I can't even listen to people who have NO concept of what it would ever be like to be overweight. They have no concept.
I have also learned that just because someone has it "all together" in one area of her life, does NOT mean that she is "all" together!
Just had to say that because it is so easy to compare ourselves and I did that just today and it makes me feel horrible about myself. That is NOT where we need to be.
I too have struggled with how to lose weight. I have a very hard time losing!
But, going back to the exercise question: I think you will find that if you find a good calorie level (guessing maybe 1400-1600 based on what you have said here) AND you add in a good amount of exercise, you may start seeing results.
I am heading back to more intense exercise. I don't like it, but my body will not lose without it.
Dawn
Quote:
Originally Posted by ParadiseFalls
Ok, I guess it's time to try adding more calories. I thought bumping it up to 1200-1400 would be enough, but I did that for a week and it's not working, so I'm moving up to 1600-1800. If that doesn't work, well...I guess I'll have to try something else.
I think my big hesitation with eating more calories was a combination of the fact that I feel like I should be hungry to lose weight. That's the only thing I've ever done in the past to lose weight (haha, and look how that turned out) so I feel like if I'm not hungry I'm not doing it right.
And I keep remembering this blog I read once that was talking about how "stupid fat girls" always say, "I think I'm not getting enough calories, so that must be why I'm not losing weight." And the blogger was ranting about something like, "Trust me, no fat girl is fat because she's not eating enough," and I guess it really stuck with me.
Ok, I guess it's time to try adding more calories. I thought bumping it up to 1200-1400 would be enough, but I did that for a week and it's not working, so I'm moving up to 1600-1800. If that doesn't work, well...I guess I'll have to try something else.
Let me just tell you before you give up, I started at 1200-1300 started losing then stalled, upped it to 1300-1400 started losing again and stalled again, upped it again to 1400-1500 started losing then stalled AGAIN. Now I'm here at 1600-1700 and been here a while losing the whole time. It takes TIME to do this and time for your body to adjust and time to find that magic number that your body really responds to. Please don't give up. I think 1600-1800 will do the trick for you, but don't be afraid of 1800. It really does your body good and your metabolism to vary your intake. I've been zig zagging for a couple months now and have not seen a plateau or change in the number of lbs I'm losing for week to week. Although I have plenty of weeks when I lose 1lb and plenty of weeks when I lose 3-4 lbs, it's a crazy rollercoaster but you can do!
Or will it just take a couple of weeks to kick in?
Yes, it can take a while to see the results. Even with the right amount of calories, weight loss is not linear. You may have a big loss and then not see any loss for a couple of weeks and then drop a couple of pounds overnight.
As for figuring out the right number of calories, it's trial and error. It depends on your individual metabolism and activity and things like your age and prior weight loss/gain history. I would not keep adjusting calories upwards until you have tried at least a couple of weeks at a particular level, and then see what the loss is and how you feel eating that amount.
Ok, just an update: I bumped it up to 1600-1700, and I think it's working! I know it's too early to tell for sure, but I've gone down about half a pound each the last few days, and I'm feeling satisfied but not overeating.
Hi ParadiseFalls, I am a newbie to the dieting and weight loss forums, so I will just say good luck with the diet and don't forget why you want to shed a few pounds, our bodies are smarter than we are so don't try to trick it with too much calorie restriction, as others have mentioned you will just slow down your metabolism, your body will treat the decreased calories as famine mode and it will become more difficult to shift the weight.
