Will I really lose any weight?
ebony__
Posts: 519 Member
I really have a lot of weight to lose (I,m aiming for 20kg but to be honest id really like to lose 25)
Ive started on a 1200 calorie goal, and aiming to do at least 30 minutes exercise 5-6 days a week (at least for the first 2 weeks then ill review, and so far thats been my bare minimum),
I wasnt really doing much exercise before so anything is an improvement i guess,
but i dont really feel like my lifestyle has changed that dramatically, im a little worried because it makes sense to me that dramatic weightloss will require dramatic changes...
Ive started on a 1200 calorie goal, and aiming to do at least 30 minutes exercise 5-6 days a week (at least for the first 2 weeks then ill review, and so far thats been my bare minimum),
I wasnt really doing much exercise before so anything is an improvement i guess,
but i dont really feel like my lifestyle has changed that dramatically, im a little worried because it makes sense to me that dramatic weightloss will require dramatic changes...
0
Replies
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1200 is too low for working out that many times a week.
How tall are you?
How much do you weigh?0 -
1200 is too low for working out that many times a week.
How tall are you?
How much do you weigh?
could have meant 1200 net0 -
Eat enough to support your new routine. Your new routine will cause water weight gain in the form of glycogen (bound to water) and the muscles take on water to protect them while they repair. Bottom line is stay the hell away from the scales and break out the tape measure for the first 2 weeks of any exercise program.
Will you lose FAT? Yes of course you will. WEIGHT maybe not but that's perfect.0 -
I would like to gently point out a few things if you don't mind. You're looking for honest feedback, right?
1. Your attitude has to change. Your title is negative, as is your post. You have to BELIEVE that you will SUCCEED. You are setting yourself up to fail from Day 1. You Achieve What you Believe.
2. Your profile says you want to lose weight "so my son's father will want to be with me". THAT has to change. You have to want it for YOU.. ... not for someone else.
3. I hope you understand that 1200 is a NET number, So if you are working out for 30 minutes/day, burning.. what... 200-250 calories during that time? You need to actually be eating around 1500, I'd say. And, honestly, if all you are doing is cardio, 30 minutes isn't going to cause the weight to drop as quickly as what I suspect you would like.
Good Luck.0 -
1200 is too low for working out that many times a week.
How tall are you?
How much do you weigh?
could have meant 1200 net
Still too low.
Unless shes 4'10".
Or
If she doesnt care about lean mass and just wants to shrink and keep the BF%.0 -
Yes you are correct, it will require some changes but it is a lifestyle change so you have to determine how you want to live your life in terms of being healthy......everything comes at a price unfortunately...Ive been at it for 18months and still not there yet...consistency is the key to success.....by eating 1200 calories and exercising you will definately lose weight, just remember to incorporate veggies, fruit and protein and keep the processed food to a minimum...its about replacing old habits with new healthy choices...:o)0
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1200 is too low for working out that many times a week.
How tall are you?
How much do you weigh?
could have meant 1200 net
Still too low.
Unless shes 4'10".
Or
If she doesnt care about lean mass and just wants to shrink and keep the BF%.
I disagree, there are plenty of healthy foods you can fit into 1200 calories, only you know your own body and what some people class as too low is not necessarily for others....its about experimenting and if your body needs more food it will surely tell you, someone is not going to starve on 1200 calories...:o)0 -
This is exactly what happened to me. I woke up and I had gained 3 lbs! I let my body repair and rest for a couple days ate a little more. Got up this morning and the 3 lbs was gone!0
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im 173cm (5"8) and currently weigh 94 kgs.
1200 is my goal not my net > im not starving it feels like plenty enough food most days.
do i need to dramatically up my exercise to get the result i want?0 -
1200 is too low for working out that many times a week.
How tall are you?
How much do you weigh?
could have meant 1200 net
Still too low.
Unless shes 4'10".
Or
If she doesnt care about lean mass and just wants to shrink and keep the BF%.
