new here... advice?

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gm678560
gm678560 Posts: 13 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi everyone. I am a 22 year old girl in college, 5'7 and ~150 lb. Recently started logging my foods and just trying to make healthier choices. Because of my job, i should ideally be about 20 lb lighter, so I am hoping to lose weight but being healthy is my #1 priority. I am wondering if anyone would be willing to look through my diary and give me any advice. I want to be healthy but admittedly do not really know what I am doing! I am fairly active 4 times a week because of my job, but once finals are over I will be going to the gym as much as possible too. Advice (and friends!) appreciated!!

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  • LeeWorrall88
    LeeWorrall88 Posts: 80
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    Hi and welcome to the forums, I am new here too
    Had a quick look at your diary, in general your diet seems pretty decent, the main issue that I noticed straight away was your sugar. You seem to be consuming way to much sugar on near enough every day. Sugar is the enemy, sugar = fat, so try and cut down on your sugar :-)
  • IronGirlShae
    IronGirlShae Posts: 58 Member
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    I'd also say to watch your carbs and sugar. Make sure to drink at least 8 glasses of water, have plenty of fiber and protein, don't eat less than 1000 calories. Try to work in more cardio to burn calories and some strength training/weights to build lean muscle. Muscle will burn calories for you, even when you are resting. Make sure to log the seasonings you put on things, hidden salt can make you retain water weight. Log EVERYTHING, every drop of oil you cook with, etc. Make recipes for things you eat a lot so you can post them more easily.
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
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    Don't get freaked out by those who warn you off sugar. Much of your sugar is coming from fruits, which is excellent. Don't give up the fruit! In general, moderate amounts of any sugar is not a problem unless you have a metabolic disorder that requires you to keep your blood sugars under control. I put a few grams of sugar in my cereal and on my oatmeal. It didn't keep me from losing weight.

    I know you are a rider. Do you work in a barn? If so, you definitely need to increase your calories. Mucking stalls, tacking horses, and tossing hay requires a lot of energy. Back when I worked as a groom in a dressage barn I ate about 2500 calories per day and was 17% body fat. Even now, I'm sedentary except for my daily workouts and I still consume 1,800 calories per day.

    My favorite source for calorie allowance info is http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/ When I plugged your stats into their calculator it said you should be eating 1,970- 2,700 calories per day depending on just how active you are. Under eating is not conducive to healthy long term weight loss and maintenance.
  • gm678560
    gm678560 Posts: 13 Member
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    Thanks for the replies! Yes I do work in a barn teaching and riding 3x a week and doing the barnwork on the weekend. I will increase my calories. I have trouble finding enough good foods to eat -- I am new to this whole eating well thing and I am a BAD cook. Being healthy for the long term is definitely much more important to me than losing weight overnight.

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