please help me!

SunnyDay1

SunnyDay1

New member
i'm new at this weight loss thing. i wanted to start doing some exercising and hopefully lose weight without having to make diet changes. i thought that would work because i figured increasing activity was bound to make me lose weight no matter what i was eating. burning more calories is burning more calories, right? well i've decided that probably won't work so well. at least not as well as i want it to. so i figure i better change my eating habits. (i don't like to use the word diet :eek: ) problem is i don't know how. just thinking about it makes me so frustrated i just wanna give up. i don't know what to count, calories- fat- sodium- i don't know how to make sure i'm getting the right amount of protein... basically i don't know how to do any of it. i mean i know i should steer clear of french fries and candy bars, but beyond that, i really just don't know. some things that i think i'm doing right- i drink lots of water, it's pretty much the only thing i drink. i'm trying to eat something in the mornings even if it is just a bowl of cereal where i used to skip breakfast before. i bought some of those frozen lean cuisine things to try out cause i figured with those since the are marketed as both low fat and low cal... but reading the nutrition facts now that i got them home it looks like an awful lot of sodium which i always thought was bad. i wanna try to eat more fruits and vegetables, but i heard that too much fruit is bad because of all the natural sugars and that some veggies (carrots are the only specific one i heard) break down into sugar. plus i'm really concerned about not getting enough protein. are eggs really good for you or bad for you? apparently one egg is 4 grams of fat? is that a lot? my dad said i should be getting only 15 grams of fat or less per day. that just doesn't seem possible to me, but maybe i just don't know. it seems like everything that i think might be a good idea really isn't. i'm not much of a cook, so when i search online for healthy recipes i always just get intimidated and change my mind. also i have 3 kids ages 5, 3, and 2 so i need to be able to prepare things that they will eat too. i just wanna lose weight in the quickest (but still safe) way possible. i bought an exercise bike so i could use it as much as i needed to. i was also thinking of going out and getting some of those small (like 5lb) weights but i wouldn't know what to do with them. i have to do my exercise at home, but that is the only exercise restriction i have. i just want results. i'm sorry for sounding so helpless, but that's how i feel. if anyone can offer me advice, i would appreciate it more than you know. thanks so much!
 
The sheer panic of your post and the confusion you have is so common. It is so normal to feel this overwhelmed so just remember to take a deep breath and take this one step at a time.

First off lets keep this simple.

To lose fat you need to be taking in less energy then burning up. Calories are nothing but measurements of energy. Thats it. 200 calories just means 200 little energy sparks that just entered your body. You put in to many spark and your boy is going to store them for later. You don't put in enough and your body is going to go into reserves for stored energy that you have already. Now if you body uses fat or not depends on how healthy you do this. So doing this in a sane and healthy manner is key okay:)

Now first you need to figure out how many sparks of energy you need in a day. To keep it a simple as possible lets times your weight by 15. So if you weight 150 pounds you go 150x15=2250 calories. So your body is burning roughly that amount of calories a day. That is the easist of method. If you want something a little more accurate and detailed then try this...


So now we know how much you need to be, how much to you need to lose. Lets again keep a healthy level here and work at 15-25% deficit here. So 2250 x 25%= 562 so 2250-562=1688 calories a day. Now i like to bounce my calories to keep the body guessing so let's work around this number and say I am going to eat 1600 on day I don't workout or do as much and 1800 on days I push it hard to make sure my body is protected.

There, now you know how much to take in! That is all!

Now what to take in. Well read this short and simple article to help you get started there.

Now how hard to workout?

Well we need to protect the muscle so take a look here at Steve's workout here.

And we need to do some work for the heart so maybe 2-3 days a week for some aerobic training at 20-30 mins a session. Do some interval work, go hard, then walk, go hard then walk.

I would say my dear that you have got a solid start and plan right here.

Everything else after this just optimizes it. everything else you learn now just helps you improve. So take a deep breath, and keep it simple:)
 
SunnyDay said:
i'm new at this weight loss thing. i wanted to start doing some exercising and hopefully lose weight without having to make diet changes. i thought that would work because i figured increasing activity was bound to make me lose weight no matter what i was eating. burning more calories is burning more calories, right? well i've decided that probably won't work so well. at least not as well as i want it to. so i figure i better change my eating habits. (i don't like to use the word diet :eek: ) problem is i don't know how. just thinking about it makes me so frustrated i just wanna give up. i don't know what to count, calories- fat- sodium- i don't know how to make sure i'm getting the right amount of protein... basically i don't know how to do any of it. i mean i know i should steer clear of french fries and candy bars, but beyond that, i really just don't know. some things that i think i'm doing right- i drink lots of water, it's pretty much the only thing i drink. i'm trying to eat something in the mornings even if it is just a bowl of cereal where i used to skip breakfast before. i bought some of those frozen lean cuisine things to try out cause i figured with those since the are marketed as both low fat and low cal... but reading the nutrition facts now that i got them home it looks like an awful lot of sodium which i always thought was bad. i wanna try to eat more fruits and vegetables, but i heard that too much fruit is bad because of all the natural sugars and that some veggies (carrots are the only specific one i heard) break down into sugar. plus i'm really concerned about not getting enough protein. are eggs really good for you or bad for you? apparently one egg is 4 grams of fat? is that a lot? my dad said i should be getting only 15 grams of fat or less per day. that just doesn't seem possible to me, but maybe i just don't know. it seems like everything that i think might be a good idea really isn't. i'm not much of a cook, so when i search online for healthy recipes i always just get intimidated and change my mind. also i have 3 kids ages 5, 3, and 2 so i need to be able to prepare things that they will eat too. i just wanna lose weight in the quickest (but still safe) way possible. i bought an exercise bike so i could use it as much as i needed to. i was also thinking of going out and getting some of those small (like 5lb) weights but i wouldn't know what to do with them. i have to do my exercise at home, but that is the only exercise restriction i have. i just want results. i'm sorry for sounding so helpless, but that's how i feel. if anyone can offer me advice, i would appreciate it more than you know. thanks so much!
Click to expand...

