consequences of a sedentary lifestyle

Hello everyone. I entered into the "Calorie Target" a loss of 25lbs. The results gave me 1300C until the middle of March, and boy do I feel like crap.

I adore riding my bike... when I feel like it. All I have to do is put on a cycling outfit and I want to ride around for 2 hours or more. It doesn't help that I'm looking for a job and am feeling crummy & self-conscious about that. It also doesn't help that I get tired a lot and enjoy sleeping. And to clarify, my BMI is 26.1 and I actually have low blood pressure. It seems like nothing I do except cycling really burns any calories.

Another apparent roadblock is how unhealthy things I love are. And I'm not talking about chocolate, donuts, and steak. I mean a bowl of Cheerios, a bologna and swiss sandwich on potato bread, a large glass of orange or cherry juice, a plate of egg noodles. What the heck am I supposed to eat? Some days I don't even eat dinner, and I'm being told I need to eat less?

I have a theory, though.

Breakfast: two pieces of dry whole grain toast, one banana, 8 oz of skim milk

Lunch: one apple, five baby carrots, 16 oz water

Dinner: 4 oz peas (cooked from frozen), 8 oz brown rice, one orange, 16 oz water

Snack: five baby carrots, 16 oz water

I'm such a downer... This stinks. I love juice. Now I can't drink it anymore. I can't eat things that I thought were healthy and filling and good for me. I probably sound like I'm pro-ana now. Why anyone would want a mental disease is beyond me, but I'm just thinking that if I don't have the motivation to leave the damn house, I can't burn calories. I really don't want to starve myself. But I can't just let my consumption pile up and not get burned away...

I don't know if you realize, but there are lots of things that burn calories, probably more than you think.

I NEVER work out, seriously. Yet, I manage to burn almost a thousand calories a day just by doing everyday things.

Driving an hour to and from class burns calories, so does sitting for 4 hours in classes, also standing for 5 hours at my job.EVERYTHING burns calories.

You also seem like you're limiting yourself to what you can eat, by A LOT! 3 big meals a day along with healthy snacks in between is a good way to go. If you do exercise (in your case riding a bike), you should do that in the morning, before you eat anything. After riding your bike, your metabolism will boost up, burning the breakfast calories faster. That's why breakfast should be your biggest meal of the day. Try to add more protein in your diet, maybe some peanut butter on your toast, or a few eggs.

p.s. Never skip meals!! Your body needs the energy from the food you eat to actually burn calories. (It's okay to have sweets once in a while. After all the hard work of counting calories and eating right, you deserve it!)

I wish you luck!! I know you can do it!

you just need to make some changes and you can do them slowly. i hated water and only drank orange juice and pepsi. i started replacing a drink a day with a glass of water, and now instead of 8 glasses of juice, i might have a glass now and then. trust me, me and my oj were best friends. i think of it this way. things might not taste the same if they are the low fat/low calorie version. but if i want to meet my goal, i have to like it, or i just don't get to eat it at all. it's a choice.

start eating whole grains instead of the bleached flour products, and i am trying to eat natural things. it's not an easy transition. going from mac and cheese everyday to salads and fruits and veg is a change, but once you get used to it, you don't even crave the other things and sometimes they make you feel sick because they are now unhealthy.

i also started drinking apple cider vinegar, which is just amazing. read up on it, i swear by it.

where's your protein?

A lean protein like white chicken or tuna or any fish added to what you've been eating will help kick start your metabolism.   And like what was said before you might want to try eating smaller meals throughout the day.  I know, I know, you're probably saying your meals are small now.  They are.  What about portion size? 

Unfortunalely there is no way around it.  In order to lose weight a person has to burn more than they eat.   I believe it's also what you eat.  Right now, it looks like you're not eating enough of the right foods to help burn the fuel.   And, you're right, your 'diet' sounds boring.  It is.   

I know this message is coming to you much later.  Hope you've found some help.

good luck