Hi, i'm new here and I have a ton of questions!
First, I know that you have to eat or your body goes into starving mode causing you to gain weight. However, everything I try never works!
I just need any kind of suggestions from the best exersice to burn calories, to what the best foods are to eat! Please help!!!!!!
I'm 29, and it took me this long to figure it out.
There are no hard and fast rules of "This is exactly how you should do it" because everyone's body works differently. The only real rule I have seen is that if you want to lose weight long term, calorie counting works.
Have you ever calculated how many calories you need a day just to function? That can give you a great starting point on how many calories you need to eat a day.
I'll leave the explanation to others. But think of this, you are 22 and 'clueless' I am 39 and just barely starting to learn. It's great that you are so ahead of the game in educating yourself!
Urban Explorer- What do you mean when you say,"how many calories I need to function"? Does eating to few calories make you weak or something?
Thank you very much for responding!
Jelly,
We can give you suggestions, but really need to know a little more. What are you typically eating? Do you do any kind of exercise program now?
Some people find when they start out than they can lose quite a lot of weight and get a lot healthier by "cleaning up" their food. In other words, getting rid of the junk food and eating healthy, unprocessed foods instead. This usually eliminates a lot of hidden calories. If you want to read a great success story of someone who lost this way, read Glory's Story. She not only lost a tremendous amount of weight eating this way, but has maintained her loss for at least 3 years.
I have a similar story and have maintained for 7 years now.
Your body needs not only a certain number of calories, but a complete profile of nutrients: protein, good fats, and carbohydrates. We all argue about what the correct ratios are, but the real answer is that there is no ONE answer.
How may calories do you need to function?
Go to google and search for BMR, basal metabolic rate, it will give you a number of calories you burn every day without really moving a muscle. My nutritionist suggested only going a few hundred below this number, to prevent sending your metabolism down the toilet.
For example, I'm 260 right now, and my bmr is about 1975, so I've been eating around 14-1500 per day. I lost 16 pounds this month without exercise, so its working for me!
Starvation mode..ahh! for most women its 1200 or around that... I try to stay above 1300 b/c if I eat too few I'm not satisfied (and I don't lose much those days anyway!)
Exercise... Oh, I hate exercise. Unfortunately, I've hit the dread plateau and exercise is getting to be necessary. First, aerobic exercise is great for weight loss, because for the body's process of removing fat, oxygen is a key player! I like Dance Dance Revolution, because it doesn't feel like exercise to me, and the new ones have a calorie counter in exercise mode (thats based on your weight).
My best suggestion is to find something you enjoy. I know everyone says that, and you're probably thinking...like what? Biking, swimming...just try things. Finding a good, high calorie burning work out is okay, but what does it matter if you don't want to do it? Getting good at riding a bike or even playing DDR with time can turn these activities into high calorie burners.
And try to build some lean muscle! No need to *grunt grunt* at the gym, just lift just a hair above comfort, and you'll go further. Eat a few peanuts or almonds once you get out, and you'll start looking leaner and stronger (and burn more calories while you're doing nothing).
I'm 20 and trying to "get" it too, but what really helped me when i started was to simply track a normal day of eating. without thinking about "dieting" eat what you normally do and track it either in a journal or on-line via thedailyplate.com or fitday.com or some other one (i like daily plate personally) it helps to see how many calories you normally consume, how much fiber/protein/carbs you're getting and for me, i realized how extremely too much i was eating and realized the calories of things i typically eat. Plus, once you see your typical day, you can post it and ask for advice about what to tweak. definetly, like it's been said before, do not restrict calorie intake to an extreme low. really you should see how much you are eating to maintain your current weight and then go from there.
Yeah, what Mel said. The reason that no one can say "this is the way to do it" is becuase we're all different. If there really was just one way, then we'd all be gorgeous and thin!
Here's the scoop: at it's most basic calories are what keep your body going. You get calories from the food you eat. You burn calories by simply living - breathing, walking, sleeping, sitting, typing, whatever you do. If you eat more calories than you burn, then you gain weight. If burn more calories than you eat, you lose weight. It's actually really that simple.
What's *complicated* about it is that not everyone burns calories the same way. And there are other things that can affect your weight - like if you're retaining water, or if you're starting your period, or if you're working out really hard and your muscles are swollen.
And, within those guidelines, you have to eat HEALTHY calories. Sure you can eat unhealthy calories and very few of them, but eventually your body will rebel because you're not getting the nutrition that you need - you'll start craving something and wind up binging or eating too many calories.
Ideally you should be eating a balance of veggies & fruits, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates. Limit the sugars (especially processed sugars) and things with chemicals.
My advice to someone just starting out is to begin simply by writing down everything you eat. Do it for a week. And I do mean EVERYTHING. If you cut the crusts off your kids bread and eat them - write it down. If you lick the spoon after you cook something - write it down. If you nibble on a couple of pretzels that a co-worker gives you - write it down. Once you see what you eat, you'll get a much better understanding of where to go from there.
Do keep posting here and asking questions ... and share your meals with us and we'll be happy to give you advice and help you figure out what will work for YOU.
Urban Explorer-Thank you for putting my info. into a BMR calculator that gives me a beautiful head start!
Photo Chick- Thank you for all your info. and I will definitly keep posting! This site is a HUGE help and after posting this (my 1st forum) I have already gotten back 11 responces (so far). You are all so helpful!
Mel, congrats! Hopefully one day I can have a success story! Your amazing!!!
I'm 22 and hate my body!
