Almost 40 and never exercised or eaten healthy-need some tip

sthrnchick

Let me start off by saying I have a LOVE AFFAIR with food. I joke with friends and family that I must have more taste bubs than most, I thoroughly enjoy all foods! I have NEVER worked out, although i would consider myself active...I am a single mom of a wonderful 9 yr old boy. He keeps me on the go- but as far as exercise-NEVER.

My sister recently posted a pic of me on FB that frankly brought tears to my eyes...It has been my motto for years that I would rather be fat and happy than skinny and miserable. The truth is... for many years I have fooled myself with that motto... while I was a happy person, i was secretly MISERABLE with my body. SOOO... that picture 5 weeks ago was my AHA moment...the moment that has changed my life frankly. I began to document in a notebook, everything that I ate and drank ( before I found MFP). i was shocked on what I had been eating. It changed THAT day. I went out and bought some Zumba DVDs and Jillian's 30 day shred (Which I still today feel so outta shape doing!)

I am down some weight ( 14 pounds to be exact- WHOOO HOOO), but I feel like I need some pointers on what to eat... how many calories, when... I am so confused by all the posts, and advise from friends about eating more somedays...less others...some say not to excercise daily, while others say its ok...So for those that have had success stories...please offer some help... feel free to add me as a friend... I need ALL THE HELP I CAN GET!

Spanaval

Congratulations on your weight loss! That's a huge achievement.

As for what and how much to eat, I believe in eating everything, in moderation, and staying within my calorie goals. For me, if I don't eat what I want, I'll eat the healthy option, and the unhealthy one too. In general though, try to eat a little bit healthier each day. My willpower sucks, so I generally don't buy things I shouldn't eat, 'cause once it is in the house, I'll eat it.

Now for your calorie goals - figure out your BMR and TDEE. Eat about 20% below your TDEE, making sure you don't fall below your BMR. BMR is the minimum number of calories you need for your bodily functions ( like breathing), and falling below it can slow down your metabolism and be counterproductive in the long run.

Find things you enjoy doing that will keep you moving. And don't worry about being able to complete the exercises either. That will come with time. Just think about doing a little better each day.

chris1529

That's great that you have lost 14 pounds already! I say that it's ok to exercise everyday IF some days you do less than more. Maybe you could workout hard 3-4 days a week and then do low impact cardio or walk the other days. They do say that you should have a day of rest though so that your muscles can recover. I am trying to exercise 5-6 days a week BUT I have been doing Leslie Sansone's walking dvds and let me tell you...... she really has good workouts. You can make it low impact OR high impact by jogging instead of walking. I understand the pregnant look thing cause I look soooo pregnant and I'm not! I have this belly on me that I really want to go down! And like you said, I'm out of shape too! Hope all goes well with your exercise and eatting better! Now, there is one thing that I heard AND have read a lot of articles on and that's green tea. They say that green tea speeds the metabolism a bit and that it's a good idea to drink a cup about 30 mins before exercising. Not to mention, that it also has many health benefits that have been proven!

Ashley121205

It sounds like you are on the right track :drinker: ! Just try to eat leaner meats. I love chicken and ground turkey ( for turkey burgers or I use it to make tacos) Replace some snacks with fruit or veggies. I'm not great at eating a lot of fruits and veggies though. So definitely smaller portions are the key. I've just stuck with changes that I can live with forever not just a temporary fix. Try drinking more water. I do try to make sure I exercise 5 times a week. Weekends are a bit harder as it's the only time I have with my husband.

honeysprinkles

Everyone has their own opinions on how much to eat, when to exercise, how to exercise, etc. My advice is to not get overwhelmed by all the numbers and just use your common sense. If you have the energy to workout everyday and aren't getting hurt, do it! If you prefer to workout less often, that's fine too! Make sensible choices that are easy to keep up long term, listen to your body and use your common sense!

I've often seen criticism on the "eat when your hungry" mentality. People often say "listening to my body is what got me here in the first place," but honestly, is that really true? I don't know about you, but when I was gaining weight from fast food and inactivity, I knew the cause and I'm sensible enough to work on that while still listening to my own body!

There's so much one size fits all advice that gets thrown around on the message boards, and while it might be really helpful for some, it's important to realize that you have to find what works for you. Some advocate eating 6 meals a day, some say it doesn't matter, some say to quit eating at a certain time, cut out dairy, cut out meat, etc. This is why I say just figure out what works for you. Everyone thinks they have the answers, but only you know what you will actually be able to stick to! Good luck :flowerforyou:

lambertj

I put together a tip sheet in my blog of things that have worked for me, take them or leave them but you might find some to be helpful:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/lambertj

christenwypy

I am no expert but from everything I have read I think you need to eat fruits, veggies, and proteins more than anything. The general consensus also seems to be to eat clean- meaning as little processed and prepackaged stuff as possible and no junk food. Track your sugar and carbs on here and try to keep them within your goal (unless the sugar comes from fruit- that seems to be okay).

