Fitness Goals Support Group

It sounds like you want to be a bit more active for a few months to lose 20lbs. Then what?

Will you then continue to eat in the same fashion but decrease your physical activity? If you do that, you will put the weight back on.

Make PERMANENT changes to your lifestyle, and diet is just the style in which you eat. You would do well to clean up your diet a bit more than it is now, and continue the daily exercise.

You may 'think' you eat well, but do you? Really? Staying within your caloric limits does not mean you are eating healthy. A person could stay within limits but be eating 1000 calories of pure sugar. Everyone will say that all sugar is totally not healthy, even though it's within that person's caloric limits.

You would do well to increase your resistance exercising because muscle burns more calories, and cardio is not going to do all that much in the weight loss area.

Cut down on your sodium intake, and cut out all the starchy items in your diet. Cutting down on the carbs will also help a bit. Less carbs will decrease the water retention in your body.

Keep in mind that you need to have a caloric deficit of 500calories a day for each day of the week to lose 1lb that week. You will have better luck by decreasing the caloric intake and increase your exercise. It may not be easy, but you could do it.

I think its great that your being realistic about things :) If you drastically change your diet you probably wont keep it up and the weight will just come back on. Im not sure if that will get off 20 pounds but if its not working after a few weeks you can always up the cardio or add some weights. Good luck, I want to loose the same amount of weight so we should be buddies :) hehe

Xanna - Exactly! Also, I want exercise I know I can stick with.

I've been calorie counting (1750/day) and have spotted a couple of ways I can shave off some empty calories (damn you, mayo!) and replace them better nutrition with fewer calories, but honestly...I won't stick with anything that requires me to eat less actual food. My veggie garden is definitely going to come in handy (as if it didn't already).

I just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with this and if mine was a realistic goal. If it takes longer than 3 months, so be it. I want it to be a lasting change, and I've read that quick changes rarely last.

And yes, Xanna, we should be buddies. :)

Depending on the type of mayo, it could have healthy fats in it, which you need.

It's hard to lose weight through exercise alone because it doesn't burn nearly as many calories as most people think it does.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

To lose that much weight in 3 months you would have to exercise more and decrease your caloric intake. If you are willing to do that, you can reach that goal in 3 months. However, it is healthier to continue as you have been and take a little more time to lose the weight. If you get too extreme about it, you'll just give up.

I've been doing the math, and I'm thinking 6 months is a much more feasible time period to reach my goal. I'm gonna aim for that.

I have just lost 16lbs in three months through gym and spin and pump classes three times a week.. Also I have cut down on eating lots of carbs and decreased my saturated fat intake. Good luck and dont give up,it will come off if you stick with it.

It sounds like a good, reasonable amt of exercise to make a habit! If it can't be a habit, it's hard to maintain, for most. Most people who exercise 3 hrs a day may not be working 10 hrs a day, have families they like to see, and so on. Ev job is not one with exercise either. Gardening is good exercise, and the others you mentioned, too.