So I'm starting my 3rd week in my new life style. So far so good I don't find it hard at all but I'm not sure I'm doing all I should be. I'm 24 5'5" 186 lbs I work in an office in front of a computer all day I do normally run errands so I'm active about 2 hours and I park at the bottom of the parking lots (unless Raining) just to get moving more. First let me tell you my exercise regimen I got the Turbojam dvds last week and have been doing the 20min, and some does half the Ab jam and one day a week the whole cardioparty with usually Saturdays none. As weather permits walking outside last sunday we walked 6 miles.
Now for what I'm eating for breakfast theres a couple things I alternate
Smoothie- Soy protein powder, skim milk a sccop of carnation instant breakfast for choco flavor, a banana, and Peanut Butter.
Cereal- Special K
Whole Wheat Toast with P.B and a banana
For mornign snacks
Banana or apple
Lunch- left overs from Dinner such as
chicken salad and pita it was a roterssarie chicken i pulled the meat off added a tbl of free miracle whip and tbl of pickle relish.
Homemade Soup- Lots of veggies grilled chicken
Turkey sandwich on WW bead
Afternoon Snack- FF yogurt, Apple, Carrots
Dinner
chicken burritos, grilled chicken, FF refried beans, lettuce, FF cheese, WW tortillas, LW sour cream
PIta pizzas- turkey pepproni and pineapple FF cheese
Stir Fry- lots of fresh veggies and chicken.
I always get my 8 glasses of water
Now weight loss has been 2 lbs the first week 1lb last week, Not too bad but I was hoping for a good jump start to get me motivated. I've also been taking measurements.
So What do you guys think any tips to help me out. How am I doing?

well to tell you the truth...looks like you are doing great. I know that's not what you want to hear...but wt doesn't just fly off most people. You look like from what you posted, you are eating enough to loose 1-2 lbs a week...which is a HEALTHY weight loss. Just relax. I know you want 5 lbs a wk off...we all do. But in order to do that...we have to be more drastic. Looking at your diet that you posted...looks like you're good. You may need to tweek it some as you start to get lower in wt. I would also recommend starting some wt training...but be forwarned..when you wt training..and build muscle you may not loose at the beginning. Also, take measurements...for those weeks you don't loose pounds but do loose inches. Good luck and keep up the hard work...slow and steady wins the race (:

Oh I forgot to mention weight training me and the fiance have been weight training 3-4 days a week on top of turbojam I usually do that before work and turbo afterwork. He and I both are doing this together which has been a huge help as I can keep all the junk out of the house

It does look like a pretty good plan. Do you know how many calories it comes out to? That might be useful. There are tools available on the internet--FitDay, TheDailyPlate--that let you track calories, and they have some foods already in their databases. They are pretty easy to use.

Otherwise, just keep on going, and try for variety. Be sure to measure everything.



Jay

Sounds like a great plan!! I too would recommend spending the time and figuring out how many calories you're eating. This way you know the amount that is "successful" for you and you can aim to stay around there. And if and when the time comes when your weight loss stalls, you'll know from what point you need to take it down.

As far as jump starts, 2 lbs is pretty good. And as far as motivation goes, come on, you're in this for the long haul, aren't you? You're COMMITED to this for however long it takes to get the weight off and then of course, LONGTERM to keep it off. Have patience. I KNOW it's hard. Keep doing what you're doing. Time will pass one way or the other and you might as well make the most of it by keeping to the good eating/exercising. The weight WILL come off - before you know it. Just keep at it. Stick with it. You'll get there.

Anywhere from 1000-1300 depending I try to stay closer to 1300 but some days I get full at nothing and can't manage those extra calories thats one reason i started adding protein powder to my smoothies.

Great job! It sound like your getting a great variety and still keeping it in check!! Great job on the weightloss!

Hmm. Skinnybride, how do you come up with the total calories? Because to me it looks like your choices have more than that... I can't say for sure without putting everything into a calculator, though. Maybe just double check, be sure your ounces, servings, etc. are correct.

But anyway, as I said--looks good! And it's working... Keep going!

Jay

I came up with it by reading labels and looking up the things without labels, and measruing everything out heres yesterdays menu
Smoothie- 311
1/2 banana- 50
Pita pocket- 140
1/2 cup chicken salad (homemade)- 234
Jello with fruit -60
Chicken Burrito- 285
Homemade Brownie(healthy decandance recipe)- 88
Which comes to 1168 calories

I'd say, try to stay above 1200 cals. Eating too few calories, unless you're under a doctor's supervision, can be too hard on the body and can stall weight loss.

Jay

Looks good to me. If you are having trouble keeping your calories at around 1300 I would suggest replacing one of the many FF products you use with either a regular or just light version rather than fat free. It may taste better and be more satisfying and it would boost your calories up to where they should be without forcing you to eat more. Good job!

1200 calories isn't a lot - that's about what you should be eating when you get close to your goal. I would say shoot for 17-1800 or so. When people are bigger, they need more food to function and you just reduce the amt as you shrink. If you start out at 1200, you can't healthily reduce past that and it leads to plateaus and not losing. You don't want to wreck your metabolism and you may find that your body needs the extra fuel to burn more fat faster. Strange, but often true.

Actually, 17-1800 is a rough guess - I don't actually count calories myself, but I'm sure someone around here could tell you the website that says how much you should be eating.

Rubberlegs, those sites can only give APPROXIMATES. We all need to find out just how much is the "right" amount through trial and error.

Personally, when I was in the 180 range, as the original poster is, 1700-1800 calories eaten would not produce a weight loss for me. 1400 calories is usually a good place to start for someone in the 180's. Of course, we are all different and different things work for different people.

Robin is right. All of these things are highly individual. I accomplished my most recent weight loss bout (from 155 to my current weight) on 1800 a day (with lots of exercise). It's all about trial and error and finding the right calorie level for the individual body at any particular weight.

The only rule of thumb, as far as I'm concerned, is not to eat any fewer calories than you need to to lose weight. If you can lose 1-2lb a week on 1800 a day, eat 1800, not 1200. Ditto with all the rest. Eat as many as you can while still losing weight at a happy pace.