Slowly going...

Sooo I started at 132lbs (I'm 5'2" by the way) and I've been working really hard for the past two months, and now I'm down 10 lbs even!!  I'm realizing now how much of a commitment this is.  I've always been able to eat pretty much anythingI want without gaining a lot of weight, so I thought it would have come off easily... but no.   I'm very proud of myself, and others are starting to see a difference. 

For the next part of my weight loss/fitness goal, I'm going to stop talking about it with my friends.  They were really supportive at first but now I'm starting to get some negative feedback about losing too much weight.  Please trust me, I'm not starving myself of losing an unhealthy amount of weight, so I'm in this last strech on my own!

When your down to the last 5-10 lbs, you should just focus on toning. Tone. Tone. Tone. Start lifting weights, keep up the cardio.

I read in your journal that you have the amount of calories you should consume figured out. Way to go!

I use the following website when planning my grocery shopping, it is a list of The World's Healthiest Foods:

http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php



Be sure to have a good ratio of calories, 40-50% Carbs, 25-35% protein, 20-30% fat. Under 2500 mg of sodium and over 25 grams of fiber. This information can be found once you enter information into your Food Log and using the Analysis tool from the top menu. Also drink lots of water. The recommendation is 8 eight oz glass. I personally drink twice that, for 1 gallon of water per day, totaling 128 oz.

With the increasing summer heat, water is important to staying hydrated and aiding in meeting weight loss goals.

A good estimate is to take your body weight in pounds and divide that number in half. That gives you the number of ounces of water per day that you need to drink. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds, you should drink at least 80 ounces of water per day. If you exercise you should drink another 8 ounce glass of water for every 20 minutes you are active. If you drink coffee or alcohol, you should drink at least an equal amount of water. If you live in an arid climate, you should add another 2 servings per day. As you can see, your daily need for water can add up to quite a lot.

A calculator to help you figure out how much water you should drink:

http://www.muscletech.com/CALCULATORS/WATER/W ater_Calculator .shtml

Do you walk or run and want to know how much water to carry with you: Check out this calculator: http://walking.about.com/library/cal/ucwaterc alc.htm

Can you drink too much water? http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/hyponatremia. html

Congrats on the 10 pounds!!!  You're right about the commitment part - all the more reason to be proud of such a great accomplishment.  :)  Congrats!

I've been lifting weights from the beginning, so I'm not as worried about the toning. The biggest challenge for me if figuring out the perfect weight amount to be lifting, because I'm naturally muscular and I build muscle very easily, and I want to avoid bulking up, but instead just toning and slimming my muscles.

Oh, reading this brought back memories.  I used to be 21 and 132 pounds.  Those were the days (I'm 40 now).  I'm the same height as you, but so much heavier now (started diet two weeks ago at 189 and have lost two pounds so far)  that my goal weight is 140.   If you can master healthy habits now, you are on the right track!  I wish I had been more disciplined and saved myself years of anguish about my appearance.  You are smart to get your health under control at an early age.

Baby, don't worry about bulking up.  It takes a lot of effort so it shouldn't be an issue.  Chicks with muscle definition are hot!  *am a girl, and thus can't really talk, but that's my opinion*