Hopeful for wedding weight loss

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Hi everyone! I am hoping to lose around 10 pounds realistically (but it would be great if I could lose 15) by September and tone everything up. I'm curious as to how accurate the calorie counter is and if I should be adding up and calculating walking around the office all day as an exercise.

I'm an on-the-go type person and have little to no time to dedicate to excerise and wanted to know if anyone had any tips on how to get exercise incorporated in my routine without veering too far from my routine.

Thanks!
Kayla

Replies

  • ckncj
    ckncj Posts: 183 Member
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    Congrats on the upcoming wedding! I'm gearing up for a September wedding, myself!

    You can definitely lose 10-15 lbs between now & Sept. That'd be about 4lb/mo - or 1lb/week. If you're dedicated and committed, it can be achieved.

    In terms of the calorie-counter's accuracy as well as your activity level - yes, the counter is pretty accurate (compare to your food labels when entering something in) and your activity level should be incorporated in when you filled out your stats I'm not sure the size of your office and/or how much you are truly walking around, but you could wear a pedometer to see if you should enter that into your overall daily calculation.

    GOOD LUCK ON YOUR JOURNEY!
  • anwendy
    anwendy Posts: 17
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    I think you can absolutely realistically lose 15 lbs by your wedding. As for the exercise, I too work in an office and put my lifestyle down as "sedentary." I figure that takes into account walking around an office some, and if I have a day where I happen to walk more than others, I don't log extra exercise, I just figure it will be a better day. :) But, I have found some ways to incorporate exercise into my hectic schedule...for example, grocery shopping can totally count as exercise. I log it as "Walking-Slow 2.0". House cleaning is also an exercise. And, on the days when I don't have time for an hour long Zumba class or something, I walk my dog for 20 mins at a really fast pace, and then I do 10 mins of situps/pushups vigorously. It gives me a quick and easy 30 min workout, which if you do RIGHT AWAY when you get home from work, you'll barely notice that you actually "lost" any of your precious evening time.

    MFP has worked wonders for me, and I hope it will for you too! :)
  • denise980
    denise980 Posts: 296
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    Do you have Comcast OnDemand? There are 10 minute workout videos that do a good job at toning different parts of the body and they really don't take too much time out of a busy day. I live by them.

    Also, if you have about 25 minutes in a day that you can devote to exercise, I would reccommend Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. It is really good (it does strength training, cardio, and abs) and it only take up about 25 minutes.

    Add me if you want some support :-)
  • Neliel
    Neliel Posts: 507 Member
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    If walking around the office is part of your daily routine then you put that as your activity level rather than as exercise. Exercise is just what extra you do on top of all of that.
    There are a few things you can do at home if you don't have the time or money for the gym. I like to either do an exercise DVD (anything by Jillian Michaels will be a great workout) or sometimes I like to do some jump rope in the back garden for some great cardio work. If you can spare 20 minutes of your time at home to do any of that then it's good enough!
  • slackeyj
    slackeyj Posts: 68
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    HI,
    I have found the calorie counter on the food to be very accurate to both my calorie counting book and the information for all the food boxes so as far as food goes it is really accurate. The exercise calorie counter is sometimes too generous I think but for the most part also very accurate. I don't typically log my normal every day activities just because I feel like I end up losing less that way. My Mom is a PE teacher and a mother of four and has managed to stay in great shape her entire adult life by simply walking at a brisk pace for at least a mile a day. Then, even on her busiest days its only a 15-20 minute "workout" and still burns an extra 200 calories and engages your core and legs (biggest muscles are down there). I am more a runner/class type person but those take a dedicated period of time typically whereas a 15 minute walk after dinner is usually doable for most people, then if you have more time and can go farther all the better. Add 15 push ups at the end and 15 sit ups at the beginning and you will only add about five minutes but the results should pay off in no time. If you can't do 15 just do as many as you can as fast as you can in 1 minute and it will be a metabolism booster. Anyway, those are my tricks for fast, easy, anywhere activities for a busy schedule. Good luck. I am trying to get in shape for my big family wedding ceremony too and completely understand the pressure to look your best for all those lifetime pictures.
    Best wishes,
    Jessica
  • avassos
    avassos Posts: 12
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    congrats on the wedding,

    I'm hoping to do the same for my wedding in September. :)
  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,526 Member
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    Keep a pair of athletic shoes in your vehicle. You can walk almost anywhere, and every little bit helps. 15 minutes is better than nothing!
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
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    The calorie counter is only as accurate as the person using it. This means if you log everything and log it correctly, then it should be correct. The program works if you let it.

    If you are trying to "lose the last 15", then you should really incorporate some strength training. With some proper weights found on craigslist, you could even do this at home:

    http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/