Help? Please? Got thinking....

kykykenna

So...I read on here all the time, trying to become wiser in the ways of better health and weight loss. Now I think I had a lightbulb moment..but want to make sure it isnt a stupid idea. So, that being said, need your opinions, please?(First time posting here...be gentle....lol)

I am looking to loose 15-20 lbs. Easy enough, right? WRONG. I will be the first to admit that yes, I should work out more. And yes, I should make maybe some better choices (food diary is open),. What got me thinking.... when I signed up, I put in for a 2 lb a week weight loss. Which is what I assume they geared me plan for. NOW...as I read more, I am wondering if I should have picked 1lb, and maybe not eating enough calories is harming me? I mean, I am not starving by any stretch. BUT I, prior to joining was a eat once a day person...yup...cant loose weight, only eating once a day, only in the last month started eating breakfast. My question is, (I am 99% sure my body is saying "WTH are you doing, woman???!!!") I seemed to have tried every combo going in the last 4 weeks, not sure what the heck to do. I wanna do this thing right. I want it to STAY off. I want to maintain this for life. PLEASE help guide me as to what on Earth I am supposed to be doing. Will be eternally grateful, as will my bikini clad bum. **fingers crossed**

pyro13g

Yes, start at 1lb a week. This will allow you to bump calories down a little at a time when/if you plateau.

taso42_DELETED

1 lb/week or even .5 lb per week is definitely the healthier pace if you've only got 15-20 to lose. You can switch it there for a few weeks and see what happens and how you feel.

Newfiedan

There are many on here who are knowledgeable about proper fat loss, ladyhawk00, myself, and many others with personal training background and nutritional backgrounds. My advice is to read up. Tom venuto "burn the fat feed the muscle", clean eating magazine, and when in doubt feel free to add myself or any of the other ppl who know the right path, are on it and are consistently losing the fat. I have helped many to learn the healthier option and continue to pay it forward to members on here with the knowledge I have attained.

juliapurpletoes

hi -
I'm in the same weight loss boat as you just 15-20 pounds and for me (I lost 10 of that) it works at about 1/2 to 1 pound a week.

1200 was too few calories for my mental health, I want to eat well, not count each raisin so to speak.

But we are all different, experiment a bit and see what works for you.

Also, since you have so little to lose, take good care to log as accurately as you can and do eat those exercise calories back. No skimping, follow the plan and it will work for you!

Welcome and Good Luck!

WifeMomDVM

Well, you already realize you need to eat healthy and exercise regularly - so you've got that knowledge down pat. Great!

Here's something else you should know. Eating once (or even twice) a day is going to slow your metabolism WAY down, making it hard for you to lose. Your body does think it is starving, even if you are eating an adequate amount of daily calories in those 1-2 meals, because if it goes several hours without food it thinks it's not going to get more and starts putting all of your cells into "fat storing mode" which is compounded by when you say, here body, here's your meal for the day, because THEN your body tries to HANG ONTO EVERY SINGLE CALORIE that it gets!

So, now that you know all of this, you just have to implement it. Try to eat at least 4 meals a day (6 is better - but I rarely do that myself because of my busy work schedule). Ideally you want to feed yourself about every 3 hours. Just small meals if you ate 6 250 cal meals throughout the day, that would be 1500 calories and you would keep your body in "burning mode" instead of "storage mode".

Make healthy choices and snack away! It may take a month or so for your body to adjust to the new plan, but give it a good 4-6 weeks and THEN you will see the weight will start to come off if you are being consistent with everything (eating healthy, exercising, frequent small meals).

Best of luck! You can do this. I lost 20 lbs since January by doing the things I just recommended to you.

anubis609

I feel that the more significant weight there is to lose, 2 lbs a week of weight loss is feasible. Given that you only have 15 - 20 pounds to lose, definitely try doing it a bit more slowly with 1/2 or 1 lb a week.

kykykenna

Wow....thank you all....so very very helpful and wise! I will also add more friends (great suggestion, also)...I will change my goal from 2 to 1 lb loss per week, then and see what I have to change calorie wise. And eat more frequently. I also suffered from anorexia about 16 yrs ago (long time, I know, but that stuff just HANGS as far as mentality goes, at least it did for me) Which is why it horrifies me to think how much I will eat through the day and still loose weight. but hey....I dont know what the heck Im doing, so I am going to try it "Your" way. You guys rock. THANK YOU!!!

kykykenna

Ok....changed it. More calories to take in. SCARED........deep breath, Randa, deep breath......lol