Obesity Discussion Forums

[sakra]

I've been reading the forums for a few days now and find it very motivating and informative, so I thought I'd say hi!

I have a bit of a long road ahead of me, so I hope to be here for a good long while.

Nice to meet you all.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by sakra

I've been reading the forums for a few days now and find it very motivating and informative, so I thought I'd say hi!

I have a bit of a long road ahead of me, so I hope to be here for a good long while.

Nice to meet you all.

Welcome sakra!! I love your avatar! Have you set any goals for the future for what you'd eventually like to accomplish?

[sakra]

Honestly, I'm just shooting to be healthy. I'm not paying too much attention to the scale(who am I kidding? I get curious sometimes!), but short term I just want to improve my times at the gym, how long I walk/run, use the ellipticals, etc. The gym manager told me to stick with cardio the first two weeks and then he'll walk me through strength training, because I'm pretty clueless about that sort of thing. I work late, so I make it to the gym at around 9 every night(I've only been a member three days, but I've at least went all three!), and stay until about 10:30.

That's about 30 minutes on the treadmill walking with it set to about 3.4, 5 or so running(I have asthma, and had a bout with pneumonia earlier this year, so I'm trying not to scale up the running too much too fast), then I do the elliptical as long as I can last, which seems to be 20 minutes at a time. Then I make lots of excuses to walk my dogs, one of which is apt to make my right arm all buff the way he tugs!

Far as caloric intake goes, I'm not entirely sure what number I need to shoot for exactly, just that I'm eating things that are as healthy as I can manage. Egg white omelette's with salsa, lots of salad, though very little dressing. I've never been a huge fan of it. I actually like the taste of the veggies in my salads, and that stuff has always tried to show them up! I even managed to turn my head when offered candy bars tonight at a family gathering, and the cake, too... though I was very briefly tempted. Decided to come home and have an apple instead. :sulk:

I'm just going to aim for about 10 pounds at a time(obviously not all at once!), until I eventually make it down to 135 from 210. I'm too tired of making excuses and not putting the effort into it, and I feel ten times better just from the last three days! My mood has definitely taken a turn for the better.

Sorry that was so long! I get too chatty at this hour.

[Audrey]

I must say, with the eating and exercise habits you've just describe, it should take you no time to reach your goal!

Welcome to the forums!

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by sakra

Far as caloric intake goes, I'm not entirely sure what number I need to shoot for exactly, just that I'm eating things that are as healthy as I can manage. Egg white omelette's with salsa, lots of salad, though very little dressing. I've never been a huge fan of it. I actually like the taste of the veggies in my salads, and that stuff has always tried to show them up! I even managed to turn my head when offered candy bars tonight at a family gathering, and the cake, too... though I was very briefly tempted. Decided to come home and have an apple instead. :sulk:

I'm just going to aim for about 10 pounds at a time(obviously not all at once!), until I eventually make it down to 135 from 210. I'm too tired of making excuses and not putting the effort into it, and I feel ten times better just from the last three days! My mood has definitely taken a turn for the better.

Sorry that was so long! I get too chatty at this hour.

We love chatting here! As far as caloric intake, if you know how much weight you want to lose and by when, we can tell you about how many calories you should shoot for a day to meet your goals.

I think you have the overall right mindset and are going about things the right way.

[sakra]

Well, I'm not sure what you need to know to determine that, though I have seen a few people post just basic information and you do some mathematical wizardy, so..

I'm 24, female, 5'7. I want to lose 75 lbs. Thing is, I know not to rush it, so my end date is fairly loose. I'd like to at least lose 30 lbs by my birthday. April 15th.

[sakra]

I'm having a harder time getting out and about this morning. I went to the gym yesterday afternoon instead of my usual nightly routine because I had the night off and I was up early for a change. Been havin' way more energy lately so I'm not trying to cling too hard to those last few moments of shut eye. So I figured I'd go again today early before my son gets home from school and before I run off to work. But my heels hurt.

I'm going anyway, but maybe I need to find a different pair of shoes or something. The ones I have always served me well in the past, but they don't seem to enjoy this newfound level of activity. Anyway, I fully expect to go through some amount of discomfort, but that's just the price you pay and all.

I weighed myself and according to it I've dropped two pounds, but I'm not taking that too seriously because I know the body is a silly tricky beast and I don't want to end up all disappointed when I weigh myself sunday.

