Originally Posted by Rita's mom
MJ thanks for keeping us going on here!
CAROLJ i know you have lost alot of weight recently. Do you mind me asking about how much you averaged a week or month? I got it in my head that if I could lose about 10 pounds a month or 2.5 a week I could stay motivated. Is this do-able? I knew my weight loss would slow down but I can't seem to get it up to the speed I had hoped for.
I've lost 80 pounds. I didn't lose any weight the month my dad died or in March, but I have been losing about 10 pounds a month. My weight loss in the beginning was quicker than it is now. But you need to take into consideration at 245, I burned more calories during an hour of exercise than I do now. At 245 it is easy to cut out 500 calories a day because you're consuming around 3,000 calories, but now it is harder because I would have to cut my calories to around 800 per day.
I would shoot for about 1.5 to 2. pounds a week. Anymore than that isn't advised unless you have medical approval. When I drastically cut my calories I not only lost weight but I was losing hair by the handfuls. Plus, as you get older your skin is not as elastic and the rapid weight loss leads to the saggy elephant look.
What worked for me was making little changes in my life. I gave up soda, then potato chips, and so on. Exercise was a slow start. I could only go around the block before I was winded, now I can cycle about 20+ miles and then take the dog for a walk. Just keep tweeking what you do daily. And remember going to bed a bit hungry isn't going to kill you!
A couple of things I do fairly religiously: that is counting calories and journaling my food. I was surprised at the calories of many "healthy" foods. An ounce of cheddar cheese, (about the size of dice) is 110 calories. By counting calories or knowing the calories of items you make wise choices. I still eat cheese, but it is Feta.
I hope this helps. My life style change started mid June of 2010. So I have an anniversity coming up here.
Oh yeah, not only keep track of your weight loss, but also measure yourself. Many times it looks like nothing is changing, but if you an compare measurements, you may see a reduction in size. This helped me a lot because I would get so depressed because I wasn't losing fast enough. Plus, I would get very angry at myself for letting my weight get so out of hand.