Losing weight for 2008.. tips, I'm a 20 year old female?!
Question: Well like everyone else, I want to lose weight for 08. Thing is, I'm serious about this one, I've keep every promise or the new year I've made. I just moved out on my own, bought all new clothes, have a new outlook on life, basically.. It's a newer me. I want to lose some weight and cut my hair. Basically all the stress I had from 07, it's a fresh new year.
My boyfriend of 4 years, isn't fat but isn't fit, and isn't too healthy. Me on the other hand, in the past 2 years, I've become overweight to 220! I'm 5'7 and want to get down to 160, my boyfriend just wants to get healthy, and we want to do it together (having support is always great!)
I don't have stamina, but i have a dog and live in SoFla, so I can be outside.
I eat bad foods (pasta, red meat, mac n cheese).. what should I start looking for, and what are some good snack foods to get since I'm trying to eat healthy.
My additional is Taco Bell, is it okay to have some every 2 weeks, or 3 weeks?
Answers: Well like everyone else, I want to lose weight for 08. Thing is, I'm serious about this one, I've keep every promise or the new year I've made. I just moved out on my own, bought all new clothes, have a new outlook on life, basically.. It's a newer me. I want to lose some weight and cut my hair. Basically all the stress I had from 07, it's a fresh new year.
My boyfriend of 4 years, isn't fat but isn't fit, and isn't too healthy. Me on the other hand, in the past 2 years, I've become overweight to 220! I'm 5'7 and want to get down to 160, my boyfriend just wants to get healthy, and we want to do it together (having support is always great!)
I don't have stamina, but i have a dog and live in SoFla, so I can be outside.
I eat bad foods (pasta, red meat, mac n cheese).. what should I start looking for, and what are some good snack foods to get since I'm trying to eat healthy.
My additional is Taco Bell, is it okay to have some every 2 weeks, or 3 weeks?
congrats on your desire to loose weight. i weighed in at 243lbs and have lost a total of 48lbs! i still have 25 more pounds to go. i joined ballys and i love the step classes and yoga. i take my exercise routine week by week changing it up every week to keep my body in "shock". find something you like and increase the intensity and/or duration. i also lift weights, but not to bulk up, just to tone.
i also have a treadmill, step, punching bag, and trampoline at home i can use when i don't feel like dealing with traffic to go to the gym. a good cardio on a treadmill is to go at a slower pace but increase the incline. watch your posture when doing this though. your form is important with any exercise you do. i'm really heavy at the bottom (i have saddle bags on my thighs). for some reason i have found that when i walk at an incline for 30 mins, and then take it down, i can run at a pace of 5.5 with no problem. it's like the incline does something to my legs and i can get the next 30 mins of cardio in by actually running on the treadmill!
as far as eating, i eat pretty much whatever i want, but i eat 6 small meals a day: 3 snacks and 3 meals. (i gave up sweets, bread, and chips). now, i get my fiber in, in the morning and drink no less than a gallon of water a day (i like lemon slices in my water). believe it or not, YOU HAVE TO EAT. instead of using a plate, i fix my food in those little plastic containers from the frozen dinners (lean cuisine, ww, healthy choice, etc.). NOTE: i only eat the frozen dinners when i'm in a rush or don't have time to prepare a meal. the frozen dinners can get costly and you have to be mindful of the sodium in each meal; especially when drinking water because water follows sodium and will cause you to swell. i measure my food with an ice-cream scoope. i don't know the serving size of the scoope, but looking back on how i use to eat, i'm sure i was eating 10 scoops or more which of course is what caused me to pack on the pounds.
