SOS to all the dieting/gym people

chastings32

Today starts my diet & I'm only allowing myself to have 1,320 calories a day in hopes to lose a pound & 1/2 a week (we will see) tho it's only day one & I'm over it. For breakfast I allowed 1/2 cup of blackberries, 1/2 cup of raspberries, whole banana mixed with a 1/4 of fruit dip. For lunch I have a cup of cottage cheese, chicken breast (no sauce) and Greek yogurt & for a snack string cheese. Dinner is undecided @ the moment.

I need advice on meals/meal preps..

I don't have a gym membership so my exercise will come strictly from walking/jogging after work wait who am I kidding walking, simply because my pops says the only time one should run is if a bear is chasing them, hahaha.

Goal is to lose 55 pounds I realize it won't happen over night and will take work tho I need help/advice on what to do/don't do to keep me on track.


I've cut out pasta and bread along with soda.

WSOX37

Good luck cutting soda out of your diet is a great first start

Ninkyou

Is there a reason you're cutting out pasta and bread? They're not evil, you know.

The most helpful advice I'd give is to make it sustainable. Eat like you plan to for life. Does that mean you're never going to eat bread or pasta again? If not, then work those things into your calorie goal. There are no bad foods. They're all just food that have calories... and calories are a unit of energy.

Soda is kind of iffy for me. I understand the reasoning behind cutting it a bit more. I cut out regular soda and switched to diet. That way I'm not drinking my calories.

mmoore154

You may want to look up exercises to do at home. You don't have to have a gym membership to get a good workout.

mmoore154

And I wish you success in your journey.

shrinkingletters

I've had amazing results with basically ANY Jillian Michaels workout dvd. I'm currently on week four of Ripped in 30. I only do each level 5x a week, plus walking any chance I get while at work and on the weekends, plus one or two 30minute cardio workouts at the gym if I can make it. You can make it work!

As far as the eating, I'm seconding what Ninkyou said. You have to make it sustainable. Cutting out entire food groups is gonna backfire.

FitFitzy331

Ninkyou wrote: »

Is there a reason you're cutting out pasta and bread? They're not evil, you know.

The most helpful advice I'd give is to make it sustainable. Eat like you plan to for life. Does that mean you're never going to eat bread or pasta again? If not, then work those things into your calorie goal. There are no bad foods. They're all just food that have calories... and calories are a unit of energy.

Soda is kind of iffy for me. I understand the reasoning behind cutting it a bit more. I cut out regular soda and switched to diet. That way I'm not drinking my calories.

I agree with all of this. I know I could never cut out bread, pasta or soda so I didn't. As an example I fit all three into my meals for today. Making calorie dense choices is great for losing weight but you shouldn't deny yourself something if you can fit it into your calorie goal. It teaches you will power and not not view foods as evil.

For exercise I would check out pinterest, they have a lot of quick little work outs that you can do at home. Also if you wanted, you could try out couch to 5k and become a runner. If you don't want to run then you can just continue walking and body weight exercises when you get a chance.

Good luck!

curiouschemist

I prep my dinners on Sunday so that I know for sure what I'm going to be eating for one meal. I've learned that I can't eat just plain chicken and be happy. I've had to learn to cook tasty food that fit into my goals. Look at www.skinnytaste.com for some awesome recipes. This week I made the lightened up Cajun pasta and it's delicious and only 350 calories for a large portion!

jeffchung91

Ninkyou wrote: »

Soda is kind of iffy for me. I understand the reasoning behind cutting it a bit more. I cut out regular soda and switched to diet. That way I'm not drinking my calories.

Please don't drink diet soda

http://m.care.diabetesjournals.org/content/32/4/688.short

chastings32

I'm not a pasta/bread lover to begin with so cutting it out won't be an issue at all. I'll still have mashed potatoes here and there tho in moderation tho I've never ate much bread.
Couple years ago I cut soda out for my New Years resolution and I went the entire year and lost 10 pounds just from not drinking soda no other diet. It's not hard to cut soda out tho when you get the crave for the carbonation it takes everything you have to fight it. Luckily summer is among us and the only thing that quinces my thirst is water. I just need to meal prep and do it correctly.

shrinkingletters

chastings32 wrote: »

I'm not a pasta/bread lover to begin with so cutting it out won't be an issue at all. I'll still have mashed potatoes here and there tho in moderation tho I've never ate much bread.
Couple years ago I cut soda out for my New Years resolution and I went the entire year and lost 10 pounds just from not drinking soda no other diet. It's not hard to cut soda out tho when you get the crave for the carbonation it takes everything you have to fight it. Luckily summer is among us and the only thing that quinces my thirst is water. I just need to meal prep and do it correctly.

