I am brand new to this - I am now 199 lbs at 5'3" tall, 44 yrs old. I can't seem to get the weight off. I wear a pedometer and I have (most days) 6000-7000 steps, so I really need help on how to diet and how to exercise.
My sister is getting married next summer and I am the maitren of honor! Yikes!
I'm not an expert like many of the members here but do you track what you eat? That might be key for you. I count my WW points AND my calories and fat, I write it all down so I know I'm not eating more points than I should and so I have and idea of the fat and calorie going into my body.
Try keeping a journal of everything you eat & how many calories (if you want to calorie count) or how many points (if you want to do WW). It might be easy to set a goal of no more than 1200 calories per day (or whatever works for you) and start counting.
I'm not sure how many miles or calories 6000-7000 steps is, but if that plus really controlling what you are eating doesn't work maybe you need to add more exercise? Join a gym or go on longer walks? I hope this helps! But I think if you are already getting good exercise it's important to start tracking what you are eating, you might be surprised at the calories that are going in to your body & that might solve your problem!
One thing to do is to try to take 10,000 steps a day. Small things like parking your car farther away, getting up and walking for a bit every hour at work (lap around the cubes), etc, can bring that number up.
Also, are you tracking what you eat? Do you weigh and measure and write it down and add up the calories? I bet you'll find you are eating more than you realize.
So say you find you eat 2,000 calories a day, try cutting down to 1500 a day (maybe go down to 1800 for a week then 1500 after that if you are having a hard time) and getting in a few workouts as well.
Whatever you do don't go crazy and overwhelm yourself. If you want to concentrate on eating healthier and lowering calories then when you get the hang of it starting to workout, then do that. I started out slow, 1 cut out junk food, 2- drink more water, 3- cook more meals at home, 4- exercise, etc.
Still working on the exercise part (ug I'm lazy lol).
I find planning is the key. I count calories and plan all my meals ahead of time. It takes me about 5 minutes to plan my meals for the day. I am not so rigid that I can't make changes but as long as I stay within my calorie allottment, no problem.
I, also reccommend 10,000 steps, you will be surprised how quickly they will add up. Don't forget to take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Thank you for the help and words of wisdom. How do I determine what the caloric intake is on home made foods. I guess I would have to check every package and measure and weigh?
Congrats on all the weight loss! Wow very impressive and inspiring!!!! tks
When cooking home made just read the nutrition labels! If you are cooking with fruit or meat and without a label, look up the nutrition on line. It would be helpful if you bought a food scale. I found one on amazon for about 30 bucks, might have even been cheaper, and totally worth it. It measures in ounces, gram, etc and has other features I don't even use.
So if you are cooking with ground turkey and are unsure of the nutrition, look up the nutrition on line and find out the calorie/fat per cup or ounce etc. I find measuring/weighing in grams or ounces to be the easiest. I put a plate or a cup on the scale, tare the scale to zero and put in the food and I know I have exactly 1 ounce or whatever and I know how much calories that is based on the label or the internet. I did this today with Tuna. The can says serving size 2 oz for 35 calories so I measure it out in a little cup on the scale and I know I'm not cheating myself!
The scale is really worth it, you will find yourself using all the time with meats, cereals, fruits etc. Definitely worth the investment and not even that expensive.
Then just keep track as you make your meal! I hope this makes sense, home cooking really isnt that daunting to keep track of you just need to make sure you measure and pay attention to serving sizes and weigh when necessary!
Not sure how this works!
