i apologize for the length of this but i would appreciate it if you respond and give some feedback, input , comments, encouragement. whatever!! im feelin a little hopeless about loosing...

so i came in here saying that "this is the way its going to be, etc etc" but i didnt stick to my plan (as usual) and gained back the 7 lbs. for the most part i did good still, but not my best. i still worked out, i still ate decent foods but somehow i was doing something wrong because i gained it all back (which is why i re-set my weight thingy)
anyway i was sitting, thinking .... and i realized im not going loose weight for wanting to be attractive, or wear a bathing suit that 19 yr olds should get to wear, etc. so i started thinking more about what it is that i will actually keep this whole thing up. (exercising 2 hrs a day and eating healthy) and i came up with: FIREFIGHTING/EMT-PARAMEDIC (its my career choice and although i am currently a volunteer no department is going to want me as employee because im not fit enough to pass the CPAT), MY HEALTH (i dont want to die young or have risks which ive already had this reason before), RUNNING ( i want to be able to run 3 miles non stop-currently not able to jog more than 3 mins*got a lot of work ahead*) HAPPYNESS (im a happy person, i love life, but i could definatley be much happier if i was able to do more things and be myself, i feel like im stuck in a body thats not mine. ) anyway im rambling but get to the point: new schedual for me..... tell me whatcha think!

Monday - Friday
exercise 1 hour, work 5 hrs , exercise 2 hours,EMT class, fire dep't & study while waiting for calls, go home shower, read, guitar, bed.

Saturday
EMT class, exercise one hour, have fun w. friends
Sunday
Church, exercise one hour, have fun w. friends.

thats about it. i AM going to keep this schedual going untill i reach 199 so 61 pounds to loose, then i go to working out 1.5 hrs M-F and 30 mins sat.

sound good? i hope so.

Firegirl:
We're in this for the long haul, so I would try to focus on easily incorporated lifestyle changes instead of quick fixes. Speaking for myself, I used to feel like I had to lose as much weight as fast as I could, but when I couldn't stick to an overly strict diet/exercise regimen, I felt like a failure.

For someone who is out of shape, exercising 2-3 hours a day would be very taxing. Your body will need more recuperation time than what you've set up. Light walking every day is probably OK, but for heavier stuff, maybe 3-5X/week. Have you heard of the Couch-2-5K? Of course, you could go thru it as fast as you want (for me, it took at least 5 days/week instead of the recommended 3, but it's a good starting place.

Just my $0.02. Hope it helped.Sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear.

So when's your rest and recovery day? I see you exercising EVERY day, which for some people is ok. It depends what sort of exercise you do.

I would say 3 hours a day is far too much exercise during the week, and unrealistic to be able to stick to it, especially if you've started off from nothing at all.

How about looking at what you currently do, then adding an extra 2 hours a week for the first week or two, then gradually increase the time you spend exercising.

FWIW I have been doing intense exercise for the past 3 years and I do 2 hours Monday, 3 hours Tues, 1 or non on Wed, 2 or 3 on Thurs and 1.5 on Fri, and in the future weeks I am adding an hour or two on Sundays. If I work out any harder I just want to crawl into bed on Friday night and not get up until Monday morning. I would do this, but DH gets mad and worried about me! As I say, I have worked up to this level over 3 years. I take regular breaks, for example this week I have "only" done 2 hours Monday, 2 hours Tuesday and 1.5 hours today.

Although saying all that, it really does depend on what sort of exercise you do. But if you're not used to it, you're probably not going to manage it, then get frustrated at yourself for not sticking to your schedule, dive head-first into the cookies, think you're a failure, cry and start all over again punishing yourself with exercise.

Learn to love yourself now, see what you are capable of NOW, then gradually improve.

Oh and if you don't "stick to your schedule" it's not a big deal - just do the best you can. Forgive yourself lots and just try to make small improvements.

I also see that you'll decrease your exercise after you've lost x number of pounds. But in reality, you need to start off with less, then increase the time you spend exercising as you get lighter, since a lighter body burns fewer calories while exercising and doing day to day tasks.

Also, how about your eating habits? If you're exercising for 3 hours a day, you are going to be HUNGRY. Do you eat healthily already, or do you eat lots of fast-food? I think to start off with, just a few tweaks to diet and exercise is all you need to start losing, then you tweak some more, then some more as the original tweaks begin to lose their effectiveness.

I'm going to agree with the folks who have already answered. That happens a lot at 3FC

Food is very important. Tracking is key.
A program to help you acheive your fitness goals is a wonderful idea.

The good news is ... if you eat better and exercise ... even if you flub those target times a lot of days ... it will work. Just remember that a good plan has to be flexible and if you mess up one day 'all is not lost'.

You might want to check this thread out http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=111627

I'm going to echo what 2frustrated said. Setting your goals too high is a recipe for disaster IMO. I really don't think 3 hours of exercise per day is something that one is able to stick with. And that's the key to all this weightloss - consistiency and STICKING with it. You just might burn out trying to do 3 hours per day. And just like frustrated said, as we get smaller and lose more weight, we actually burn less calories doing the same thing, in other words at 260 lbs you will burn more calories walking a mile then you would burn at say 200 lbs. So as we getting lighter we normally INCREASE our exercise, not decrease it.

Another thing, you didn't mention is your food plan. "They" say, whoever "they" may be, that for most people it boils down to 80% food and 20% exercise. So eating the right foods is VITAL. It's real important to plan out a good healthy menu for the day/week so that you will stay on track food wise. You can check out the various forums here for different eating plans and the such.

Stick around and ask questions. You've got a lot of knowledgable, helpful people here at 3fc more then willing to help you out. Good luck.

I agree with the others--and I mean this in a kindly way: What you've got there isn't a plan, it's a wish.

I walk for 30-40 minutes every day, and I go to the gym and do cardio machines and weights for an hour, 5-6 times a week. I do different weight machines each day, that is, one day upper body, the next day legs, abs, lower back. I really can't do more than that--I need the recovery time, and my work schedule doesn't allow more. But the exercises I do make that enough time. I burn 200-300 calories per day, average, with exercise.

I track my calories and goals using the FitDay calculator--but there are many other calorie tracking tools on the Web. Some are free, or you can pay a small fee and download them.

So I'd say, come up with both a food plan and an exercise plan that you can stick with, one that isn't too drastic. Look around 3FC for some ideas--we have lots of reviews of different plans--go to the home page and look around.

Let us know what you come up with! Good luck!

Jay

Hi Firegirl! I'm right there with you having recently lost about 7 pounds and then gained it right back (and repeated the cycle several times before...) I've always tried to do what you're doing - set up a challenging plan and convince myself that if I just lose some weight quickly, then I'll be able to stick with it for the long haul. But the reality is that I just get frustrated after a few weeks on a strict plan and go back to my old eating and exercising habits. I'm really working hard on making smaller changes and trying to live a healthier lifestyle this time. It sounds like you have a lot of great changes planned, but don't get too stressed out with yourself. Three hours of exercise is a lot for one day - smaller goals might help you more in the long term. Good luck!

Absolutely. You need to do something that you can keep to for the rest of your life.

In addition to what the wise ladies have already said, that much exercise isn't really *necessary* for weight loss. 60 minutes of cardio 5 times a week (plus weight training, if you can) is quite alot and enough. You can start with less, too. 30 or 45 minutes to start with, and then build up to 60 minutes. 3 hours a day will leave you exhausted and probably inclined to over-eat, and, of course, to give up. You will definitely begin to see results with just 30 minutes a day alongside changes in your diet.

One thing that I've read many times on these forums is that weight loss isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. This is a very good way of thinking about it!