Newbie

McSweetie

McSweetie

New member
So I'm new... new to the board, not to weight loss that is! I'm not even going to try to pretend I know what attempt number this is for me to lose weight. I've tried a lot of things, but not this, so here goes.

I'm desperate at this point to lose the weight. I'm getting married in June! I said to myself the day I got engaged that I would start eating right and exercising the next day. Yea... that didn't happen. In fact, my dress is tighter on me now than it was when I bought it about 3 months ago. :( So much for getting to my life long goal weight of 125 by June 9. However, if I work really really hard every single day until then, then I might still be able to lose 20-25 lbs. That would be about 2 pounds a week.

I know I am capable of getting it done, I've done it before. Lost 20 pounds that is. I don't think I've ever been 125! I mean, I think I skipped the lower 100s and went from like 50lbs to 150lbs. I don't ever remember not being fat. But it's time to change that. It's now or never. If my own wedding can't motivate me, nothing will.
 
Welcome to the Forum! You've come to the right place. Everybody here is really great at helping you keep motivated. And we're all here to provide encouragement and a shoulder to lean on when those nasty little slip-ups happen. I'm no expert at all of this because I'm fairly new myself. But I'm here if you need some back-up. Wishing you the best of luck.
Congratulations on your engagement! Here's hoping you'll feel like a million bucks in your wedding dress!
 
It's all about paying attention to your mind and focusing on what you want. Not what you don't want.

This is a smart step, starting a journal. Look forward to hearing more about you and watching you progress. YOU WILL PROGRESS!
 
whats in the past is in the past - what matters is what you do from this point forward.

welcome to the forum and make yourself at home
 
Hi, McSweetie. Two lbs. a week is an aggressive goal. That's an average deficit of 1,000 calories a day. I hope you don't starve yourself to do that.

Are you sure you need to get down to 125 by your wedding? What if you only lost 15 lbs.? Would you view that as a success or a failure?

And what's more important on your wedding day -- that you've gotten to a certain weight by hook or by crook (weight that could very easily be regained), or that you have started on a truly healthy lifestyle that you can maintain for the rest of your life?

I don't mean to discourage you, but I spent a good part of my life losing weight very aggressively and then regaining it. I never took the time to find out what it would take to keep the weight off. And that's what really counts.

Your husband to be obviously loves you for who you are, whether you're 160 lbs., or 150 lbs. or your goal of 125 lbs. Otherwise, you wouldn't be engaged. I know you want to look your best at the wedding, but knowing you have embarked on a truly sensible way to get healthy may make you feel better than anything else.

Just one guy's opinion who's been on the roller coaster for 40 years.
 
I know I can't get to 125lbs. by my wedding date. I'm hoping to be at 150lbs, but if I was 160, then yes, I would still consider that a success. I know that my BMR is about 1600, so if I eat 1200 calories a day and burn 400 in exercise, then that's a deficit of 800 per day. Over 6 days (taking a day off) that's 4800 calories which I guess averages out to only 1.5 lbs lost per week. But that's 18lbs over 12 weeks, which is almost 20 lbs. Maybe it is overshooting it, but I have to try.

I think I'm even going to go hire a personal trainer at my gym today after work. But then we get into adding muscle weight, which I know could offset my numbers. But I also want my arms and back to look really good in my dress.

I've tried to set myself up for success by grocery shopping for healthy foods and planning my meals for the day and at what time I eat them. I also keep a cup of water on my desk to constantly drink so that I don't ever mistake dehydration for hunger pains. I know I don't drink enough water!
 
Trying is the main thing -- I just would hate to see you beat yourself up over not making such an aggressive goal. If you lose even 6 lbs. a month, that is a phenomenal achievement!

Don't automatically accept everything your personal trainer tells you -- I think the majority of them just shell out their $300 to get their certificate, and then go to work telling people a whole bunch of BS. Steve has given me more good advice than any personal trainer I ever worked with.

