[kalishea]

I am fairly new here and have been reading the posts and trying to get more involved with some of the activities, goals, etc. that you guys do. I would like to make a monthly excercise goal, but am unsure what a relistic goal for me would be. Also, I see a lot of mini goals, and would like to make on that I might actually acheive. My main goal is to lose about 15 pounds by January.
Also, what do most of you do for diet? Are you on a specific diet, count calories or just eat healthy? I would love to start participating. Thanks so much!

[Nevaeh]

Welcome kalishea!

Good for you for wanting to become more involved, it has definitely motivated me being active here on the boards.

When I decided to make a mini exercise goal I decided to first make a goal of minutes. I sat down and took a look at my schedule and figured I could work out 5 times a week for 40 minutes. That equals about 800 minutes a month. So I made my goal for April to exercise for 800 minutes that month.

This month I have done things a little bit differently. I have added strength training into my exercise plan so my goal for each week is to get 3 cardio sessions of 30 minutes and strength train 3 times a week as well. It has been working out very nicely.

Losing 15 pounds by January is VERY realistic, and I'm sure if you put your mind to it those 15 pounds could easily be gone by the end of the summer if not sooner.

As for diet, I count calories. I eat about 1300-1600(occasionally higher) calories/day. This has been working out nicely for me and I have been losing about a 1/2-1lb a week. Sometimes more, sometimes less. There are calculators here at 3FC that you can use to calculate what your resting BMR is and how many calories you will need to consume to lose weight.

If you have any more questions do not hesitate to ask - everyone here is very friendly and supportive!

Good luck!

[Stephanie Osborne]

I think 1000 minutes is pretty acheiveable for most if you have the time. I count calories but I know a couple of the girls are on actual diets.

Just join in and maybe make your minute goal to do as much as you can. Then you will know how much to make for a goal next month.

[amb_lyn]

kalishea! Good luck to you!

[Daisy Boo]

Hi Kalishea and

You have got some great advice on here already, but I thought I would add my two cents.

With regards to the monthly minutes goal, I essentially did the same thing as Naveah. In the end I came up with 1000 minutes as a starting point. I didn't reach it last month so I set the same goal for this month and I am half way there and am now try to pass my goal.

I find the exercise minutes goal is a great challenge and competing with the ladies on this board is my motivation. I never realised I had this competitive edge before. Other people don't count minutes but set a target to complete, say, 3 sessions of cardio, 2 sessions of weights and 1 session of yoga.

As for nutrition, I started off counting calories and working out all the math involved but i start to get discouraged and over analyse too much. I have since decided to watch the fat content and keep myself under 30g per day, try to take in only unprocessed foods if possible, ie, multigrain bread instead of white bread, and watch the sugar and calorie contents of foods.

You can achieve your 15lb loss and I suggest you just take it one day at a time. You will find most people will attest that the last 15-20lbs are the hardest to lose as your body wants to hold onto it.

If you want some suggestions on books, websites, etc, send me a PM. More than happy to help.

Feel free to jump in on the last 2 weeks of our May minutes challenge. Set yourself a goal today and join in.

[kalishea]

Thanks guys for all your info! Can't wait to get started with my goals, etc. I think I am going to try for 400 mins from now until May 31. And after I see how that goes I will change accordingly for June. Oh boy!