Really need to get serious

Great advice above - the only trouble I'd have with hiring a personal trainer, apart from the cost which would probably make this not an option for me anyway, but if I could afford it how would I know he/she is a 'good' trainer without spending money in the first place? I don't rely on online recommendations at their own site as they could actually be written by the trainer themselves. I don't know anyone who uses the services of a personal trainer either, so can't go by their recommendation.

mjmjsnana wrote: »

I really need help staying on track with diet and exercise.. Can someone give me any ideas

Diet is the most important thing for weight loss, seriously. Get that under control first. Spend 2 weeks with no pressure at all to eat a certain way - just LOG every bite. Learn to use a food scale. Start getting an idea of how many calories you are already eating. At the end of two weeks, take a look at where the bulk of your calories are coming from - do you drink a lot of cans of soda (120 cal each), afternoon latte with 400 calories, 3 tablespoons of butter on your toast? Sometimes it is just eye opening to finally see the calories in things you didnt realize - thats also why it is so important to learn to weigh and compare the "serving" size. A "serving" of cheese or cereal is truly pathetic - most people actually eat 2-3 servings at a time and think it is just one . Anything in there you can live without? Start by just cutting that out and keeping everything else the same for a few days. Then start looking at substitutes - you eat regular yogurt with 210 calories, change to the lite kind for 100 calories (greek for more protein). You drink a 400 calorie latte everyday - do they make a "skinny" version? can you switch to just coffee and doctor it up a bit?

After 2 weeks, take your average calories per day. Say its 2500. Did your weight stay the same over those two weeks (from start to finish, ignoring bumps every day)? If yes, that is probably your maintenance right now - as long as you stick to that, your weight will stay about the same. So if you eat less than that, you will likely lose weight for awhile (unless your lighter weight evens out with your new maintenance). It takes 500 less calories a day to lose a pound a week. Start out by just trying every day to get 2000. Not 1500, not 2200... Hit 2000 and try to stop. If you do it MOST days, and dont have any huge blowouts, you should lose a pound or two over the next week.

Continue doing this - every week or two, find out your average calorie intake. If your weight is going down, keep hitting that target. If your weight is staying the same, shoot for a few hundred less. Do NOT be tempted to drop far and fast (like 1200). Because when you stop losing weight on 1200 (which is hard to stick to anyway), there is really not a lot farther down to go. If you stairstep down, it will be a lot easier and your body will thank you.

As you start getting the hang of this, spend some time thinking about activities you would enjoy. Walking is great - some people think too boring. Go walk the mall with a friend, get books on tape and listen while walking. If you enjoy roller skating or swimming, see if you can ease into that. If nothing floats your boat, get a pedometer, figure out your daily average steps and start trying to beat your weekly average every day (which will drive up your weekly average).

The best way to get on track and STAY there (none of this off/on stuff), is to do things gradually, and exercise needs to be something you enjoy if possible, or at least dont hate. Dont think of this as torture or you will be miserable and quit. Make small changes you think you can do forever if you had to. Only a few at a time, and once they become habit, add another.

TrickyDisco wrote: »

aylajane wrote: »

Honestly, the best answer to that seems a little odd - educate yourself. Why do you need them then if you already learned everything? Lol...

You're right, your answer does at first seem a little odd. No need to laugh at me, Lol (unusual name that) ... and where did I say I'd 'already learned everything'?

Like many others here I have a limited income so need to know my cash, when I choose to spend it, won't be wasted ... thanks for all your advice though, asking for a free session is a great idea. Wish I'd thought of that.

Oh I wasnt implying you said anything! Sorry if it came out that way. I was trying to say that it seems odd to go out and learn what a trainer should be teaching you so you can decide if they are good... If you go learn it on your own, then you dont need them So I just mean learn enough to see if they seem to know what they are talking about.

TrickyDisco wrote: »

Great advice above - the only trouble I'd have with hiring a personal trainer, apart from the cost which would probably make this not an option for me anyway, but if I could afford it how would I know he/she is a 'good' trainer without spending money in the first place? I don't rely on online recommendations at their own site as they could actually be written by the trainer themselves. I don't know anyone who uses the services of a personal trainer either, so can't go by their recommendation.

BTW, I get what you're saying. I think it's hard to know what you are looking for until you've had some experience with it and even then the person might agree to what you say are your goals and then still sort of have a different agenda or just rub your the wrong way. One guy I worked with was perfectly great in so many respects, but he had this really intense warm-up and I injured myself right off the bat but he didn't take it seriously and then I couldn't walk for over a week. Whose going to say they will do that? So now I know I have to be my own advocate.

I think it might be easier if you know exactly what you are looking for and if they can deliver that. For example, my best experience was getting help with my form for 5 X 5 stronglifts. I was too scared to try it by myself without having someone check my squats and deadlifts so that was really worth it.