Dieting ideas for me?

Question

I'm a 22 year old female who has always been rather heavy. In the past 6 months or so I've gone up a couple sizes. I was okay with my before weight, but would still like to lose a little more than the 15-20 pounds I've gained recently. I'm 5'9" tall and weight approx. 275. I have a job that consists of sitting at least 8-9 hours per day. Any ideas on dieting options and/or excercise ideas? I've never done much working out before and will need to start slow. Anyone know of any websites where I might be able to get good information or a dieting plan without having to pay for it? Does anyone have any experience with things like weight watchers, jenny craig, etc.? I'm open to any and all advice.

Answer 1

I'm going to suggest you start by making some changes like keeping away from fast foods, junk foods, candies, sodas and other sweets. Start eating 4-6 small meals a day and don't forget about fruits and veggies! If you really want a soda, go for a diet, caffeine free kind.

Increase your water! Water really does help with weight loss! If you consume caffeine, you'll need to increase your water even more.

And of course, be active! Can you take a quick walk during your breaks? Take the steps, instead of the elevator? Park a little farther from the building? All the little things really DO add up!

Since you sit most of the day, can you get up and walk around a little throughout the day? Do stretches in your chair? Do leg lifts? I know it's hard when you're sitting all day...
In the evenings, take a walk around the block or even just down the street. Increase your walking as your body gets used to it.

Stay away from diet pills. They can cause a lot of damage to your body. And, never starve yourself--it doesn't work to lose weight.

NutriSystem is a wonderful program. It's pricey, but it works! It's very convenient and easy to follow. I know many people use it to kick start their weight loss. That may be an option for you. If you want more info on it, send me a message.

Keep in mind that a healthy weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week. The scale can show a big dip during your first week of dieting---that's water weight and normal.

Keep a positive attitude and start out slowly. You may also want to consult your doctor before starting a diet and exercise program.

Best of luck to you!☺

Answer 2

Kudos to you for wanting to do something now! If I had done the same thing at your age (which was over 30 years ago now) my health would be in MUCH better condition now! Weight, as you have discovered, can sneak up on you!

The best advice I can give is to join a local gym, and then go there faithfully, 4 or 5 days a week! Tell them you are serious about taking better care of your health. Ask questions, pay attention to those who seem successful. Don't overdo, and be gentle with yourself. You'll be amazed at the result! (I lost over 100 pounds in my first year of working out, about 10 years ago, in my 40's!!!) Don't worry about what anyone thinks. A gym that is very family-oriented can be the friendliest at times. I decided I was serious enough to just put on blinders so-to-speak, and ignore any stares, etc. I found that people were great, helpful, and on the rare occassions that someone seemed uncomfortable around my morbid obesity I just treated them as normal, and they realized I was just a normal person in a very fat body. lol

Remember that as you begin exersizing you will probably gain a few pounds, but DON'T DESPAIR! A cup of muscle weighs 3 times as much as a cup of fat. You will be building muscle, and so your weight will go up just a bit before it goes down, but you will be building muscle which burns fat, so it's all good!!!! You'll probably really notice a difference in your energy and stamina within 2 or 3 months, and by 6 months you'll be hooked on how great it makes you feel, and what great results you are getting!

Talk to a trainer. They can tell you what to eat, and the gym should have handouts on nutrition too. A basic diabetic diet can be perfect, since it is low on carbs, low in fat, and pretty altogether well-balanced. Make sure you drink lots of water, and DON'T starve yourself. It won't help, because if you don't eat enough your body will go into fat famine, thinking it is in danger of starving, and start storing everything it can, as fat. You don't want that!

Well, that's my 2 cents worth.

Best of luck to you! You go girl!

Answer 3

Start off with a good diet. You know what things you should eat and what not. Its basicly all about willpower. Burn more calories than you take in and you will lose weight.

Be more active. Walk everywhere you can. Park further away. Exercise as much as you can. Do long duration low intensity workouts such as jogging on a treadmill at 5mph for 25-30 minutes.

Build muscle mass. Lift some weights. Muscle is very metabolicly active. The more muscle you have the more calories you will burn just sitting at work.

Answer 4

There are so many out there, basically if you just follow the food pyramid you'll be fine, also you can check out my yahoo group for dieting & loosing weight, you can track there ask questions & everything, here's the address http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/srhoades9465/

in addition here is the food pyramid web site, go check it out it's customized now. http://www.mypyramid.gov/

All of the diets weight watchers jenny craig of yes whom I am a member but $400 per month on food for just me is out of my budget range and I get tired of frozen meals I want homemade food healthy. Any way all of them follow the same basic principle, the food pyramid. Make sure you exercise too though, I LOVE the support & encouragement I get at Curves, you should check them out if you don't have a fitness center membership.

Answer 5

Step 1 Before sleeping mix up one/two teaspoons of honey in luke warm water. Drink it just before you sleep. Step 2 The honey improves your metabolism at night. Reduce a few pounds within weeks. Step 3 Maintain your normal diet and lifestyle. End up loosing weight.

Answer 6

DON'T EAT MEAT! EAT HEALTHIER FOOD LIKE VEGETABLES AND FRUIT! EXSERSIZE!!! TAKE A TEN MIN WALK EVERYMORING AND NIGHT! DON'T EAT JUNK FOOD, BUT IF YOU MUST FOR YOUR JUNK FOOD EAT SOMETHING LIKE STRAWBERRIES AND SUGAR (BUT DON'T GO CRAZY OVER THE SUGAR.) THATS ALL I HAVE TO SAY. YOU WEIGHT SHOULD BE AT LEAST 140 OVER THAT YOU ARE OVER WEIGHT!!