dont move much when im not in the gym... I need to step it up.

Today I have eaten:

Quorn burger- 147 cals
small cup of homemade soup- 150 cals
cracker- 18 cals
couple of walnuts- 50
half Chicken breast- 250
vegatables- 2 table spoon mashed sweet potato, nothing added- 180?
steamed carrots, greens, broccoli...
parsnips roasted in a small amount of olive oil- 150?
Ice lolly- 50
coffeex 2- 60 cals

1055 so far...

exercise= NONE gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.... hopefully i will get some in before the day is up
 
oh dear... no exercise yesterday :(

and last night I went a freinds house and had a couple of glasses of champagne, red wine, a bit of easter egg and a couple of sweets.
BAD ME! but it was fun, we stayed up chatting and listening to music in the garden... and when I got there her mum said 'WOW you look amazing!'

maybe doing something right, even if the scale isn't moving.


Today I have had:

I slice of wholemeal toast- 100 cals
1 veggie burger- 157 cals
1 homemade 5% lean mince burger- 200?
bowl of broad beans- 80
ice lolly- 50 cals
5 chips- 100 cals?
coffee, tea...
so about 750?

for dinner I will have soup.

and the gym is open today wehoo! so i will go for a couple of hours later.

all I have done today is 100 starjumps and 50 squats

hope everyone is doing well!
 
Hello!

well I have had a coupe of iffy days... but went to the gym for a good workout last night, and going again today...

gosh the royal wedding has been on ALL day on telly, im getting a bit bored of it cos my mum is insisting on watching it!

anyway, today I have eaten for breakfast and lunch:

wholemeal muffin- 168 cals
2 veggie sausages- 190 cals
I tbsp on beans-80 cals
small amount pumkin seeds-50 cals
apple- 80 cals
coffeex 2= 60 cals

so about 630 cals so far.

for dinner I am cooking this recipie I found in slimming world- greek lamb caserole, looks yummy.

So im on track so far.

feeling a bit sad and crappy today, missing friends :(
 
Ok... IM NOT LOSING ANY WEIGHT THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING- IN FACT THE SCALE SAYS I HAVE GAINED, HOW CAN THIS BE? ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

today i have eaten 2 small pieces of toast- 110 cals
spread- 35 cals
cereal 165 cals
milk- 100 cals (inc. for coffee)

about 400 cals.

i know this wasnt the best start to the day but i am only going to have salad for dinner and a small sandwich with quorn and salad.

IM SO ANNOYED.

I used to drink at LEAST a bottle of wine a night. I have cut that out. I am excersising both cardio and weights. Drinking water. For the most part eating healthily and sticking to 1500 cals or under. I AM SO FRUSTRATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:banghead::banghead::banghead:
 
I am really pleased to hear that you have stopped drinking a bottle of wine a night. More than two glasses is over the limit for women and you'd be classed by official levels as an alcoholic or at least drinking at a dangerous level if you did that regularly.

I think the main concern for that amount of drinking is what it can do to your chances of getting breast cancer (and perhaps other health problems) down the track.

Are you eating your full quota of calories? If not, this could be why you are not losing weight. If you are eating 1500 or around that and not losing weight, i don't know why.

Did you work out your BMR?

I've just calculated it. I got you daily intake just to run your body is 1722 calories. If you are not doing any exercise. If you want to factor in your exercise and finish off the calculation, go to this page. I am not going to guess what you activity level is. You can do it better.



It looks like you are trying to take an accurate reading of your calories.

I'm stuck for suggestions. I'd say from what you are eating, you are doing pretty well with your diet. Don't give up and don't make any radical changes. Maybe your body just needs a little time to adjust to everything. I don't know but if nothing happens after another week, go and discuss it with your doctor. But whatever you do, try not to lose heart and give up. Before you give up or break open a bottle of wine in desperation, visit your doctor.
 
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