[brat_61886]

hey ladies,
its really sad but because i cant go to a regular store and buy clothes right now i have to order everything online and hope and pray it fits. anyways i was just wondering how many pounds do you usually have to lose to go down a dress size?

I'm planning on sticking around 1200cals a day with atleast 1 45 mins rpm class a day and then either weights or pilattes for an hour or so. and then if i get bored ill go for a walk or go back to the gym or do something physical atleast. i used to be so active and now i just sit around and watch tv. i want the old me back!!!

[jennylou]

I'm 5'7, like yourself.

Prior to having a vaginal birth (first was a c/s), at that weight, I was a size 22. After I hade a vaginal birth, at 278 I was in a tight 24 - should have been a 26 - that's for pants. Shirts, I was a 2x, either way.

I'm in a size 20 now, at 230. I swim in 2X's for shirts now. I can wear a 1x or XL (from the reg dept!). Some skirts and dresses I can fit into 16-18.

I think you need to think about increasing your calories. If you only eat 1200, that's what your body is going to get used to. When you hit a plateau, you won't have any room to go down in calories. You should check out the 100 Club forum or the 300 plus forum - they're better at explaining that then I am.

Congrats on your first 8 pound lost, before you know it, you'll be in the 200's!

[shyla2001]

I'm eating around 2200 cals/day, and figure that I can keep that up until I hit around 200 lbs. Then I can decrease it from there.

No need to starve yourself yet, woman! Just cutting down to 2000 will give you a little wiggle room, still be able to lose weight, and have a better chance of not throwing in the towel.

[Currydi]

For me going down one size usually meant losing approx. 5-8 pounds, but, I found that weight lifting, changing fat to muscle, made the effort faster. You don't say how old or your height, but I kind of wonder if 1200 calories a day with the activity level you mention, is adequate. If you take in too little, you won't lose as fast.....

[brat_61886]

i'm 5'7. i eat more if i'm hungry or weak but to be really honest. thats a lot of healthy food to eat to get 1200. i might go up on food but to be honest i have a hard time coming up with things to eat since i try to stay away from processed food. any suggestions?

[bargoo]

I find that I drop a size after losing about 15 pounds

[mimik]

ive lost 16 lbs, and havnt lost a size...yet

[jennylou]

Originally Posted by brat_61886

i'm 5'7. i eat more if i'm hungry or weak but to be really honest. thats a lot of healthy food to eat to get 1200. i might go up on food but to be honest i have a hard time coming up with things to eat since i try to stay away from processed food. any suggestions?

Well, what are you eating now? I'm BFing, so I get 10 extra WW points, and I understand your feeling of not being able to eat more food! What I've found is that I don't always have to do low fat or fat free. For instance, with cheese - I can eat a serving and it will be more points (which accounts for more calories). Sometimes, I eat egg whites - sometimes I eat whole eggs.

[brat_61886]

i eat chicken breast, cucumbers, whole wheat pasta since i'm not big on whole wheat bread, a lot of fruit, veggies are kinda hard for me. i want to find a really good recipe for chicken stir fry that is low in cals with carrots and peas. i'm not big on fish but if anyone knows a really good recipe i'm willing to try anything at this point. just something that doesnt taste fishy ya know?? lol i'm weird.

[jennylou]

You could do a whole wheat wrap with turkey (or chicken), lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and any other veggies of your choice.

I like Tilapia, it's not too fishy. I bake it in the oven. Just sprinkle with salt, pepper and some lemon juice. I also love shrimp - salads, pastas, stirfry, etc. Fish is usually a low calorie food, so it's not really going to up your total calories.

I just found a recipe for steamed dumplings (you can also bake them). You buy the refridgerated egg roll wraps and fill them with mushrooms, onioins, and any choice of veggie. If you're trying to add some calories, you could also put some sort of meat into them.

Along the same lines as the egg roll wraps, you can also use them to make a pizza type concoction. Little cheese, some sauce and mainly your favorite pizza veggies - mushrooms, onions, etc.