I disagree, there are plenty of healthy foods you can fit into 1200 calories, only you know your own body and what some people class as too low is not necessarily for others....its about experimenting and if your body needs more food it will surely tell you, someone is not going to starve on 1200 calories...:o)
Everyone is different. I cannot do 1200 calories but my husband can and does. The healthier the choices the better. My husband and found many of Walden Farms 0 calorie products to be good and help if you feel the need to indulge in dressings on salads. This cuts many empty calories. This is my First experience dieting and have a difficult time but being aware of what you are eating helps. Don't be obsessed with the scale, look at how your clothes fit. They are right you need to make your changes for you. That is what made me want to lose my 30 lbs of baby weight. I want to keep up with my 3 yo. Cardio seems to work best for me to lose weight. we do 30 minutes to 45 minutes everyday. Something that makes you sweat. I wish you the best of luck.0 -
I think you're looking for this process to be instantaneous. Weight loss is not like that. If you crash diet & exercise your body goes into shock and does all it can to "hang onto" the extra fat in your body.
Each pound of fat equates to 3500 calories. So to burn 1 pound of fat a week you need to burn 3500 calories a week. I.e. 500 calories per day. This can either be through deficit of food and/or exercise. As a rough guide through aerobic exercise (cardio rather than weights) you will burn approx 10 cal a min. If you are deficitting your diet by 800 calories and doing approx 30mins exercise you should expect to loose about 2-2.5lbs a week.
Remember to not only do cardio, doing some sort of weights will tone & build muscle. Remember the more muscle you have the more calories you burn a day (that is why men are allowed more calories a day than women as they generally have more muscle mass)0 -
You need to eat more. And incorporate some weight training. Like someone already said, you are just going to shrink and keep the same bf% with your routine and diet0
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Eat enough to support your new routine. Your new routine will cause water weight gain in the form of glycogen (bound to water) and the muscles take on water to protect them while they repair. Bottom line is stay the hell away from the scales and break out the tape measure for the first 2 weeks of any exercise program.
Will you lose FAT? Yes of course you will. WEIGHT maybe not but that's perfect.
Yup I went through this and lost 3 inches but gained 5 pounds i kept with the plan even when the junk food was calling and the 5 pounds was gone one day and the inches kept coming off!0 -
I've been on the 1200 calorie goal for 4 weeks this coming Sunday and have lost 7.5 pounds (3.4 K?). If you really track everything you eat as accurate as you can (error on the high side) you'll probably find it hard to only eat 1200 calories (I'm probably hitting 1500-1800 per day). I have been amazed at how much the "little" snacks I have add up. The cardio exercise entries give you credits towards the calories. I've been doing 50 minutes of eliptical or treadmill at a walking pace (3 mph) at a 10 degree incline (that burns more calories for me than running and I can actually do it). So if you stick at it you will lose weight and feel better from both the exercise and diet. The weight doesn't just fly off and if you're like me you will have a few days with a little uptick in weight but keeping at it does work. Good Luck Ebony!0
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I would like to gently point out a few things if you don't mind. You're looking for honest feedback, right?
1. Your attitude has to change. Your title is negative, as is your post. You have to BELIEVE that you will SUCCEED. You are setting yourself up to fail from Day 1. You Achieve What you Believe.
2. Your profile says you want to lose weight "so my son's father will want to be with me". THAT has to change. You have to want it for YOU.. ... not for someone else.
3. I hope you understand that 1200 is a NET number, So if you are working out for 30 minutes/day, burning.. what... 200-250 calories during that time? You need to actually be eating around 1500, I'd say. And, honestly, if all you are doing is cardio, 30 minutes isn't going to cause the weight to drop as quickly as what I suspect you would like.
Good Luck.
Yeah i totally want honest feed back ,
so i dont want this to sound like retaliation because its not, the more honest the better, but ive come to this with a positive attitude, i just also want to loose the weight and this is my first time dieting so i dont really know whats best for me and if im doing enough, so id rather not start working really hard at a plan that isnt right and wont do anything.
for the second point that is just one of my reasons, my initial reasons are for me, but i also think missing someone you love is good motivation and Im being honest about it.
