a few questions

swahine

Hi guys.

I want to say thank you first. Reading the forums has made me realize that I am lucky to be the weight I am. From what I see this is a really awesome community.

A little about me...
I am a 32 year old woman that has never had weight issues. I could eat anything I want and maintain an ideal weight (sometimes less than ideal) with ease....until I turned 30. After that age I slowly started to gain and went over 20-25 lbs more than I want. My clothes do not fit me anymore and like a lot of us I lack in the funds to buy a whole new wardrobe. I am 5'2. I started my fitness pal 18 days ago and weighed 140. I have dropped to 138 since then but have been actively working out (which I have never done before in my life) and have noticed a difference in the way my clothes fit so I as m very happy about that. I was a size 2 three years ago and have gone up to a dress size 6. I would like to be a 4. My profile picture is my wedding 3 years ago...that was my size 2 body.

Now for questions...
I started a 1200 calorie diet and working out to be ready for a cruise that a family member is paying for. I have been told that 1200 is not enough calories for me but I am full by the end of the day. Should I eat more?

Also...how often is "cheating" okay? I did it the other night for my sisters birthday. I made sure I worked out more the next day to make up for it...is that the right thing to do?

I do light workouts because I am so out of shape but am trying to push myself to do more each time Is that smart? Also I am not doing it every day as my two jobs do not allow for me to do that.

Thank you guys so much. I am very new at this and appreciate any input you guys can give me. I no longer want to do this just for my vacation but as a lifestyle change.

duffylynnreb

1200 is probably a good calorie number for you ,I'm 4'11 and my calorie number is the same. for me it seems like if I have one cheat day I either stay the same or I gain weight : \ . pushing yourself in your workouts is awesome just don't hurt yourself

swahine

duffylynnreb wrote: »

1200 is probably a good calorie number for you ,I'm 4'11 and my calorie number is the same. for me it seems like if I have one cheat day I either stay the same or I gain weight : \ . pushing yourself in your workouts is awesome just don't hurt yourself

Thank you!!!

AJ_G

swahine wrote: »

I started a 1200 calorie diet and working out to be ready for a cruise that a family member is paying for. I have been told that 1200 is not enough calories for me but I am full by the end of the day. Should I eat more?

That completely depends on your rate of weight loss on 1200 calories. If you're losing weight rapidly on 1200 calories, then you should increase your calorie intake. You probably want to be aiming for right around 1 pound of weight loss a week, and a maximum of 1.5 lbs of weight loss per week. Any significant amount more than that and you're going to be losing more muscle than you want to be.

swahine wrote: »

Also...how often is "cheating" okay? I did it the other night for my sisters birthday. I made sure I worked out more the next day to make up for it...is that the right thing to do?

As far as "cheating", that depends on what you consider to be cheating. Do you have a strict diet that restricts the types of foods you can eat (low carb, paleo, low fat, keto, etc.)? In that case, eating the foods that are off your diet can be considered cheating. If you consider cheating to be eating over your calorie goal, than the important thing to know is that it's far more important to hit a weekly calorie goal than it is to hit a daily calorie goal due to the fact that long term changes are more important.

swahine wrote: »

I do light workouts because I am so out of shape but am trying to push myself to do more each time Is that smart? Also I am not doing it every day as my two jobs do not allow for me to do that.

You can push yourself as hard or as little as you want. It's up to you. If you think you can go harder and you can handle it and sustain it, then do it. If you think pushing yourself too hard too fast will be more likely to cause you to quit, then you should ease into it more and gradually increase activity and exercise. Nobody knows you as well as you do.

swahine wrote: »

Thank you guys so much. I am very new at this and appreciate any input you guys can give me. I no longer want to do this just for my vacation but as a lifestyle change.

No worries, don't give up, your weight, your strength, your muscle, and your fitness are completely within your control if you know what to do. Get after it :flowerforyou:

swahine

AJ_G wrote: »

swahine wrote: »

I started a 1200 calorie diet and working out to be ready for a cruise that a family member is paying for. I have been told that 1200 is not enough calories for me but I am full by the end of the day. Should I eat more?

That completely depends on your rate of weight loss on 1200 calories. If you're losing weight rapidly on 1200 calories, then you should increase your calorie intake. You probably want to be aiming for right around 1 pound of weight loss a week, and a maximum of 1.5 lbs of weight loss per week. Any significant amount more than that and you're going to be losing more muscle than you want to be.

swahine wrote: »

Also...how often is "cheating" okay? I did it the other night for my sisters birthday. I made sure I worked out more the next day to make up for it...is that the right thing to do?

As far as "cheating", that depends on what you consider to be cheating. Do you have a strict diet that restricts the types of foods you can eat (low carb, paleo, low fat, keto, etc.)? In that case, eating the foods that are off your diet can be considered cheating. If you consider cheating to be eating over your calorie goal, than the important thing to know is that it's far more important to hit a weekly calorie goal than it is to hit a daily calorie goal due to the fact that long term changes are more important.

swahine wrote: »

I do light workouts because I am so out of shape but am trying to push myself to do more each time Is that smart? Also I am not doing it every day as my two jobs do not allow for me to do that.

You can push yourself as hard or as little as you want. It's up to you. If you think you can go harder and you can handle it and sustain it, then do it. If you think pushing yourself too hard too fast will be more likely to cause you to quit, then you should ease into it more and gradually increase activity and exercise. Nobody knows you as well as you do.

swahine wrote: »

Thank you guys so much. I am very new at this and appreciate any input you guys can give me. I no longer want to do this just for my vacation but as a lifestyle change.

No worries, don't give up, your weight, your strength, your muscle, and your fitness are completely within your control if you know what to do. Get after it :flowerforyou:

Everything you said answered my questions. You went into more detail and answered questions I was afraid to ask. Thank you so very much! !! I basically went cold turkey 18 days ago. I have had a few mishaps but so far have been proud of myself. I have basically lost about 2 pounds since I started which sounds about right according to what you stated. Digestion and gastrointestinal issues have happened since "cold turkey" but now it seems to be leveling out. I assume that is normal?