[fitcat]

hi everyone,

i recently started my weight loss journey (again) and would love to have some kind of buddy (or buddies) to stay in contact with during that time. i have been looking for weight loss buddies on different websites but either people there were all very young (around 16ish) or didn't reply

i am 25 years old, currently 176.37 lbs and want to get down to at least 158 lbs by the end of this year! i would be happy to talk to you here in the forum but actually i think staying in contact via kik or something similar might be a good idea since it can be used more spontaneous and regularly for me.

so, is anybody up for being weight loss buddies and rock it together?

[Nicholsfamily1987]

I am ready! I can't give you a current weight right now because I have been to two different scales both a 10 lb difference so I will be updating my current weight at the end of the week! What are you doing differently? I am calorie counting and exercising!

[Velvet bean]

Hello, Nicholsfamily1987 and fitcat!
It's week 2 of my diet and I wanna be your buddy too! I'm calorie counting (trying to eat 1200, but usually end up at 1500) and exercising 4 times per week and I just turned 26.
What about you? What does your diet/exercise look like?

[fitcat]

hello ladies,

nice to have you here

that seems to fit great because I am also calorie counting and trying to exercise as much as possible. since i am probably the least fit person on the planet i am starting slowly with sports... stationary bike as often as possible and 2 times a week shred by Jillian Michaels, as well as a little strength training another 1-2 times a week.

1200kcal seems very low, though, doesn't it?
i want to lose weight as healthily as possible and am eating 1800 a day right now. i read a lot about metabolism, calories and so on and talked to experts and they were actually suggesting for me to eat 1900-1950 to lose weight in a healthy way, i decided to go a little below that but if i only ate 1200 or so, i would be really scared of jojo-effect and such things.

[Velvet bean]

Fitcat, 1200 is just a theory, I said that most days I eat 1500kcal. Thank you for caring, but I decided on this number after careful consideration. Even though I don't eat that much and I hardly lose 1 pound per week eating and exercising like I do. Every time I ate more than 1500, I didn't lose ANY weight and nothing kills a diet like a plateau!

I'm sorry, but my "expert" sources don't agree with yours - according to mine it's perfectly fine for a woman to eat 1200kcal per day for a healthy diet. That's the low limit, I'm sure you can find that information everywhere.

I know you probably didn't mean any harm and it's personal for me, but I was a little offended that you questioned my diet choice. All the time I face people that assume that I have a weight problem because I don't know what healthy food is or how much calories I should eat. I just want to assure you that is definitely not the lack of knowledge.

I wanted to send you a private message but for some reason I can't, so I'm posting it here.

[fitcat]

I'm sorry my post offended you but I was more like confused than wanting to correct you. I'm not saying my sources are the best and I always want to learn something new, I just wondered

And I know what you are talking about, I am hardly losing anything as either . I also tried eating more than my current 1800 as well as less and didn't yet decide what number is best for me. For some reason I lost even less when I ate about 1400 compared to my 1800 now. I guess that the right amount of calories differs from person to person and from metabolism to metabolism, that's probably why it's so hard for me to decide on a certain number.
I am just kind of afraid of Jojo because it hit me hard when I did WW a few years back and lost a lot of weight kinda quickly when I ate very few calories.
So, I hope you understand that I was just kind of confused and wondering why you chose such a low number, I didn't mean to offend you at all!

May I ask what kind of exercise you do?

And thanks for the info about the private message, that's weird, I'll look into that

[sydneymarisa]

Hi everyone! I'd love to meet some people to chat with here. I'm a 23 year old female from Canada. I'm currently 186lbs and doing the calorie deficit diet also.

I use MyFitnessPal and I also take in ~1200 calories per day after exercise (ex: eat 1600 - exercise 400 = 1200 cal). So far this method has been working exceptionally well for me. I try to drink primarily water and tea. I haven't much changed my diet as I always ate moderately healthy, I more so changed the portions of starches and added more fruits and vegetables.

The exercise is the hard part for me! I exercise primarily by walking 1-2 hours per day. I love walking. Today, for the first time in five years, I threw in some running which was pretty cool! I probably only ran for 3 minutes total but it was fun to test myself. I also bought an amazing weight set off Amazon for $50 and a yoga mat. I do weights and pilates (Blogilates has an amazing beginner's calendar, has anyone used that before?! I love it!) when I'm at home watching TV.

[sydneymarisa]

Also...Velvet_Bean I totally understand where you are coming from, my best friend is a health nut and questions my diet. She doesn't look at food from a weight loss perspective, she looks at it from a nutritional value perspective, so she doesn't really get it and sometimes offends me by judging what I am eating and how much I am exercising. I had a history with anorexia in high school, so I know with her it comes from a loving and concerned place.

I am sure fitcat was curious in the same caring way Calorie counting is sometimes misunderstood. It truly depends on the person whether or not calorie deficit will work. For the people who do choose to use this method, everybody will have a different calorie budget based on age, current weight, and level of daily activity. I never feel hungry on my diet, and I am confident in saying that I am not restricting myself in any way.

