Any patience for a beginner?

If you are interested at all in lifting weights I have had very good success with that while on my journey from fat to fit. I've always heard that muscle burns more calories than fat because fat doesn't do anything but take up space.

Your statement "I need it to stick this time" resonated with me because of the hundred times I lost weight quickly only to quickly gain IT PLUS 20 or 50 or 75 or 100 lb more back. I'm 30 years your senior and I am just saying I hope you are able to find some type of activity you enjoy, cardio and/or weight lifting or whatever and fall in love with it. I was 47 before I ever seriously went to the gym to change my life. Realize you aren't in this for a quick fix you are in this for a LIFETIME fix. It's just time and time is going to pass anyway. Being consistent with whatever you decide to do is key. Work out consistently. Weigh and measure your foods so as to stay consistent with your calorie goal and to hit it each day. (I personally lost 120 lb before I counted the first calorie but I also started at 363 lb and now that I'm at 200 weighing and measuring is vital to losing the last 25 lb or so that I need to lose. BTW I am 200 lb and wear a size 12/14. I attribute that to lifting weights for the last 4 3/4 years as I have been 200 before and wearing a size 18.

If you like to dance find a Zumba class. Body Step is a new favorite for me. I went to Zumba for 2 years and enjoyed it immensely. If your gym has a rowing machine try it out. My favorite at the moment is the stair mill where I can get a great calorie burn.

If you don't already have one consider getting a Polar or My Zone or some other type heart rate monitor. My Polar keeps me informed of my heart rate at any given time and also my calorie burn.

Best of Luck,
Patti

It's great that you have a plan! I'm pretty new here, too, so feel free to friend me!

Your calorie goal sounds reasonable. I would weigh and track everything - and be fine with being a little under one day and a little over another - but know that you are truly right around your goal.
I also don;t worry too much about my macros, but I would keep an eye on them - getting more protein for example is more filling (typically) than carbs. Do I think you shouldn't have a piece of cake that fits your calories if your carbs are over? Nope. But maybe just look at the bigger picture of your macros.

Can I suggest getting a good pair of trainers and start walking everywhere? I have been walking around 2 hours a day for 3 weeks now to and from work and as well as making me feel good, I've lost 5lbs. I also snack on things like Ryvita with cherry tomatoes if I feel hungry. I had really sore shins the first 2 weeks but thats eased off now. I don't even think about it now, I just get up half an hour earlier and start walking - no stress or sitting on stinky buses. I usually get a lot of colds in the Winter, I'm sure from people around me sneezing - especially on public transport so hopefully I will notice a difference this year. I'm not good at keeping up gym memberships or classes as I can't be bothered going in the Winter, but I have to go to work every day so I thought I might as well use that to get fit. Keep up the good work!

I've yo-yo'd a lot in my life, but there are a few different things this time that are helping:

1) a step counter. I know its a gimmick, but it works for me and my husband. We're motivated to see how many steps we're burning and motivated to add more.

2) Heavy weight-lifting. I saw results much faster this time because I started weight lifting early. This has motivated me to stick with it. I also love to run, but not everyone does. I personally use the program in the book, The New Rules of Lifting for Women, but there are other ones out there.

3) Protein. I know you don't want to count macros. I don't count mine as closely as I should, but I definitely intentionally choose lean protein and that makes a difference. I eat lean meat, whole grains, and greek yogurt every day and it helps me stay full.

Sounds like your doing a good job. Don't forget WATER WATER WATER throughout the day. When I go to the gym I always start with cardio...treadmill or stair master, then move to weights. Some days I go a steady pace and get in 30-40 mins of cardio and others days I do high intensity style for short period of time. High Intensity and weights will continue to burn calories post workout!!
Just keep eating good foods to fuel your body and be patient!!

InfinitePossibilities wrote: »

I'd rather be consistently okay than have a great week before giving up.

This, in a nutshell, makes me believe you will succeed.

A sub optimal plan executed consistently over time will generate far superior results to the best plan in the world which is followed irregularly.

Your current plan sound good. Keep at it, make small improvements continuously as you learn, be patient, always keep the long term in view. Do that and your results will be amazing.

You know most people's problem? They talk just too damn much. If they spent as much time doing as they did yakking they would achieve their goals sooner.

It sounds like you have the right idea and are going about this the right way. I'm sure I'm covering what others have already said, but sometimes hearing the same thing in a different way helps them to stick.

Forget what you think you know about weight loss. You don't need to eat "healthy" or "clean" to lose weight. There's no magical combination of foods to eat (or avoid) unless you have a medical issue. Eating after a certain time of day won't store fat. No foods "burn fat" and you can't reduce fat in one specific area by doing something special. Drinking lots of water doesn't have an affect on weight loss. I think that covers most of it. Losing weight is all about eating less calories than your body burns each day. Exercise is for fitness and to give yourself more calories to eat, if you want.

You've gotten a lot of advice but I think the most important bit is to take it slow. Baby steps! Try to change too much all at once and you'll likely end up overwhelmed. Instead, make little changes and keep doing those things until they become habit then add another change. Right now, that change should be getting into the habit of weighing and measuring your food and logging every single thing you eat and drink; everything down to chewing gum and vitamins. Log it all and be brutally honest with yourself. You may not like what you're seeing but you'll learn a lot more if you can correlate what you're eating with how many calories it contains.

If you don't own a kitchen scale, buy one and use it. Most food should be weighed, not measured; even salad dressing and peanut butter packaging gives servings in grams. If you're inaccurate with your logging your results will not be what you think they should be. Strive to stay at or just under or over the calorie goal MFP sets for you every single day. Don't worry about sugar, carbs, fat and protein for now. Once you get logging and meeting your calorie goal you can focus on those things as well as figuring out your TDEE, BMR, etc.

Exercise isn't needed for weight loss but it's important for fitness and overall health. There are many things you can do outside of the gym. Park at the back of the parking lot, take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk on your breaks at work. Later, find an exercise activity that you like whether that's walking, running, swimming, biking, Zumba, or whatever. If you like it you'll be more likely to stick with it. Working out shouldn't be something you dread each day.

Consider strength training right from the start, it has huge benefits. You'll not only lose more fat but your metabolism will be higher. Maintaining muscle is much easier than building new muscle and your body has built up extra to carry your excess weight. If you can keep most of the muscle you already have while losing fat, you're going to look amazing when you get to your goal weight!

Take "before" pictures so you can better judge your progress visually. Results on the measuring tape are more important than those on the bathroom scale. Measure your chest, waist, hips, thighs and any other body part you want to track and start recording them in MFP now. When the scale isn't moving your body might still be shrinking especially if you're lifting weights.

The most important thing right now is that what you're doing is sustainable. You shouldn't be trying to reach an end goal weight but changing your eating habits for life so you don't gain the weight back. That means that whichever way you're eating while you lose weight should be the way you plan to eat once you reach your goal, just a little more of it.