Hi Maureen and welcome to LWL!
The unfortunate thing about our darn bodies is that they just don't listen to timetables.
You may 'need' to lose 25 or 30 pounds by a certain date but your body may have different ideas. In the end, it's going to lose at its own rate, in its own time ... and all that YOU can control is practicing your new healthy eating and exercise habits. But rest assured, the weight WILL come off eventually!
I think your cardio and weightlifting plans are exactly on target for weightloss.
As for your calories, everyone's different and sometimes it takes a little experimentation to find out what level works for YOU (most of us have found metabolic calculators to be off-base). At your weight, I had to stay between 1200 and 1300 calories/day to lose weight (and was doing at least as much exercise). Try tracking your calories carefully and tweaking to see how your body reacts to higher and lower calories.
I'm not familiar with Jillian's diet plan and have never heard of being a 'balanced oxidizer'
-- regardless, if you're eating a 40/30/30/ratio (I assume that's protein/carbs/fats, in that order?), you should do fine if you stick with what we at LWL call 'clean eating'. Everyone's definition varies, but clean eating generally is minimally processed food, with as little sugar as possible, lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and veggies, and good fats. I think of it as eating food as close to nature as possible and staying far, far away from processed 'diet junk food'.
Keep in mind that the scale is not the best indicator of success! You may only lose a pound a week on the scales but your body will be going through a dramatic internal transformation if you keep up your exercise program. See, if you add muscle at the same rate that you lose fat, you're not going to see a change on the scale. But you're going to look completely different and that's really what counts in the end, right?
I have a client who's worked out with me for about two and a half months now. She's gained a half pound in weight but dropped tons of inches and two pants sizes. She doesn't care at all what the scale says! What she cares about is going to a party (like she did last weekend), wearing a halter top, and having her friends ooh and aaah over her buff arms and slim hips. I'm guessing that's your goal also for your son's wedding - to look as fabulous as possible? So my advice is to keep up the exercise, count every calorie and experiment to find the right level for your body, stay strong during the holidays, and keep track of your measurements and body composition to see true progress.
I'm sure you'll get other suggestions too ... we're glad you joined us here!
confused?