Mineral water? I drink flavored mineral/sparkling water in place of what used to be my nightly beer (or two). I don't have a soda habit, but maybe that'll curb your fizzy habit.

cathipa

Good for you for making better health choices and wanting to lose! I agree with any of the Jillian Michaels DVDs are great! I started with 30 Day Shred which is AWESOME! Only 30 minutes...come on we all got time for that! Start with some kind of workout and STICK WITH IT! That's where most people slip up is they fall off the wagon. I think someone told me do something everyday for 21 days and its a habit? I think it may be true since I can't go more than one day without working out or I just feel "off".
As far as the diet...why so low? If you have 55 pounds to lose that seems like a fairly restrictive calorie goal. Just curious..
A few tips I can give you that have helped me immensely...
Get a food scale. Cups and spoons are notoriously deceiving and can cause an overage on calories leading to slowed weight loss.
Drink your water. At least 64 oz or more a day. Helps with satiety and controlling water retention.
Eat what you like, but just in smaller portions.
As far as pasta - its just the vehicle for the sauce. Use shredded/spiralized veggies (zucchini, sweet potato, cucumber) instead.
Prep your food...bake/grill chicken in large batches on Sunday for the rest of the week; cut veggies and make low cal dips (i.e. hummus, greek yogurt ranch dip); plan out your meals that you like for the week or plan around a "cheat meal".

Meals are personal and everyone has their likes/dislikes. Hope some of this helps and feel free to add for support! Best of luck to you!

EDIT: Forgot free online workouts on FITNESSBLENDER are great! Anywhere from 10-120 minute workouts

jgnatca

I've been collecting "fitness at home" routines. Try a seven to ten HIIT routine for efficiency.

https://www.pinterest.com/janetkarasz/fitness-at-home/

bradhiggs7

Make sure to get your macros in order. Once I grasped that concept and started getting my macros in order my fat loss and muscle gains went through the roof.

otey743

I think your calorie intake is very low . Find out what your TDEE is then take 20% of calories off of that . But I'm not sure your weight height or age ether. Feel free to add me if you would like more info . Best of luck .

arditarose

You're just going to have to do some trial and error as well. At this point I know how many calories are in most foods and how to fit anything I want into my day. Is pizza always worth it? No. Can I have it? Yes. You can use the same recipes you had before, but eat less of them-or mess with them a bit to bring the calories down. Maybe you don't need a full cup of this or maybe you can get away with a tablespoon of that.

JillianRN527

Hi! I've been going strong for two weeks! I am 26 and I have 55 pounds to lose. However my goal is not a number my goal is feeling good and being strong

kunikkelsey

Tuna 90 cal. pouches are filling and they have about 10 different flavors. Wild brown rice, kale, boiled eggs, steel cute oatmeal... To name a few things

blossomingbutterfly

FitnessBlender.com

MsJulesRenee

chastings32 wrote: »

I'm not a pasta/bread lover to begin with so cutting it out won't be an issue at all. I'll still have mashed potatoes here and there tho in moderation tho I've never ate much bread.
Couple years ago I cut soda out for my New Years resolution and I went the entire year and lost 10 pounds just from not drinking soda no other diet. It's not hard to cut soda out tho when you get the crave for the carbonation it takes everything you have to fight it. Luckily summer is among us and the only thing that quinces my thirst is water. I just need to meal prep and do it correctly.

I cut out soda, mostly, and drink club soda with fruit when I get a craving for it since I love carbonation, too. Good luck!

longtimeterp

jeffchung91 wrote: »

Ninkyou wrote: »

Soda is kind of iffy for me. I understand the reasoning behind cutting it a bit more. I cut out regular soda and switched to diet. That way I'm not drinking my calories.

Please don't drink diet soda

http://m.care.diabetesjournals.org/content/32/4/688.short

Rotfl...the study abstract itself says it doesn't prove causation. Correlation is an entirely different thing. Maybe the people who drink diet soda are more obese to begin with from bad eating habits or they likely wouldn't have been drinking the diet soda to reduce calories.

flabassmcgee

otey743 wrote: »

I think your calorie intake is very low . Find out what your TDEE is then take 20% of calories off of that . But I'm not sure your weight height or age ether. Feel free to add me if you would like more info . Best of luck .

Agree. http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

Invest in a food scale. Weigh your solid food and measure any liquids with spoons/cups.

There are a million different exercises you can do at home. You Are Your Own Gym is an awesome at-home strength training program that requires no equipment but sturdy tables, chairs and doors. Pinterest has other strength training/body weight exercises, Cardio, HIIT, healthy recipes, etc.

