I need to stop gaining weight and lose 20 lbs. by the very beginning of June for my daughter’s high school graduation. I don’t know why I’m gaining weight. I need it to stop. I also need to find a good diet and exercise regimen.
I have a gym membership, but I don’t use it. That is easy enough to change, provided I am not too scared to leave the house regularly enough for it to be of benefit. I figure I could start with a goal of 3 days a week, 20 minutes cardio and however many minutes on weights. Is this reasonable for weight loss?
I don’t know what to do about my diet. I know that I need to stop eating out. I do avoid snacks and breads, and I drink primarily water.
Any exercise or diet advice? I could use some! I don’t know what I’m doing.
I’ve tried different diets to lose weight but had very little success with them, but I was able to lose a lot of weight when I went to the gym.
I was only doing 1 hour and 15 mins three times a week and lost about 30 kg. Most of it was aerobic treadmill bike rowing machine but a little on strength the weight machines.
I’d suggest asking a worker at the gym to make an exercise routine for you. That’s what happened when I first attended, they showed me how to use the machines as well as drawing up an exercise routine that suited my objectives (my main intention was to lose weight.)
I have social paranoia/anxiety too and it’s hard going out, but once in the gym you’re fairly anonymous, everyone just gets on with their own business working out. If it’s an option for you, you could go early in the morning when it’s least busy.
Maybe don’t look at the problem as a HAVE TO LOSE 20# By such and such date. Reframe your thinking into something more positive and attainable. I don’t know what that is, just thinking…
Like I am getting married in Sept. it is the best case scenario that I maintain my weight and try to gain some muscle/lose fat. So I made a “less vs more” resolution for the year instead of the traditional resolution to just lose weight.
Celery is good. Your body burns more calories to break it down than it contains.
In addition to what you are doing, eat a lot of fruit and veggies. Limit protein, but still eat some. I think you are supposed to eat no more at a meal of meat than the size of your palm.
I lost 40 lbs by counting calories on MyFitnessPal. It takes your height, weight, and activity level, and tells you exactly how many calories you should be eating every day. If you exercise, you can enter in what you did and it will add calories to your day.
The trick with sustainable weight loss is to not cut your calories by too much. I was only at a 200 calorie deficit the whole time. It took me about 9 months to get down to my target weight. You should only be losing about a pound a week.
MyFitnessPal is also great because it tracks your nutrients. It makes sure you’re getting enough protein, carbs, fat, and vitamins. When you’re on a diet, it is easy to become malnourished unless you’re careful about eating healthy foods.
Eating out is not good, they put a lot of oil to make it tasty, I lost a lot of weight in reducing the plate a bit, it took a few months but slim, eat smaller portions morevegetables and fruits, and cook alone
My sister in law has lost a lot of weight with weight watchers, their diet does seem to be effective. The only problem with it in my view, is that you have to be on their diet indefinitely if you want to keep the weight off, the same food forever. It’s not something I could do, I think that takes a lot of willpower.
Edit: but if you want to lose weight for a special occasion like the OP then it’s probably a good way to do it.
Fat is long term fuel. Walking is the best exercise to burn it. Anything more and it becomes primarily/entirely carbs that are used as fuel. Cardio is good for toning the already revealed muscle but you don’t have time for that.
As for diet, reduce your calories and carbs. Drink more water and eat more fiber. Fruits and veggies are best. If you live in the north I suggest you take a vit D supplement just to help use up the extra fat and overall health in general because it is fat soluble.
One major problem I have is that I’m supposed to limit my vitamin K consumption because I’m on warfarin. So I can’t eat too many salads or leafy greens. It makes things tricky.
Ok. How I have to face everything is one day at a time. Seriously if even 1 hour at a time. If you ate half a cake and hid under the covers yesterday oh well that’s the past. The sun will rise again today and get back on a nutrition course. Your body needs carbs, fat and protein. Different people have different body shapes, metabolisms, gi issues etc. so take baby steps cuz you’ll have cravings and then you’ll beat yourself up again. Being healthy is so important for anyone with a mental illness. So focus on being healthy. Don’t alwat believe in fad diets cuz I eat brown rice instead of white but you have to be careful of arsenic in brown rice. Some people say egggs are bad some say good. Figure out what works for you. Also, upyoure putting a lot of stress and anxiety on yourself. Do the best you can one day at a time. Hopefully you’ll obtain your goal but if don’t, it’s old. Nutrition is number one. Your body has to adjust to lifestyle changes. When I started eating more I had a Oregon belly and skinny everywhere else, but my psych kept reminding me one day at a time and that it would balance itself out. But yeah totally exercise, it releases happy endorphins, and lift and don’t loose to fast cuz you’ll get loose saggy skin like a friend of mine. Food isn’t the enemy, it is all part of your mental illness. I can’t drive cuz of my meds but have a home gym and dogs to walk. And remember you are not alone because I think everyone has eating issues. I have a project 375 shirt I bought as a donation that says mind over matter. Just do your best today and know people care about you no matter what
It sounds like u already know what to do…just reframe your thinking and tell yourself you are doing this to become a healthier person all around…if you say it’s just to lose weight for one occasion it becomes easier to go “off” the program when the event is over. Tell yourself these are lifestyle changes, not just a diet.
If the gym scares you, just take a walk a few times a day, do curls with the milk jug, do squats off of the couch during TV commercials, park at the far end of the parking lot, just little stuff that doesn’t make u too uncomfortable so that you’ll be adding a little exercise to everyday activities. Good luck!
I lost about five pounds a month severely cutting my food intake without exercise. I’ll probably need to start that as well, but being a habitual shut in makes that tough. If you have no such hang-ups, walking really does make you feel great (I used to do it when I was living in a less congested area.).
I probably lost that much weight just dieting because I’m superfat and was eating way too much. Now I’m still quite heavy, but I think I’ll have to take up walking to keep the momentum going. In the past, walking just by itself was enough to get into better shape. The younger you start the better, it gets harder as you get older.
I’m finding that it’s really, really hard to break the habit of eating out. It’s so easy to do it. I had to visit my daughter and didn’t have time to make dinner beforehand, so I grabbed takeout. My youngest daughter had a Middle School Youth Group meeting Sunday night from 6-8pm, and we normally have dinner at 7pm. Instead of making a full meal for just me and my son or waiting until my daughter came home and cooking, thus making her super late to bed on a school night, I picked up fast food.
It’s just so easy to do. Tonight, I’m going to try to make meatloaf and potatoes. I can’t go out because we are having freezing rain, and my husband is home to help me, so hopefully I will actually get it done this time. Fingers crossed!
I had a problem with fast food a while back. My doc was a very nice man who suggested I get the salad instead to start if I didn’t want to stop fast food (No meat or chicken or whatever added). It wasn’t bad!
