Looking for help, advice and support

sdm35
sdm35 Posts: 1
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,
I've finally decided to get serious about losing weight. Have some health concerns that my weight may be the underlying cause.
Currently 5'3" and 211 pounds. Want to get down to about 130. I'm tracking my calories on here and i'm confused on how I should be doing things.
Everything that i found has said that i need to take in 1200 calories a day to lose 1-2 pounds a week. But I get extra "calories" to use for the exercise I do every day. My BMR is 1616 calories day and i'm not sure how that factors into everything.
Help!! Do i use those calories even if i'm not hungry?
I'm also looking for support and motivation to keep me on the right track. I'm weighing all my food and following portion and serving sizes. I'm watching my sugar intake (ugh, headaches!!) and my wine intake (ugh, headaches!!) until I can get the weight loss started. I like to have one cup of coffee daily and i've gotten down to 3 tsp sugar and 2-3 half and half's (the small containers that we keep in our fridge at work).
any help, advice, suggestions, comments, anything from those of you who've had luck with this would be appreciated.

Thanks!!:smile:

Replies

  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
    Welcome to mfp :smile:

    Best source of info I've come across for solving all that nasty starting out confusion is this one (it's a long read, but you'll never have to read anything again to be honest...)
    http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/
  • tarch333
    tarch333 Posts: 26
    Hello :)

    You've taken the first step. Deciding to lose a lot of weight is a very big step to take and the fact that you are so keen to do so is brilliant. The best piece of advice I can give you is to set sensible goals. Obviously 130lbs is your overall target weight but maybe start with 200lbs to begin with, just so you don't get swamped with trying to achieve a very large amount all at once.
    Drinking lots and lots of water can also aid weight loss. Girls like myself tend to carry around a lot of water weight (as do men) and flushing the fluid through is the best way to shift some weight!

    Try not to worry too much about the additional calories that you are given because of the exercise. As long as you're eating less calories than you used to then you're in a pretty good position to start shedding a few lbs.
    One question regarding coffee - coffee can be a great weight loss tool due to the caffeine but have you cut DOWN to 3tsp sugar? That's still a lot of sugar. Maybe try replacing the sugar hit from the coffee with a fruit salad or fruit teas? That way you're gaining nutrition as well as the sugar.

    Everybody is looking for that "quick fix" or that fad diet and usually I don't go for them. Exercise and healthy eating is usually the best thing you can do. BUT, a cheeky trick just to kick start your diet (THIS IS NOT A LONG TERM DIET) is a soup diet.
    This consists of:
    Monday - as much fruit as you like and any type of tinned soup (preferably reduced salt)
    Tuesday - as much fruit and veg as you like and any type of tinned soup
    Wednesday - fruit, veg, soup and a small jacket pot (low fat spread allowed)
    Thursday - fruit, veg, soup, protein (eg chicken, fish)
    Friday - The same as above
    Saturday - fruit, veg, soup, protein and carbs (good for you carbs - brown rice, wholemeal pasta)
    Sunday - all of the above and a bit of low fat dairy.

    Twin this with on/off days of exercise and this is a great way to flush your system and kick start your diet. You can of course go for a 3 day fruit and water detox but I found myself sneaking to the fridge for a hunger fix!

    Again, with exercise, set yourself a sensible goal. To start with, just take a walk to the shops (just half an hour will do). Do something to raise your heart rate. Run up the stairs, walk to the shops, take the dog for a walk.
    Then add more and more. Before no time you'll be interested in walking long distances, going for a jog or joining a gym.
    Do NOT fall for workout videos. They'll make you feel like rubbish in their skimpy outfits and their ability to carry on without sweating for 3 hours (they are, of course, edited!)

    I hope this of some help :)
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