I have 1200 as my goal number not my net number ( i think,,, im still getting the hang of it) for 2 reasons, a good friend was really succesful at that goal and reccommened, and 2 because i eat healthy food anyway so 1200 feels comfortable for me
would you suggest i up my cardio?0 -
(1) if you're going to track your input, you have to be INCREDIBLY accurate - mindbogglingly accurate - in tracking you input. you need super-accurate scales EVERYWHERE. you MUST weigh literally EVERY SINGLE THING you eat, even butter used for cooking - whatever.
(2) 1200 is probably way too low - it's silly
(3) note that IT IS SIMPLY ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE to state WHAT number of calories you should eat. it's that simple. what you must do is:
(4) pick some value like say 1500 per day. try that for two weeks. see what happens. it might be too low or two high. adjust. try again for two weeks. that is THE ONLY WAY for a given individual to find out what number of cals they shoudl eat for weight loss. there is, quite simply, no other possible way to determine the number.
(5) the number of grams of CARBOHYDRATE you eat per day is of overwhelming importance. You will never burn off fat unless you control that.
I won't say "good luck" because there is zero luck involved! it's easy to lose weight IF you follow step (1) precisely and step (4) precisely0 -
I think you're looking for this process to be instantaneous. Weight loss is not like that. If you crash diet & exercise your body goes into shock and does all it can to "hang onto" the extra fat in your body.
Each pound of fat equates to 3500 calories. So to burn 1 pound of fat a week you need to burn 3500 calories a week. I.e. 500 calories per day. This can either be through deficit of food and/or exercise. As a rough guide through aerobic exercise (cardio rather than weights) you will burn approx 10 cal a min. If you are deficitting your diet by 800 calories and doing approx 30mins exercise you should expect to loose about 2-2.5lbs a week.
Remember to not only do cardio, doing some sort of weights will tone & build muscle. Remember the more muscle you have the more calories you burn a day (that is why men are allowed more calories a day than women as they generally have more muscle mass)
I know it's going to be a long road, just want to start out on the right track 0 -
(1) if you're going to track your input, you have to be INCREDIBLY accurate - mindbogglingly accurate - in tracking you input. you need super-accurate scales EVERYWHERE. you MUST weigh literally EVERY SINGLE THING you eat, even butter used for cooking - whatever.
(2) 1200 is probably way too low - it's silly
(3) note that IT IS SIMPLY ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE to state WHAT number of calories you should eat. it's that simple. what you must do is:
(4) pick some value like say 1500 per day. try that for two weeks. see what happens. it might be too low or two high. adjust. try again for two weeks. that is THE ONLY WAY for a given individual to find out what number of cals they shoudl eat for weight loss.
there is, quite simply, no other possible way to determine the number.
(5) the number of grams of CARBOHYDRATE you eat per day is of overwhelming importance. You will never burn off fat unless you control that.
I won't say "good luck" because there is zero luck involved! it's easy to lose weight IF you follow step (1) precisely and step (4) precisely
Cool ok, Ive tracking my calories as accurate as I possibly can with out letting it take over my like and usually ad a fee extra just to be on the safe side
Why is 1200 too low if it's a comfortable enough amount for me?0 -
I would like to gently point out a few things if you don't mind. You're looking for honest feedback, right?
1. Your attitude has to change. Your title is negative, as is your post. You have to BELIEVE that you will SUCCEED. You are setting yourself up to fail from Day 1. You Achieve What you Believe.
2. Your profile says you want to lose weight "so my son's father will want to be with me". THAT has to change. You have to want it for YOU.. ... not for someone else.
3. I hope you understand that 1200 is a NET number, So if you are working out for 30 minutes/day, burning.. what... 200-250 calories during that time? You need to actually be eating around 1500, I'd say. And, honestly, if all you are doing is cardio, 30 minutes isn't going to cause the weight to drop as quickly as what I suspect you would like.
Good Luck.
