Help With Weightloss?

**DSemcho** · 09-29-2011 08:24 AM

I'm 23, and I weigh roughly 225lbs. I've trying to get down to between 140 and 160 (I know, 20lbs is a big goal area but still....) I'm thinking of setting myself up with smaller goals along the way. My first one is to get down to 200 even. Now, I have a hectic work schedule, meaning I don't know what my hours will be until the week before, and it could vary from 7am - 2:30pm or 4pm, or 2:30pm or 4pm - 10:30pm or midnight. Ya... I just recently had surgery on August 24th to have a plate taken out of my leg that has been in there for 4 years from when I broke it, so I'm starting out by jogging once or twice a week until my leg gets used to it again. On the most of the days I work I bicycle to and from work, which is a 2 mile bike ride one way. And I also take my dogs for a 1 mile walk about 4 times a week. My biggest problem is getting rid of the weight. Even when I was going to the gym for 1 1/2 hours 5x a week, and was eating smaller portions and healthier, I still wasn't losing the weight. Any suggestions on what might work? The only thing that has worked for me previously was when I did a no-carb diet, and I lost 20lbs in a month. But unfortunately because I lost the weight, I ended up getting pregnant for the first time. After I lost the baby, I gained the weight back from depression, and then we had the stress of PCSing here to Turkey from the states. Any help would be greatly appreciated! And if need be, I'd even be willing to post what I eat through out the day on here.

**Crystalblue** · 09-29-2011 08:44 AM

It sounds like you do a great job of staying active. Before I started losing weight, I walked a lot. I worked outdoors at a car wash, walked to and from work, walked to get my kids from school. Pretty much anything I needed to do, I walked. Not having a drivers liscense was a big part of that. Lol. Once I finally learned how to drive, I still went to the track and walked with friends regularly. Plus, I did a lot of landscaping and gardening. I wasn't a couch patato or anything, I just kept gaining weight.

Once I started doing regular cardio, I worked it off pretty fast. Well, not fast, but every few pounds lost was a huge deal for me. It was so awesome to see. I would go jogging everyday after I took the kids to school. Starting out, I was running a lap then walking one. I'd keep alternating for about 2 miles. Then I worked up to running a mile at a time. I would go 3 miles, walking a lap in between each one. Then 1 1/2 miles, and then I worked up to where I can run 3 or 4 miles easy. Once I got to running for longer distances, I had to switch to alternating my jogging days. It was to hard on me to do it everyday, but every other day has worked fine.

Try pushing yourself through 30-60 minutes of good cardio at least 3 or 4 times a week, and see if that doesn't make a difference.

**Cyndie32** · 09-29-2011 08:48 AM

hey dsemcho, do you keep a journal of the food you eat and how many calories? this is very important. most people don't realize how much they actually do eat. i use a free site called loseit. this site lets me log my food and exercise. it tells you how many calories to eat per day and helps you be accountable to yourself. but there are numberous free sites and i would highly recommend you start using one. it really helps.

also, there is a couple of threads on wh. they are called fitness challenge I and fitness challenge II. you should read them. they are all about what we eat, how many calories we burn, the exercise we do. our ups and downs. our good days and bad. we hold one another accountable. we are acctually going to start fitness challenge III monday. we would be glad to be part of your support system on this journey if you would like.

**DSemcho** · 09-29-2011 09:11 AM

I don't keep a journal, but I don't really worry about that because I don't eat much through the day. Especially when I'm working nights. I think today I've only had about 600 - 800 calories, and that's on a day I'm off of work. We're about to have dinner though so I'd guesstimate today I'm having a little less than 2,000. When I do work nights I eat breakfast around 11am, go to work sometime between 2:30pm and 4pm, eat once and get off work between 10:30pm and midnight, and come home and go to bed. So I only get maybe 1300 - 1400 calories a day then.

**Cyndie32** · 09-29-2011 09:41 AM

calorie tracking web sites are really nice because it takes into consideration your age, gender, height, and weight loss goal. then it tells you how many calories you should eat per day to loose weight. and water, water, water. you should be drinking at least 8 - 8 oz. glasses of water thru out your day. water not only helps with healthy digestion of food but helps your body build healthy muscle among other things. losing weight, imo, is not just simple math. there are many variables involved, water and nutrition to name a couple. without proper water and nutrition our bodies cannot perform the simple math equation.

**KMonte85** · 09-29-2011 10:23 AM

You should DEFINITELY consider journaling. Even if you aren't focused on calories or know you're within the correct range.

Our bodies are well-oiled machines, but unless we keep them maintained and greased properly they tend to seize up (ie get fat). There is so much more to fueling your body and losing excess weight than just calories in < calories out. For example - do you know if you're getting adequate protein, fiber, and carbohydrates in your meals? In the correct ratios? May not seem like a big deal, but it is... your body won't become efficient at burning calories unless you're eating correctly in the correct portions.. so all the hard work exercising won't pay off nearly as much.

Give it a week. Sign up to loseit (or, for me, I really dig Calorie Count, I think the nutritional reporting is more detailed). Keep track of every morsel of anything that passes through your lips - food and drink. Log your exercise too. It will show you exactly where the weak spots are in your routine, so you'll be lightyears ahead in knowing where to focus to get the weight off.

**DSemcho** · 09-29-2011 12:23 PM

I drink a lot of water. We have a water filter thingy, and when I'm at work I drink about 6 bottles or more of water. Even when I eat healthy, my weight only changes within 4lbs... Every week it flipflops between 223 and 229.... Yesterday I weighed myself it said 229, and then this morning it said 225.

**Crystalblue** · 09-29-2011 01:16 PM

Everyone's weight changes through the day. You can get ahead of it though, through consistent healthy choices. It has to be a life change to see the results and keep making progress. I would really encourage you to check out our challenges like Cyndie suggests. We keep each other motivated when we struggle and cheer each other on in our success, plus it's a lot of fun. Check out the different food logs mentioned. I was surprised with what I learned when I started using loseit. I'm going to check and see if there's an app for Calorie count.

Getting the right nutrition and doing regular cardio are the basic tools for staying healthy. Don't give up! Once you get going you'll start to enjoy it.