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Author: trowa
Date: 04-10-03 10:32
Hello,
I've been a lurker here for a couple of weeks. Decided to introduce myself and ask a few questions. I've always been overweight. It has been something that has challenged my daily life for as long as I can remember. In the beginning of January I made it my new year's resolution to lose weight. I decided it was time to lose it all, and change my life for the better. I weighed in at 305 lbs. In 3 months I lost around 50 lbs. I now weigh in at 253 lbs. my goal is to reach 170 - 175 lbs. I'm 29 yrs old, 5'11", with a medium/large frame. I still have a ways to go, but I am happy with my progress. The first thing I did was cut my diet. No more junk food, soda, or food high in fat/carbs. I mostly ate vegetables and fruit, with some protien, and drank a lot of water. My exercise was just walking on the treadmill for 30 - 45 mins a day (around 3.5 - 4 mph). I was taking Herbalife for supplements, and one of their Ephedra products (yeah, I know it is not a good thing). The past couple of weeks I stopped taking supplements all together. I thought it would be better to have my metabolism naturally develop so I don't have to rely on supplements for the rest of my life. I feel much better now and I know I can reach my goal. It doesn't seem like an impossible dream anymore.
now to my questions :)
It seems the past couple of weeks I've reached the dreaded plateau that seems to come up when you've lost a lot of weight very quickly. I was just wondering if someone here can help me find a way to get over the hump? I just finished reading Body for Life, and the author seems to have some good ideas. particularly in the area of shorter workouts with more intensity. basically quality over quantity. Is this something that others in the same position have done to get over the hump? I just bought a bench and barbell/@!#$ bells to do some weight training. So I will be adding this to my workout as well.
I don't expect to lose weight as quickly as I did before. In fact I was kind of afraid that I lost too much weight too quickly. So i started eating a little more than I did before. Would it be advisable to cut my calories even more than I have previously? Should I go back on supplements until I reach my goal? any advise would be appreciated.
sorry for the long post.
- trowa
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Author: pandora
Date: 04-10-03 11:15
Hi trowa. I don't have answers for you because I'm just starting out myself, but wanted to congratulate you on your efforts and accomplishments so far! Keep up the good work and you give me hope! ;-)
J.
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Author: Derrick
Date: 04-10-03 11:28
You had the right diet plan going. I would say stick with your original plan. The only thing you may want to change would be your exercise. The interval training is a good idea. They can help you bust through a plateau. I use them all the time. Yes, quality over quanity is the rule of thumb when it comes to exercise. Wow....50 lbs in 3 months! It took me 8 months to lose 64, then I ran into the plateau wall. I changed my whole plan, and goals, and decided to get into bodybuilding, rather than continuing a traditional get skinny plan. That's a whole other story! But, try the interval training, and you'll be fine.
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Author: miranda 230/151/140
Date: 04-10-03 11:44
Sometimes the scale doesn't move for a couple weeks, then the weight starts to come off again. However, if your plateau persists, you need to cut the amount you're eating, as well as concentrating on exercise. Eating more will just lead to less weight loss, or worse yet, a gain.
As your body weight declines, you naturally burn fewer calories, so you need to adjust the amount you eat downward as you lose weight. Counting calories, at least for a few days, would probably help a lot. Go to the home page of this site, and use the calorie calculator. It will tell you how many calories you need to maintain your weight. Then, subtract 500 from that number for each pound you wish to lose per week, and that should be your goal. (You shouldn't go below 1200 if you're a woman, or 1500 if you're a man, without consulting a doctor.) To see how many calories you're eating, use fitday.com or calorieking.com. Or, there are a lot of inexpensive calorie counting books on the market. Make sure you count everything, including the drinks, any supplements, and "healthy" stuff. Fruit can have a lot of calories, as can any "healthy" food, and ultimately, it's calories that count. If you don't want to count calories in the long term, you can try just making a rough estimates, or simply cutting back the amount you eat by 1/4 or 1/3. Whatever you do, you need to be generally aware of how many calories are in various foods in order to make the right choices.
I don't know much about exercise, so I can't be of much help there. Congratulations on your excellent success so far, and good luck going forward.
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Author: trowa
Date: 04-10-03 21:30
miranda,
thanks for the info. I'll check it out and hopefully it will help break that wall.
I appreciate your help
- trowa
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Author: trowa
Date: 04-10-03 21:32
Derrick,
thanks for the info and the encouragement. I just started the interval training with some light lifting, and although it sounds strange, I am really feeling a difference.
thanks again.
- trowa
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Author: trowa
Date: 04-10-03 21:36
pandora,
thanks! Since you are just starting, the best advice I can give you is to keep at it and you will see results. I have to admit this site has really encouraged me to work harder, and has given me an abundance of advice and most importantly hope.
I hope you reach your targeted goals. thanks again for the compliments
- trowa
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Author: melissa 201/144/125
Date: 04-11-03 08:17
I've lost 57lbso far. But at 53 I hit a platau and couldn't break it. So I added a mile to my treadmil and I try to jog some. I also started bouncing my calories around. A suggestion someone on here gave. I lost 1lb last week, and so far I've lost 3lbs this week.(we weigh in on mondays) Here the calories I use, adjust accordinly to your calorie intake.
Mon. 1100
Tues 1300
Wed 1000
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Author: melissa 201/144/125
Date: 04-11-03 08:19
My comp kicked me out.
Thur. 1500
Fri 1200
sat 1600
Use sunday as a free day.
Also try exerercies your not use to. Like swimming or biking.
Good luck and hope this helps
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