Well, I'm getting totally fired up for the July challenge and wanted to post what my plan is and am looking for any alterations or suggestions you may have.. You've all had huge successes using many different techniques, so I'd like you (if you've got a min) to take a look at what my plan is and am open to critisicsm.... I want to make sure i'm doing things right..
Firstly, here's me:
21 years old
265 (i think) lbs.
5'10 tall
My goal weight is to eventually be around 180 lbs (maybe more, we'll see when I get there).
My first mini goal is to lose 25 lbs. by September 15th (Sept 1st would be even better).
Here's my plan:
Calories - Between 1500-2000 daily (is 2000 too high?? )
Fat Grams - Under 55 grams per day
Carbs - i'm not really watching them, but usually around 200g per day.
Water - as much as I can take in, but at least 4 water bottles per day.
Exercise - Right now, i'm shooting for 3-4 times per week, but I do walk for 10 mins. ever morning to get to work and i'm going to try swimming 1 or 2 times per week too.
I've been avoiding high fat, greasy foods and white flour - trying to have my calories made up from healthy fresh foods. Make sure I eat a balanced meal every evening, and I'm really trying to cut out the 9pm-10pm snack.
What do you think? Am I on the right track? Any suggestions?
Hey Celina, Is this the plan you are using right now or looking at to start? It's always hard to say what will work for someone else. Mine was alot of trial and error. I started off doing 1200 calories and with the amount of exercise I was doing that was not enough. I'd say try your plan for a couple of weeks and see if you see any weight loss. If you don't, tweak it. Lower the calores a little bit and exercise a bit more. It sounds like you have a good plan going. 2000 calories a day might be to much. Maybe start with 1800 calories and exercise and see where that gets you. Everybody looses weight so differently you just have to practice alot of trial and error. It will all come together though and you will have the balance for what is right just for you.
I agree with Tammy. You have to experiment and see what works best for you.. I think you are on track so far.. I did a lot of reading before I came up with my own plan. I'd be happy to send you copies of my food journal if you would be interested in seeing a little of what I did in the beginning. You will probably need to add food to it and adjust it because I did a very low calorie start.. PM me if your interested. I'd be happy to share any and all of my recipes, meal plans etc. etc.
Hi Brooklyn
Well, I agree with our other two friends here! Just gotta try it out and see how it goes. The other thing I'd say is make sure its a plan that you enjoy, and that gives you a way of eating and exercising for life - in my book, you've got to feel that this is how you can live for the rest of your life, otherwise, you're back in dietsville, and yo-yo-land again. So hope it goes well, and let us know how things are going.....
You might consider lowering your initial weight loss goal to 20 lbs. by September 15th. 25 lbs. by September 15th is a hair over 2 lbs. per week, and you should ideally only be losing 1-2 pounds per week if you want to successfully keep it off long-term.
Thanks for all of the advice! I have tweaked out my plan a bit, my max. calorie intake will be 1800 in a day... I did some calorie counter research and that should work for me..
Jennelle - To be honest, I don't care if I don't meet my 25lb goal by September 15th.. I just want to see a loss... So, you're right, I'll be more than happy with a 20 lb. loss... I will change that, as I don't want to set myself up for failure.. although even a 10 lb loss won't seem like a failure to me right now... at least its a loss.
Gretchen - I'd love some of your recipes... i'm always looking for new healthy meals to make and its great to share ideas!
Yeah Gretchen, share with us your recipes!! hehe..I like to have some of them also. I need some new ideas. I'm getting bored with what I am eating now, and I know that is not good at all. I need some fresh ideas.
Please analyze my plan...
