15 lbs. by december 20 active women trying hard to lose those last stubborn lbs! CLOSED

I am an active 32 year old woman , I eat healthy struggle with sweets sometimes and the occasional binge around my cycle,but i am healthy. I carry my extra baggage in my mid section and this time last year i weighed 15 lbs less. My weight is always up and down and it drives me crazy. I need to get back on track with healthy habits and start exercising regularly again. Im going to meet my boyfriens parents  the end of December and would love to feel my best. If you are a woman who is active and having a hard time with those last 10 or 20 lbs join me and we will support one another and share stories . weigh ins once a week lets say tuesdays. 

My stats:

5 feet 10 1/2

164lbs

goal weight:145 by December 20

sounds good to me, arrow27!  here are my stats:

33 yrs, 5'4 1/2" and 135 pounds. after my first baby i lost a ton of weight and was a little under 120 and felt great.  now after my second baby (2 yrs ago!) i'm still holding onto those last 15.  i'm going home to see extended family around the holidays so this time table would be perfect for me!  it shouldn't be hard to lose a pound, pound and a half a week by then right?? 

i jog about 4 times a week, and strength train 3 or 4 times. try to hike when i can but the weather will be going downhill here (in seattle) in the coming weeks.

Awesome. How does running work for you ? last september i started running and also running stairs near my house and man did my butt and thigh muscles explode! It is awesome to have muscles but none of my jeans fit over my butt and my middle was still thick? I am taking back to walking and no stairs! I also am going to join a gym and check out classes.

I'm not gonna lie, it's hard to get to the gym. I dread it. But, when I get there and after 5 mins on the treadmill I start to feel great. I go for 45 mins...I start with 5 mins of walking, then I've been alternating jogging and walking to get some intervals going (I've heard that's it's better to do that instead of maintaining an average speed the whole time) After I am done with that, I do about 15 mins of strength training on the machines. I feel great afterwards. BUT I haven't lost a single pound in 3 weeks. I'm not sure what the problem is (but I did have the time of the month in there) so I'm just gonna stick w/it until I see some results!  I've always been spoiled with my waist being smaller, but after this second child (2 c sections) things are way different. SOOOO, this is why I'm here on this forum :)

I'm excited because this is about exactly the weight I want to lose by about the exact date.  My stats: 5'3, 139 lbs, goal weight: 125.  I started at 142.5 on Sept. 9 and I'm already down a little over 3lbs...this website is really great and I probably wouldn't have lost any without it.  I'm definitely in!!

ps, morlan2: are you using the calorie thing on this site (keeping track of what you take in and what you burn)?  I've kept an average of a 500 deficit between my calories eaten and calories burned and it has worked well (i usually have a hard time losing this weight, i've been steadily gaining over the past 5 years...but slowly, i've probably gained 10 pounds in the past year, which is why i'm getting more serious about being healthier, my metabolism sucks now).

I am in!

stats:

height: 5 feet 1inch

weight: 146

goal: 130 ( I know its lofty but heck...dream big!)

This past month I have revved up my activity and I go to the gym 5 days a week, power walking or running on an incline for 40/45 minutes as well as spin classes on tuesdays...and then weight training twice or three times a week.

This past month i have been weighing myself on saturdays and i dont notice ANY change. It is very frustrating, i just started really watching what i eat as well as this new excercise plan. Perhaps I am retaining water from all the changes, as my body looks much different. Tuesday weigh in's will hopefully show me to be lighter on the scale as well! *fingers crossed*

Hi,  I'd love to join as well.  Arrow, we've got quite similar stats. 

stats:

height- 5'10''

SW- (may 5th) 162

CW- 152

goal: 140

I'm training for a marathon right now which is on November 2nd, so I get in quite a bit of cardio, but just about zero strength training, which I think would help me.  I've not lost a pound in a few months and I'm frustrated....I just want to see the freakin 140s!  I have a serious junk food addiction, and I find that when I log everything I eat genereally healthier but become overly consumed with thinking about food...and when I don't log I eat naughtier!  I am going to try really hard to get down to 149.5 by the end of Sept *fingers crossed too, leahh*

glad to see the new people :)  but i gotta tell ya, i'm past the point of frustration. if something doesn't change soon, i'm gonna pull my hair out. i'm almost at the 3 wk mark of 1200-1400 calories, 4 x a week of 45 mins heavy cardio and 15 mins training.  the scale hasn't budged. i at least expected a couple pounds of water weight, but not even that! bluuughhhh....as far as the meter mdillman, i've just been keeping track of it myself instead of entering it in. i guess i need to figure out how to do that. 