First let me begin by commenting on one of your last points - that you " feel helpless ".

I couldn't agree with Leigh P. more - this feeling is as normal as could be for someone who is just starting to learn about weight loss, fitness and health. I'd go so far to say helpless and overwhelming go hand in hand. It would like one of us asking you to to pop on to Amazon and ask you pick out the ' best book ' you could find on fat loss. There are thousands and thousands of books with thousands of different approaches - it's virtually impossible to know what ' the best ' fit is for you,so it HAS to be overwhelming for anyone. So, if you DO feel helpless and you DO feel overwhelmed..., not to worry, you are SUPPOSED to feel that way in the beginning.

Trouble is, most of those books will simply TELL you what to do. I think it is a much better approach is to LEARN how to reach the goals you want to achieve on your own. Learn how your body stores and loses fat, learn how your body gains and loses muscle, learn the significance fat and muscle as it pertains to being healthy, learn what carbohydrates, fat and protein are, what calories are, learn how to eat properly, how to lift weights properly, how to do cardio properly etc. etc. - I think you get the point.

Even this short list may even sound a bit too overwhelming for you, but in reality, there are only a very few core basic concepts and principles you need to grasp pertaining to food, how your body processes food and how your body adapts to exercise to be able to figure things out. Kinda like learning how to fly - once you learn the basics from the " flight instructors " giving you info on this forum, you'll be able to " fly solo ". And on that note , now that you're on the forum you have access to some very knowledgeable and excellent " flight instructors " on this forum such as Leigh P., Steve and TomO ( but to mention a few ) that can get you flying solo in no time.

And try and look at things from a " glass half-full " perspective if you can......

- you've had 3 kids in 5 years ...... cut yourself some slack already
- you're thinking about your food / nutrition......a very good start.
- you admit you have a lot to learn and you want to learn...excellent !
- you're thinking exercise ( you got a bike, want weights ) ...again, excellent !
- you're open to asking lots of questions...it's the only way to learn
- you're wiling to take the time to share details of your diet
- you've got a very good attitude...worth it's weight in gold !!​

....so, you have a lot going for you, AND if you have what it takes to learn how to handle 3 kids under 5 without going crazy ( I know ...I have 4 kids... 5 years apart :eek: ) , give yourself some credit. Compared to that, learning how to get in shape will be a piece of cake ( made with soy and organic flour of course ) :)

Good luck !
 
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SunnyDay, I can't add very much to the excellent posts from Leigh and Wrangell, except this -- a whole bunch of us started off on this journey the same way. I myself started here as an 8 time failure, waiting for my first heart attack. There are many others here who started with dozens of pounds to lose, and some with hundreds.

As you read through some of the journals here, you will find a lot of people just like you, just as scared, just as uncertain, just as desperate. But you will also find a lot of people who, one step at a time, are gaining control of their lives. You can do it too. It won't be easy, but it CAN be done, and you've come to a great place to do it.
 
i can't believe how supportive everyone here is! it's really incredible to me. thanks so much everyone for your advice and encouragement! while i still feel nervous and overwhelmed, i am starting to feel more confident!!
 
These people here are frickin GREAT!!

Seriously.

If I have to attribute one MAJOR factor in my success so far, and my ultimate success to come, it is on these fan-freakin-tastic people. Seriously. I have learned sooo much by reading here endlessly (and to this day) and helped to nail down problems of my own by keeping a diary and welcoming others to read it and offer words of wisdom and advice. Now not everything you hear will be for you and it may take a little time to find your groove and get into a program that suits you best, but if anyone can help it is the people here. Sometimes a kind word or a warm nudge in the right direction is better than any diet plan or exercise routine.

My advice to you, make the most of the information here and you will succeed. I would hug every single damn one of these fine people here if somehow I could get them all lined up. I have never felt and been so successful in my life, and you can too! And 99% of these people are literally on the other sides of the planet from me. How cool is that???

Damn, I am going to do it anyways, Everyone, consider yourself hugged!!!

sirant
 
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