Most people say to eat often like 5 or 6 times a day so you never get hungry. Some seem to prefer to eat much less. I would say do what works for you as far as how often you eat.

It is still a big struggle for me so this is all what i have read more than by experience lol.

chris1529

Congratulations on your weight loss! That's a huge achievement.

As for what and how much to eat, I believe in eating everything, in moderation, and staying within my calorie goals. For me, if I don't eat what I want, I'll eat the healthy option, and the unhealthy one too. In general though, try to eat a little bit healthier each day. My willpower sucks, so I generally don't buy things I shouldn't eat, 'cause once it is in the house, I'll eat it.

Now for your calorie goals - figure out your BMR and TDEE. Eat about 20% below your TDEE, making sure you don't fall below your BMR. BMR is the minimum number of calories you need for your bodily functions ( like breathing), and falling below it can slow down your metabolism and be counterproductive in the long run.

Find things you enjoy doing that will keep you moving. And don't worry about being able to complete the exercises either. That will come with time. Just think about doing a little better each day.

Thumbs up! Good advice!

Debbe2

Congratulations on your decision to make a positive change and for DOING IT!!!
I suggest that you continue to read and view the opinions on here and do your research elsewhere too so that you are informed and can make educated decisions about how you choose to make changes to your lifestyle and how you want the rest of your life to look. It seems to me to be good advice to say make changes that YOU enjoy and YOU can live with. Be kind to yourself and be patient. Moving in the right direction> toward your personal goals= success.

janet0513

I too have a love affair with food. I like to talk about it, eat it, cook it.

There is a lot of info here and a lot of conflicting info so take everything with a grain of salt (see more food lol). Here is my advice to you and do with it what you wish:

Start out by making small changes. Changes that you can live with. Add some fruits and vegetables. Try making healthier versions of food (stay away from frying and add good fats). Log what you eat and monitor your calories but look at protein and fiber (its ok to go over in those) and also your sodium and carbs (You should try not to go over in those areas). Get plenty of water! Check out skinnytaste.com or other sites that can help you make lighter meals. Do some fact based research on nutrition or see a nutritionist.

As far as your calories, put it into your goals in mfp and see what comes up. I know a lot of people don't, but eat your exercise calories (trust me, you will feel happier. I do and I don't feel deprived or hungry and I am down 45 lbs). Don't be in a hurry to lose the weight, you need to make changes that you can live with forever.

Exercise doesn't have to be in a gym. Go play a sport, ride a bike or take some walks. No you shouldn't lift weights daily with the same muscles, so rotate them and have some rest days. One day I do upper body, the next I do lower. Strength training with help tone your muscles. Cardio you can do every day. Start out with what you can do and live with. I usually do cardio and weights 4x/weeek and in between I try to walk.

Best of luck!

c3nterstage

You can lose one pound a week by cutting 300-350 calories a day and getting 30 min of exercise (just going out a taking a walk counts!). For exercise also work on finding something you love, try running/walking, yoga, zumba, workout DVDs, what ever sounds interesting! Another good idea is to focus on a goal, like training for a 5k or a hike. For food since you love food that will actually make it easier, think of eating healthy as an opportunity to get to try new things! Go to the bookstore/online/library and find not just new diet books, but clean eating and organic books and try to test out at least two new recipes a week (just watch portion control)

taso42

First of all, congrats on making the decision. You can do it! I was in a very similar boat a few short years ago.

My advice would be to always focus on sustainability and the long term. That means, when evaluating any sort of eating plan or exercise program, ask yourself, "can I do this every day, every week, for the rest of my life?" If the answer is an honest yes, then it's probably an ok way to go. If the answer is, "it will be a horrible stuggle, but hey it's only for a few weeks", then skip it.

Counting calories can be very eye opening. Even when I was already eating well, when I first joined MFP, it was very educational to see how many calories, grams of protein, grams of carbs, fat, etc I was taking in. I made some adjustments right away.

For the most part, you can eat what you want. A good rule of thumb is 1g protein per lb of lean body weight, and around .35g fat. The rest can be carbs, or anything else really. Using this (or whatever template you settle on), start filling in the next day's diary, and play around with number of meals, portion sizes, and foods, until you come up with something that seems sensible. Planning ahead is key, at least for the first several weeks, until you get a knack for it.

For exercise, strength training 2-3x/week and cardio 2-3x/week is a sensible template.

If I could go back in time and change on thing about my younger self, I would have started weight lifting YEARS ago. Now I have a lot of catching up to do here in my mid-late thirties.