Neither one will be horribly high in fat, but they make great snacks.

Good luck!

[brat_61886]

that sounds really good. i might just have to pick ur brain some more so i can make them. i'm horrible in the kitchen. i'm so not the house wife time and my husband will be cooking not me when i get married lol

[mimik]

brat....it sounds like we eat pretty much the same things. I try to have protein everytime i eat. I eat 5 times a day. I eat more veggies than fruit. My favorite thing for lunch is chicken and rice soup.
organic chicken broth
brown rice
onion
celery
carrots
and chicken. So quick, easy, healthy and good!!!

[jillybean720]

The bigger you are and the more you weigh when you start, the more you will have to lose to go down a dress size. Sure, when you're only maybe 130 pounds, you can lose a dress size in less than 10 pounds. But starting at over 300 pounds, if I lost a dress size every 10 pounds, I would be in infant clothing by the time I reach my goal

Last year, I lost about 45 pounds (from 310 down to about 265). I started in a slightly tight size 22 pants and ended in a comfortable size 22 pants. Yup, 45 pounds and no real change in clothing size.

Think of a roll of paper towels where each paper towel represents 1 pound. Someone with maybe 30 pounds to lose has 30 paper towels on their roll, and then I have about 150 paper towels on my roll. Take 10 paper towels (pounds) away from each roll--obviously, taking 10 away from the roll that only had 30 is going to make a big difference, where as taking 10 from my roll of 150 will probably not even be noticable. Such is the way with pounds as well.

As for foods, I agree a million percent that you should be eating more than 1200 calories a day. 1200 is the generally prescribed minimum. If you start at tthe minimum and then hit a plateau, or your body adjusts to that amount, where can you go? If you need help adding in calories with healthy foods, try nuts (almonds are extremely healthy), natural nut butters (maybe an apple sliced up with natural peanut butter?), avocado (sliced on sandwiches/wraps or chopped in salads), dried fruits, reduced-fat cheeses, adding healthy oils (olive, macadmia nut) to recipes...there are lots of ways to add calories in a healthy manner without necessarily adding a lot of food.

If you need recipe suggestions, I like to just make my own healthy variations of "normal" food. I LOVE bbq chicken pizza, but I'm not about to call Pizza Hut, so I use a Boboli whole wheat crust, my own chicken breast, an organic bbq sauce (I find it at Whole Foods), center-cut bacon (40% less fat than regular--I don't like turkey bacon), and reduced-fat shredded cheese.

I also love making crock pot salsa chicken--toss some chicken breasts in a crock pot with a jar of salsa and cook till the chicken is cooked through, then add some black beans, corn, onions, and any other veggies you want. I also like to add some chili powder and a sprinkle of shredded cheese and mayba a dallop of fat free sour cream and serve over either brown rice or whole wheat couscous.

I also agree a million percent with someone else's suggestion to come and join the 300+ group--we've got a handful of 20-somethings mixed into the group there as well, and who better to offer support, advice, and suggestions than other who have been in shoes similar to yours? Not that there's not great advice and support here as well, but living at 300+ pounds has many more struggles that come with the territory. Which is why I float around to many different groups here on 3FC--each group has its own personality and type of support to offer

[WakeMeForSummer]

Jilly- I love that paper towel analogy!

Remember-- if you're working out, chances are you're gaining muscle, too-- so that scale may say you've lost 10 or 15lbs, but you may not be down a size as you build muscule-- at least that's my theory !

And I understand the calorie thing-- I average between 1200-1400 a day-- and I don't feel deprived.. it's a lot of healthy food ! Try keeping track of things in fit day- I've notice that helps me make sure I've gotten my protien for the day-- what really keeps me full.

[Spunkster5]

i think it depends a lot on the individual. you must take into consideration your height and whether or not you are lifting weights. I know that for myself, while I have not lost weight at times, I was losing inches and going down dress sizes. This was because i was weight training as well and muscle weighs more than fat.