I am so new to this. I dont know how the burn meter works? Can any of you guys tell me? Also I understand your frustration morlan. Please dont give up maybe you need to switch up your routine also when the scale isnt moving i extremly up my cardio and think of my friends that just got back from hiking the pct for 3 months. They were doing about 5 to 6 hours a day of hikiing i know that is not realistic for us, but they were also eating close to 4000 cals on alot of days and they still lost tons of weight. so that being said maybe you need to up your calories and exercise more. You just got to find something fun. Im in Portland,or and if i was in seattle i would love a workout buddy maybe you can find a fun class . keep me posted! 

MOrlan: I agree with arrow, I think you need to start eating a little more.  WHen i started this i've had about 1400 or 1500 cals a day to make sure i get about a 500 calorie deficit and I've lost weight.  4 lbs so far (2 weeks).  Maybe you're eating even less than you think, either way maybe try the 1400 or a little more for a while because an hours worth of working out for 4 times a week will cause you to burn a lot, so you'd need to eat a bit more.

Arrow: I read a lot of people on here set their burn meter as 'sedentary'.  I set mine as lightly active because i know i work out at least 3 times a week and on my off days i go for decently long walks.  I then found out that on my sedentary days i only burn 1700 (that's with no walk and no working out) so if I wanted to maintain my weight, that's what i'd eat.  If I do work out, i mentally add whatever i burn (according to teh treadmill or cc's estimate of my walks) to my burn meter and eat accordingly.  I usually burn about 300 calories, so on those days i eat around 1500 calories.  This is probably sounding confusing.  I have my 'burn meter' set at lightly active just to show me how much i should be eating in calories.  It tells me i burn 1950 or so, so I should eat 1400 a day to get to my goal weight.  Play around with it a bit and you'll see what works best for you.  I really like this system of weight loss because I'm never really hungry, I am eating healthier, and it's actually working!  Message me if you have any more questions...i love this site!

mdillman, i tried entering my stats, it says my daily goal for eating should be 2300 calories, and my burn meter says 1640...does that sound right?  how do i interpret those numbers?  i think i've tried to play around with numbers in my head for so long that I've confused myself!  i'm happy to lose even just a pound a week!

2300 sounds a little high.  did you put a goal weight and current weight? what activity level are you? is the burn meter number you put (1640) the big number on there?  The little number above it will be your total burn for the day by midnight (it's what you burn just being alive all day including the added number of the avg amount of activity you do for the day.  Usually the 'eat meter' will be a number of about 500 less than the 'burn meter' (both of these numbers will be the smaller ones above the big ones on your home page).  When i put that i wanted to reach 125 pounds and that i am 5'3" and currently 138, and that i'm lightly active with a small body type it tells me that i need to eat 1400 calories and that i will normally burn 1900 calories in the day.  Your activity level really makes a difference in the daily goal for eating.  

Ok, i just used my 'tools' thing and under the calorie target tab i put in the stats you put on here and it said you should be eating 1600 calories a day if you're moderately active and the goal date would be jan 4th.  The date will change as you lose weight though, mine started as jan 6th and is now dec 22.  if you lose weight faster it gets closer.  and when i put it in as lightly active it came up with 1400 calories to eat per day.  I think the best way to do it is put yourself as 'sedentary', whatever number they give you you should add the calories you burn in the day by jogging and hiking and then try to eat about 500 less calories than that number every day and i bet you'll start seeing the weight loss.  is this confusing?  The number of 2300 might be the amount you need to maintain, which means you're pretty active, so if you want to lose about a pound a week, eat about 500 less than that?  Haha, i'm sorry if this sounds really confusing!!

thanks alot for putting it in yourself. i entered sedentary to get that amount like you said, that's when it gave me the 2300.  so to lose a pound a week is a 500 calorie deficit per day, right? so if i start at 2300, on non-gym days i need to eat 1800 calories?  that seems pretty high to me??

