What else can I do?

Question

I am 21 F, 5'4" and weigh 174 lbs. I lost twelve pounds in the last month. My body fat went down 2% in the past month (per meter from gym). I've been faithfully attending the gym for elliptical and treadmill workout 3 times a week for 30 mins each, pushing it to the limit. I am doing free weight training with a cardio/aerobic dvd every other day. I am getting in my squats, lunges, all that good stuff.

My recommended calories is 2500/daily. I take in about 1200-1500, depending on whether or not it is a cardio day. I drink around 85-100 oz. of water daily.

What else should I do to keep it up? I am afraid my body will just stop shedding pounds like it has been. I am wondering is it a crazy goal to want to be 145lbs by June 15?

Last time I lost weight, I kept it off. I am very disciplined and I take good pride in my appearance. I had a surgery on my intestine last year which made me gain 50lbs.

I am now, under doctors guidance, on a diet to get back to the starting weight of 130. However, I don't want to just lose weight. The fat needs to go too. What else can I do?

Answer 1

find calorie/fitness calculator on the net, enter all your stats and it will tell you how many calories you need a day to maintain, take off 300-400cal off that number and thats how much you need to lose.
dont try to lose more than 1-2lbs a week - its not healthy to lose more.
eat 5-6 small meals a day (eat every 2-3 hours)
5-8 servings of fruit and veggies a day
8 glasses of water
have complex carbs for breakfast - they give you energy
have lean meat (protein) for dinner - repairs muscle
cardio exercise 4-6 times a week for 30-50min, light weight training
dont consume foods that are made of white flour (white bread, cakes, past etc.), sugar loaded foods (cookies, icecream, candy etc) and nothing fried - no junk food.

Answer 2

You're doing a LOT of good things for yourself. Wow! 12 lbs in one month is a LOT! Yes, I think it's NOT prudent to try to get to 145 by June 15. A 4-5lbs/month loss is better. Don't eat too little or you will start gaining weight and losing energy. Don't be too much in a hurry. The journey is just as important as the final destination.

A 1000 calorie deficit per week is all that's recommended to lose weight. More than that can cause your metabolism to slow and make you gain weight and lose energy.

Lifting weights should only be done every other day. You need to let your muscles recover before you work on them again. The fibers tear (normal) when you are working them, so they need to heal before your work them again. Cardio is fine and recommended for every day. You should take one day a week to rest and recuperate. This will accelerate your progress. Abs can also be done 6 days/wk.

I spent 35yrs trying to control my weight with dieting and exercising. When I didn't lose, I ate even less and exercised more like everyone kept telling me. All it did was make me gain weight and severely (I mean severely!) damaged my health. I'm back on the right track now and gaining my health back. It's taken me 5+ years to do, lots of doctors, hospitals, medicine which means thousands of dollars spent.

So please don't try to lose so fast. You may bounce back into gaining again. Don't wear yourself out like I did. I wouldn't want anyone to go through what I did.

Answer 3

I think you are doing all that can be done you are following an exercise and diet program that seems to be working. You might see a slow down of the pounds but with exercise you will be loosing inches which is better than the pounds, because as you build muscles they weigh more than fat, you might have a higher weight than 145 but will be firmer.