Rosiered2

Here is what has worked the best for me:
1. I plan to get up every morning at 5:15 to do my "sweating to the oldies" tape....if I decide the night before that I really did need extra rest, I reset my alarm for one hour later, sleep in, and do my workout tape either at lunch time or after work. I NEVER EVER EVER hit the snooze alarm or turn it off and sleep in............I would consider that cheating, and that's how I got in this "mess"! I plan to take time off from my exercising, I don't ever just give in and not do it.....being persistent about this has turned my exercising in to a habit and makes it MUCH easier to do---because I know that sleeping in (unplanned) just IS NOT an option.
2. I plan my meals out either the night before or the morning of.....this includes 3 meals, at least 2 snacks. I may decide at the last minute to eat my dinner for lunch or my lunch at snack and my snack at lunch....but I "shop" my food for the day and pick from that.
3. I do my very very VERY best to not eat anything from a box or package. I try to eat several servings of fruit and vegetables every day. The one problem with this is that sometimes it is hard to get all the calories in because "un-packaged" food has so many less calories (AND ESPECIALLY----WAY LESS SODIUM). VERY LITTLE FASTFOOD.....just isn't worth giving up that many calories....or for the amount of sodium that it "costs"!
4. I log every bite of food....good, bad or ugly......if I am going to eat something that I clearly know I shouldn't, I go look it up and log it....sometimes that very thing is all it takes to keep me from eating it....but if I decide to eat it, I don't hide and eat it, I sit and enjoy it.
5. I drink about 10 glasses of water every day. I make sure that I do. It is intentional.
6. Most importantly, I don't undereat or over-exercise. I started doing 2 hours of exercise a day, I didn't raise my calories eaten, and my weight loss slowed down. As soon as I went back to 1 hour of workout a day, it picked back up. Can't starve the body, it only works for a week or two and then it takes forever to get it back to burning the way it should.

I think most importantly, I have now turned this in to how I live....I exercise, I eat fruits and vegetables, I am informed about the calorie and nutrition information of what I eat....I am careful with sodium. This isn't my diet....I just eat this way now....and how do I know that? My kids asked me if I had gone off my diet? Why? They didn't see me moaning or groaning or starving, and they are just used to me exercising.....they eat what I make, they are getting used to everything too....I lose about 1 pound every week and some weeks it is 2 pounds.
Hope this helps you.

**I do light exercise on one weekend day (usually something with the family) and on one day of the weekend I don't do any "intentional" exercise but it is funny--lots of time it just happens anyway!

danigirl1011

I love how you described a love affair with food! That's my problem too. I feel like almost somethign is wrong with me because i just love food sooo much.

Here are my tips to i think work the best. I like it when people leave their diaries open so i can get tips and hints and ideas from what other people eat. My diary is open and can maybe give you some good ideas? First off, i log everything. Even one peice of candy or a little bit of this adds up. If you don't add all of what you eat every single day otherwise you can just be tricking yourself. Working out is great! If you don't like it though or don't want to i would start by going on a few walks a day. 20 mins or so at a time. Will get the blood pumping and metabolism up. I do eat back some exercise calories, but never all of them. Regularly scheduled cheat night every saturday night at dinner. That way i tell myself during the week "wait until after weigh in". I also schedule out meals and snacks and eat every 2-3 hours so i am never overly hungry and having the desire to just stuff my face then over eat. I also log all my meals days ahead of time. I can then see that it all fits into my calorie count for whatever day and i notice if it's in there and i see it i am in the mindset that's what i'm eating and very rarely do i stray. Drink lots of water, get lots of sleep, and i like to take a daily multivitamin as well as an extra calcium with vitamin d. Great job on the 14 pounds! Keep up the good work

sthrnchick

Thanks so much for the replies! I guess one thing that I am terribly confused about is... the BMR 9 i think that is the term) MFP says i should eat 1200/day.. and I know that in order to loose weight, you have to eat less than you can burn. So what should by daily weight goals be... the 1200, or under that to loose weight?

Spanaval

Depending on what you have set your weight loss goals at, MFP's absolute minimum cals for you would be 1200/day if you're female. That is your NET calories, which means you eat back your exercise calories. It doesn't mean that's the right number for you, though. If your BMR is higher, you could be setting yourself up for long term failure by eating less.

I'll use myself as an example. My BMR is 1274. My TDEE is 1739 (light exercise). My goal is to eat about 15 - 20% below my TDEE, which would be 1478 - 1391 cals. I aim for somewhere in the 1400 cals/day ballpark. Now, my calorie deficit for the week is around 2373 (1739 - 1400). Given that one pound of weight loss requires a calorie deficit of 3500/week, my weight loss is going to be slooooow.

If I tell MFP that I need to lose 1 lb. a week, it will set my daily caloric goal lower, sufficiently low as to get me a 3500 calories/week goal, which may or may not be above my BMR. Remember that BMR is what you need to keep your body going if you were say, in a coma and lying in bed all day long., and you don't really want to go below that.

honeysprinkles

Thanks so much for the replies! I guess one thing that I am terribly confused about is... the BMR 9 i think that is the term) MFP says i should eat 1200/day.. and I know that in order to loose weight, you have to eat less than you can burn. So what should by daily weight goals be... the 1200, or under that to loose weight?

1200 is the lowest mfp will ever recommend you eat and that INCLUDES a deficit large enough to lose weight. It depends on your size and height, but generally you can lose weight with a smaller deficit (which means eating more than 1200 calories). MFP sets your goals based on the amount that you chose to lose each week. They recommend 1lb a week.

MostlyWater

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