ok so i changed it to light active, and it put me at 1900 cals per day; i think that sounds about right. so to lose a pound a week, 500 cal deficit per day...so i should be eating 1400 calories a day on non-gym days, and since i burn about 350 cals at the gym, i can have 1750 cals on gym days?  do i finally have it right? :)

Yep, as long as on your non gym days you are still 'lightly active', know what i mean?  I work at an office job and on my days that i get lazy and not do anything for exercise after work, i usually end up just sitting and watching tv, so I consider those days really 'sedentary' so I still try to aim in the lower 1400s,though it's tough cause for some reason i always feel hungrier those days. 

Otherwise it looks perfect, try it for a week and see if you get any results!  Let me know!  I am going to the gym again tonight (and on gym days I weigh myself)..so I hope it's still working for me...like i said, this is probably the first diet that has ever worked for me so i'm super excited about it.

I hope it is not too late to join, but I'm in dire need of some weight loss.

My stats:

5 feet 1

154 lbs

goal weight:135 by December 20. 

In twelve days, I'll be leaving for Jamaica- I'm getting married.  I've been exercising like a mad woman for a while now (1yr and 1/2) and I managed to gain weight... very frustrating. So I'm trying to lose a little more that 15 lbs, but this weight is stubborn for sure!  I imagine I will be keeping everyone posted while in Jamaica just to maintain my sanity, wish me luck and I wish you all luck and healthy eating!

Annulyju: I'm so jealous that you're going on vacation!  I hope you have a wonderful time and congratulations on your wedding! 

My only advice for the weight loss is to keep track of what you eat every day and how much of it you eat.  That was something I always thought was a myth (the whole calorie intake being almost a direct result in my weight) but now that i'm watching it and eating less, I'm losing weight quickly.  Definitely have as much fun on your honeymoon as you can though, i have such great memories from mine and i can't wait to go on vacation again!

Hi! Am I too late to join? I guess not since it hasn't closed yet!

I am 33 yr.old female, 5'5", size 12-14 weighing 160.

I just joined this site today but have been trying to lose weight all summer long. I joined the gym and watched what I ate (and I passed up on sooo much that I normally wouldn't have) and I also managed to gain weight.

At the beginning of summer I weighed 156 and now I weigh 160! so much for that!

Anyway, I have never counted calories before and am sooo ready to try it.

I would like to lose 25-30 in all, but would love to lose 15-20 by Christmas.

What a gift that would be to myself!

PS my stomach seems to be getting bigger and bigger and I am not pregnant. Is this what bloating is all about or is it pure fat?

Thanks for starting this thread!

hi shanahbanana, welcome to the group! it's frustrating, isn't it, trying so hard and not seeing any results???  i've been doing heavy cardio plus weights for a total of an hour at the gym four times a week, these past 3 weeks, plus not eating over 1400 on gym days and not eating over 1200 on non gym days, plus at least 64 oz of water.  not a budge on the scale :(   but i figure i'll give it a full month and re-evaluate! although some people on this forum say to eat more, so i'm adding 150-200 calories to what i've been doing. we'll see if that kicks in the weight loss!

PS i hear you on the belly issue..i'm having the same problem!!

I'm in!  I'm 30, with two kids.  I run/walk 4 miles three times a week.  I also was hitting the gym for strength-training two times a week until summer started.  That is when I noticed the down fall.  I had lost all of my second baby weight but wanted to lose 8 more to hit 130 and my pre-child weight.  After a summer of no lifting and a few two many late nights with great friends, I am back up to 146.

My biggest problem is that I start to see a difference relatively soon after losing those first 5-8 lbs and then get cocky and never lose those last 8 lbs.

Also, I would recommend everyone trying to get measured and get a body fat assessment if you belong to a gym.  Those indicators are more important than weight.  Back in the spring, I gained a pound in one month, but had last 3 inches and 2% body fat.  Muscle does weigh more than fat!  I always have to remind myself that.

Height- 5'5"

Current Weight-146.4

Goal-130

Thank you very much Mdillman for you kind words.  My fiance is actually the one that pointed out to me that it might be in my best interest to record what I eat and I toally agreed with him and you.  As for the vacation/honeymoon...I'm totally siked!