Yeah i totally want honest feed back ,
so i dont want this to sound like retaliation because its not, the more honest the better, but ive come to this with a positive attitude, i just also want to loose the weight and this is my first time dieting so i dont really know whats best for me and if im doing enough, so id rather not start working really hard at a plan that isnt right and wont do anything.
for the second point that is just one of my reasons, my initial reasons are for me, but i also think missing someone you love is good motivation and Im being honest about it.
I have 1200 as my goal number not my net number ( i think,,, im still getting the hang of it) for 2 reasons, a good friend was really succesful at that goal and reccommened, and 2 because i eat healthy food anyway so 1200 feels comfortable for me
would you suggest i up my cardio?
No you don't need to up your cardio. You need to NET 1200 or simply cook with olive oil or eat peanut butter to reach around 1500. You will lose muscle and can still be unhealthy because you will still have a high BF% if you don't keep up with eating enough. That's great your friend succeeded with what worked for them, but your body is different.
Most people on here will say you need to eat more.
Good luck<30 -
I think maybe you are confused about what your calorie goal is.
If 1200 is your goal, that IS ALSO your net. That means, after all is said and done at the end of the day, you should have consumed and processed 1200 calories.
So on a day of rest (no exercise), you should actually EAT 1200 calories.
On a day of exercise (say you burn 300 calories), you should EAT 1500 calories so that your NET is still 1200.
That part is really important to understand.
If you eat 1200 all the time, even on days you exercise, you will not be getting enough food.
If I were you, I would do cardio 3-4 days/week for more like 45 minutes. Do strength training (weights) 2 days a week. Then 1 or 2 days of rest.0 -
1200 is too low for working out that many times a week.
How tall are you?
How much do you weigh?
could have meant 1200 net
Still too low.
Unless shes 4'10".
Or
If she doesnt care about lean mass and just wants to shrink and keep the BF%.
I disagree, there are plenty of healthy foods you can fit into 1200 calories, only you know your own body and what some people class as too low is not necessarily for others....its about experimenting and if your body needs more food it will surely tell you, someone is not going to starve on 1200 calories...:o)
False!
It's about feeding the vital organs first, BMR, then adding fuel to get you through the day.
currently she is possibly eating below BMR.
1200 isnt enough.
I've run 100's of numbers for women just like her and can tell you she is probably dieting incorrectly.
without personal info: Age, height, weight, body fat%, I couldnt tell you exactly what she needs but just with basic math have shown you that her setting s are wrong.0 -
Heres something positive. I am 45 yrs old, started doing this less than 3 months ago, and have dropped more than 30 pounds! I was like you, wanting to look better...my only motivation. I didnt care about "being healthier" etc... I started slow, exercising 3 days a week and that was to walk 2 miles around the neighborhood. I then added hiking on the weekends, again starting slow and gradually taking longer and more rigorous hikes as I got into better shape. My calorie intake started at 1500 (i am 6' tall and weighed 240 lbs - goal is to lose 60 pounds) it was very hard to keep it under the goal. now after 2 re-evalutations and 30 pounds lost, I go to the gym 4 to 5 days a week, am hiking up to 10 miles a day on the weekends, my calorie daily goal has dropped to 1390. I lost about 6 pounds this week. I have a lo-cal soup I make that is full of nutrients, lots of delicious vegies, and I eat alot of fruit these days!! some weeks are better than others. I have plateau'd at 220 lbs and after about 4 weeks of disappointing results, i started losing again! stay after it, itll happen. I think the best advice is to stay with it, and do not berate yourself for back sliding. you can ALWAYS get back on track!! Good luck!!0
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I don't feel uncomfortable at 1200 and I'm conscious of nutrition. If I feel hungry now I jut eat more and compensate with more exercise ( I was confused about thT but all the lovely people replying to my other topic cleared it up, and generally so far the 1200 goal doesn't seem to hard)
I ate healthy food before I signed up, i just wasnt counting calories and mostly not doing enough exercise.
