Featherweights For those with just a few pounds, or trying to lose those last few pounds.

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Old 08-23-2009, 08:27 AM   #1  
Liz
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Talking 15 lbs to lose -- help!

I had a baby in June 2008 and @ my 6-week checkup I was @ about 180ish lbs. By April 2009 I was down to 160 lbs. Not a significant loss, to me, but I was doing basically nothing to lose the weight so it really was some kind of miracle. Of course, that being the case, here we are at the end of August and I'm kind of stuck here @ 155lbs.
So, I'd like to start fresh, incorporate some exercise into my daily routine, start counting calories, start some new eating habits. Here's a basic day in the life of me:
6am get up with the babies (I have 4 kids - 1,2,5,10), get them situated with some juice and breakfast.
6:20 sleep until 7:45.
7:45 feed the babies, dress the babies, get the babies off to daycare.
9am get home, do chores, eat breakfast.
10am get ready for work.
11am I'm @ work and I'm sitting @ a computer all day until at least 8pm, sometimes I work later but no later than 10pm.
9pm(varies if I worked late) home, more chores, preparing for bed, catching up on my shows from that day.
12am sleep.
** I spent about a week getting up @ 7:15 and taking the babies for a walk around the neighborhood - about 20ish minutes. But then I got lazy and stopped. Plus I was working 11am to 10pm every day and I was pretty tired.

Breakfast - egg sandwich (2 eggs, 2 egg whites on whole wheat toast w/ mayo or strawberry preserves) OR 1 pkg chicken-flavored Ramen noodle OR peanut-butter & banana sandwich on wheat bread OR nothing at all
Lunch - fast food: McDonalds or Burger King (I have to eat in the car so I can't really grab a salad)
Dinner - sometimes nothing, sometimes whatever the kids' father has cooked for them to eat earlier in the evening, which is usually fried meat
Snacks - out of the vending machine, usually cookies or peanut butter crackers

I need HELP! Tips - better eating, getting more exercise, etc, anything really! and most importantly, lots of support and encouragement.
Thanks for reading! That was quite a novel. LOL
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Old 08-23-2009, 09:45 AM   #2  
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Forget the fast food it is full of sodium and fat. Bring food with you, raw vegies, low fat cheese, Sargento Low Fat cheese is 60 calories a slice. Laughing Cow low fat cheese wedges are 35 calories, non fat yogurt is 60-70 calories, apples and oranges are healthy and low calorie, depending on the size. Tomatoes and cucumbers, and celery are low calorie.
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Old 08-23-2009, 11:16 AM   #3  
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Welcome pinkawesome! congrats on the weight loss to date!

Your schedule sounds crazy. My first reaction is that you need more sleep -- 6 hours per night is not enough for most people. Can you go to sleep at 11 pm instead? It will be hard to lose weight if you are exhausted all day. Plus if you get more sleep you should be able to do your morning walk.

bargoo has suggested some great healthy foods. If you can substitute healthy foods for fast food and vending machine that will make a huge difference. If McD/BK is really your only option i would stick to the grilled chicken sandwich no mayo and water for lunch. McDs also offers some realtively healthy snacks like fruit and yougurt parfait, apple dippers, fruit/walnut salad that you could bring back to work for a snack.

Good luck!
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Old 08-23-2009, 11:21 AM   #4  
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definatly skip out on the ramen noodles, that was my downfall last month for gaining 10 lbs on the 4th of july, those things are evil XD
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Old 08-23-2009, 11:49 AM   #5  
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I count calories~I eat any food I wanna eat but eat it in smaller portions....

Please read this info I came across that changed my life And has helped me lose 76 pounds In a little over 9 months.

Since you just have 15 to lose you should have it gone pretty promptly.

if your interested in counting calories go to www.freedieting.com and use there calorie calculators there for free and if you have questions ask under calorie counters forum or Message me I will be glad to help~GOODLUCK NO MATTER WHAT ROUTE YOU GO!!



Oh Nearly forgot Heres that info.....