Everyone should do what works best for them! We are all so different.

EDIT: Just going to put a disclaimer here that I took a sleeping pill shortly before this and the last post (doctor's orders) so I might have some funny wording in there LOL

[Velvet bean]

fitcat, no hard feelings, it's just my sensitive spot and sydneymarisa, thanks for your support. My parents always controlled what I ate when I still lived at home, so counting calories is as natural to me as breathing and I read every book about healthy lifestyle there is. Are you the same?

To answer your question, my main exercise is running 5km (3.5miles) every other day for now, I'm planning to extend the length in a while. I like to sign up to running events, it really motivates me to train. I like the crowd cheering me on.

Also, I play basketball sometimes with a friend and I try to use roller-blades or bike to go around instead of a car, since I'm not into walking - it bores me to death.

sydneymarisa - your calorie plan is very similar to mine, a lot of girls I know do it like that successfully. At what pace are you losing weight?

fitcat - I tried The shred by Jillian Michaels and it's a really good workout, I have sweat coming from Everywhere in the first 10 minutes! I just found that my knees hurt a lot after doing it - maybe I didn't do it right or I had too weak leg muscles - do you have the same problem?

[fitcat]

yep, I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings

sydneymarisa how are you keeping track of how many calories you burn through exercise? is there any reliable website/app or anything? because at the moment, I don't count my exercise calories at all. I just try to eat up to max. 1800kcal and exercise as often as possible but I don't eat more on days when I exercise or less on days when I don't. I'm not so sure about that strategy, though.

I really admire you both for running. I always hated it so much! even when I was way thinner than now... but I guess it is one of the most effective ways to get rid of fat.
but isn't it like super hard when you are a beginner? muscle- and cardio-wise? I feel like I am at level zero with both

velvet beanI didn't have trouble with my knees until now but it really makes me sweat like crazy (basically the whole time). As mentioned above, I don't seem to have a lot of muscle or a good fitness-level so it really makes me kinda go beyond my limits each time! When my muscles burn too much, I skip half a minute and jogg in place or change the exercise a little because I realised that it's not so much fun when you have sore muscles for 3 whole days after each session....

I think I'm going to give blogilates a try as well this week. I never looked at it closely before.

[sydneymarisa]

Velvet Bean I lose weight pretty quickly as long as I stick to the plan! I'm still adjusting so it fluctuates up and down sometimes. And yes I literally research everything in life, it's a habit lol I tried other diets and calorie deficit just ended up being the one that was easiest for me. It works for me because I don't like denying myself something I crave because then I'll eventually pig out on it and eat too much of it.

Fitcat It's hard to get the exact amount without something like a fitbit. Right now I use my Ipod Nano which has a Nike workout app on it where I've entered my weight and height. I select either walking or running, and it counts my steps with how many calories I've burned. I take it with a grain of salt, though, as something like a Fitbit would be way more accurate.

Trust me, I HATE running lol I always have. I start to panic and I feel like I can't control my breath. I think with practice I'll be okay and as long as I stick to my own pace and don't push myself too hard. I've accepted that without a gym membership, running is the best and fastest way to lose weight.

Blogilates is a lot of fun, it's a lot harder than it looks but it only takes about 20 minutes per day and it's cool to see how much you improve as time goes on. You learn a lot of great moves that you can do on a regular basis at home while watching TV or whatever! Start off with the Blogilates Beginner Calendar

[findingmyway13]

Hello everyone!
I am 26 years old and I weigh 184 lbs. Before this time, I have done a lot of successful but temporary attempts at weight loss and from the last year I have been really struggling with my weight. It's like yo-yo dieting, I go on diet for a month then splurge in a week of binge eating but now I am getting in control of things and trying to understand my triggers.
I am not calorie counting yet but trying to eat as clean as possible for me and eating low carbs but I have not eliminated fruits (apple,peach,melon) from my diet as I thought it would get really draconian. Lol
I have completed first round of 21 day fix and im going to start another soon. Nice to meet you all here. I am on a similar thread like this one but joined in here too.

[LovelyLeah]

I'm 25, 208.5 lbs and I'm also calorie counting and looking for some support buddies. I use SparkPeople (username leahthomas28) if anyone wants to add me.

[fitcat]

Welcome to the new ones

I weighed myself today and got really frustrated when I saw that I gained 0,22lbs - I know that's not a lot and probably due to daily variation but I hoped for a noticable loss of at least 0,66-0,88lbs.
It's so demotivating sweating your *** off exercising and seeing no progress... ugh.... but I guess I will just have to keep going and work harder until something starts to move.

How are you guys doing?

I think I'm going to add the Blogilates Beginners Calender to my workout routine from this week on

[LovelyLeah]

fitcat Your slight variation could be the result of gaining muscle. Have you tried recording your measurements. That's a good indicator that you are losing fat even if the scale isn't moving. Especially if you are doing a lot of exercise. Though 0.22 is most likely just some water retention. Does lose hope yet.