Doing 3-4 days of free weights AND Curves I presume 3x a week? Sounds like that could be a bit much, because the Curves workout is a full body one. From what I've seen, I personally wouldn't count Curves as cardio, but rather strength training.

As far as my regular daily diet is concerned (which as you can read in Maintainers, is not too much different from a weight-loss diet) I shoot for 40%protein/40% carbs/20% fat in my diet. I try to avoid sugars and sweets as much as possible - favorite subsitutes are bananas, apples, light yogurt, FF/SF pudding in the single-serving plastic thingies (when it's on sale that is), and of course I keep lots of Splenda around!

I think the 1g per lb of BW formula only works up to a certain point, personally. I prefer to just count calories closely when losing weight - let's say you allow yourself 1,400 cals per day - using the 40/40/20 formula, I just make sure that 40% of those calories are protein calories, or 560 calories which equals 140 grams of protein, divided by 5 that's 28 grams per meal if you did five meals a day...

Someone else is BOUND to give a better answer than my incoherent late-night ramblings but meanwhile keep reading and asking questions

Hi Kerri! No better answer here - I do what MrsJim does - count calories and look at the overall ratios of carbs, protein and fats. I use a free web site called Fitday (www.fitday.com) that keeps track of what I eat and adds up all the numbers for me.

What we eat is really similar too - lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and veggies, as little sugar and processed food as possible, and good fats. We'd make great roommates except that I'm not nearly as cute as MrJim!

From what I've read, if you want to use a formula to figure out the amount of protein you need in a day, base it on your goal weight, not your current weight. In other words, if your goal weight is 150 pounds, then try and eat 150 grams of protein in a day. That's around where I usually ended up while I was losing (and I still eat about that much). I never ate anywhere close to a gram of protein per pound of actual body weight.

At the end of the day, weight loss comes down to calories in versus calories out and excess protein is only going to mean excess calories. Unfortunately, there isn't any food group that we can eat as much of as we want , including protein. So too much protein - heck, too much anything! - is only going to stall your weight loss. That's why I'd definitely recommend that you track the overall calories of what you eat and watch the ratios.

Don't worry about doing this right - there isn't any right and wrong here - all you need to focus on now is finding a healthy diet that you can make into a lifestyle and that you can comfortably live with for the rest of your life. As you can see from MrsJim and me, this really IS for the rest of your life! We're both at our goal weights and we're just as conscious of what we're eating now as when we were losing. So relax, you're doing just fine - stick around here with us and we'll be glad to answer all your questions.

I'm with Meg on the grams of protein per pound. I thought it was per pound of goal weight. Actually I've heard per pound of lean body weight too.

MrsJim's formula is something I strive for but unless I'm being particularly diligent I end up about 30/40/30%.

And I'm prayin' that that comment about there being no right way or wrong way ... is true

Hi Kerri ~~ and Welcome ~~ I'm with the girls on the protein... I strive for about 150gm and usually end up with between 100 to 130gm... with a ratio of 33,33,33, what can I say... The days I try to bring down the fat grams I crave, and the days I try to bring down the carbs I get cravings too.... BUT it works for ME... So see SusanB there is no right or wrong way, because I am loosing on these ratio... go figger ...

I think if I tried to get a gram of protein for every pound, I'd only be eating protein. Anyway, I have been eating around 100 grams of protein every day which probably isn't enough because I really want to be around 150. I have to say I love fitday.com since I have been using it every day. I definitely notice increased hunger though if I don't get enough protein.

I know whatcha mean, Nelie, that's what scared me! So if I want to be 150, then eat 150... makes sense, I suppose.

Most of you lift 5-6 days a week, right? So if I only do Curves 3x week, should I ultimately add a couple more days?

And Susan, Curves is still wearing me out, though I don't find myself sore anymore like the first month that I did it there. I don't know if I'm getting used to it or not, but I definitely work up a sweat in the 30 minutes I workout there. Sometimes I just feel like I should be doing more... kinda like Catholic guilt, maybe?

I just feel like I should work out 5 to 6 times a week, which is why I want to add something else in, but timewise I can't be at curves that much, but I can do more at home, like some dumbbells... I also have a couple of exercise videos, but I loathe those things... I have no rhythm for the dance one, and the yoga is just Booooring. I like a challenge, but falling on my face trying to do the cabbage patch is not the challenge I'm looking for if you know what I mean!

