kinda new and need advice
 

Hello all! I've been lurking on these boards for a couple of months and have finally decided to get serious about losing weight. here is a brief history....i'm 24 5'1 and 155.8 lbs! My waist is 32" and hips are 43". I've actually gained 15lbs in the past 3 months (definitely stress related due to a new job). My birthday is in 12 weeks and I would love to be 129 by my 25th b-day. (is this possible?). I would just love to see the 120's! Haven't seen it since high school....definitely gained some weight partying in college! I decided that calorie counting would be the best way to go, also eating foods that are recommended by the Abs Diet. I have a treadmill at home, 3 and 8 lb weights, and the jillian michaels dvds, front and back. I have a huge habit of talking myself out of exercising, so I desperately need to overcome this! Another thing that I need to gain control of is how much I'm eating. I have a wonderful boyfriend of almost 2 years, he's 6'1 and sometimes I eat as much as he does! He likes cookies and snacks, and I'll end up joining him! The past few days I've been writing down and counting the calories that I normally consume without being on a diet, and sometimes it exceeds 2,000 calories! How many calories should I be consuming to lose 2 lbs per week? I'm really looking forward to being more confident with my body, but most importantly becoming healthy! Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

There's a web site called fitday.com, a lot of people here use it. I think it helps you calculate how many calories you need per day based on weight and what goal you want to achieve.

Good luck, and welcome! Thanks for introducing yourself!

If you are currently about 155, then why don't you try 1500 calories a day for the next two weeks, and see how that goes for you? Check back in and let me know the results of that level.

if you are sometimes eating over 2000, start with a more reasonable goal like aphil suggested to eat 1500 per day. depending on your exercise level, you may not lose 2 lbs a week, but i am pretty sure you should start losing some. it took me a while to get used to eating 1800, then 1700, and i am currently working on eating 1500 per day.

i don't know how realistic your goal of losing 30 lbs in 3 months is. slow and steady weight loss is more permanent.

I try to eat about 1200-1500 a day-- if I go higher than that I won't lose any weight. Everyone is different!

My DH is a big guy too, and he can eat basically whatever and not show it at all. I just try to remind myself that we have different needs- and I DON'T need cookies! I tell myself that I have to get used to making different choices then those around me because if I want to keep the weight off, then I have to eat like this for the rest of my life.