So much conflicting information.???0 -
Heres something positive. I am 45 yrs old, started doing this less than 3 months ago, and have dropped more than 30 pounds! I was like you, wanting to look better...my only motivation. I didnt care about "being healthier" etc... I started slow, exercising 3 days a week and that was to walk 2 miles around the neighborhood. I then added hiking on the weekends, again starting slow and gradually taking longer and more rigorous hikes as I got into better shape. My calorie intake started at 1500 (i am 6' tall and weighed 240 lbs - goal is to lose 60 pounds) it was very hard to keep it under the goal. now after 2 re-evalutations and 30 pounds lost, I go to the gym 4 to 5 days a week, am hiking up to 10 miles a day on the weekends, my calorie daily goal has dropped to 1390. I lost about 6 pounds this week. I have a lo-cal soup I make that is full of nutrients, lots of delicious vegies, and I eat alot of fruit these days!! some weeks are better than others. I have plateau'd at 220 lbs and after about 4 weeks of disappointing results, i started losing again! stay after it, itll happen. I think the best advice is to stay with it, and do not berate yourself for back sliding. you can ALWAYS get back on track!! Good luck!!0
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I don't feel uncomfortable at 1200 and I'm conscious of nutrition. If I feel hungry now I jut eat more and compensate with more exercise ( I was confused about thT but all the lovely people replying to my other topic cleared it up, and generally so far the 1200 goal doesn't seem to hard)
I ate healthy food before I signed up, i just wasnt counting calories and mostly not doing enough exercise.
So much conflicting information.???
It sounds like you've got it down to a science, so why are you soliciting peoples' advice?0 -
I think maybe you are confused about what your calorie goal is.
If 1200 is your goal, that IS ALSO your net. That means, after all is said and done at the end of the day, you should have consumed and processed 1200 calories.
So on a day of rest (no exercise), you should actually EAT 1200 calories.
On a day of exercise (say you burn 300 calories), you should EAT 1500 calories so that your NET is still 1200.
That part is really important to understand.
If you eat 1200 all the time, even on days you exercise, you will not be getting enough food.
If I were you, I would do cardio 3-4 days/week for more like 45 minutes. Do strength training (weights) 2 days a week. Then 1 or 2 days of rest.
Thanks this is really helpful ...:)0 -
Do what feels right for you!! I try my best to keep my calorie intake to my goal level, whether or not I exercise. I find that for myself, if I use those burned calories up, I dont lose weight. Another thing i find, if I exercise in the morning, I dont lose either. So for me, its 1390 a day, exercise 45 minutes (all cardio, I havent done any strrength at all) and my exercise is usually after 7:00 pm and dinner. I have been under my goal calories consistantly and always am getting warnings. However, I feel great, eat much more healthy than i used to, and am looking GREAT! 30 pounds still to lose, but well on my way to my goal!0
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I don't feel uncomfortable at 1200 and I'm conscious of nutrition. If I feel hungry now I jut eat more and compensate with more exercise ( I was confused about thT but all the lovely people replying to my other topic cleared it up, and generally so far the 1200 goal doesn't seem to hard)
I ate healthy food before I signed up, i just wasnt counting calories and mostly not doing enough exercise.
So much conflicting information.???
It sounds like you've got it down to a science, so why are you soliciting peoples' advice?
Not at all, I've never dieted or calorie counted before and it's confusing to start off with0 -
Looks to me like a lot of people have given you good advice, and you've said you aren't going to follow it. Cheers.0
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I have to say I think your attitude is all wrong, and given your posts elsewhere regarding the use of supplements etc to speed weight loss, you appear to be looking for unrealistic instantaneous weight loss.
After years of yo-yo dieting using all manner of special diets, recipes, supplements and substitutes I have come to the position that you need to be realistic about how fast you loose weight and how you go about it and three months in starting on 1980 calories and working my way down to 1720 as I have lost weight I now have lost 12kg.
As regards exercise where in the past I have started out on what turned out to unsustainable regimes I am doing what I can realistically achieve in my daily life by simply walking briskly rather than driving and trying to keep mobile rather than sitting in my office chair all day. With regards to food I am eating normally and the same as what everybody else in the house is eating, so no special recipes, supplements or substitutes, but using MFP I now have a better understanding of how much I should (or should not be eating) to maintain regular weight loss and hopefully in the future keep that weight off.0
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