Monday, Wednesday, Friday - 30 minutes cardio/aerobics (DVD) 30 minutes Strength (Full Body) 30 minutes stationary bicycle Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday - 30 minutes on stationary bicycle Monday - Friday - 10 minute walk to post office and back Saturday and/or Sunday - 30 minute walk
As far as eating goes, well I'm unemployed at the moment and until I get a job I won't be able to buy my own healthy food, so it make do with what is in the house, Im living with my bf and his parents...his mom does groceries maybe once a month and it is all fatty junk food...so here is a typical day for me...
Breakfast (Usually around 11 or 12) - Special K, Whole Wheat Toast with PB and Jam (No added sugar), Oatmeal, Eggs, or a Bagel (Rarely)
Lunch/Snack (Usually around 4) - Yogurt, Fruit, Veggies, or a Sandwich
Dinner (Usually around 7 or 8) - Whatever is available/made usually things like Chicken Burgers, French Fries (Made in a deep fryer full of fat of all things), Chicken Fingers, Chicken Pot Pies, Pizza, etc. etc.
Dinner is hardly every healthy...unfortunatly.
Snack - I'm usually starving again between 10 and 12 so I will try to resist unless I'm actually hungry and not just bored...if I am actually hungry I will eat veggies, fruit, popcorn, cheese and crackers, hot chocolate...whatever...
Dinner and after is usually when my calories skyrocket...
There isn't much I can do about dinner and such being unhealthy...my bf's parent's have themselves in debt so they like to complain about how broke they are (Yet his mom can go and spend $300 on herbal-life crap when groceries need to bought) and they try to make us pay an arm and a leg to live here (when there is hardly ever any food and I buy most of my own when I have money, and were stuck in an unfinished upstairs and bedroom, our room is the only room upstairs with walls...) I'd love to move out on our own but we can't afford it...I moved away from my house b/c my mom was driving me insane (she left my stepdad last July) and he was hanging around alot...as well as alot of other factors, so I left and moved here in October...I can't say it was the wisest move but hey that's life I suppose....
Anyway any suggestions? Does my exercise plan look ok?? I'm counting calories in Fitday PC as well...I have 105lbs to lose, I'd like to lose it by next summer but I know I didn't gain it overnight I won't lose it overnight...
The biggest thing that stuck out for me is the time you eat breakfast. You're saying that you don't eat breakfast until 11 or 12. I think that this might be the reason that you're so ravenous in the evenings. If I didn't eat breakfast until that late, I know for sure I'd binge in the evening. My body would be trying to catch up for the food it needed earlier in the day. By 11 or 12 I'm on my 3rd meal (not huge, sit down meals - but I've already had breakfast, a snack and I'm about the have lunch).
It seems like the foods you're eating (other than dinner) are ok. If you really don't have control over what's being served at dinner time, portion control should be your biggest consideration. If you can't change it, at least you can control the amount of it you're eating. I'd add some veggies and cut out some of the deep fried side dishes (you mentioned that you have those during the day and as after dinner snacks).
That's just my observation, I'm definately not an expert on this. Just sharing what I learned through my experience.
More whole grains, they will keep you fuller longer. Ditch the special K for something with more fiber. More vegetables & fruit & if you can't eat them then drink them (100% juice only, of course). Eating them, though, will help fill you up more.
I assume you have breakfast so late because you haven't gotten up yet.... I would recommend changing that habit as soon as possible. I don't know what kind of climate you live in, but I go for walks outside first thing in the morning, right after breakfast - usually around 7am - the longer I wait the hotter and more miserable it is to be outside and the less likely I am to do it.
You need to look at setting yourself up for success. I don't know how much exercise you do currently, but if you are just jumping into this all of a sudden, you might want to back off a little bit because you may not be able to meet your goals right away which might make you want to quit. Also, are you sure you can do full body strength training in 30 minutes??? It takes me nearly an hour to do full body, and I don't think that is uncommon. A good goal to lose weight is 300 minutes of cardio per week.... Thats an hour a day 5 days a week. Also, there may be some weeks that you feel too sore to do 3 days of strength training, so it is important to recognize that and allow your body a little extra time to heal so that you avoid injury.