Principles
Weight management may be difficult to achieve, but it certainly is not difficult to understand. When you consume food or drink, you consume calories. Your body burns calories to function, burning significantly more calories when you exercise. If you consume more calories than you burn, you gain weight. If you consume fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight.
Because your body requires energy simply to stay alive, you burn calories even when you are not exercising. In fact, you burn calories directly in proportion to your body weight. On average, a male burns 11 calories per day per pound of body weight. The average female burns 10 calories per day per pound of body weight. These figures are just averages. Some people will be higher or lower, since everyone's metabolism is a little different. Fitness Record allows you to specify the value which is appropriate for you. If you don't know, it is suggested that you start by using the average value for your gender.
For example, if John weighs 150 pounds, he burns approximately 150 x 11 = 1,650 calories per day. If he exercises, he will burn additional calories on top of that, depending on the exercise activity. However, if he does not exercise, he must eat 1,650 calories per day, just to maintain his body weight. If he eats more, he will gain weight. If he eats less, he'll lose weight.
For the purpose of calculating expected weight gain/loss, one pound is 3,500 calories. Each time you consume an extra 3,500 calories more than you burn, you will gain a pound. For example, Jane weighs 130 pounds, never exercises, and eats exactly 1,400 calories every day. Her metabolism is burning 1,300 calories per day, so she are consuming an extra 100 calories each day. If she does this indefinitely, she will gain a pound in 35 days, since 35 * 100 = 3,500.
Fitness Record uses another term, called Behavioral Weight. The idea is that over the long term, your weight is determined by your behaviors, and is best illustrated by example. Consider Jane above, who eats 1,400 calories per day. After 35 days of this behavior, she will weigh 131, instead of 130. This means her metabolism will burn slightly more calories than before. If she continues to eat 1,400 calories every day, she will continue to gain weight, but at a slightly slower pace. Eventually, she will weigh 140, at which time her metabolism will be burning 1,400 calories every day. At this point, she will stop gaining weight, since she is consuming the same number of calories that she burns. Therefore, by eating 1,400 calories in a day, Jane is behaving like a 140 pound person. Her "behavioral weight" is 140.
Exercise contributes to your calories burned. If Jane were to exercise, burning an additional 100 calories each day, then her calories burned would be in balance with her calories consumed. She could eat 1,400 calories per day, exercise 100 calories per day, and continue to way 130 indefinitely.
You may now be asking, "Why can't I just eat low fat foods?" You can eat whatever you want. But, non-fat foods can still have calories. Check the food label to find out if eating the non-fat version of a food is really saving you any calories -- sometimes it's not. Many programs recommend moderating your dietary fat intake, and that is obviously good advice. Eating low-fat foods happens to be an excellent guideline for keeping your calorie intake low. In addition, moderating your dietary fat intake may contribute to your health in other ways. However, it will not alter the mathematics of weight management -- you still have to eat fewer calories than you burn if you want to lose weight.
The problem with the way the human body works is that calories counting is tedious and difficult. Most weight-loss programs, as well as the so-called "fad diets", focus on other guidelines which are simpler to follow than calorie counting. However, none of these guidelines alter the underlying principles of weight management.

Last edited by Lori259; 08-23-2009 at 11:50 AM.
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Old 08-23-2009, 12:28 PM   #6  
Liz
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Thanks for the replies, ladies! (Minya you are totally right about Ramen Noodles; I cut them out for a long time & that's how I lost my last 5 lbs, lol) I will definitely try and bring lunch and snacks from home from now on. And I'll even try to go to bed earlier!
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Old 08-24-2009, 09:15 AM   #7  
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Pink I recommend that you plan your food out better...

Instead of going back to bed prepare your snacks and meals of the day...

Breakfast - egg sandwich (2 eggs, 2 egg whites on whole wheat toast w/ mayo or strawberry preserves) OR 1 pkg chicken-flavored Ramen noodle OR peanut-butter & banana sandwich on wheat bread OR nothing at all Why 2 eggs? Only one egg with 3 egg whites, there is a lot of fat in the yolk, although it is a good fat it's still a lot...Ramen noodles are just UNHEALTHY period. NEVER SKIP BREAKFAST

Lunch - fast food: McDonalds or Burger King (I have to eat in the car so I can't really grab a salad) If you plan your lunch you wouldn't go through the drive through... Make a sandwich at home...
Dinner - sometimes nothing, sometimes whatever the kids' father has cooked for them to eat earlier in the evening, which is usually fried meat Ask DH to make better meals, the whole family will benefit ....
Snacks - out of the vending machine, usually cookies or peanut butter crackers Here again, bring a snack from home an apple and yogurt are easy to throw into a lunch bag... baby carrots and a dip...

Never skip a meal, you mention that you sometimes skip supper too that's another ... Eat more regularly, every 2 - 3 hours, eating often keeps your metabolism running high all day... If you wait too long between meals your body will hang on to the foods you give it in case you don't feed it again, this is also called "starvation mode"...

«Fail to plan, plan to fail» is a motto that holds very true...

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress....

Last edited by Ilene; 08-24-2009 at 09:17 AM.
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