Laundry is done, off I go! Hope you're all doing well today.

[Audrey]

Originally Posted by sakra

I'm having a harder time getting out and about this morning. I went to the gym yesterday afternoon instead of my usual nightly routine because I had the night off and I was up early for a change. Been havin' way more energy lately so I'm not trying to cling too hard to those last few moments of shut eye. So I figured I'd go again today early before my son gets home from school and before I run off to work. But my heels hurt.

I'm going anyway, but maybe I need to find a different pair of shoes or something. The ones I have always served me well in the past, but they don't seem to enjoy this newfound level of activity. Anyway, I fully expect to go through some amount of discomfort, but that's just the price you pay and all.

I weighed myself and according to it I've dropped two pounds, but I'm not taking that too seriously because I know the body is a silly tricky beast and I don't want to end up all disappointed when I weigh myself sunday.

Laundry is done, off I go! Hope you're all doing well today.

How old are your shoes? Maybe it's time for a new pair? Or a different style if you're doing different activity now.

I used to have sneakers that I would always wear to the gym, but I found when I wore them on the eliptical, they would put my toes to sleep . I went out and bought some new ones that seemed to fit my feet a bit better, and now they're fine!

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by sakra

Well, I'm not sure what you need to know to determine that, though I have seen a few people post just basic information and you do some mathematical wizardy, so..

I'm 24, female, 5'7. I want to lose 75 lbs. Thing is, I know not to rush it, so my end date is fairly loose. I'd like to at least lose 30 lbs by my birthday. April 15th.

One other thing I'd need to know active you are going to be up until Apr 15th.....in other words how often you plan on exercising each week, for how long, etc.

[sakra]

I'll be going to the gym five days a week, 6 if I get the time, but my weekends are kind of screwy. I go for an hour minimum, if I'm not in any big rush to be anywhere, I'm going to stay for an hour and a half. Just never less than an hour. I don't think an hour is too much time to squeeze into any day.

Audrey, my shoes aren't very old. Well, they are, they're just not all that used. I wore them for maybe a month when I first got them but then stuck them in the closet. They're just regular running sneakers. They do fine on the treadmill, but it seems the elliptical, like for you, it's kicking my butt. I just won't be able to put down the cash for a new pair for at least another week, so I'll have to live with it for now.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by sakra

I'll be going to the gym five days a week, 6 if I get the time, but my weekends are kind of screwy. I go for an hour minimum, if I'm not in any big rush to be anywhere, I'm going to stay for an hour and a half. Just never less than an hour. I don't think an hour is too much time to squeeze into any day.

Audrey, my shoes aren't very old. Well, they are, they're just not all that used. I wore them for maybe a month when I first got them but then stuck them in the closet. They're just regular running sneakers. They do fine on the treadmill, but it seems the elliptical, like for you, it's kicking my butt. I just won't be able to put down the cash for a new pair for at least another week, so I'll have to live with it for now.

If you can pull that off exercise wise, you're going to burn a little more than 2700 calories a day on average (at a minimum). If you exercise like that and eat about 2200 calories a day, you'll lose about 1lb a week, maybe slightly more. That will should get you right at your goal.

Maybe start off with that and see how it goes, and you can adjust as you see fit. Maybe later drop it down to 1950 calories a day to speed things up to lose 1.5lbs a week, maybe even 1700 a day if you want to get aggressive and shoot for a 2lb a week loss. The choice is yours!

[sakra]

Well, I was going to wait until tomorrow to weigh myself, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get online. Going camping/hiking tonight and probably won't be in till late tomorrow. But! I lost 3 lbs! Either that or my scale is lying to me. But I did it when I first woke up, like I normally do. Either way, not too worried the exact number, because I feel great. Yeah, I'm really worn out by the end of the day, but it's making sleep come a lot easier, and I'm actually craving going out and walking/biking.

My 6 year old usually runs circles around me, but today I was ready to keep riding and he was ready to go inside. After the gym all week, the bike felt ten times more fun.

As far as calories go, without really trying, I only had 1725. I didn't really go out of my way to achieve that. It just happened to add up when it came to the things I was in the mood for.