If you aren't already exercising regularly, I think you will have problems with the amount of exercise you have planned... You have to work up to it. If you are already there- GREAT! Keep it up!
As far as the food situation, I think that you are doing great with most meals and I agree that with dinner the key is portion control. Also, don't forget to get rid of beverages that have calories - drink diet pop, avoid alcohol, avoid anything sugary. Limit your intake of juices (unless you can find some of the reduced cal, reduced sugar juices), and moderate your milk intake. If you drink regular pop you would be amazed at how many extra calories you consume.... this is the number one thing that people can do to start weight loss - consome non-caloric beverages.
I hope that you are able to find a job soon and I recommend finding a job that you like that is not sedentary.... sitting for 8 hours a day is not a good way to be; but, unfortunately, sometimes that is the only thing available.
I wish you good luck on your journey.
I don't eat breakfast until 11 or 12 because that is when I wake up, it has been that way for the past 2 years. I have tried to force myself to wake up earlier and exercise before, and it doesn't work, I get tired and cranky and I end up not exercising at all. I can work my way up to getting up at 9 or 10, but not 7, and besides waking up that early to go for a walk....well I know myself and I know that will never happen, I won't want to be up that early let alone go outside and walk by myself.
I go for walks with my bf when he will go with me, when he wasn't working we'd go almost every day but now that he is he doesn't get home until around 6pm and is tired and sore from working outside doing construction all day. The only walking I do every day by myself is walking to the post office after 12 because the mail doesn't come until 12, and that walk is about 10 minutes.
I'm not just starting with exercise, I've been exercising since January, I havnt had a set plan though, just tried to use my bike for 30 minutes at least 3x/wk...some weeks I did...other weeks I didn't, and I didn't really change my eating at all then either, but since I got Fitday PC it has become really easy to track my calories everyday since I'm on the computer everyday working on my courses.
I can get a lower body and abs workout done in 30 minutes because that is how long the DVD is, arms I usually do while I'm on my bike, and that is only about 10 minutes.
I don't drink anything but water, sometimes I'll have orange juice with my breakfast but only the pure fresh squeezed nothing added type, sometimes I will treat myself to a can of pop, maybe once a week if even that. I usually drink nothing but water.
My biggest concern is will I still lose weight if I do that exercise plan, and eay healthy maybe 50-75% of the time?? I will try portion control with dinner, Im just worried I'll be even hungrier even sooner afterwards...but I guess I will just have to try and eat healthy after dinner and not give in to my body calling out for popcorn and chips and cookies lol
Sounds like you have a pretty good start then.... The most important thing is to set yourself up for success. As for exercise, it will be trial and error to find out what you will do and when you will do it consistently... If you know you can do everything that you have planned, and you actually follow through, you will feel much better overall and you will sleep better too.
I think that you will see some results that you want even with the meals in the evenings... the biggest thing is that when you have a need for munchies in the evenings, that you consistently grab the healthy foods... I KNOW that is not always possible or desirable, but it is a habit that can be changed over time.
I think that since you are already on the right track with healthy eating for the majority of the day, you will see results with exercising as well. Also, when I was 19, I could never have imagined I'd be a morning person (I used to stay up until 3 or 4 am and get up around noon)..... but that doesn't mean it can't be changed over time, either (of course it usually depends on circumstances). As long as you are getting enough sleep...that is truly what is important.
But, overall, it sounds good.... just don't forget to give your body a break to recover every now and again. And also, don't rely soley on the scale to determine progress.... measurements and how your clothes fit can be helpful too.
Don't forget to we are all here for you anytime you need support!
My Exercise and Food Plan...Is It OK?
Jeni
