Not Enough Calories?

J

justmennc

0
I am a 40 year old woman trying to lose weight. I was previously pretty fit in my 20's but then took an office job and slowely gained 50 pounds over about 7 years. 5 weeks ago I decided enough and have been working on losing weight and getting fit again.

I am guessing I was eating about 2500/calories a day and getting no exercise whatsoever.

Now:

I am eating 1200-1400 calories a day spread out over 5 small meals.

I am still very inactive sitting behind a desk for 9 hours and a 1 plus hour commute to work, can't change that.

I am exercising 5 days a week, 30 minutes in the am before going to work at High Intensity Intervals. Treadmill/Stairmaster. I get bored stolling on the treadmill. I COULD add an afternoon workout before heading home... Good Idea?

I do weights 2 or 3 times a week before cardio in the morning. I warm up for about 5 minutes on the treadmill first.

I have lost only 8 pounds and about 1" off my waist. With so much to lose I would have expected the weight to just drop off. Is it my age? Am I doing something wrong?

I thought that perhaps I am not eating enough calories?

Any suggestions for me?
 
id say its very low, your bound to go into starvation mode.. you should be around a 500 calorie deflict each day. Meaining you take your maintence, whatever ammount you need to just maintain your weight, and subtract 500 from that. thats the general rule of thumb.
 
Post your diet in as much detail as you can. You can use a site like to track calories and check your percentages (of calories from proteins, fats and carbohydrates).
 
Before workout: 1/4 cup Yougurt & 1/8 cup grape nuts mixed in
100 calories

After workout: Special K High protein bar
190 calories / 10g Protein

Mid-morning snack: green giant single serving corn
120 calories

Lunch:
Lean Cusine frozen dinner :
apx 300 calories

Mid afternoon Snack:
3 lowfat mozzeralla cheese sticks
or almonds
apx 150 calories

Dinner:
Frozen dinner
apx 350 calories

Dessert:
100 calorie Slim a bear

OK, I know that you guys are going to give me heck about all the processed foods, but I am just trying to do one thing at a time. I DON'T Cook, I don't have time! I honestly don't have more than a free hour a day at this point. I am squeezing in exercise but any food I eat has to be pre-prepared.

Thanks!
 
First - You should be proud of yourself, you lost 8 pounds. Thats a great thing, you should be shooting for 1-2 pounds a week.

Second- Too me it looks like you have not 1 real meal all day long. All those frozen meals are horrible for you. I'm sure you have some time in your week that you could make meals that will last. I make chicken once a week, and eat it all week. I'm sure you could get deli meat... anyhting like that is going to be a better choice than what you are eating now. Also veggies are easy to make, you can buy veggies in steam bags, pop them in the microwave, and in 60seconds you have a days worth of veggies to eat on. Try to get a protein in every meal, and a veggie.

What is a slim a bear? lol

I would hate to guess what your sodium intake is with all those frozen dinners. The corn is packed also, its in a can. Like I said, go with fresh meat, veggies, and fruit. Find some time to make your own meals. Drop the special K bar and make your own.

I am also guessing you only drink water? No sodas right?
 
In terms of food, you should look into better alternatives. Fresh, unprocessed food isn't hard to come by nor prepare. On campus here, there's a Chik-Fil-A and although most of their stuff is bad, a chargrilled sandwich is like 160 calories and almost no fat. Lots of other resturaunts have similar items available, and hell, ever McD's, the worst resturaunt out there has some pretty healthy salads on the menu. My faves are tuna sandwiches, fresh fruit, eggs, ham and cheese sandwiches, and various brands of low calorie and low sugar breakfast cereals. None of those are expensive nor do they take long to prepare. Read the FAQ on how to eat while trying to lose weight, it'll really help. Losing weight won't expose you to the most tasty meals out there, but there's something to be said for good health.

Also, 8 pounds in 5 weeks is really good, ecspecially for your age. Keep your chin up, you'll be where you want to be before you know it. =) If you're really serious about losing weight quickly, add in more cardio.
 
C-MayheM said:
What is a slim a bear? lol

I would hate to guess what your sodium intake is with all those frozen dinners. The corn is packed also, its in a can.

I am also guessing you only drink water? No sodas right?
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I have added up my sodium and it averages about 2800-3000 a day/ too high I know! I'll work on the frozen dinners. The corn is a frozen single serving, not in a can actually.

I drink only Water (Fruit20) usually about 8-16oz bottles a day.

So, up my calories to about 1600?

Add a second cardio in the afternoon after work?

I am absolutely exhausted after my morning cardio, how hard should I work out in the afternoon?
 
Xab said:
Also, 8 pounds in 5 weeks is really good, ecspecially for your age. Keep your chin up, you'll be where you want to be before you know it. =) If you're really serious about losing weight quickly, add in more cardio.
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You are right about the age thing. When I was in my twenties and being only 15 pounds or so overweight I was able to drop weight much quicker and easier. It really does get harder as you get older.
 
yeah it does, and when ur younger you always say it dont matter i'll loose it next week...
I am 32, 6'9 and weight 17stone. still over weight, but consider when i turned 30, i was over 23stone! i think i have about 1 to 1.5 stone to loose rid myself of this bleeding tummy.
But my advise to you, is sadily work out what ur average calorie intake is and then loose about 200 to 300 from it. i mean u could already be at that level already, just worth finding out. There ae great links in the welcome to page for finding this stuff out.
I know i am going to get shouted at, but suppliments can help, well they helped me ALOT on those dark dark days!
K
 
kepners said:
I know i am going to get shouted at, but suppliments can help, well they helped me ALOT on those dark dark days!
K
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You shouldn't get shouted at. I don't think there is anything wrong with some supplimentation :)

Just - Mayhem and Xab have great ideas for food. I know what it's like to be out of time. There was a period when I was like you and literally was running from one place to the next with NO time inbetween. The key is to cook meals for the week and freeze or refrigerate them. You simply CANNOT eat healthy on those crappy frozen meals. You don't have to change all at once. You can slowly incorporate homecooked meals into your diet until it's completely made up of quality meals.

~Nicole
 
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