Losing Weight with Limited Time

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mgutier1
mgutier1 Posts: 18 Member
in Getting Started
Hey all,
I am just curious as to others success with eating less calories and exercising lightly. I want to lose weight and get to a healthier place in my life, but I also do not want to overdo it. I did the extreme dieting and exercise thing way back and I just burnt myself out. I want to be able to create a diet and exercise plan that can maintain. I was planning on eating smaller portions and going for short walks/runs daily and one hour long hike weekly.

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  • jsobole
    jsobole Posts: 139 Member
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    That sounds like a good start - and more importantly, sustainable! Extreme dieting = bad. Making better eating choices = good! :smiley: And as you start meeting those goals, then you can look at expanding your exercise.
  • mgutier1
    mgutier1 Posts: 18 Member
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    Yeah those were my thoughts exactly. Thought that I would start with walking and when I feel stronger go to jogging etc. I also am thinking about incorporating yoga into my routine.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    I like to remember that I'm actually going to have to live through all of the days between now and when I reach my goal weight, so why make them miserable?

    I think your plan sounds really strong.
  • msalamun
    msalamun Posts: 116 Member
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    I cannot attest to personal success with this, but I know it will work! While this is a bit of an oversimplification, it's about calories in and calories out. As long as you're consuming calories at a deficit (eating fewer calories than your body burns throughout the day), you will lose weight. Now the larger the deficit, the faster the weightloss will be. But as you said, extreme weightloss is not good nor is it really sustainable.

    Picking smaller portions of the right, healthy foods and getting in even a little exercise will help you see those results! Just keep at it! Remember, you didn't gain your weight all in a day, and it won't all come off in a day either.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    Babysteps! Start slow. Make little changes and keep doing those things until they become habit then add another change. Get into the habit of logging everything you eat for now. You don't need to make drastic changes just understand the impact of what you're eating now. One thing I might advise which will help you is to get a food scale if you don't already have one and use it for as much of your food as you can. Anything that has a measurement in grams on the label can be weighed rather than measured, even peanut butter and salad dressing. It'll help your diary entries be more accurate and you'll get better at eyeballing proper portions. That's one of the hardest things for all of us at first. A proper 4 ounce serving of chicken is smaller than it "ought" to be as is a tablespoon. :smile:

    I like your plan for exercise. I did the same thing when I was starting out. I walked on my morning, lunch and afternoon breaks, started taking the stairs, then started Couch to 5K. Now I run. Several days each week. And this past year I started weight lifting. I would never have dreamed 4 years ago that I'd have come so far.

    One other piece of advice, start taking measurements and recording them in MFP. They're a better way of measuring progress over time than the scale. Lost inches are better than lost pounds. Also take pictures as you go along, even if you don't like pictures of yourself you'll be glad to be able to look back later and see your progress.
  • crosbylee
    crosbylee Posts: 3,450 Member
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    Sounds like you are ready to start this and be successful. Take all the advice you can from folks here who have done this. I am a work in progress and will be for at least another year, but I will get there.
  • mgutier1
    mgutier1 Posts: 18 Member
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    Wow guys thanks for all the great advice. Im looking forward to making progress! Feel free to add me as a friend if you would like to stay in contact. I really would appreciate the support
  • francesgenao
    francesgenao Posts: 22 Member
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    that sounds really good, I actually take one meal and one day at a time.
  • socalkay
    socalkay Posts: 746 Member
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    Rather than looking at it as a 'diet and exercise plan', I prefer to think of my efforts as lifestyle changes that are beneficial and sustainable. I'm a work in progress and, hopefully, when I reach my goal weight I will have developed the habits along the way that will help me maintain not just my optimum weight but my overall health.

    Best of luck. I know you can do it!

    Good article to read when getting started:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
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    socalkay wrote: »
    Rather than looking at it as a 'diet and exercise plan', I prefer to think of my efforts as lifestyle changes that are beneficial and sustainable. I'm a work in progress and, hopefully, when I reach my goal weight I will have developed the habits along the way that will help me maintain not just my optimum weight but my overall health.

    Best of luck. I know you can do it!

    Good article to read when getting started:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    This is great advice. I really like your mindset!

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