Looking for some tips,advice!

P

pulltab

0
I'll try to give some background and keep it simple.
I am 25 yr old female.
I was over-weight and very out of shape 7 months ago.
I weight 215 pounds, and smoked.
I quit smoking 7 months ago and started walking about 15mins daily casually just to get started. I gradually increased the walking times to 30mins a day, and then I eventually started using my Gym at work (4months ago)... where I steadily worked up to a solid 30mins of cardio (eleptical, bike, or treadmill) per day....alongside apox. 60 situps, and about 40 arm combos (each side) per day.

I think I was about 215 pounds before....here I am 7 months later and I am still at 209. I know that is a great start but I feel like for the amount of work I would be lower than that.

My typical daily meals would be:

breakfast ...cereal & 100% whole weat toast or one egg with toast.
snack......bananna
lunch....home made veggie soup and 4 crackers, a can of salmon
snack....apple
supper....Taco Salad or Roasted Chicken Dinner.
evening snack....sweet popcorn (no butter)


I am hoping to lose another 20 or 30 pounds for now... and i want to tone up. any insight would be great as it feels like this is not as productive as I would like!

Thanks!
 
My "expertise" is men's fitness, but the same basic rules of losing weight and getting fit apply to women so I'll try to help you out. Can you provide some more details? Apprx. how many calories do you consume per day? What is your average DAILY fat, protein, carbohydrate intake? When you exercise, what is your heart rate? Are you drinking at least 64 ounces of water per day? How much sleep are you getting - believe it or not, sleep deprivation can work against you when trying to lose weight. Without this info, it's kind of hard to give you specific tips but the general tips are:

5-6 smaller meals per day - which you are doing
10-15 calories per pound per day (when calculating, use your desired weight)
64 ounces of water per day
20-30 minutes of cardio at 70% of your maximum heart rate
When lifting, concentrate on large muscle groups such as the chest, back and legs
Get at least 6 hours of sleep per night, preferably 8 hours
Limit your intake of sugars and other high-glycemic carbohydrates - that means eat lots of whole grains, beans, vegetables
Limit your intake of saturated fat

Hope this helps some;)

Travis Van Slooten
 
It sounds like she may not be eating enough food to fuel her body. In which case she will not lose weight.

There also may be some metabolic issues going on. Have you had a full work up by your doctor to check thyroid, glucose, etc. At the weight you are now, you may have some insulin resistance going on, which will make it harder to get the weight off as well....
 
The amount of calories you’re eating seems to be very low (less than 1,000 cal?). Not eating enough will not help you lose weight. Your body starts burning fewer calories in reaction to "starvation", the opposite of what you want. Try to eat at least 1,200 calories per day (preferably 1,500).

Try to figure out how many calories you eat and burn during your day. Start a Food & Activity journal. Write down what you eat AND do during your day and add up all eaten and burned calories.

Your Food & Activity journal can help you figure out how to reach your weight loss goals. It can help you point out why you’re not losing the weight you want to lose.
 
Thanks very much everyone!

In response to some of your comments made ....

I have recently had some blood tests done and my doctor said everything looks fine with that. However she did not test for any thyroid disorders that you mentioned earlier.

The no eating after 8pm could very well be some of the problem! i have to admit, sometimes I do sneak a snack in later than I should.. Like Cheese and crackers.. or a slice of toast. I do however find it hard to believe that that could be the difference, could it? hmmmm..

About calorie intake, I never realized that I might not be intaking enough cals! That is quite possible. I am not trying to "starve" myself by anymeans, and I do not stick to that low of a calorie intake every day.

For example, today's intake :

1 banannas quick - early morning snack
2 eggs boiled with 2 toast and margarine - breakfast
noodle soup, salmon and 5 breton crackers, no fat pudding - lunch
1 bannna, 1 apple - afternoon snack
2 pizza pockets - supper


I have noticed though that I seem really tired alot in the evenings. Not the usual mental exhaustion more of an entire lethargic feeling. I still have motivation but I can feel a difference in my energy levels in the evenings.

I hope that helps more. I really appreciate all feedback given.
 
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almost there :p you need some more vegetables that should help with tyred ness aswell, and yeah it is hard to resist not eating after 8 and if you do give in try somthing with little to no fat and with protine, but try not to, it could be the difference i know it sounds wierd but i cut out my "midnight snacks" and it seemed to work for me :)
well good luck
keep us posted on how you do !!! :)
 
I think I am going to try to pay more attention to my calorie balance. The calorie calculater that someone posted resulted in :

Maintenance: 2562 Calories/day
Fat Loss: 2050 Calories/day
Extreme Fat Loss: 1680 Calories/day

So, please forgive my ignorance but does that mean I can intake no more than 2050 cals per day....?

So if I am burning on average 200 cals (according to the cardio machines, i don't know how accurate they are) per day...

And then do I factor in the amount of calories people burn on average per day just by going about our life...?
 
pulltab said:
The no eating after 8pm could very well be some of the problem! i have to admit, sometimes I do sneak a snack in later than I should.. Like Cheese and crackers.. or a slice of toast. .
Click to expand...

I disagree that you shouldn't eat after 8pm. Letting your body go 11 - 12 hrs without fuel is a bad idea. I am seldom hungry after 8pm (unless I've been to the gym) so, I force myself to eat at about 10:30pm - 11pm before I go to bed. It keeps your metabolism ticking over and helps you spread your calories over a longer period of time. Eat cottage cheese on those crackers and you'll be eating a protein rich, low fat snack which should help, rather than hinder your progress.

Welcome to the board and good luck
 
If you put your fitness level in the calculator (i.e. 5 times/week) then there is no need to pay attention to how many calories a machine says you burned for an activity.
 
Awesome ! Thanks again everyone.

Interesting approach to the after 8pm thing too. I don't know which would be best now, because it does make sense, but I think all in all... when your body is resting one would think there is no need to worry about re-fuelling. But I am no expert and it does seem to make sense.

So I should be trying to stay around 2000 calories per day. Any idea how to budget this throughout the day or any ideas on meals. I still have to look at everything I eat, everytime to know what the cals are.

I find this to be the hardest thing, finding the balance.
 
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