So right now my weight has pretty much stayed the same. It will go up or down a few pounds but it seems to be sitting at 230.
I have started to track what I eat and feel I am doing well with that. However I'm not sure if I am exercising enough. I stand for 10 hours a day at work and when I get home my legs are just screaming at me. I have started to walk on my treadmill for 30 minutes a day to start. Right now doing anymore and i can barely stand up afterwords. I know it will get easier once i build more muscle and lose weight, but I am not sure if I should be trying to do more?
1800 is a good place to begin. 30 minutes a day walking is also a very good beginning. You can do this. As you are able, turn your focus to whole foods and you will see an abundance of improvement as well.
When I was 230, I'd eat around 1400 - 1800. Now I mainly try to hit 1400 - 1600. Maybe you need to eat 1800 or less calories per day to lose. The right amount of calories is all trial and error. You really just need to experiment.
30 minutes of walking is a great start for exercise. That is what I did. I still walk daily.
Have you thought about lifting light weights? After a few reps, your heart rate starts to get up a bit. I injured my ankle a few weeks back but didn't want to give up on exercise until it healed. So I sat and lifted light weights (5 pounds). It worked. I lost 1.5 pounds that week even though I didn't do my usual hour on the treadmill. Just the up and down motion coupled with a bit of resistance was enough. That's just a suggestion. Trust me, what you're doing on the treadmill is great to start. You will be surprised how quickly your legs buff up and you can go longer. Don't give up. You deserve a huge pat on the back just for having the determination to get on the treadmill after 10 hours on your feet. Some people would use that as an excuse not to do anything. (The old "I get enough exercise at work" reasoning.) Keep up that awesome can-do attitude and you'll bust through that plateau in no time!
I find that when I am stuck, to change my diet a little bit helps. I will then eat little meals of fruit and raw veg more often for about two or three days, and I also try to drink the full quota of water. (3ltrs my case) Keep up with whatever excercise you are doing.
Dietary changes will be the foundation of your weight-loss success; exercise gives a little bonus on top of that, but it won't be where your success really comes from. (People commonly say around here that diet is 90% of weight loss, and I really agree with that.) Tracking your food and beginning to figure out where you can make healthy changes is the right step. Try posting a daily food list and letting folks here evaluate it and give you tips.
I find that calorie shifting (high and low days) helps to kick a sluggish metabolism. It could be too many refined foods, too much sugar, too LITTLE fat... all of these things can stall weight loss as well.
Could it be what you are eating? My daughter and I are not counting calories...we are following the Canadian Food Guide(as per our dietician) and for an adult female here's what the break down of food is....
6 servings of grain products
7-8 servings of veg and fruit(my dietician said for me to have 4-5 serving of veg and 2-3 servings of fruit)
2 servings of milk products
2-3 servings of meat
and to make sure I have at least 2 servings of fish per week.
Am I doing enough?
