[carebearcm89]

I am a 23 year old, female, full time college student who works out at least 3 days out of the week. I started back in may and I have had some slip ups here and there and then I get right back on track. I am on week 5 of the couch to 2 5k running plan and I am trying to change my eating habits but I am really not seeing results. I do see changes in the fact that I can run a little longer each week but other than that I see no changes. I have tried counting calories and I just could not stand it because half the time I was guessing how many calories I was eating. It was to the point where counting calories felt like a full time job in itself. I have thought about increasing my exercise activity to doing at least two 30 minute exercise sessions a day but here in NC during the summer you would have to get up at like 3 in the morning and I usually don't get to bed until 12 in the morning so that would be a recipe for disaster. Often times I feel like I have next to no support at home which makes it less fun. I know I need to get healthy and make a life style change but it seems like everything is becoming difficult. I am tired of my joints hurting from the weight that they are having to support. I am 23 these are suppose to be the good times but I feel like I am 80. I am just frustrated with myself and I am feeling a bit discouraged and down. I want to be healthy. I am currently at 257lbs and I would like to lose 20lbs if not more by October. I graduate college in May 2014 and I would like to weigh in at 177lbs. by then but at this rate I don't feel like I am going to be at my goal weight. Any thoughts or suggestions?

[PUPMOM5]

I'm 27, full time graduate student, full time job, and I found the easiest thing to do was Weight Watchers. With the mobile app, I can track anything, anywhere. I know what fruits and veggies are 0 points so I can eat a snack and not worry about how to fit it in. Some of the tips I learned have really, really helped me - for one, if you're eating out, know what you're going to eat before you go so you know how many points it is, and stick to it. Don't even open the menu. Also, always pack a snack! Congrats on getting to week 5 of C25K! I'm struggling on week 4 myself.

[carebearcm89]

The only thing with weight watchers @pupmoms is that I have no money. I have found a website that basically gives information on how it works and then a few resources and I have thought about trying that. On couch 2 5k I am doing each week twice which makes it easier for me to move on to the next week. I struggle in the first week I did week 4 but the second week was a piece of cake. Thanks for your help.

[PUPMOM5]

If you need a buddy, feel free to pm me!!

[stella1609]

Weight Watchers is essentially calorie counting. You could try a free app like MyFitnessPal to track your calories instead. It's nearly impossible to out-exercise bad eating habits; you have to get your intake on track before you really start to see results. After a few weeks of practice, you shouldn't spend more than 3-5 minutes a day entering your food intake.

[beerab]

I am so sick of counting calories, I changed to South Beach Diet, no counting WHATSOEVER

I restarted SBD Monday and I've lost 3.5 lbs in 4 days. Of course the first two weeks are the toughest, but you can lose up to 13 lbs in that time. Then after that it usually averages 0.5-2 lbs, but the part I like is NO COUNTING! You eat when you are hungry, stop when full, you concentrate on lean proteins, lots of veggies, dairy, and a minimal amount of fruit and grains.

[crispin]

First off, kudos to you for starting well before your graduation. I think you can make your goal!

My brother lost 100 pounds in a year by walking every single day for an hour and eating less food. He didn't track calories, just ate less than he used to.

Calorie counting can be annoying and imo isn't necessary. I lost 40 pounds a few years ago, and for the vast majority of that I wasn't calorie counting.

What you could do to help plan your diet is honestly track every single thing you eat for about a week. Tracking will probably tempt you to eat less than you really do, but I encourage resisting that and doing what you'd normally do. This will be a bit tedious, but it'll really pay off. After you have your data, you can review it and see where you can make changes.

Working out 3 times a week unfortunately won't help too much on the weight loss front. I'd guess that with C25K, you're burning a net 200-350 calories each session. So, going with the high end, that means 1,050 extra calories burned a week. It takes a 3,500 calorie deficit to burn a pound of fat. So at that rate, you would theoretically burn a little over a pound a month.

It's more efficient to cut back calories. You don't have to count. Just see where your portions are too big, and which foods trigger you to have a bigger appetite (for me it's carbs) and minimize those.

Since the weather makes it hard to walk outside, how about a workout dvd in addition to your running? I recently bought 30 Day Shred for only $8 at Amazon. It's a very tough workout, but you could modify the moves and go at your own pace. Doing that on your days off from running will help give you a calorie deficit.

Good luck! I know you can do this.

[crispin]

Also, congrats on already losing 8 pounds! Is that since May?

[carebearcm89]

Thanks for all the help and advise everyone. @crispin I lost the 8lbs within the first 3 weeks of May. I have stayed the same weight since then. That is what makes it so frustrating.

[freelancemomma]

Hi there,

You don't need to spend any money to lose weight, but it sounds like you do need some structure. Rather than counting calories, figure out 5 to 7 breakfasts, lunches and dinners you can live with and that fall within your calorie range, and rotate them throughout the week.

The most difficult part of weight loss, in my experience, is resisting temptation (especially if unexpected) and putting up with mild hunger. If you want to see results, you'll have to come to grips with these challenges and develop strategies to overcome them. You don't have to do it all at once, and if you're like most of us you'll probably have some setbacks, but if you're consistent overall (and don't let small slip-ups spiral out of control) you WILL see results.

HTH Freelance

[carebearcm89]

freelancemomma, Thank you for the advise. Mild hunger is a big issue that I am facing and I tend to try to find something to do and usually in about 20 minutes the hunger goes away. Thanks again!