Realistic Goal?

katiepaulson1997
katiepaulson1997 Posts: 15
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello there everybody. My name is Katie and this coming fall I will be a senior in high school. I have been using this app since mid-May and after not losing much weight and changing my weight loss from 2 pounds a week to 1 pound a week, I have lost about 7 pounds. I have to say I am proud of myself for all the changes I have made. I make sure I net at least 1300 calories a day and get 30 minutes or cardio from 3-5 times a week. I have cut out virtually all junk food, I eat less pasta and bread, and have been replacing higher fat meats such as hamburger with ground turkey. My goal is to try to be close to 130-ish by the time I graduate high school in May next year. I was just wondering if this is a realistic goal and if anyone had any suggestions on how to generally be healthier/eat better. Thank you. :)

Replies

  • aprilkats
    aprilkats Posts: 34 Member
    What do you weigh now?
  • katiepaulson1997
    katiepaulson1997 Posts: 15
    I currently weigh 190. I know I have a long way to go but its a work in progress.
  • Kevalicious99
    Kevalicious99 Posts: 1,131 Member
    Just killing that junk food is a good thing .. I used to eat that stuff night and day. And pop. That is a rare thing now.

    It is just plain bad for you .. and you will live much longer eating healthy food.

    The one thing I would suggest is this .... don't be in too much of a hurry to hit your goal weight. If it takes a year .. so what. It is a change in lifestyle you need not some crazy crash diet. You do not want to be in a bad place again in 5 years .. make the needed changes and just make that how you will live your life.

    Also .. ignore the scale. Throw it out .. hide it. It is useless trash and will do nothing to help you along the way. Measure your body fat .. even if you buy a cheap BIA (body fat measuring one sold at stores) scale and use that, the numbers might not be 100% right but the trends are valuable information. I know I told you to ignore the scale .. and buy one, but I am sure that you get it. That lb number is useless but your body fat % is good to know. This is a great place ... with many knowledgeable people to help you out.

    Go by the mirror and how you feel and look and take measurements and lots of pictures along the way.

    Good luck.
  • jchite84
    jchite84 Posts: 467 Member
    Hey Katie,

    So you've got 61 lbs to go? I think you can do it.
    - 2 lbs a week can be hard to maintain, it was probably a good decision to move to 1 lb a week while your body is transitioning. - Keep up the cardio, and maybe add in some strength training 1 or 2 days per week. More lean muscle helps you burn fat more efficiently, and improved body composition will make you look and feel better.
    - Keep eating healthy and keep working at it. It will get hard, you will probably plateau while your body adjusts to new calorie intakes. Don't give up, and keep pushing.
    - Drink lots of fluid.
    - Weigh yourself daily and measure your rolling average weight. You can get apps like WeightTracker that will do this for you. It will show your weight loss trend, and even it out over high days and low days. More data points will give you a more accurate measure of your progress.
    - Remember that it's not just about weight, body composition is also a big part of it. Watch how your clothes fit, or if you are a metrics nerd, like me, take measurements. For women it's usually waist at the navel, hips at the widest point, and wrist. You can use these numbers to track an estimated body fat percentage. (though usually not terribly accurate, it will show you progress)
    - Use the website and find a group of people to support you. Friend people and let them follow you, post on the message boards. This is a very supportive group, and it helps a ton to know that others are going through the same stuff you are. Almost no problem you can have is brand new, and somebody will be able to give you insight and lend you some support.

    Good Luck!
  • katiepaulson1997
    katiepaulson1997 Posts: 15
    Thanks for the advice. I suppose I am sorta in a hurry to hit my weight loss goal. I know I have a lot of self-esteem issues and I feel like losing weight and being healthier in general will make me feel better about myself. I am pretty much in line to be validictorian next year, and I would love to be able to go to my senior prom and feel beautiful. Honestly I would love to be healthy going into college. The dreaded "freshman 10" are not going to be extra pounds on me. I know I have things to work on besides just eating healthy but I know this is a good place to start. Anyway thanks for the advice.
  • ajff
    ajff Posts: 986 Member
    Also, surround yourself with helpful, supportive people in your real life, not just here. You will need someone who knows and loves you to be supportive when you have had a bad day! They don't need to be diet buddies, just people who help you be your best! Be good to yourself and good luck, my dear!
  • Mykaelous
    Mykaelous Posts: 231 Member
    I think so. My suggestion is to continue what you are doing as you are having success. If you are exerting yourself well during your cardio session you can slowly ramp up your speed over the next few months. This will cause you to slowly burn more calories and speed up your fat loss. The way I keep track of exertion is by my heart rate. For example when I first started cardio I would complete 4 miles on an elliptical in an hour and my heart rate would be at a steady 135. Over time(a month or two) this dropped to 125 as my body adjusted to the workout. I then decided that I would increase my speed to maintain a heart rate of 135 and in order to do so I would complete 5 miles in the same hour effectively burning 25% more calories. The way to think about it is that you are simply challenging yourself the same amount every day. As exercise gets easier you need to up the exercise to maintain the same effort. As long as you do that, over the course of the next year you will not only loose more and more weight, but you will also improve your cardio vascular system as well as muscles throughout your body.
  • jordanify
    jordanify Posts: 81 Member
    Try the whole 30, it worked amazing for me (and I'm almost 40) it'll set you on the right track. You absolutely can do it!
  • katiepaulson1997
    katiepaulson1997 Posts: 15
    My mom as actually making healthy lifestyle changes along with me. She doesnt exercise nearly as much as I do and shes losing weight faster than me. (Grrr) I do have friends who know I am trying to be healthier and they really havent made any comments on it. I suppose it would be nice if they were a bit more supportive, but I'll take what I can get.
  • katiepaulson1997
    katiepaulson1997 Posts: 15
    Try the whole 30, it worked amazing for me (and I'm almost 40) it'll set you on the right track. You absolutely can do it!

    So...what is the whole 30 exactly?
  • heybebe88
    heybebe88 Posts: 26 Member
    Thanks for the advice. I suppose I am sorta in a hurry to hit my weight loss goal. I know I have a lot of self-esteem issues and I feel like losing weight and being healthier in general will make me feel better about myself. I am pretty much in line to be validictorian next year, and I would love to be able to go to my senior prom and feel beautiful. Honestly I would love to be healthy going into college. The dreaded "freshman 10" are not going to be extra pounds on me. I know I have things to work on besides just eating healthy but I know this is a good place to start. Anyway thanks for the advice.

    I think that part about being healthy going into college is a great goal - it is such a huge life change and having a step up to begin with is great.

    However, from someone who's been there, I don't know if losing weight will necessarily make you "feel beautiful" or fix your self-esteem issue. I know that for me, it was the other way around - once I worked on my self-esteem and repaired my relationship with myself and decided that my body and I were worth the work and long-term investment of getting healthy, only then was I able to make a real and lasting change in my relationship with food.

    You can do it! If you feel beautiful inside, do everything you can to make your outsides match. And if you don't feel beautiful inside, then that is where you start.
  • katiepaulson1997
    katiepaulson1997 Posts: 15
    Trust me I do feel beautiful on the inside. I know that I'm (generally) a nice person and I am very intelligent. It is because my outside isnt as beautiful as my inside that I decided to get healthier. I know my self-esteem issues are mostly about my weight, which is why I am making a change to be healthier and yes, slimmer. I would like to thank you for your support all the same.
  • heybebe88
    heybebe88 Posts: 26 Member
    That's great! Good luck on your journey to feeling as beautiful on the outside as you do on the inside :)

Categories