One of the things he got me to understand is that when you're dropping weight quickly, the main thing is to prevent the loss of muscle you already have. There's no need to worry about putting on "muscle weight," because that's physiologically impossible when you're in a calorie deficit every day. No matter what, you're going to lose some lean body mass, especially when you're dropping weight quickly. The trick is to lose more fat than lean mass.

A lot of PT's will get you started on very specific exercises on the machines that involve smaller muscles - biceps, calves, etc. This is just another variation of the old "spot reducing" myth. If your PT has you concentrating on exercises that use a lot of compound muscles, then stick with that one. If you're doing a lot of machine-based exercises with "bunny" weights, and ones that concentrate on the small muscles, then fire that PT and find another one.

Do you have a cardio program worked out for yourself? I've gotten great results from doing high intensity interval training twice a week -- just do a search on HIIT to find out more about it. And it makes cardio a lot more challenging and fun.

Great that you're eating more healthy too!
 
Yes, I do have a cardio plan. I love to run outside, but I have to stick to swimming and biking because I have really bad plantar fasciitis in my left foot. I also like the eliptical machine, but sometimes it irritates my foot. I try to burn 400 calories a day on cardio, which is about an hour.
 
I had plantar fasciitis [I call it plantar fascism] for 18 months, so I feel for you!

Do you have some good insoles for your shoes? Good ones cost around $50, but they're worth every penny. Also, I finally learned to stretch my calf muscle before I got out of bed, always. A lot of times, your fiber has just about healed itself over night, and then you take that first step in your bare feet and tear it all over again.
 
Might as well start logging my calorie intake and excersises...

Breakfast:
Weight Control oatmeal - 160c (good in fiber)
coffee - 50c (last cup of coffee ever!)

Lunch:
Roast beef sandwich on wheat bread- 400 c (because lunch was provided and I got stuck with the roast beef instead of turkey because I'm the new one in the office, that cost me about 200cals)
Chips - 100c (bad choice)
Salad w/ranch - 100c (just guessing on the cal count)

Snack:
Banana - 100c (yay for fiber!)

Snack:
mini rice cakes - 100c

Dinner:
Tilapia - 200c
Spinach with olive oil and garlic - 100c


Total: 1310c
 
Last edited:
Hi there!

Welcome to the forum :eek:

I've only been here for a short time, but it's been great fun--really interesting people and lots of love and encouragment--not to mention, it's great to talk to people who struggle with food and their weight, like me--because in real life, most of my friends are skinny and I have a very skinny boyfrind! So yeah, commaradity!

I think TomO has great advice--I'll put in my two cents but, I'm no Steve, so here goes:

I'm currently planning on losing 8 lbs this month if possible. I've been doing great, losing 5 lbs per month for the past 2 (I WAS 158 on Dec 2nd, then Dec 26th at 155.5 I made a vow to be 130 by my 25th birthday in August). Every body's different, but here what works for me and it might work for you:

#1 Exercise. Especially cardio that involves resistance like lunges, squats, crunches, etc. And make sure you dedicate 30 min-1 hour twice a week to weight training, as heavily as you can safely. Forget about the "chick" approach--a session should leave you red-faced and sweaty. Of course, work up to it slowly if you're not used to it. Many women think they'll get too muscly and big--BS! From my experience, putting on muscle made me lose fat fast and my whole body get smaller.

#2 Record your calories. I'm a chronic dieter, and nothing has worked better for me than this--I strongly believe I'm getting over my addiction to food and over-eating simple carbs. And I owe most of that to paying close attention to everything that goes in my mouth. I highly recommend it!

#3 Stay positive and ask for help, and converse with the folks here-for strong morale!

#4 If you hear about something and you want to know if it's true, ask Steve :p

Good luck! You can do it!
 
I'm so hungry today and it's only 9am!

Breakfast:
Weight Control Oatmeal - 160c

Snack:
Banana - 110c

Lunch:
Tomato soup - 220c
2 and a half crackers - 35c


Total: 525c
 
Last edited:
steve's login name is Steve :) he's one of the friendly experts arouond this place..

I love that weight control oatmeal - :) have yourself a fantastic day
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top