I looked in the mirror

[patita71]

"I use Fitday, easy to use imo. You enter in all your info (age, height, goal weight and deadline) and it tells you how many calories you need to REDUCE each day to make your goal. Then you can add in your exercise. It gives nice charts and graphs to help you see your progress."

I've been having problems losing my last 25lbs for over a year, lose 5lbs/up 5lbs.... I'm going to check out Fitday, thanks for mentioning it, maybe that's what I need. I'm fairly active, like pps, I have a very busy home life but I squeeze in what I can, I LOVE the exercise challenge threads, I first signed up in Feb and knowing I had a goal to reach (a goal I put 'out' there) really made me find the time.

 

[flying_babyb]

actully fit day and I are pretty good freinds lol. I have cut 500 calories and still havent started loosing. I was such a good girl today..... Have to see what i get calorie wise for my journal.

 

[lilouisianagal]

Jenny,
Hey I'm the same height as you and near the same age I think. I just really really REALLY want to caution you on setting your "goal" at 100 lbs. Right now you are a smidge over "healthy" weight (by 2 lbs or so). It sounds like your goals are more on toning your thighs and tightening your stomach. Let me tell you my story (I'll try to be short) and perhaps that will help you understand the warning.
I gained a bunch of weight in college, I think I got up to 160 lbs. I was fit, but quite heavy. I like to be active and it was slowing me down so I decided to lose weight. I set my goal at just under 100 lbs. It sounded so perfect and dainty and petite. I tried a few diets but I ended up with essentially an eating disorder. I would drink juice, milk, smoothies, and soups and would try to throw up if I ate "real food" because I usually ended up overeating or feeling like I did. I also exercised for at least 3 hours every day. Yikes! This got to its worst point when I was student teaching. I can't say it was "oh I want to be thin" it was more a control point. And when you start losing weight it gets addictive. I got down to 102 pounds, but my hair got thin, my skin was dry, I was freezing cold all the time, I felt jittery but tired, and I stopped menstruating. Even though it was "technically" still a healthy weight, it wasn't.
Now you might never be so stupid but I did want to give you that caution. Now I'm back up around 128, get my period, and am healthy, but who knows what I messed up in my body by doing that! My doctor says that 120 to 130 is a very healthy weight for me and below that is not, in part, because I am fit.
I know all the program experts and calorie counters are going to jump me for this one, but I don't recommend doing all that. Look at the pyramid guide. You need whole grains, lots of fruits and veggies, lean proteins, dairy, and healthy fats. Just try to keep that in mind as you make eating decisions. More importantly listen to your body. Eat breakfast. Wait until you are hungry to eat. Eat until you are satisfied (satisfied not full!). Don't eat until you are hungry again. Splurging is great! But don't do it until you are hungry and wait to eat again until you are hungry again. Hungry being that grumble in your stomach, not just boredom or emotions. Water is good. Walking is great exercise. Keep making sure that you walk with energy (don't dawdle). Join a gym or get some weights or grab some food cans. Try to strength train for 20-30 min 3-4 days a week. Do sit ups and things that make you feel your thigh muscles (leg lifts, squats, etc) hurt a bit.

Remember the faster you lose it the more likely you are to gain it back. Make little changes and you are more likely to stick with them. If you lose one pound every month, that's twelve pounds in a year.

Some people need to make a production of weight lose for it to happen. For me, that just messes me up. Instead I just consider the decision I'm making when it comes and deal with the present.

Then again running doesn't hurt either!

ps. I like your sig quote!

 

[flying_babyb]

Well 100 is my goal but I have the common sence to know when I platue and feel good that im there, be it my goal weight or not (ok that didnt quite make sence but...)

 

[3DisneyKids]

Unless you are 4'9" or under, 100 pounds is too light, even considering a small frame. And it also means NO muscle mass.

Now, I don't put a lot of faith in those ideal height/weight charts, nor do I put a lot of faith in the BMI index, because everyone is different. And just because two people are the same height, doesn't meant that they should be a similar weight. Those two people could be the same height and 25 pounds apart and both be very healthy and slim, etc.

However, 100 pounds is a real benchmark for post-pubescent females. We need to be over 100 for a variety of health reasons, not the least of which is monthly cycles. I know you said that you were 100 pounds at one point and that was ok for you. But it sounds like that was a few years ago at least. And our bodies CHANGE with age. What was good 5 years ago is likely no longer right.

You have heard from several people now. I cannot understand why you are so resistant to taking anyone's advice. You have admitted that you are new to all of this and don't know where to start. Yet each time someone who IS experienced with this offers some words of wisdom, you shoot it down. Or fail to answer. Vern has asked you twice how tall you are. You haven't answered...I'm sure because once you do, you are worried that you will get blasted and we will all say that your goal is unrealistic or unhealthy.

As for the 30 cans of soda in your fridge, why drink it until it's gone? It won't go bad. Just keep it on hand to offer friends when they come over. Or donate it to the local food pantry. But if you want to lose weight, it has to go. Again, get rid of the excuses.

This is just another example of how, as Carol said, you want to lose weight but you don't want to make the changes.

You can listen to me/us or not. It isn't my body or my life, so I don't care. Be thin. Be fat. Whatever. Just don't ask keep asking for help and then keep telling everyone that you know better.

 

[VernRDH]

Erica-

I did ask twice about Jenny's height. I did find out in another post that she is 5'. But you are right, the question was not answered here. OP has a few threads going, and a journal. I recall in one post she only had 800-900 calories for the day. You and I both know that is bad, but I still don't think she is ready to take the information and use it wisely.

