Will this work???!!!!

KristinaL

Hi everyone, I dont know a whole lot about loosing weight.. I've always been in shape and healthy... I'm a 24 year old with 3 little boys .. they are 1, 2 , and 3 years old .. I've been pregnant a total of 4 times cause I lost one!! I also was not allowed to do much activity while pregnant due to heart problems during my pregnancies.... So therefore I had put on some weight also I put weight on from having children and the fact that they were one after the other didnt help much either... I also just lost my little brother on the 4th of July he was 19yrs old and I was just a mess a gaines weight from that too.. So total I gained 80 lbs in the past 4 years and would like to get back into shape... I just dont know if I'm going about it the right way... I work out on the Gazelle Edge 45 mins a day.. according to MFP I should be eating 1200 cals. ... I eat a little bit less than that... I'd say around 100-200 cals less and I dont eat back my exercise cals... I feel good not hungry or starving... Oh and I exercise 6 days a week and I let myself have a cheat day with my food .. I dont go crazy or anything but I let myself eat something if I'm craving it... I just started last Friday and dont know if this is working for me could anyone tell me their opinion as if I will loose weight from what I'm doing or should I be doing more.. If I should be doing more I would greatly appreciate your opinions as to what else I should be doing... Thank you all for taking the time to read this.. God Bless and may all your goals come true!!!!

StrengthInPain

Kristina, wow, you've had a lot going on in the past 4 years. Sorry to hear about your brother and your tough pregnancies. I'm also 24, but have not been through any as tough as you have. The important thing is you are ready to move on for a better future. First, although I know it's against most people's thought of "dieting", you should eat at LEAST 1200 calories. 1200 is actually the minimum amount of calories any female should take in to maintain healthy nutrition. Also, you should be eating your exercise calories, or at least some of them. Eating less than 1200 calories while exercising will only slow your metabolism. try having healthy snacks between meals to keep your metabolism going. 6 days a week for exercise is perfect, having a day off is actually good for your body. And if allowing yourself a cheat day works for you then go ahead, but my suggestion is not to have your cheat day on the day without exercise. Anyway, I started this about a month ago, and have lost almost 10 pounds, it might not seem like a lot but remember the more you have to lose, the faster the scales will drop. If you are honest with yourself and stick with it, it will work, and more importantly you will be HEALTHIER, not just lose weight. I hope my advice helps. I hope you acheive your goals.

VLCD

Sounds like you are doing an AWESOME job!
Keep the water intake up --- along w/ all the other great things you are doing and you should be well on your way to success!

I'm not sure what your height/weight/age specs all are -- but the trainer I hired last yr to perform an assessment said I should stick w/ 1200 cals to lose safely... (and have read 1200 a lot for most women of avg height is what's quoted)

This yr - as of last week -- I'm doing my best to stick w/ a VLCD (very low calorie combo diet plan) - 700/800 range - but find that I can do 1000 easily without feeling like I'm hungry or going without --- (now that I've sought out every yummy snack and meal item that holds low cals n' fats without sacrificing taste!) I've always hated soup --- but am trying to make sure I do at least 1 liquid meal a day -- TWICE if possible...(meaning a high protein shake w/ fresh ground fruit for Breakfast - OR a can of Progressive low fat chicken soup w/ 15 zesta crackers w/ it for lunch...)

We eat out at least 4 times a week w/ a busy schedule -- mostly sit down restaurants - but even then, you don't get the best results --
I was shocked to see how high restaurant salads and 'healthy' meals were....
I have always LOOOOVED going out to eat -- (which is a family joke -- ) but, now -- things are changing...
The last 2 wks, we've only gone out once and I'm actually OK with it--- when I see what a MASSIVE difference it makes when I sit down to log my intake....

I'm having fun making things again -- that are simple and SO filling and healthy!
Hang in there -- and make it a habit to get on the site daily -- for motivation and accountability to keep you on track...
Become obsessive w/ reading labels for a while til' you figure out what's the good stuff - and what's not ---
Then -- it should all come easy --
Christine

sportsqueen32

HI Kristina
You have had it tough for a while now and I am sorry for all your loss. The most important thing is to make sure you are eating at least your 1200 calories. Try for high protein snacks before you work out along with some carbs, you will use that energy to get the most out of your workout. Also drink lots of water it will help clean out your system of the sodium which especially with woman can be our downfall. On days you do exercise try to eat at least 1/2 of your earned calories. If you are not seeing results doing it the way you have it may be because your body is going into starvation mode. Think about what you used to eat before, plug those meals into a mock diet for the day and and see how many calories you took in, think about how hungry you were before. I can go on and on, like making sure your higher carb meals are before working out or for lunch. This way you won't have all those carbs turning to fat after dinner when you are less active. I like the idea of having a cheat day. What me and my fiance do ( he is also on MFP) is have 2 cheat meals a month whether its a snack, breakfast or dinner and we each get to choose one of the meals. Your workout schedule is pretty impressive I wish I had the time to do that much. I have been on MFP for a little over a month and have lost 18lbs so far, but have stayed at the 18 for the last 4 days....uuuugghhhhh... This is a full time job 24/7 whether we like it or not but when we get the results we want it will all e worth it. Good luck and msg me if you want to chat more.