New and Improving

[DarkPixel]

Hi everyone!

I am new to the Rebellion! 

I have already posted two questions and have received replies that have made me nothing but more positive. I really do love it here.

I am still learning to navigate, and I am super excited to try a 4 week challenge when the next one starts.

 

So here is my story for those who would like to get to know me:

I am a young female South African, 25, 154cm height. BMI .29 (considered obese). I am a little person in this huge world that it, yes, trying to get smaller.

I have been struggling on and off for over a year trying to lose weight and get fit. Of course no one ever decides to lose weight and then actually loses it without also making the decision alongside to be serious, dedicated and disciplined as well. Only the past 4 months have shown me some results. Small results, but nevertheless they are still there.

I was concentrating on resistance training, and then for the past month I have also added strength training.

 

I have about 20-25kg to lose, give or take. I have made the decision to start working really hard for it this month.

My main concentration will be my weight training alone in the mornings and dumbbell routines that I do with a friend in the afternoons. I will also be adding in some HIIT and Yoga. So I am planning to have a lot of fun this month while creating everlasting habits that will keep me fit throughout my future life.

 

I am also on a paleo diet of only meat, vegetables and now and then some fruit. The only things not paleo are my protein shakes. I try to keep my calories up to 1200. I have been told that I can eat more than this and still lose weight. I know that I can eat more because of my training and still lose weight but I eat like a bird and veggies keep my calorie count super low which makes it difficult to sometimes reach a higher caloric intake (most of the time I even struggle to reach 800). I also don't want to force myself to eat more than I can fit in and overfeed myself unnecessarily. I use the application Fitnesspal as my food diary. It helps me keep track easily.

 

My goal this month is drop one size at least, and I have made the decision to be discipline enough to reach that goal. 

I will be forcing myself not to be lazy and to complete all my exercise tasks even when I really don't want to. 

There are posters of beautiful fit women all over my gym room to help motivate me and I have a file where I will record all of my progress and activities. This helps me with motivation as well because I love planning and recording things. I am a "list-person" if you know what I mean. 

 

I am very excited to be a part of this community and to have somewhere I can turn when I need advice, inspiration and motivation.

Also, I am happy to help anyone wherever I can as well. My advice might not be abundant as I am still a newbie in all of this but I can help motivate and inspire where I lack any advice or knowledge! 

 

We can all accomplish our dreams and reach any goal that we set for ourselves. 

 

Cheers!

[Wobbegong]

Welcome to Nerd Fitness, WildWolf! 

 

Sounds like you've got a pretty good idea of what you're going to do to get where you want to be. That's great! Just remember that slow and steady wins the race: it's not about kick-starting your short-term changes to get what you want, but about practicing small, nearly unnoticeable changes that build into your lifestyle in a sustainable way. 

 

A few things jump out at me... 800 calories a day! That's probably too low. You may be struggling with weight loss despite your low caloric intake because your metabolism is working against you. You're eating less than the recommended calories for a child, and it looks like you're planning to be working pretty hard. Even if you usually eat lightly, consider boosting your caloric intake with calorie-dense foods like healthy fats (olive or coconut oil, avocado, fatty fish) or protein.

Your training regimen looks intense! I don't know if you've been working out leading up to this, but if someone set that training schedule out for me I'd take one look at it and know I would burn out after two weeks. Having a friend to meet up with will help for accountability, but remember willpower is a limited resource, and forcing yourself to work so hard day after day will take its toll. At the very least, unless you've been working out at this rate for a while, I'd like to see you program some rest days into your plan to protect yourself from injury.  (Of course, it's your life, so what I want doesn't really matter. But it is well-intended advice.) 

 

Other than that, I think it's great to see you're coming at everything with such a great can-do attitude! I would definitely recommend you check out the 4 Week Challenges to look into getting some regular support and accountability from the Nerd Fitness community: leverage us to your advantage! We're on the last week of the current challenge now, but visit the Rebel guild and take a look at some other people's challenges to get a sense of what they're about, and check out the Planning Worksheets too, if you're interested. 

 

Best of luck with your goals! Keep at it and let us know how it goes, we're rooting for you!

[zeroh13]

Welcome! We're all here to help and support each other, no matter where we are on our journeys. 

 

@Wobbegong has some good advice there. At 800 calories, you're well below your BMR, which is the amount of calories your body needs simply for vital functions. Even 1200 is very likely below it. Eating so few calories is not a healthy way to lose weight and can lead to some health problems over time. You'd also end up losing a lot of muscle, not just the fat you want to get rid of. (A drastic change is calories also isn't that good, so it's best to do it gradually.) This site has a pretty good calculator that can help you get an idea of what your body needs: http://damnripped.com/tdee-calculator/

 

Veggies have a lot of fiber, which will fill you up, but a small amount of calories. To get more calories, you can try adding nuts and seeds. Those have a lot of calories and aren't very filling. You could also try juicing your veggies, or making green smoothies. Both ways let you eat a lot more without getting as full.

 

Discipline and motivation are great, but it really is easy to fall into the trap of doing too much too soon. A lot of small results will add up and you'll reach your goal before you know it.

 

Good luck, and I hope to see you in the next challenge.

[Elastigirl]

Agreeing with the others, this is a lot of activity and not a lot of food, which is a good recipe for burnout. If you struggle to eat enough, I'd make that my main priority. Your activities all sound fun, but I'd alternate days instead of trying to double up. Especially with the weights. Maybe one day a week weights, and two days the dumbbells with your friends. You don't want to injure yourself and not be able to do anything.

[DarkPixel]

Wow, thanks so much all of you. 

This is EXACTLY the advice that I need to improve myself.

 

@Wobbegong, I have been worried about my caloric intake and thank you for pointing it out and giving a helpful suggestion. That goes for @zeroh13 too. These suggestions can help me increase my intake to what it should be. I am overlooking my diet constantly trying to come up with some good and healthy solutions that are affordable as well. The nuts and seeds are a great idea though!

 

I have definitely incorporated rest days as well @Elastigirl. Although on a rest day I will be doing like 10 - 20 min easy yoga (I am a very very beginner-beginner) just to keep the body active. I am sure this shouldn't be a problem, but if there is any advice on this feel free to share, I am open to it all helping me improve myself in the healthiest way.

I also haven't started with the HIIT after my weight training yet because my timing hasn't allowed it in the mornings before work.

I will most probably do a 10-20 min HIIT on weekends when I am itching to do something or am bored out of my brackets or maybe on off days when if I don't do yoga.

 

Thanks again so much everyone for the tips and advice, again I am so glad I found this community with so many awesome, helpful and inspiring people!

[Elastigirl]

Yoga is a great way to have active recovery. It's a good way to move your body while giving your muscles what they need to recover

[DarkPixel]

@Elastigirl that is really great news!  Yay!

[PollyannaAgain]

I'm with you on the BMI and the struggle to lose weight, and I'm glad you're open to the advice posted above.  Welcome and good luck!