to give you an idea of what i will eat today:
wake up, begin the day with a 30 min work out
breakfast-2 strips of butterball turkey bacon, a serving of egg whites, cup of oj, and i get started on drinking my water
morning snack-small waldoff fruit salad with low-fat vanilla yogurt (you can make it or get it from Publix already made) most of the time i'm too full to eat the whole thing, so i'll save the rest to eat the next day or eat the rest later in the day as another snack
lunch-chicken breast with this tuscon season mix i purchased from sam's, and steamed veggies (brocolli, cauliflower, carrots)
snack-dole's cherry fruit cup, 6 ritz crackers (unsalted) with 1 TB of p-butter (by this time i am so full, i have to force myself to eat...really)
dinner-i haven't decided if i will have a grilled chicken salad w/honey mustard dressing, or take out frozen left overs from carrabbas that i have in the freezer. yes CARRABBAS. like i said, i each pretty much eat what i want, but i watch my portions. the carrabbas dish i have in the freezer is the pasta weesie. (umm...my favorite) i divided the dish into 9 sections (like a tic-tac-toe grid) and i froze the servings individually which gives me 9 meals from this one dish. if i eat the pasta, i will have a spinach salad w/vinegrette dressing (i will have to intensify my workout this evening of course, but hey i just had a delicious meal from carrabbas) NOTE: i will have eaten this meal between 4-5pm
snack-i like jello with fruit cocktail in it (a childhood favorite) or i may just eat an apple.
late night snack-it depends on how late i stay up, or IF i'm even hungry. i'll eat a bowl of cheerios and a piece of high fiber fruit.
by the end of the day i will have had 1 gallon or more of water.
stay focused and stay with it. find what works for you. my family is impressed with the weight i've lost and we are in the process of forming our version of the biggest looser. each person that wants to participate has to give a one time fee of $25 into the pot. who ever looses the most percentage of fat in the next 6 months, wins the money in the pot. so far we have $500 in the pot! (20 family members are in) we have scheduled our first weigh in on saturday, jan 19th. this is just a small incentive to help get my family members on a healthy track.
hope this helped, and best of luck! YOU CAN DO IT!
have you seen NowLoss.com yet? lots of great weight loss tips for 2008
WeightWatchers is awesome. Its really easy, all you do is count points. There is tons of WW food in supermarkets, bread, candy, etc. Its a little pricy, but worth it. Hope this helps =)
well your going to have to cut out salt and sugar. Try to cook your foods fresh instead of going out for taco bell.. i love it too but its bad for you. When your shopping check packaging for high sodium and high sugar (if it has these high levels then you can do without it) you can try weight watchers bread.. try not to eat too much bread. red meat is okay as long as it isnt salted and as long as you dont have it everyday.. you have to switch up your protien so your body can burn it... also what times you eat foods have to be switched around.. keep your body guessing. also with pasta... try whole wheat with healthy choice pasta sauce.
You can really lose weight if you truly believe in yourself and never give up.. i have lost 30pounds so far and im on herbal magic... they monitor everything you eat.. tell you what to eat .. and how much of it to eat... their great.. im going for a grand total loss of 100 pounds. If someone like me can completely cut out taco bell, pizza hut, mcdonalds and every other fast food joint... then so can you.. just dont give up.
honestly, the best way to lose weight that you won't just gain back after the diet is to eat three healthy but small meals a day. Skipping meals messes with ur metabolism and does not work. For excercise I would probably just run/jog. It's the best and most effective way to burn calories while making you healthy. Also running or any excercise keeps ur skin from just sagging when you lose weight But remember to run at least 20 minutes because your body doesn't start burning fat until you've ran 20 minutes.
I think the thing lacking from most goal oriented plans (diet, exercise, health goals) is the willpower. You really need to spend some time alone with yourself and understand what your goals are and why you want to achieve them. Sometimes you need to remember your goals when you feel weakest (when you want to stray from the plan). Some people carry a talisman to look at when they feel weak (a lucky rabbit's foot, a fat photo of themselves, etc.). Other people say that smell linked memory is the best way to bring back willpower when you need it (www.everoma.com has such products). In the end though, if you have the willpower, the rest will fall into place.
Try joining an online diet community such as www.dietplatoon.com, like you said about everyone losing weight for 08 - they have a new years challenge.