I get started but then I stop

J

Jones82E

0
Hello everyone!

I joined the gym almost two months ago now. I have been overweight for 4 years now and I want to break the cycle! I started going to the gym three times a week, but now I have stopped going as of last week. I always feel great after the workout, but its hard to stay positive because I've had this bloated feeling ever since I started working out. It feels like my clothes have shrunk. Does this happen to everyone and does it go away?

I eat about three times a day. I usually have oatmeal for breakfast or a bagel. For lunch I have a sandwich and pasta for dinner. I know I need to stay away from the carbs and I'm getting better. This is my meal plan for the future. Let me know if its ok

Breakfast: Oatmeal and fruit bowl
Snack: Banana
Lunch: Low cal frozen meal and salad (I know this is a processed food, but I'm starting out slow and I don't have time to try to cook every meal right now-just watching calories)
Snack: Yogurt and granola bar
Dinner: Baked chicken breast, green beans, and corn <---still trying to come up with other meal plans. I'm not a fan of fish

I have only been able to drink about 3 bottles of water a day. To make a gallon a day I would need to drink about 8. Slowly trying to get there.

Workout: I was going about three times a week. 30 mins are cardio (eliptical) and 30-45 mins of weights. I do legs one day and then arms the next.

Future workout: 45 mins of cardio-high intensity. 1 hour of weights. I'm trying to figure out when to workout. I leave for school Tues by 4:50, Wed by 6:15, and Thursday by 6:15. The only days I have no school are Friday, Sat, Sun, Monday. I work m-f 7 am to 3:30 pm. I just dont know where to put everything. I have about an hour where I can workout on Tues and Thurs so should that just be cardio? Or should I just do weights those days?


Right now I weigh at 160 with a body fat % of 30. I want to get down to 120 in 5 months if possible. I am 24 years old. I would appreciate any help with this. I just dont want to start something if it wont work, so I thought I would come here first :) Thanks!

Indy
 
Jones82E said:
Hello everyone!

I joined the gym almost two months ago now. I have been overweight for 4 years now and I want to break the cycle! I started going to the gym three times a week, but now I have stopped going as of last week. I always feel great after the workout, but its hard to stay positive because I've had this bloated feeling ever since I started working out. It feels like my clothes have shrunk. Does this happen to everyone and does it go away?

I eat about three times a day. I usually have oatmeal for breakfast or a bagel. For lunch I have a sandwich and pasta for dinner. I know I need to stay away from the carbs and I'm getting better. This is my meal plan for the future. Let me know if its ok

Breakfast: Oatmeal and fruit bowl
Snack: Banana (try to add in a source of protein here)
Lunch: Low cal frozen meal and salad (I know this is a processed food, but I'm starting out slow and I don't have time to try to cook every meal right now-just watching calories) (as long as you acknowledge that the lean cuisines, etc shouldn't be a permanent, regular item, we're good)
Snack: Yogurt and granola bar (remember most granolas aren't near as healthy as they try to act like - watch for high fat, sugars, and artificial ingredients - Kashi makes some decent ones if you aren't to the point of making your own)
Dinner: Baked chicken breast, green beans, and corn <---still trying to come up with other meal plans. I'm not a fan of fish Make sure you get a variety of veggies (and preferably not canned). Also, you don't have to eat chick or fish w/ veggies everyday, start reading and searching around, as you get used to it, you'll find new recipes and ways to adjust your current ones

I have only been able to drink about 3 bottles of water a day. To make a gallon a day I would need to drink about 8. Slowly trying to get there. You don't have to drink a gallon a day if you aren't working out seriously hard. Aim for more than the 6-8 glasses a day if you can, and make sure you drink plenty before/during/after workout - just don't think that it has to be a gallon.

Workout: I was going about three times a week. 30 mins are cardio (eliptical) and 30-45 mins of weights. I do legs one day and then arms the next.

Future workout: 45 mins of cardio-high intensity. 1 hour of weights. I'm trying to figure out when to workout. I leave for school Tues by 4:50, Wed by 6:15, and Thursday by 6:15. The only days I have no school are Friday, Sat, Sun, Monday. I work m-f 7 am to 3:30 pm. I just dont know where to put everything. I have about an hour where I can workout on Tues and Thurs so should that just be cardio? Or should I just do weights those days? With an hour on Tue and Th, go for weights (cardio isn't the answer to fat loss that a lot of people think it is). I would do the cardio on the weekend days.


Right now I weigh at 160 with a body fat % of 30. I want to get down to 120 in 5 months if possible. I am 24 years old. I would appreciate any help with this. I just dont want to start something if it wont work, so I thought I would come here first :) Thanks! 40 pounds in 20ish weeks is on the upper end of doable, depending on your body, your diet, and your workout. I would aim for more in the 1 lb a week department. On the one hand, it can be good to aim high for motivation sake, but it can be bad to aim high (for motivation's sake). Setting a goal for what may or may not be possible for you, your body, and your life (busy and hectic as you said), can (and often does) quickly lead a person to feel as though they are failing, which leads to being upset and disappointed, and more often than not, leads to drop out. (It's one of the larger reasons why many people don't stick to their plans). It is better to set a goal that is closer to reasonable and reachable, but still requires work and dedication, then to set one that can set you up to fail.

Indy
Click to expand...

Read the bold print, hope it helps.
 
I know that you are looking for results, but for motivation I try to focus on rewarding myself for activity - because I can control whethe or not I workout or whether or not I eat on plan, but the scale sometimes doesn't cooperate for reasons which are not obviuos to me.

For the gym on nights when I don't want to go, I tell myself that I will just go and if when I get there, if I stil don't want to work out I can leave - I walk to the gym so going itself is exercise, but I have never not worked out once I was there.

As far as food goes, I had a really hard time making the leap to making a healthy lunch, but when you are ready, I find that if I buy a bag of salad greens, a bunch of celery, a pepper, some carrots, and make a salad each night to which I add either a hard boiled egg, or chicken, or tuna made with fat free mayo or ham/cheese, it takes less than five minutes - and at the end of the week there's @$25 in my wallet that I can spend on something that I want instead of food someone else made. I add a piece of fruit, a carton of yogurt, and a protein bar and that gives me four chances to eat on plan during the day.
 
Thank you for the great advice. I am trying to get motivated. I have a feeling that it's gonna stick this time cause I'm sick and tired of being overweight. I do have a couple of followup questions.

I was told very different things from two people I know. My Aunt told me that she lost weight (over 100) by changing her calorie intake. She said to eat 1100 calories Mon, Wed, Thurs. To eat 1300 Thurs, Fri, Sat, and Sun. Then the next week 1500 calories every day for the whole week and then start over with the first one after that. <----This way seems unhealthy

I was also told that I need to stay around 2000 calories a day and more if I workout to lose weight.

I was thinking about just doing about 1500 calories per day. What is the right amount?

Thanks again!

Indy
 
calories are an individual thing. even another person your height, weight, bodyfat % and age...might need +/- 300 calories to lose or gain weight compared to your needs.

calorie calculators help put you in a ballpark...from there you just have to pick an amount, run with it for a month, and then gauge the results.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top