I need advice

M

MirandaB

0
I've been reading through the forums and it seems that everyone here knows what they're talking about so I hope I can get some advice and suggestions from everyone.

Ok so, I am 18 years old, female, and I am 5'3 and 163lbs.
I recently realized that I really needed to start doing something to lose weight.I haven't been active in a while and I have been eating fast food almost everyday. :eek:

I have been taking vitamins, twice a day, they're healthy vitamins but they *claim* to help with weight loss.

I have been working out for about 2-3 hours each day. But, I haven't really changed my eating habits, because in my household it's almost impossible, although I have cut back on what I eat a lot.

My exercises consist of walking for about 30 minutes a day, cycling for about 30 minutes, and 2 hours of different workout dvds. Mostly cardio ones. I also use weights on my arms every few days.

My goal is to lose 40lbs, I'm just wondering if it is possible for me to do that without changing my diet? Can exercising make up for what you eat? If not, what should I do to change my diet?

I know this is really long, but I am serious about achieving weight loss and I just need to be pointed in the right direction!
 
Post what your diet and exercise regimen is in detail. From the sounds of it though you're working out too much and you're not taking in enough calories/nutrients to support it. Fitday.com will help you track what calories you take in and expend, and there are metabolic rate calculators on the web that will give you an idea of how much you should be taking in.
 
Well, I think I am still getting TOO many calories. I don't have a specific diet.

Yesterday I had 2 donuts for breakfast, and a 6inch turkey sub from subway for lunch. Shortly after lunch I walked at a fast pace for roughly 30 minutes, and then I rode my bike for about 30 minutes.

For dinner I had chicken poppers & mashed potatoes. (I know my diet is terrible)
Then, after that I worked out for 2 hours, I have the Hip Hops Abs dvd set.
I did 40 minutes of "Total Body Burn" which is a mixture of cardio, leg toning, ab toning, and arm toning. Then, I did "Fat Burning Cardio" for 30 minutes, which is just fast paced dance/cardio exercises. On a normal day I would also do the "Ab Sculpt" and the leg toning dvd which are about 30 minutes also. Although yesterday I was too sore to do them.

I KNOW I need to change what I eat, I just have no clue when it comes to it. I'm reading the Nutrition 101 sticky on here lol
 
It seems to me like you've got the heart and desire to get some results, but you need to inform yourself!

You don't need to spend 2-3 hours a day doing all the stuff you do. Rather, a 45 minute lifting session 3 times a week, full body style, matched with HIIT, and any extra cardio you can get in.

You will have to change your diet. Nutrition plays an equally big role, if not bigger, when it comes to fat loss, and muscle gain. Let us know your diet and we can help.
 
You already got Stingo and MarkmyWords so I only have one thing to add.

I too had to change my diet, and it is not easy,, but it amazingly exciting to have made some real changes and it is doable...

you are at this place at 18! you are going to be a rocking woman and a treat for your whole life.

good on you!!

FF
 
To add to other people's post: the primary reason why most people fail to lose weight is because of their diet. Most people tend to think that a "diet" means eating stuff you don't like and eating close to nothing. This is untrue, and in order to maintain any weight loss, you must change your entire lifestyle habit. For roughly 30-50 dollars a week, you can buy very good food that'll last you for weeks. Compare that to the amount you spend on fast foods and quick-and-easy foods (you spend 5-10 dollars per meal and it usually lasts for 1 meal). Think of "diet" as lifestyle changes to your eating habit. When you think like that, going back to junk food, such as eating donuts for breakfast, will look silly in the future.

As far as your question if it is possible to lose weight by exercising and not dieting.... yes it is possible, but the results won't last or come as quickly as it should without a proper diet. People who want to lose weight, such as myself, who haven't exercised in a long time tend to lose a lot of weight initially, then the drop slowly decline. You might experience this sudden, quick weight lost at first, but the weight will return once you stop exercising. Diet will help you maintain this loss.

As for you time frame for exercise... 2 hours a day... that's quite a lot and if you're exhausted at the end, you probably won't be able to keep it up. Try to find a schedule where you can do cardio on one day, and weights on another. Cardio should be 30-45 minutes, and weights should be 30-45 minutes. Try this: M,W,F Weights (30-45 minutes) + Cardio (20 minutes), T, R, Cardio (30-45 minutes). Total time of about 1 - 1 1/2 hours for weight days, and 30-45 minutes on cardio days. Also, be sure to rest plenty by sleeping for at least 8 hours.

Finally, you should break away from your family's eating habits. Unfortunately, it's hard to not eat what your parents cook for you, so living at home can prove to be difficult when you want to lose weight. It's best that you start buying your own food, and not eating what your family is eating. I don't, and I occasionally eat what my parents make, but I usually limit it severely by making sure that it's cooked to my specifications. For example, last night they made rice with like a freaking boat load of hams in it... and they also make steaks... so it's like a lot of junk in it... basically what I did was ate the rice by taking the ham out, then eating the steak without all the added ingredients to it, as well as making sure that the steak is the size of a deck of cards and adding veggies to my likings. So you can try to limit the amount of food given to you by your parents by cutting out most of the added stuff they use to make it.

Finally, buy a journal or keep a FitDay record of what you eat. I personally use a journal to track my cals and exercise, but most people on the forum seems to like the idea of putting it in a electronic journal... only problem with that is that you have to remember what you ate during the day which can be hard... so I always carry a book with me so I can write it down as I'm eating it so I won't forget at the end.

Good luck and come back with your progress!
 
You guys are really helpful :)

What kind of foods would you recommend getting? I would have to keep it simple and get things that are easy to prepare. I've read that cottage cheese is good. What do you recommend? The diet is the part I'm really stuck on.
 
MirandaB said:
I have been working out for about 2-3 hours each day. But, I haven't really changed my eating habits, because in my household it's almost impossible, although I have cut back on what I eat a lot.
Click to expand...

Working out for that long in one session will most likely lead to overtraining and actually stall your progress. Your diet is going to be the deciding factor as to whether or not you see progress. My advice would be to post up your planned diet approach so we can critique it.
 
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