Hang in there.

johannpascual

Never cut out any normal food. NEVER. That only equates a failure rate of 99%. Unless you have great discipline. So eat your bread or pasta or rice. Eat WHATEVER.

Since you're starting out, you only need to remember and do 2 things:

1. Use containers to portion your food. Whatever's not in the container, you can't eat it! In time, your brain will get used to it.
2. Never go beyond 80% fullness. Every time you eat, do not go to full capacity. Your body will eventually adapt.

Just do these 2 things and you'll be losing weight after only a few weeks. No need to drastically change your diet.

tingtawn

Also decreased my cal to about 1300. I lost weight for my wedding and then started grad school and stopped focusing on myself. Now that I gained all the weight, plus some, back I am making more time for myself again in my busy schedule. I don't have a lot of time to prep meals. I have found meal replacements shakes ( I like the GNC total lean brand) really help me. I am trying to eat more fruits/ veggies as well, and plenty of water!

chastings32

Thanks everyone! I've learned a lot from everyone's comments! Please feel free to add more advice at anytime!!

johannpascual

JillianRN527 wrote: »

Hi! I've been going strong for two weeks! I am 26 and I have 55 pounds to lose. However my goal is not a number my goal is feeling good and being strong

That's all good... but without a target number, it's hard to quantify and maintain. You need a number just to serve as a guide. A lot of overweight or malnourished people still feel great (according to them)... so I think just basing it on feeling is not ideal. Hehehehe.

iamsmara

Hi OP,

I once was at 1200 calories a day - mostly lean meat, fruits and nuts. I had also totally cut off bread and pasta but had brown rice about twice a week. No dairy either because I am mildly lactose intolerant, so decided better to completely avoid milk, cheese, butter. Successfully followed this diet for about 2 months (coupled with daily jogging for 3 miles), lost about 5 kilos, then lost half my hair on Month 3 and by Month 6 had put back all the kilos I had lost. This happened just before my wedding - you see, i was dieting so that I could look fab on my wedding album - but I assure you, it was quite the opposite. I hardly look at the photos any more. It took me about 2 years for my hair to recover, but I still have got the bald spots.

Later when I narrated this to an ayurvedic doctor, he said: "That always happens when you try to teach your body to adapt to a new diet too quickly. Your body learned to lose the kilos but it didn't learn to keep the kilos away - plus it was deprived of the nutrients it needed to function optimally and so it attacked itself by conserving them (the hair loss). You need to give enough time for your body to learn what you're trying to teach. If you're in a hurry, it will also give hurried results but will definitely go back to its old habits sooner or later. Because the human body is genetically designed to depend and run on regular, nourishing sustenance; abstinence works for a while, but not permanently, unless one is disciplined all her life (and most of us are not!)."

Basically, the secret is - when it comes to dieting, slow and steady wins the race. Last November I gave myself a year to lose 24 pounds (what's the rush?), and mostly thanks to MFP, I have been steadily losing 2 pounds a month. I am on a 1740 calorie plan (previously I was eating around 3000 calories a day - blech!) and I eat whatever I want (but I am practising portion control). I walk two miles, stretch 15 min and drink 3L of water every day (best decision ever because it has cured my snack cravings)... this way of dieting keeps me happy, instead of worried and avoiding stuff all the time. Trust me, the high feeling at the beginning of any diet wears off quickly... and moderation of foods works so much better than boycotting pasta from your life!

So, OP, I highly recommend you to read more about fitness and nutrition before starting any diet regime. It will help you be prepared for the diet - and IMO, this mental preparation is vital because dieting is (let's call a spade a spade) tough! Is there any compelling reason you want to lose weight quickly? Even if there is, do be aware that it will not give permanent results. It is dangerous to cut carbs from your diet, as it can lead to permanent damage in your body at the worst case scenario - just like protein and vitamins, the human body also needs carbs and fat to survive and perform daily tasks optimally... the key is in moderation, not abstinence... all the best and here is a link that will help you started - http://www.downstate.edu/ahd/nwl.html



R

P.S.: Great decision to cut out soda! Good riddance to bad rubbish

iamsmara

Regarding every day exercise, it depends on your age and activity level... if you're in your late teens or early 20s and on your feet all day, I would say no need for extra exercise, just portion control is enough (your metabolism is in your favour!)... but if you're sedentary like me, at least 30 minutes of exercise every day is needed, followed by at least 10 minutes of stretching. At the most basic level, I recommend half an hour of active sports or brisk walking every day (5 min of warm up before and 10 min of stretching after), if you don't want to invest in a gym or don't want to be bothered about a dedicated exercise plan

R