here's my story....input much appreciated.

[lalareb05]

ok so i'm 20 years old 5'2", 125lbs and i feel horrible. I'm not fat, but my clothes are not fitting right and i just dont like how i want to look. I've done every stupid thing you can possibly do to lose weight. About 3 years ago i took stackers (with ephedra) and lost weight so easily. I went from 118 to 108 in no time, but i know now that it was VERY stupid. I stopped taking those and my weight just kept creeping up and my freshman year i got to about 127-128 and so i jumped on the low carb bandwagon. Got down to about 118 lbs and then stopped the low carb thing and the weight crept up again to about 126-127 lbs. Then i decided i would just stop eating. From January-March this year I was depressed and i wouldnt say i was anorexic, but i had anorexic tendencies. I would fast for days...only drinking water. I got down to 113 lbs and then after a month of trying to "restrict" (meaning less than 800 calories a day) and occasionally bingeing on everything in sight my weight is back up to 125. I realize that not eating is TOTALLY the wrong thing to do. I'm trying to get back into a routine. I've been eating about 1200-1500 calories a day, working out twice a day 5-6 days a week (elliptical, treadmill, bike) and burning about 600-1000 calories each day with that, and lifting weights 3-5 days a week. Ok so to get to the point. Do y'all think my metabolism is so messed up that it will take me much longer to lose weight? It's so weird eating 1400 calories a day...i spread it out to about 4 or 5 small meals a day. I just really don't want to do this for a month and see no results and feel like i have to go back to restricting. What do y'all think? Will i be able to lose weight this way?

[wbens]

Welcome. I have been where you have been. I guess you could say we are in the same boat.I went from 292 at the age of 18 to 130 at the age of 19 in about 1 to year and a half. Drop me a line if you would like to know my story. After doing the binge eating/fasting, more than likely your metabolism is going to be alittle goofed up. With that, it is going to take longer than a month for you to see results. I know it is frustrating not seeing results quickly. I get the same way. You might be over doing the work out alittle much, I could be wrong. I think that if you want to work out that much, then you are going to have to up your intake. Make sure that you are getting plenty of whole grains and protien. You will need the protien especailly after your work out. It will help your muscles recover.

William

[booze]

i aggree with wbens, if your working out you should up your calorie intake a lil more, you seem to be doing lots of cardio which is great and lifting 3-5 times a week sounds good, make sure you dont overtrain. Keep your diet low in fat (low as possible), moderate carbs and LOTS of protein. You should reach your desired weight healthily this time without starvation. Give it atleast a month for results to start showing, and keep at it. Depending on results, you may have to alter your calory intake in a month or two. If you havnt lost much weight, lower it, and if you are loosing to quickly, higher it. But give it atleast a month. good luck

[Octagon]

Originally Posted by lalareb05

I just really don't want to do this for a month and see no results and feel like i have to go back to restricting. What do y'all think? Will i be able to lose weight this way?

You should definitely be able to shed some fat that way. It sounds like a fairly reasonable approach.

On thing, though...you might want to be careful about what you consider seeing results. A month isn't long at all (despite what health club and exercise equipment commercials would have us believe) and significant changes in body composition aren't always reflected in scale weight.

You mentioned the way clothes fit. I'd say pay more attention to things like that than this number or that.

[lalareb05]

thanks y'all. I guess i am kinda overdoing it with the cardio....i get a little obsessed with things. hence the "not eating" phase. Maybe i'll stick with cardio once a day. But i'm trying to create a defecit right? Well if i'm eating 1200-1400 calories a day how many should i be burning to create a defecit?

[Lady C]

Originally Posted by lalareb05

ok so i'm 20 years old 5'2", 125lbs and i feel horrible. I'm not fat, but my clothes are not fitting right and i just dont like how i want to look.

Keep in mind this may be your "normal" body's resting point. In other words, forget what the scale says and look in the mirror. If your body prefers 125 it may NEVER be possible to maintain 105 or some other low number.

Post a sample diet for a day - and show how your workout fits within those meals. We might be able to give you some tips.

[Octagon]

Originally Posted by lalareb05

But i'm trying to create a defecit right? Well if i'm eating 1200-1400 calories a day how many should i be burning to create a defecit?

Even if your regular, daily activities are fairly sedentary there's still a pretty good chance 1200-1400 puts you in a defecit without any additional expenditures.

Cardio has a lot of health and longevity benefits and everybody should find room for it in their plans. But don't get too caught up in it as a direct fat burner. The extra calories burned certainly don't hurt but they're no reason to get carried away either.

[lalareb05]

Ok here's a sample day:

10:00 (i'm a late sleeper) 1 banana-90 cals
4 premium multi grain crackers-60 cals
11:00 plain salad with grilled chicken and 2 tbsp low fat ranch-i estimate it being about 300 cals
2:00 1 cup chicken salad-i estimate 300 cals (normall at this time i would have a zone bar-16g protein, 210 cals, 7g fat--are these ok to eat?)
3:00 cardio (Run 2 or 3 miles, walk at 6% incline for 1 or 2 miles OR do the elliptical for 30 or 40 minutes and walk at incline for 20 minutes or so...I do lots of different stuff. Pretty much varies with my mood)
4:00 1 Orange-30 cals
low carb special K and milk-about 200 cals (about 10 g protein)
6:00 grilled chicken (i'm not really sure how much I eat...like how many ounces or whatever. It's usually about 170 calories worth. How can i tell how many ounces of chicken im eating?)
1 apple-80 cals

And for the past week or so i've gone and done cardio again at about 9:00. I usually do about the same stuff i listed above. This is about a 1200 calorie day. Anything i'm doing wrong? Do i need more calories if i work out twice a day? And if I just work out once a day, is this amount of calories ok? Thanks for the help

[Lady C]

First off EVERY meal needs protein, carbs and some fats. This means an orange, banana or apple are not meals. Add some cottage cheese or eggs to those fruits.

YOu are not eating enough. Especially for working out 2x a day. Your target should be 1500 cals and if you workout twice then even more calories. You need to eat past 9:00pm ESPECIALLY if you go workout again.

When do you weight train? You need some good complex starchy carbs post-workout to help rebuild those muscles.

[lalareb05]

so what do you think about the zone bars? Should i stay away from them? They have a nice mix of carbs, fat, and protein.

[Lady C]

Originally Posted by lalareb05

so what do you think about the zone bars? Should i stay away from them? They have a nice mix of carbs, fat, and protein.

They are just glorified candy bars. They usually contain "high fructose corn syrup" which are not good. You are much better off eating real foods like carrot sticks (carbs) and hard boiled eggs (protein & fat) and they are portable too.

[threenorns]

stay RIGHT the heck away from diet-type meal replacement bars: they contain fats, carbs, protein, and also other substances that make them hard to resist as well as a lot of filler and other crap.

basically, stick with good, clean, healthy food - you really need to learn that food is not the enemy any more than gasoline is your car's enemy. all they are is fuel to make things go.