I think 100 pounds is unhealthy. As I stated previously, I am 4'11" and am shooting for 115. My MD would be happy with 125. But there is more to health than a number. BMI is deceiving, as those with more muscle mass weigh more, but have higher BMI's. Theoretically, she could get to 100 pounds and STILL have jiggly belly and thunder thighs, because she lost muscle mass and not body fat. Suggestions were given on free or extremely low cost exercise options, I do not know if those were taken.

I have always found follks here to be extremely helpful and supportive-but you have to be in the right place mentally to do the work. I see it at Boot Camp at the Y. There are folks there who are just not ready for the commitment of the exercise program, and have an excuse at the ready all the time for why they can't do the work. You only get out of it what you put into it.

 

[3DisneyKids]

Exactly, Vern! Well said all around. My husband is a body builder and has less than 10% body fat (I know, I know...I hate him too! ) and the BMI scale has him as obese! Ridiculous.

I have said this in many other threads, but really, 90% of this is timing. You have to be in the right place to take this on otherwise it just won't work for you.

 

[flying_babyb]

Acully I just havent had to come back here but YES I have been taking alot of advice from here. I just got back from jogging. I guess 115 is probally more realistic for a goal lol. Didnt relize how low I was shooting till i looked at bmi. she only had 800-900- What is a person suposted to be eating calorie wise? Im confused by this, cause I thought unde 1,000 was good. That was a day I didnt do much, so I try to eat less on low activity days.

 

[lilouisianagal]

Anything under 1000 puts your body into starvation mode. This is bad because your metabolism slows down and your body isn't as effective at burning calories or building muscle.

Using http://www.dietitian.com/calcbody.php you need just above between 1400 and 1500 calories per day to maintain weight at 115, if you are walking a couple of hours (or similar activity) per day.

Go with if you are hungry or not rather than if you are having an "active" day or not. A lot of times I'm not hungry even if I have a high mileage running day--it isn't until the next day (my "rest" day) that it catches up and I am hungry. Your body will tell you when it needs fuel!

 

[VernRDH]

Good advice Claire! I also recommended googling BMR and AMR calculators to get a grip on where calories should be.

 

[flying_babyb]

Go with if you are hungry or not rather than if you are having an "active" day or not. A lot of times I'm not hungry even if I have a high mileage running day--it isn't until the next day (my "rest" day) that it catches up and I am hungry. Your body will tell you when it needs fuel!

I do then people give me grief since im not eating 1000 calories. This is why i dont post on the journal thread.

 

[mrsklamc]

I like the idea of eating when you're hungry- except working fast food in HS and college messed up my 'signals.' You never get to eat at regular mealtimes ...and now I don't get hungry much. Often I would get dizzy and start to shake or even pass out before I realized my body needed fuel.

Now I sort of 'graze' all day while trying to make sure what I'm taking in is healthy food. I read in a book by Alwyn Cosgrove to eat things that you could visualize in your mind, in one or two steps, in their natural form. For example, I can visualize whole grain bread->grain. Ho-hos and soda? Not so much. And I'm exercising- just about has to be different every day to keep my attention so that can be a challenge. The weight is coming off- slower than I'd like, but it's working.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

Alright, I'm going to tell you one thing that I'm sure you have heard before and don't want to hear again, but here it goes:

If you eat under 1000 calories a day for an extended amount of time, you will lose weight. You're also going to feel absolutely terrible and you won't be able to sustain it (particularly in a high energy job like working with young children). You will start eating more eventually because your body NEEDS more to be healthy and to feel "well" and suddenly the pounds will pile on. During that time of eating very little, your metabolism will have gone into "starvation mode" which means that your body will save every calorie you put into your mouth and store it as fat, to prepare for the next time that you're starving again. Your body doesn't know that the diet is over, and that you don't need to keep those extra calories. It's how we've been hardwired over thousands of years of having to hunt and gather for our meals.

I know this because I went through it 7 years ago. When I graduated from high school I was 5'2" and 175 lbs. In my first year of college, I decided to go on a diet and lose the extra weight. For about 6 months, I ate only 800-900 calories a day, and meticulously recorded everything I ate. I became obsessed with food, and quickly dropped down to 100 lbs. Having hit my "target weight" I started eating "normally" (but in reality only 1200-1400 calories a day), and the pounds loaded on, despite the fact that I was still nearly starving myself. All I can say is, don't do it. A few months of starvation, and it will take years for your metabolism to recover.

Also, there really is no healthy and sustainable weight loss without exercise. Work on the areas of your body that you want to improve and you will see results.

I started running just over a year ago; I was really doing it for myself, to prove that I could, but I had "losing weight" on my list of perceived benefits from starting to run. At the time, I was 125 lbs and unhappy with my body. I quickly learned that, at that weight, losing weight through exercise was not a reality. However, what I did "lose" is all of my stomach fat, the extra fat around my waist, and a good portion of the fat on my thighs. I stopped caring about what the number on the scale was, because I could visually see the changes in my body through exercise. I weighed myself this week, out of curiosity, for the first time in nearly six months. I now weight 132 lbs, but the difference is that I've replaced the fat that I hated with lean muscle in my legs. I look (and feel!) better than I ever have in my adult life, and it doesn't matter what the scale says.

So, my points are: Don't starve yourself. It's stupid and you'll regret it in the very near future, even if you see immediate results. Also, at your weight (which is very close to ideal for your height), you need to stop paying attention to the number on the scale, and instead judge your body according to how you look and feel. You may think you want to be 100 lbs, but you'll be a sickly pale twig with no energy. Start exercising, and do it on your own terms: not everyone is a weight-lifter or a runner - find something that YOU enjoy, whether it's dancing, skating, yoga, rock-climbing, WHATEVER!

Good luck. I know if feels like everyone is lecturing you (and I've been there!) but I think this is one of those situations where you have the opportunity to learn from others' mistakes without making them yourself.