Weight Loss

I'm one of those girls in my youth that was labeled string bean, and never dieted.  I was slender and fit into teenie tiny clothes.  Well having a bunch of kids and turning 40, my cute little figure really has just gone haywire it seems overnight.  I was happy with my body up until about 38 years old.  This last year has been one of feeling a bit lumpy in terms of my weight.  I continued to eat as I had for my first 38 years, but this year it seemed to start working against me and I can no longer hit the pizza places and drink Pepsi without seeing it materialize on my belly and waist area!

Not to worry though, I'm on a mission.  I have been doing the gym thing for 7 days straight and I'm trying to follow a 1200 calorie a day menu.  At the gym I do 45 min. on the treadmill, then about 20-30 minutes of weights (mainly working on arms, legs and abs in the weight room).  In the last 7 days I feel like a totally new person, but that being said, I feel like I am CONSTANTLY thinking about my next snack or next meal.  I'm becoming OBSESSED with calories too.  So I found this board.

I'm hoping someone out there might have a similar story and we can help out on the forum. 

My questions today are:  BREAD - is it ok to have 2 slices of whole wheat bread a day (bread is my favorite).  My husband said bread should be an absolute no-no, but I love it, and if it can fit within my diet, i don't see why not.  Thoughts on breads?  If they aren't white breads, do they really work against one's diet and sugar intake?

1200 calories - i've been at it for 7 days and I'm thinking I could easily bump it up to 1500, as I FEEL STARVED.  All the calorie counters and everything well it's hard to figure out what my good calorie intake should be.... some days I've very active and some days I'm on the couch.  I'm pretty average I think in my activities!  I play tennis, but that's maybe 1-2 a week, occassionally swim, and hit the gym on average 5 times a week for one hour.  Is that considered moderate? 

So far I've lost 4 pounds in a week.  I'm sure its by not drinking soda (I used to drink 5-6 cans a day easily) and not going to Starbucks.  But I'm also sure the low calorie (1200) is working too.  If I bump it up to 1500-1600 should I still see the pounds coming off with the amount of exercise I do each week? 

How does one determine one's metabolism too? 

Again, as I never dieted before, I'm a newbie at all this.  I appreciate people giving me some input on some of the questions I have today.

Hello :). And good luck with the diet.

Ok, in my opinion bread should be banned. That's what worked best for me. However, everyone is completely different. And if you lose weight eating it..eat it! Whole grain breads are great for you. White breads are the main bad ones. So basically: no. Your 2 slices a day are fine. (imo)

1200 calories may be too little. The fact that you're hungry is good, but make sure not to ignore it so much. It's our body's defense, after all. If you bump it to 1500-1600 cals it will be fine I'm positive. Later, when you're getting into the last few pounds will be the time you might have to shave some more off. But, just see how it goes :) You should set your activity level on 'sendetary' and add in your daily activities to get a good idea of how much you're burning.

To determine metabolism you can do your BMR or RMR. However, if you look at how much you've burned you can determine it also. For example, if you burn 2500 calories in a day you should probably eat about 1600-1900 for a rough estimate.

Good luck again. :)

Maiden,

Thanks.  I think I'm going to keep it in the 1200 range, but just not feel guilty if once and a while I want a yogurt and a box of raisins which would bring me up to the 1400 range.  As it's hard to really know how many calories every portion size is (I don't measure), say I just throw a "bunch" of blueberries into my cereal, that's approximately a cup with a 1/2 cup of milk (it could be 230 in calories, or it could be 250 in calories!), I'm not too worried about going over 1200 a day, I feel like if I hover in the 1200-1500 range for the most part, the pounds will continue to come off.

I'm only a week into it, but it's a different diet, as I'm not looking to shed mass amounts of weight, but just to lose those 10 pounds like most people, so I know I shouldn't be too obsessed, but I want to maintain that magical number once I get there, so I'm trying to find what calorie intake is best for my body type.

As for metabolism, I have always had a high one (goes back to being one of those people who could inhale a whole pizza in my 30's and never see the pounds show!), but I know with age that decreases, but thinking that if it was high then, it's probably normal/average now.

Thanks again, and I'm glad i discovered this board today!

Hi im a recovering anorexic and i used to be the same like you. Whatever i ate didnt show on the scale. but as soon as i messed uup my metabolism well...... u should know the rest.

My suggestion to u is instead of having 3 meals a day have 6 small meals a day. You might have heard of this before but it really helps me.

For example: i have a huge breakfast to start my metabolism

       &nb sp;              then a snack\

       &nb sp;              a pretty packed lunch

       &nb sp;             a snack

       &nb sp;             a snack before dinner

       &nb sp;             and a very light dinner (like a salad)

hope this works 4 u

o and sry 4 th nb sp's i have no clue y they r there

Here's my advice in short: 1600 calories a day, a balanced diet from all 4 food groups, and for God's sake, EAT BREAD. :)

Deprivation diets RARELY work and are not sustainable. Your husband may be telling you to stay away from it because of the social stigma that bread's aquired in our Atkins-loving society, but the key to a healthy diet is a BALANCED diet with a little bit of everything in moderation. Plus, if you don't eat bread, the minute you have it again you're going to go nuts and want to eat an entire loaf in one sitting :)

As far as your calorie intake, I would also really, really, really suggest eating more than 1200 if you're working out every day. You're probably easily burning 400-500 calories during your workout each day and you need to eat that back - that means 1600-1700 calories a day!

If you're starving, that means your body is not getting the nutrients it needs to function properly, and eventually your metabolism will slow down to try and hold on to every calorie you put in it.

Hope that helps! Good luck!

wow 4lbs a week is great.  keep up the consistency.  i  don't think there's anything wrong with eating 2 slice of whole grain bread a day as long as it's within your caloric intake for a day. 

Well of course you feel starved... 1200 calories is not enough! What are your stats (height/ weight/ goal, etc)?

 

Bread is all right to eat in moderation. The reason why low carb diets work is because bread absorbs water, so it makes you retain water weight. It doesn't make you gain more fat.

Don't let them trick you with "whole wheat" it's all about Whole Grain. ^_^