Kerri,
Those of us who lift more than 2-3 times a week do what are called split workouts: muscle groups are split apart and worked on different days so that you don't work the same muscle group more frequently than every 4 days or so. I usually lift 5 days a week, but only work each muscle group once a week.
If you are going to Curves 3 times a week and it's still a good workout for you, don't lift on the non-Curves days. Curves is a full body workout, and you don't want to do that every day. Do some plain cardio: walk, ride an exercise bike, find something else active to do.

The protein recommendation of about 1 gram per pound of target body weight should work for you. It's usually a target for people who are lifting heavy to failure or near failure, which is not what Curves is about, but I think at your current weight it's a good starting point. If you don't change you workouts as you get stronger, you might need to revise the ratios and calorie levels.

Mel

Kerri - I did Curves for over 6 months before I stopped seeing results. Make sure you get your measurements each month and watch the TRENDS rather than the specific numbers. I found that after a while I was getting no changes in inches or clothing sizes and it was really hard for me to get my heart rate up. I realize now it was my body telling me it was ready for more. You can certainly do cardio 5-6 days a week. I consider the Curves circuit the equivalent of a full body work out, which is what I do 3x a week. Most of the ladies here who do more lift on alternating schedules (legs one day, upper body the next), so figure out what works best for you!! I know you can do it.

You ladies are great, just so you know IMHO. I need to weigh/measure in for the past month, but last month I lost over 8 1/2 inches overall, and I'm hoping to see better results this time *crossing my fingers*. I'm also looking at changing up a little bit on my eating routine. You guys have a great recipe collection in this group and I'm taking notes!! I wanna try a lot of the things here... starting with cottage cheese, not my fave, but definitely tolerable the way you guys soup it up. I'm excited to really get my upcoming year pumped up and lose lose lose!!

Nelie-- You're SW is about where I'm at, did you lose to your present weight lifting?

Kerri,

My weight loss is a result of weight lifting, eating better and very little cardio. I love weights and I try to lift as heavy as I can and I hate cardio so I try to avoid it I do a 4 day/week split program and then try to fit in other activities when I feel like it. I also make sure I get a decent amount of protein to help build muscle. I even hated cottage cheese for a while, but I am enjoying it again with a few blueberries mixed in or sometimes plain.

I am glad there is another weight lifting recruit too few women use weights as a means to lose weight and I think it is the best thing for us.

I've posted this before but my split currently is as follows:

Monday - back
Tues - chest
Weds - legs
Thurs - bis/tris
Fri - shoulders with maybe some abs thrown in

I do Pilates and yoga in the evenings at least twice each week...that's why I'm a bit lax on the abs at the gym. If I wasn't doing those classes, I'd be working abs several times a week, most likely.

For cardio I do a minimum of 30 minutes each day on the ellipitical, with an occasional Spinning class thrown in if time permits (class is from 6-7 am and I have to shower, make breakfast for me and Jim, and be at work by 8 - whew!!!). Also I ride hunt seat at least twice a week, but I don't count that as part of my 'routine' since it's not what I'd call aerobic (even though I usually work up a bit of a sweat).

I haven't tape-measured myself in eons, but when I do, I just measure in these spots: hips, waist, bust, mid-thigh. I know that there are some gyms and places (I don't know if Curves does this) that measure about 17 areas and add all those fractions together to come up with a total, but to me the four areas are the only ones that matter (except for the upper arms but I've NEVER been able to do that on my own!!!)

PS - And BTW Meg IS as cute as a button, but if I got rid of Jim the cats would get really upset with me... (as if I would!!!)

Hi, I haven't posted anything for a while, but I figured I'd throw my two cents in here since I do the Curves and weightlifting thing.

For me, Curves is just cardio. I do the machines and jogging stations as fast as possible to get my heart rate up, and I easily get my heart rate up to ~180bpm doing that. I know that some people, though, aren't even able to break a sweat at Curves, and when/if you get to that point, definitely find something else. Right now, I'm doing Curves 2x a week, and a 3-day weightlifting split 3x a week (at home). Honestly, I should be doing more cardio since I still want to lose weight, but I'm only willing to do my preferred form of cardio (jogging) when it's nice out.

The Curves I go to uses a handheld electronic body fat analyzer, which can result in a significant amount of error - but if you have it done at a similar time of day every time and watch the trends, it's pretty useful.