Steadily losing weight. Wohooo!

[Eternal Sunshine]

I managed to lose 11lbs since I moved in with my bf 2.5 months ago.

 

I am nowhere close to starving and still eat chocolate and drink wine. I have just reduced overall portion sizes by a little and am working out 3 times a week. It might not seem like much but consider that I did NO exercise before. I especially enjoy swimming and bike riding but put in some weight sessions at the gym too.

 

I am pretty surprised that it's all it takes. I always thought I will have to go through something grueling to shift the weight. Ideally, I want to lose about another 10lbs but wouldn't mind losing a bit more if I can

[Els]

You lucky girl. I actually GAINED weight when I moved in with the bf last year

 

I had wanted to lose 10 lbs, but I've only lost 5 lbs over the past 6 months that I tried. I have no idea how people lose hundreds of pounds when I just can't seem to lose 10, it must take a huge amount of discipline. I try to eat low-cal meals sometimes, but I still want to enjoy life, to not restrict where and what I have for dinner with the bf/friends, to eat chocolate and ice cream and frappucinos and bubble tea on occasion. So... yeah. Let's hope the next 5 lbs drops over the next 6 months.

[bittersweet memories]

That's great ES... Keep it up Girl!

[Calutaxi484]

You lucky girl. I actually GAINED weight when I moved in with the bf last year

 

I had wanted to lose 10 lbs, but I've only lost 5 lbs over the past 6 months that I tried. I have no idea how people lose hundreds of pounds when I just can't seem to lose 10, it must take a huge amount of discipline. I try to eat low-cal meals sometimes, but I still want to enjoy life, to not restrict where and what I have for dinner with the bf/friends, to eat chocolate and ice cream and frappucinos and bubble tea on occasion. So... yeah. Let's hope the next 5 lbs drops over the next 6 months.

 

Personally I think weight loss is super easy once you actually know a little about nutrition. I'd say one of the biggest factors that most people don't consider is empty calorie drinks. Just looking at the numbers real quick...

 

A 16oz starbucks mocha frappuchino is 400 calories

A 16oz McDonald's chocolate shake is 540 calories.

A 16oz Mt. Dew is 220 calories.

 

The 2000 calories per day thing is grossly off for most people. Generally people need way less then that. I'd say most women are in the 1200-1600 range, and if you're drinking 400 calories of that in a single serving that's a HUGE part of your daily calories.

 

The easiest place to start is finding out how many you need (find a basal metabolic rate calculator on the net) and cut out 500 calories per day (that equals roughly 1lb per week).

 

I've lost around 35lbs total this year, the past 15 or so I've done with ONLY diet.

[Eternal Sunshine]

Els,

 

I think the huge factor for me is that I used to eat out of boredom/loneliness and had no motivation to do any exercise. When I was living alone, I would get home from work and buy 200g block of chocolate and eat it all in one sitting while watching a movie

 

Also, my bf is very health/weight conscious. He used to be heavy as a teen and he is always keeping track of how much he ate/exercised. We don't have any junk food in the house and will eat pizza about once per month. When we eat out, it's quite easy to order some grilled meat and a salad.

 

I also walk to work and back now. It's within walking distance from our place and takes me about 40 minutes each way (which is around 300 cals burned just from that alone).

[Els]

Personally I think weight loss is super easy once you actually know a little about nutrition. I'd say one of the biggest factors that most people don't consider is empty calorie drinks. Just looking at the numbers real quick...

 

A 16oz starbucks mocha frappuchino is 400 calories

A 16oz McDonald's chocolate shake is 540 calories.

A 16oz Mt. Dew is 220 calories.

 

The 2000 calories per day thing is grossly off for most people. Generally people need way less then that. I'd say most women are in the 1200-1600 range, and if you're drinking 400 calories of that in a single serving that's a HUGE part of your daily calories.

 

The easiest place to start is finding out how many you need (find a basal metabolic rate calculator on the net) and cut out 500 calories per day (that equals roughly 1lb per week).

 

I've lost around 35lbs total this year, the past 15 or so I've done with ONLY diet.

 

Yeah, I could do that, but I already hit 1500 with the basic 3 meals alone (I refuse to eat diet shakes or only yogurt and salad or something like that for a meal, but I will avoid fried, oily, and especially high-cal foods). I allow myself another 200 cals or so for pampering - so I have either an 'empty' drink, or an ice cream, or a chocolate, or a slightly more fattening main meal.

 

Els,

 

I think the huge factor for me is that I used to eat out of boredom/loneliness and had no motivation to do any exercise. When I was living alone, I would get home from work and buy 200g block of chocolate and eat it all in one sitting while watching a movie

 

Also, my bf is very health/weight conscious. He used to be heavy as a teen and he is always keeping track of how much he ate/exercised. We don't have any junk food in the house and will eat pizza about once per month. When we eat out, it's quite easy to order some grilled meat and a salad.

 

I also walk to work and back now. It's within walking distance from our place and takes me about 40 minutes each way (which is around 300 cals burned just from that alone).

 

Hehe, the main reason I gained weight when I moved in with the bf was because he eats a LOT. Like, a crapload. I used to cook for both of us and I'd feel convinced that I'm eating very little because beside his portion, mine looks tiny! And he weighs 130 lbs, too... (Yeah, I'm not kidding)

 

But when I started counting calories I compared one of my portions to the standard Weight-Watcher meal and realized that it was about double its size, even though HIS portion was double MY size.

 

After that revelation, there was no more gain and a very slow but reasonably steady loss.