Feeling discouraged.

rmcounts84
rmcounts84 Posts: 16
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! I've been struggling to lose weight since last year. My highest was 121lbs. I'm back to 120lbs. I am getting married next December. My goal is to lose up to 10-12lbs. Tone up as well on my arms/legs/flat stomach. Who knows? I am only 4'10." I am 29 years old, 30 in September. I also joined the Y to do work outs - I try to go 3-4x a week. I do 30-60 minutes on the elliptical most of the time I'm there. I try to burn between 200-500 calories a day. Anyone have advice for short people like me who are trying to lose weight?

Replies

  • angelzprophecy
    angelzprophecy Posts: 130
    try intervals on the elliptical like 1 min easy then 30 secs harder/faster for like 20 mins total
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
    No matter what your weight, it's really going to come down to that gosh darn calorie expenditure. Measure/weighing your food to keep it accurate, figuring out your TDEE and making sure you eat below it, and making your workouts count. I would really aim for 45 min-maybe an hour on your workouts...incorporate some strength training. I see many people phoning it in on things like the elliptical, but thinking they checked the box on "working out". I'm not saying you are doing this, but do a personal check on if you are challenging yourself vs just chill in' on the cardio equipment. I would recommend looking around the group ex area and see if there aren't any classes that sound fun to you. Being accountable in a group always pushes me harder than I'd push myself on my own! Congrats on your wedding...you have plenty of time to do this right! :-) Food scale and a HRM would be great starts. Good luck!
  • rmcounts84
    rmcounts84 Posts: 16
    I will try that! I admit my weight came back due to death in the family, stress, and being unhappy for a little bit the last month and half. Now it's time to get back!
  • rmcounts84
    rmcounts84 Posts: 16
    TDEE? HRM? What are those? I'm not familiar with the abbreviations. :) I'll check out what group classes or workouts they offer at the Y. I'm sure I'll find something interesting to do. I try to do 30-45 minutes on the elliptical then I will go on the stationery bike and try to do up to 20-30 minutes. I'll cool off with a walk on the treadmill before I head home. Usually, I do get my 1 hour of workout in for the day.
  • sassyjae21
    sassyjae21 Posts: 1,217 Member
    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    this site will help you!

    And another important thing that I don't think has been mentioned: patience. I was dealing with the issue of the weight not coming off, but I wasn't giving it enough time. You will get there!!
  • gmthisfeller
    gmthisfeller Posts: 779 Member
    TDEE? HRM? What are those? I'm not familiar with the abbreviations. :)

    Total Daily Energy Expenditure = TDEE
    Heart Rate Monitor = HRM
  • sassyjae21
    sassyjae21 Posts: 1,217 Member
    TDEE? HRM? What are those? I'm not familiar with the abbreviations. :) I'll check out what group classes or workouts they offer at the Y. I'm sure I'll find something interesting to do. I try to do 30-45 minutes on the elliptical then I will go on the stationery bike and try to do up to 20-30 minutes. I'll cool off with a walk on the treadmill before I head home. Usually, I do get my 1 hour of workout in for the day.

    A HRM (heart rate monitor) is the best way to get an accurate count of how many calories you are actually burning. Machines can lie :)
  • chezjuan
    chezjuan Posts: 747 Member
    TDEE: Total Daily Energy Expenditure. How much you burn in a day, including all activities. If you are using My Fitness Pal as designed (including eating back a portion of your exercise calories), you don't necessarily need to worry about this number, but it is good to know, and some people have success by setting their calorie goal to TDEE-15% and not worrying about exercise calories as they are included in the calculation already.

    HRM: As mentioned, HRM is Heart Rate Monitor. For steady-state cardio (like the elliptical or the stationary bike), it gives you a good idea of your calorie burn as long as the information you enter when you set it up is accurate. If you get one, you want one with a chest strap as it is more accurate than a wrist-based model. Polar makes good, moderately-priced HRMs. EDIT: Note that HRMs are not good at estimating burns for things like weight lifting or High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) due to the calculations they use to determine calories burned.

    I would suggest adding some resistance training (weights, bodyweight exercises, etc.) to your workouts. This will help with your muscle definition and also allow you to retain more Lean Body Mass (LBM) while you are losing weight. You can do a quick warm up, then 1/2 hour of resistance training, and follow it with 1/2 hour of cardio for a decent full body workout.
  • rmcounts84
    rmcounts84 Posts: 16
    TDEE? HRM? What are those? I'm not familiar with the abbreviations. :) I'll check out what group classes or workouts they offer at the Y. I'm sure I'll find something interesting to do. I try to do 30-45 minutes on the elliptical then I will go on the stationery bike and try to do up to 20-30 minutes. I'll cool off with a walk on the treadmill before I head home. Usually, I do get my 1 hour of workout in for the day.

    A HRM (heart rate monitor) is the best way to get an accurate count of how many calories you are actually burning. Machines can lie :)

    That's true! I was doing pretty well right before Thanksgiving then I gained weight pretty quick. I just blame it on the holidays. I actually had lost 6lbs and now I'm back to where I am. Quite difficult and it's a lot more difficult for short women, I suppose. :)
  • sassyjae21
    sassyjae21 Posts: 1,217 Member
    Yes, especially if you do not have a lot to lose. The weight is going to come off a LOT slower. So please keep that in mind and don't give up!!

    Holidays can be so difficult. But they're almost over lol:smile:
  • TripleJ3
    TripleJ3 Posts: 945 Member
    What has worked the best for me is focusing on my calories. I like to eat healthy but I eat what ever I want and don't stress over it. If I'm 100 over, so what. If I over eat due to a holiday or something, I already planned for it and keep it to that one time and let it go. I don't work out as much either. I am doing T25 right now and fit in an hour of yoga on the weekends or when I can ( I do a small yoga routine every morning to get things moving)

    I have seen better and faster results with taking a more relaxed approach and not sweating the small stuff. I do weigh food still and stick close to my daily calories as much as possible for most of the days. The better I feel and the more improvements I see keeps me motivated. Oh and I don't weigh myself. Maybe one of theses days I will but I just focus on what I see in the mirror and the way my clothes get a little more loose each week. Scale weight is too finnicky and I can get too wrapped up in it even though I know it doesn't matter so I just stay away from that.
  • rmcounts84
    rmcounts84 Posts: 16
    Should I up my calories count or keep it as it is? It's at 1,250. I've been seeing that it should be between 1,500-1,700?

Categories