Monday, July 13, 2009

I need to lose quite a bit of weight...Can anyone help?!?

I am about 5'5" and I weigh over 200 lbs. Over the past year I gained about 60 lbs and I'm not sure how. My eating habbits never changed, if anything I began to eat better and be more physical. I would like to lose about 75 lbs. I gave up red meat as a start. But it is very hard because everyone in my house eats red meat and there are lots of snack foods and microwaveable foods and little healthy foods in the house. I know I need to eat healthy and exersize which I try to do as often as I can. I work a full time office job and go to school so I am sitting alot unless Im at the gym. I need help really bad because I dont have much help elsewhere. I know it'll take time so I'm not in a hurry but I need to be healthier and not obese. Any suggestions? Also, are there any weightloss products or anything I can take or use to help with the process? Anything that can help me, other than eat healthy and exersize, will be great. I'm working on the eating/exersize thing but I want something more.
Answer:
I would talk to your doctor first. If you can't identify why you gained that much weight, there may be something else going on. Your doctor will be able to help find that out, as well as possibly help you find something to help you out.I'm glad you are not in a hurry, you didn't gain the weight over night so you can't be expected to lose it that quickly. A healthy weight loss goal would be 1-2 pounds a week.1 lb=3500 calories. In order to lose one pound you need to create that large of a deficit (burn that many more calories than you are eating) dividing that down, that's about 500 calories a day you either need to cut back on, or burn off (or ideally a combination)When you exercise, you raise your metabolism, and it stays up for a several hours after you exercise (exercising for 20 minutes will raise your metabolism the same amount as an hour). If you can, try to find ways to work-in short work-outs every couple hours. Get up a few minutes earlier, run stairs or go for a walk during lunch, and again about dinner time.Buy an inexpensive pedometer. Work towards getting in 10,000 steps a day (you've heard the bit...take the stairs instead of the elevator, park as far away from your destination as you can etc.) Once you've reached that, then work on going to 12,000 or 15,000 steps. (10,000 is what we should all be getting per day to maintain a healthy wt. 12-15 will help you lose)Never skip meals.especially breakfast. Missing meals will slow down your metabolism and make your body want to hold on to every single pound with all its might! So eat! Just watch your portion sizes. Especially for a while, don't hesitate to pull out the measuring cups when you dish up to make sure you are only getting that 1/4 c of this or that 1/2 cup of that, until you learn how much that really is.You may also want to try a food log, write down Everything you eat. You may also want to include why you ate it. Stop to realize if you ate it becuase you were really hungry, or because it was there, or you were bored, stressed etc.Try to increase your fiber intake, look for 100% whole wheat bread, make sure you are getting at least your 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.And make sure you drink your water! I tend to use the 1 for 2 rule...1 oz of water for every 2 lbs you weigh, so in your case you'd want to aim for 100oz a day. Carry a water bottle with you all the time. Drink a glass before each meal, whatever you need to do to try and get your water intake up.There are a number of free websites out there which can provide more tips and an on-line support system. Two that I like are sparkpeople.com and diet.ivillage.com both not only have bulletins and such, but also e-mail lists you can sign up for which will give you tips, recepies, and other forms of extra motivation.You might also want to check out mypyramid.gov and smallsteps.gov for more resources. Both are government sponsored sites (obviously). Mypyramid gives you more info on the food pyrmaid, and some tools to help you figure out how to fit it to your life. SmallSteps gives tips to both help you eat better, and overall just live healthier, and as the name implies, to do so in small steps, so its easier to adjust to and stick with.You mention that there are a lot of microwavable foods in the house, and I get the impression you don't have much control over what is purchased, but there are some healthy frozen dinner options out there you might consider requesting (may be easier to get filled than more fresh foods and less junk food).Good Luck!
You might think about trying this book called "The Movie Star Diet" by Steve Simmons. It helped me lose thirty pounds in 2 1/2 months when I didn't think anything would work. My goal to begin with was only 20 lbs! It has a really easy plan to follow and an excellent workout as well.
I've been on the Isagenix Cleansing diet. It helps detox your system and basically "flush" out all the bad stuff that fat clings to. I started on May 1st and I've lost 13 pounds already. You can check out my site http://aicochran.isagenix.com and read about it. Or you could contact me through email if you have any other questions.
Here's the one book I know of that really tells it like it is: "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle," by Tom Venuto. He really cuts through the baloney that you get with most diet books and fitness programs. Here's an informative review of the book - http://www.fitnessprogramsrevealed.com/f...You're absolutely right about taking your time. With that attitude I know you can do it!
Well, if you don't mind taking prescription medication, Adderall completely kills your appetite. You take it in the morning, and that night, you'll feel like eating a little bit but not much. I lost all kinds of weight ever since I started taking it. Of course, there are other crazy side-effects, but most of those aren't negative anyway. Best wishes :)
without going to the doctor for help, you are still on the right track. certainly exercise is good and watching what you eat.
I wish there were a quick fix that didn't require surgery or dangerous practices. just remember that when you really exercise you will gain muscle, and that sort of defeats a lot of folks, as muscle weighs more than fat..so it appears that right away, you are gaining weight and the diet is not working, but it is, better to have the muscle than the fat.
perhaps an health club would help, I know that Curves, for women is a place not filled with Barbie doll types that make you want to turn around and go home right off, and you go three times a week for like 30 minutes a crack, [more if you are intense about it] i wish you much luck, you have begun correctly.

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