[sakra]

I just really want to thank you guys for responding previously. Just knowing other people have went through it countless times really keeps me motivated and excited about it. It makes it all seem a bit more possible.

Hopefully in a few weeks I won't be trying to come up with reasons why to not do one thing or another.

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by sakra

Well, I was going to wait until tomorrow to weigh myself, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get online. Going camping/hiking tonight and probably won't be in till late tomorrow. But! I lost 3 lbs! Either that or my scale is lying to me. But I did it when I first woke up, like I normally do. Either way, not too worried the exact number, because I feel great. Yeah, I'm really worn out by the end of the day, but it's making sleep come a lot easier, and I'm actually craving going out and walking/biking.

My 6 year old usually runs circles around me, but today I was ready to keep riding and he was ready to go inside. After the gym all week, the bike felt ten times more fun.

As far as calories go, without really trying, I only had 1725. I didn't really go out of my way to achieve that. It just happened to add up when it came to the things I was in the mood for.

Excellent! Weight can fluctuate a bit from day to day, but you should hopefully notice a longer term trend of pounds dropping. Eating that many calories wasn't so hard for you, which is great! Keep that up and you'll be shedding more pounds in no time! I really sense great motivation out of you which is exactly what you need to achieve your goals!

Originally Posted by sakra

I just really want to thank you guys for responding previously. Just knowing other people have went through it countless times really keeps me motivated and excited about it. It makes it all seem a bit more possible.

Hopefully in a few weeks I won't be trying to come up with reasons why to not do one thing or another.

It's our pleasure! Nothing makes us happier than being there for one another!

[Audrey]

Originally Posted by sakra

I just really want to thank you guys for responding previously. Just knowing other people have went through it countless times really keeps me motivated and excited about it. It makes it all seem a bit more possible.

Hopefully in a few weeks I won't be trying to come up with reasons why to not do one thing or another.

Yay! Congrats! You've done so awesome!

When you get to a day where maybe you're tired and don't want to go, just try to remember the little feeling you have right now. If I ever get home from school and don't feel like going to the gym, I just try to think about how good I'll feel after my workout. It usually works!

[sakra]

Thank you for the advice. I have been sticking to it. With one problem.. My son has bronchitis so I haven't been able to go to the gym when he's at school since he's been home. The only other time I get to go is after work at 9pm, and since he has been sick, I haven't felt right doing that. I hate not going to the gym. It's actually really bothering me. But now I am feverish myself, with a pretty bad cough and wheezing, so I'm thinking there's no helping it. Just trying to go walking whenever I can and stick to the healthier food. I've managed to lose 2 lbs just from that, so it's not the end of the world.

Anyway, hope all of your own efforts are paying off!

[Audrey]

Originally Posted by sakra

Thank you for the advice. I have been sticking to it. With one problem.. My son has bronchitis so I haven't been able to go to the gym when he's at school since he's been home. The only other time I get to go is after work at 9pm, and since he has been sick, I haven't felt right doing that. I hate not going to the gym. It's actually really bothering me. But now I am feverish myself, with a pretty bad cough and wheezing, so I'm thinking there's no helping it. Just trying to go walking whenever I can and stick to the healthier food. I've managed to lose 2 lbs just from that, so it's not the end of the world.

Anyway, hope all of your own efforts are paying off!

Don't beat yourself up over it. Things that you have no control over will happen and throw off your schedule, but what's most important is that you get back to it when things return to normal.

Good job on your healthy eating and the weight loss! Isn't it good to know that you're eating healthy enough to loose weight even without the added exercise?

Keep up the great work!!

[Obesity Discussion]

Originally Posted by sakra

Thank you for the advice. I have been sticking to it. With one problem.. My son has bronchitis so I haven't been able to go to the gym when he's at school since he's been home. The only other time I get to go is after work at 9pm, and since he has been sick, I haven't felt right doing that. I hate not going to the gym. It's actually really bothering me. But now I am feverish myself, with a pretty bad cough and wheezing, so I'm thinking there's no helping it. Just trying to go walking whenever I can and stick to the healthier food. I've managed to lose 2 lbs just from that, so it's not the end of the world.

Anyway, hope all of your own efforts are paying off!

Losing two pounds all things considering is great! As soon as you're back in the gym it'll be rock and roll time!

[William Wallace]

Hi newb and congrats on the weight loss so far!