newlywed weight gain! help!

T

tallchick83

New member
Hi, I'm 23, and a newlywed. Over the last year, other newlywed friends have gained anywhere from 10-20 lbs and i don't want to be one of them. i've already gained 5 lbs since the wedding 4 months ago and i need to know what to change in my lifestyle to help lose the weight and keep it off and lower my body fat percentage (need that for sure!) even though i'm married, going to culinary school, and busy opening my own (yikes) dessert business.

stats:
6 ft 1/2 inch, 172 lbs, body fat 27.2%

goal: 163 lbs, body fat 21-22% (do you think this is attainable? what is a good goal?)

typical day:
breakfast: 1 cup shredded frosted wheat with skim milk and blueberries, maybe a slice of 45 cal toast with PB

snack: a chocolate truffle (or two) where i work at :( or if i'm good, an apple or kiwi....maybe a 100 cal yogurt

lunch: green pepper and hummus, or a 280 cal protein shake with 38 grams protein made with skim milk

snack: an apple with PB, or a protein bar, or 2 60 cal rice cakes

supper: pasta with sauce, or homemade tacos, or mini meatloaves and a salad or a lean cuisine froz. meal and a pudding cup for dessert

workout: try to do cardio 3-4 times a week, 30-40 min on elliptical resistance 10-13, or walking on 10 incline at 3.6-4, or stairmaster fat burn program, speed 8-10 weightlifting: 2-3 times a week, with free weights, machines, and moves like : step downs, step ups with bicep curl, ect...

any ideas on how to eat with my husband but not just have carrots? any healthy snacks (we don't really get a lunch break, so i tend to graze all day) or what to do if i "need" a dessert and don't want to make the full-fat brownies i sell in my business? workouts? how do i drop my body fat percentage? i lift weights and do cardio? but i can't spend 2 hrs every day in the gym, my schedule doesn't allow it! any help please?! i don't want to become a newlywed weight gainer... :0)
 
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I am short on time but one of the first things I noticed is there just isn't any food in your food and your calories seem pretty low.

Read this until I have more time to respond further and more in depth.

John Berardi - 7 Habits
John Berardi - Lean Eatin' Part I
John Berardi - Lean Eatin' Part II
 
my food

well, i think part of the reason there's no "food" in my food is because i love it too much, especially desserts (i have a passion for dessert and love making it and serving it to people...hence, the culinary school and business) it seems like i won't think twice about eating some fudge (because, well, i have to make sure the new recipe is good before i sell it...), but the thought of having a sandwich horrifies me, like i'll get fat, so sometimes i think since i'm surronded by sweets on a daily basis, i tell myself to only have veggies and hummus or a protein shake to make up for any "bad choices" i have later. i'm totally confused on how much i should eat and what i should eat, especially since i'm married before. when i was single, i survived on three basic meals...egg whites and waffles, tuna sald and low cal bread, and then easy mac with, well, tuna. now i can't do that since i'm married.
like now, i just got a recipe for "protein balls" and i made them. but i'm scared to eat them because i don't know how many calories are in them..
(recipe: 1 cup oats, 1 cup PB, 1 cup honey, 1 cup flax seed, 1 cup protein powder, 1 cup dried cranberries. makes 27 balls.)
any ideas?

PS-printed out the 7 habits and sticking on my fridge :)
 
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I can understand that. I think what would be great for you is a real plan and complete overhaul of your situation. Start with the calories you need in a day, workout a meal plan, work out a exercise plan, throw it all together and then try and sharpen it up from there.

You can also post it in here for our help and critic.

As far as the calories for the protein ball I believe one of the moderators here uses that recipe. Did you get that from World Fitness?

I will see what stats I come up with that are close.
 
You dont need to workout for two hours per day to get results and live a healthy lifestyle. I understand you love desserts, however its either eat brownies everyday, or be healthy and at your ideal weight. Which do you choose?
 
a new plan?

hey tony, my love for desserts is not over my loveof being healthy and getting back in shape. i'm just at a lost of where to start and what i should be focusing on to lose body fat %. i look slender, but with a 27% body fat, that is truly not ideal.
leah had said to make a menu and work out plan...so here it goes...please let me know what is bad with it...i'm in uncharted waters here....

meal 1: 1 cup cereal with skim milk and 1 45 cal toast with PB.
snack 1: 100 cal yogurt or an apple
meal 2: one ham sandwich with 60 cal worth of ham. 1/2 cup cottage cheese or lite applesauce.
snack 2: 1/3 cup dried fruit with 1/3 cup almonds.
meal 3: 2 slices of meatloaf and potatoes, or 1 cup wheat pasta with sauce and garlic bread and a side salad with dressing.

workout: do cardio for 30 minutes on weighlifting days, followed by weights for 45 min-60 min. (step ups with 12 lb bicep curls, step downs, pull-up machine, tricep dips, calf raises with weight, a shoulder exercise) *( am i hitting all the groups?)*
try to weight lift 2-3 times a week. on cardio days, do 40 minutes on treadmill (walk/run) or stairmaster or ellipitcal. try to do cardio days twice. or vice versa, weights on 2 days, just cardio for 3 days...


so, will this help me lose body fat? should i be eating more protein? i drink 380 cal protein shakes sometimes for a meal, (38 grams protein) do i need to do more cardio? more weights? what should i shoot for for calories?
how do i cook a third meal for my husband and i and still lose weight/body fat?

thanks so much!
 
Just wanted to throw in my .02...I know just what you are talking about - I gained 10 pounds the first month DH and I met! I have gained 40 since being married (8 years, but gained them all within 3 years).

Before getting married I was going out dancing a LOT, having a lot of fun and keeping busy. After getting married we moved out of state (no friends, family), DH was in Grad school so he was either gone or studying all the time. I was a married woman so going out dancing was now out of the question and who was I going to to go with? DH was never a dancer....

We ate out a LOT and that was a big part of gaining a lot of weight. Here are a few suggestions from an old married lady....

1. Cook at home as much as you can.
2. Stay active, have fun, find a hobby
3. Don't eat for emotional reasons...
4. Don't be so hard on yourself.

I think those are my top suggestions. I gained mostly because I was lonely and sad and became a couch potato! Now I look back and think about how hard I was on myself when I wanted to loose just 10-15 pounds...I would love to be there again...

Good Luck!!
 
For me, I found it helped to learn how to cook. We were eating a lot of takeout and TV dinner junk. It was a bit tricky to change (we took babysteps). I had lots of recipe books, but really had trouble following them...plus I was really clueless about how to even grocery shop.

It also didn't help we had lots of junkfood stored away in the cupboards....

Taking a day to clean out temptations before buying new healthy groceries was really liberating.

As I was having a lot of trouble getting a grasp on cooking (can we say home ec flunkie? :) ), I did some investigation via Amazon for books that would be easy for me to follow. I ended up finding two books that really helped - The Weeknight Survival Cookbook and Healthy Cooking for Two (or just you).

What I really like about both books is that they have easy recipes and nutritional guides for the meals. The WSC actually groups its recipes into weeks and gives a grocery list. This was a blessing for me. Planning and shopping is a big part of making meals, but it was not something that was easy for me to do. After a month or two, I am now able to plan dinner and grocery trips without the books.

I am also fond of cooking... :)

...I just got to get that "drinking water" and "taking my vitamins" thing better nailed down. :)
 
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