Weight Loss

I just started eating a bit over 1500 calories with 800 burning off from excerise, I USED to be on a 1200 calorie diet with an hour of excerise, I was 295 and now 244, but have been stuck at 244 for a month and don't know why. I'm 26, 5'3 and a girl.

 

Does anyone know what a good metabolism booster is?

 

And how do you keep track of eating out? seems like when I eat out I gain even though I make healthy choices when eating out.

I make it that you need somewhere between 3000 (moderate activity) and 2600 (light activity) cals a day to maintain your weight with those stats and 1/2 hour - 1 hour of exercise a day.  So, if we split the difference at 2800, to lose weight you should be aiming for about 1900-2100 rather than 1500.  If you're maintaining on 1500 you've probably lowered your metabolism and your body has learned to manage on less food.... hence the plateau

Try having a day this week where you eat a lot more than normal... say 2500-3000 cals.  And then resume losing weight at the new, higher level of 1900.  The extra food will bump up your metabolism.  Also try changing your food choices around.  Aim to eat some new foods, try new recipes... rather than always eating the same things.  Ditto with exercise.  Try new activities from time to time so that your body doesn't get too comfortable. 

If you eat out only occasionally it doesn't really matter if the calorie-count is a little inaccurate.  If you eat out several times a week you need to be much more accurate about what you accept and how you log it.   Choose your dining out venues carefully, choose healthy options, insist on foods being prepared as you want them and don't feel like you have to finish a full plate. 

Hope something there helps.

thanks I will try this, but what foods are really high in calories? I eat 1500 and am full LOL so I'll try to eat alot more and see what happens. Should I be counting sodium too?

Does anyone know what a good metabolism booster is?

 

 Exercise!

 

I got stuck at 225 for roughly a month before I discovered this site. I thought that my problem was that I was eating too much, as I didn't really track my calories before. I was eating roughly 1400 calories a day--come to find that that was too little, given my activity level. At home, yeah, I'm pretty damn sedentary, but at work I'm on my feet all day, I walk quickly back and forth between two very far away points of the store (the front end to the backroom to take my breaks several times a day), and I occasionally lift items anywhere from 15lbs to 50lbs...well, not just occasionally on shipment day and I'm busy mucking around with all of the boxes of cigarettes and trying to get what I can fit onto the shelves and organize all of the "old" boxes so they get used first, etc, etc.

Right now, I eat anywhere between 1600-1800 calories a day. I don't routinely exercise, but if I work 8 hours on shipment day, you better believe I'm probably going to be eating above 1800 calories. However, this is mostly a guess, because some of the things I consumed I don't put into the log (like the milk that gets consumed along with my cereal in the morning), and I often guess at exactly how much I'm eating. Typically, if I'm eating a new cereal, I measure out two cups for a couple of days to get a feel for how it looks in the bowl, and then stop measuring it out. I find that this way, I don't feel like I'm really slaving to the calorie, but I also don't go overboard because I do record a vast majority of what I eat.

So if you're stuck, try adding extra calories in to your diet. You may gain at first (I got lucky in that I probably only gained a pound at the most when I added calories to my diet), but that scale will move on down slowly but surely. I was stuck at 225 April 19th. I'm now down to 219-220 as of today, and if I'm lucky, the scale will go down tomorrow a bit, too. =) My real goal is 120, but my temporary goal is 199--I told my husband I wasn't getting pregnant until there was a 1 in front instead of a 2. I'm hoping to reach less than 200lbs by the time he gets back from Iraq in September.

Okay, before I catch the wrath of God I am going to say these things I have been told can tweak the metabolism a little, they are not going to change your life when used without diet and exercise.

But cinnamon and red pepper are known to do that. Also green tea helps. Eating low/no carb for one day only per week. Other things you can do is have a binge day or tweak your work outs. Since your body gets so incredibly used to what you give it, (food & exercise), mix up your exercise. I've been told once a week to do 6 10 min session of hardcore cardio instead of a solid hour.

Im sure there are some out there that will disagree with me but Im doing it now so I'll let ya know how it goes.

I do I excerise all the time I burn about 1600 a day.

Yeah I understood that your work outs are good but just like your body gets used to what calories you give it, it also adapts to your work outs. I keep changing mine continuously. I change my cardio up alot. One day cycling, next day eliptical, walking...etc. The weight lifting part changes a lot too. One day the machines, next day an intense work out strength training viseo.

Just trying to help. :)

Cardio will help.  If you are able do some anaerobic workouts - lifting weights and such.  You can also run as fast as you can for about 1-2 minutes on the treadmill until after you're almost out of breath then take a 30 second break, repeat.   You can space out your meals to about 6-7 meals a day to boost your metabolism.  Another alternative is caffein ;D  just don't overdo it.

 

You didn't mention what kind of exercise....

Weight training builds muscle and muscle burns more calories, even at rest. So more muscle=higher metabolism.

Do I lift weights? No. I should but I don't.

I have also heard that cayenne pepper or any type of hot spice/sauce can help to raise metabolism temporarily but I think it would take so much to actually be of use that you'd never taste your food!