Newcomer - African American Female

T

thickchick08

New member
Newcomer - 5'1" 149 lbs.

I’m a 5’2” African American female that weighs 149 pounds. I have a medium frame (butt and legs) and my goal weight is 135 pounds. I’ve gained the extra 14 lbs gradually over the last 7 years. I’ve tried working out several times, but have had little success. I rarely stick with it. However, I’ve recently hit rock bottom. My self esteem is really low, b/c I feel like I’m fat. I carry the weight well, but I’m still not comfortable with the way that I look. I would be happy to loose 1-2 lbs a week. I’m currently working out 4-5 times a week in the morning. I’m running a 5k on June 2, so I’ve been running lately. I’m currently doing 50 minutes of cardio. I alternate jogging and walking (varying speed and incline). I haven’t incorporated weight training, b/c I build up muscle pretty easily. My legs are big, but they still have a decent bit of muscle in them. I would like to tone them.

I’m still working on diet. This is my goal diet. I’m mostly there, but I struggle sometimes on the weekend.

Breakfast: 1 cup of Fiber One cereal with fresh blueberries and some slivered almonds with 2% milk.
Snack: Fruit
Lunch: Lean Cuisine or Weight Watchers, side of vegetables
Snack: Fruit
Dinner: Salad
Dessert: 100 calorie pack of chocolate chip cookies

I’m also thinking of adding another snack in the afternoon, possibly yogurt. I’m normally starving when I get home. I also walk the steps at the parking garage. I park on the top level and walk up them in the evening (153 steps, yes I counted).

Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to provide as much information as possible. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I will never be skinny, but I would like to look slimmer. I'm starting my 3rd week of exercise. So far, I haven't lost 1 pound. Thanks in advance.
 
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Welcome, glad to have ya! =)

by chance...are you a vegetarian...if not, i'd put a little bit more protein in my diet :D
 
You can add protein to your diet even if you're a vegetarian.

How many calories are you eating a day?
 
I'm not sure of my daily caloric intake. I tried to do a home version of weight watchers so I could monitor the amount of food that I'm eating. I'm going to start counting calories, so I can have a more accurate idea of what I'm actually consuming.
 
Counting calories will really help. At least it did for me. Once you know how much you're actually eating, it gives you a good place to start from.
 
Hey, welcome to the Forum.

You seem to have a good target so far. I personally couldn't survive on diet food all day, so I guess you've got more willpower. Your breakfast is fine, but you might want to add some nuts to your diet. Also, you might want to add a bit of variety to your diet so you don't get bored. When do you work out? You might want to make sure you've eaten enough and a couple of hours before you work out so you can get the most of it.

I'm not an expert, but it looks like a simple formula - you burn off more than you ingest. You don't have a large amount to lose, so your target is achievable.

There'll be loads of people to give you advice, so I'll end here. Good luck with it and keep us posted.
 
Congratulations on your desire to lose that extra weight. My advice would be to persist while you go through this learning curve. It gets easier. Once you know what you're doing its almost more of a waiting game. You already sound really healthy.

One way to calculate your mainenance level since you're exercising is to multiply your body weight in pounds by 15. That is your maintenance level. Eat 20% below that and you will lose and be comfortable. I am losing four pounds a month doing that.

You might try a site like this:



But frankly I like the first one better because I am more comfortable eating a bit more. Just hang in there until you get settled and don't give up. You are going to reach your goal.

May I introduce you to my friend and running coach Cym? She's around here somewhere. Check the diary section.
 
I started using FitDay today and I think I'm consuming too many carbs. I was shocked to see that I consumed 291g of carbs. I think I'm eating too much too. Today, I actually ate a little more than I would like to. I consumed 1673 calories today!

According to the calorie formula, my maintenance calorie count is 2235 and 20% below that is 1788. Do you think it would be ok, if I cut it down to 1500 or is that too low?
 
I was wrong about the calories. I went to the link that HappyChubette suggested and it said the following:

Maintenance: 1982 Calories/day
Fat Loss: 1586 Calories/day
Extreme Fat Loss: 1192 Calories/day

That's for exercising 5 times a week.
 
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