getting started

I have been trying so hard to get my body in the loose mode. I need some advice to get my body started.  I drink alot of water, However I just keep gainning or stay the same no matter what I do.

Thanks

In order for anyone to help you, you'll need to give more information.

What's your daily diet like, what's your age, current weight, how much do you want to lose?

I am 48. I eat about 1,000 a day. Mostly all protein. I want to loose about 20 pounds. I am just stuck. I run a mile 3 or 4 times a week and do my abs also 3 or 4 times a week. I am still about 20 pounds over what I want to be. My close are getting tight.

Thanks

1000 calories is not enough, no matter your size or age, and you do need a mixture of fat, protein and carbs (whole grains, fruits, and vegetables).  Not eating enough will "scare" your body into holding on to what you feed it (ie, lower your metabolism), and you could actually gain weight from that.

1200 calories is the bare minimum for an adult woman to get the nutrition needed - most women need more, and you definitely do with the exercise you are doing.

Not knowing your height or weight, I would recommend you set yourself as lightly active in the Calorie Count settings and see what it says.

This will tell you how many calories you need to lose weight :

http://www.phord.com/cc/

Thank you. I will try upping the calories. I was wondering about an amino acid supplement. I seem to be carrying a lot of my weight around My middle now that I am in my late forties. I am 5'4 at about 155 pounds. Just so frustrated.

Chances are you are burning a lot more calories than you think you are.  With your too low calorie diet you have forced your body to compensate by holding on to what extra fat you have.

Yeah eat more.  Eat at maintenance for a couple of weeks to get your metabolism back in full burn.  Then cut back 500. 

But really really try to figure out how many calories you burn a day.  Spend a couple of days writing it all down.  Shower 10 minutes, watch TV 2 hours.  Wash dishes 30 minutes.  Drive 1 hour, sleep 7 hours etc.  It will drive you bonkers but the online calcs are nortoriously inaccurate.  Writing out what you do will give you a much better idea of how much you burn.

Weigh your food and dont eye ball or measure.  You can be over eating by hundreds of calories a day when you measure. 

Then if you don't lose on 500 cals, move down to 750 and see where that gets you. 

But no matter what - be as accurate as you can with what is going in vs what is going out. 

You are consuming to few calories.  Use the tools on c-c and eat at your maintaince for about a month.  Then start eating at a 500 calorie deficit.

Not sure what you mean by eating mostly proteins, are you doing Atkins or South Beach?  Your body needs complex carbs, fruits, veggies, calcuim and good fats.

Just think of this first month as a learning experience.  As stated above write down all of your activities for a month.  Write down all of your foods consumed.  How you feel about the foods you eat.  Why you choose that food.  Don't worry about losing fat for the next 30 days.

Start out by adding things to your new lifestyle.  Add an extra glass of water, a fruit a new veggie.  Add a walk, an exercise that you wanted to do.
If you take things away in the first 30 days you will get frustrated and not do as well.

Good luck with your journey.

I agree with spoiled, the best way to be successful is to learn about yourself, your habits, your portion size, and focus on balance and healthy lifestyle. The weight does not come on overnight and it goesn't go away overnight, especially for us over 40. It takes patience, time, and logging to really get the hang of it.

I spent the first 3 months getting myself turned around from "dieting" to eating and living healthy. Slowly, bad habits were replaced with good ones. I ate less red meat but more complex carbs that provided fiber and protein. I have to keep my carbs below 55% to lose, and logging here at CC made it easy for me. When I was heavy on carbs, I would make a meal with skim milk, ff cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. Since May 4, I have dropped 10 lbs. I know that doesn't sound like much, but at 51 I think that's pretty good. I never made that kind of progress with other weight loss plans (and keep it off). Plus, I don't feel deprived. Fast food cravings and other bad food choices have really gone by the wayside. When I do indulge, I am OK with it and have yet to fly into one of the feeding frenzies that I used to experience.

Bottom line:  use the tools available here and you can succeed.

Good luck,

J-mom