Question About Weight Loss - Florence,KY

subway can be a healthy place to eat, but watch what you order. i'd personally have a 6" sub and a salad/veggie instead of the footlong. also watch the cheese and condiments.

you need to EAT dinner. drinking protein shakes are great for post workout breakfast, but real food is a must. just practice portion control what you make for the rest of the family.

i will give another nod of Weight Watchers. i'm doing it now and it works for everybody. if you can't afford it, then there are copycat websites, like myfitnesspal or sparkspeople, that have similar programs for free online. these programs focus on the nutrients of eating and the importance of working out, in addition to calorie intake.

Good luck! Some of those sound like pretty dramatic changes, and that in itself might make the plan harder to stick with. Personally I do better with small, steady changes, they're much easier to handle.

If you only need to lose 15 pounds, and you have a toddler, you don't need to do such a drastic overhaul. I lost almost 30 pounds in less than a year by just cutting back on my sugar, watching my portions, and doing light aerobics a few times a week. If you want this to be a permanent change, you should take it a little easier on yourself.

Don't force too much water on yourself, especially if you usually drink a lot of coffee. All it will do is make you have to run to the bathroom more. Just drink as much as feels comfortable, and sip water throughout the day to keep yourself hydrated. Your body will quickly get used to more water, then you can drink more comfortably. Also if you give up caffeine cold turkey you may get a headache. You don't HAVE to give up your coffee to lose weight, just switch to a natural sugar alternative, like truvia, and use skim milk instead of creamer. It's also a good way to sneak some extra calcium into your diet, and that's very important for women!

Don't worry about not being able to run or lift weights right away. You'll be back to that soon enough. As long as you are active for 30 minutes a day, you are doing yourself a big favor. A speaker at a diet seminar I went to once, told someone there that if it took them 30 minutes to walk across a room, that was sufficient!

Having protein first thing in the morning is ideal, but a shake might not be enough. Turkey sausage is really good for breakfast, or oatmeal with fruit in it. The chicken subs from Subway are healthy, but try just cutting down your portions, and avoid chips as a side. Having fresh fruit or veggies at work as a snack will help you avoid donuts and candy bars. If you starve yourself and give up everything you like, you're going to hate your new diet in a couple weeks! Just take it slow, and keep making healthy choices, and you'll be able to stick with it and KEEP the weight off.

Also I find that if I deny myself certain treats - like my beloved chocolate, I cannot stick with it for more than a few days. But if I allow myself very small portions as a treat, then it's doable! So I can't eat an entire king size 3 musketeers bar in one sitting, but I CAN have 2 pieces of dove dark chocolate, without feeling guilty.

Hi L.,
I think your plan looks pretty good. The only thing I would change is your lunch plan. If you are only getting one meal of real food a day, eat real food. ;) Do you cook dinner for your family? If so, you might make enough to have leftovers for your lunch the next day. Or, you could make a huge yummy salad with grilled chicken on it. When I think of Subways, I can only envision a huge chunk of bread. That will not help you lose weight. Best wishes! I bet you will meet your goal before you know it!

For the last 2 weeks I have been eating mailnly grilled chicken, veggies, yogurt - low or plain and adding a little sugar free jelly & adding thawed frozen fruit , eggs (for the protein), fruit, yougurt smoothies made with Keifer, and No pop...which for me is a big deal.

I have 3 kids and a husband who eat lots of carbs, processed foods (mac & cheese, frozen pizza, chicken nuggets...I'm working on getting them to eat better too!), but I grill myself a ton of chicken at the beg. of the week and I eat it all week long. I make them a "regular" dinner (tacos, lasagna, etc.), but then I eat the chicken and veggies. When we're at the mall and they get Taco Bell I get Subway ( only turkey and mustard w/ apples...(no oils/cheese/mayo)...I'm just trying to make healther choices where I can.

Like the other poster said, I think "real" food is a better option than meal replacements. Make your own protein skakes or smothies...they are healtheir and you know what's in them. You can add fresh/frozen fruit, protein powder, yogurt and drink it in the car. Almonds are great like you said, Greek yougurt is good for you...I think it takes some getting used to...if you like blueberries I reccommend letting some frozen ones thaw and adding them...that way you get the juices too. Salads are great and it sounds like you are on the right track!. Unfortunately for me...I don't like most veggies so I eat VERY plainly, but I'm working on it! I did Weight Watchers OnLine after my 2nd baby and it was Fantastic...I tracked everything and it kept me accountable. It really helped me see how poorly I was eating, that I really wasn't eating enough, and helped me eat the correct foods. I HOPE I know enough now to do it on my own.

Good luck...I'm right there with you! :)

Good for your for getting motivated!!! I think you MAY find yourself hungry on this plan. The shakes aren't very satisfying for me. I did have good luck doing much of what you are, but eating - just changing what I ate. For example, EAT dinner but make sure it's made up of lean protein (chicken or fish), no fat (oil or butter), veggies and fruit and whole grains (if you need carbs). Also, make sure that you watch what you put on your sub - limit the dressings ... stick to oil and vinegar. I found that if I ate only veggies and fruit and lean protien (limit caffeine and no alcohol or soda). Good luck!

I think your exercise plan sounds great! Good for you for taking steps to make it happen.

As far as the diet, I do think the shakes will leave you hungry and could derail your success in the long term. What you really need to do to lose weight is track calories and learn to eat real-life sensible foods, including when you're eating out. I did Weight Watchers' online only program last year and took off the 20 lbs. post-kids that wouldn't budge. I really learned what are the right foods and I wasn't hungry or feeling deprived. You can pretty much eat anything, just in moderation. That's something you can live with for life and keep off the pounds you work hard to lose. Two shakes a day and I'd be going nuts.

Just my two cents ...

You're doing great! You know that exercise and food control is very important. Awesome!

Muscle burns more calories than fat, so do as much as you can as far as exercise. Check with your chiropractor and see if you can lift little weights (3 lbs) for your arms -- both biceps & triceps. Ask what core strength training your back can handle -- "planks" are awesome toning exercises for your back/core area.

Also, I'd bet that if you google exercises with back problems, you'll get lots of options. Good luck!!! Seems like you are being reasonable -- that's a great start!

I like your plan, but I would eat more real food. I'd try to avoid ALL white/processed grains. That means no subway sandwich bc probably even their wheat bread is not real whole wheat. I'd eat quinoa, oats, barley, whole wheat bread (or no bread), and brown rice for grains. And plenty of protein with each meal too. Besides that it looks like a great plan! (Sorry to hear you threw out your back. Yoga would help get your back into good shape if you can fit in a yoga class).

I don't think you're going to be eating enough, honestly.
That if that's the case, you're going to stall any effort you make to lose weight.

Your snacks look good, but add in some protein to keep you full (1 piece of fruit won't cut it, an avg apple is about 60 calories), like some lowfat cheese. For dinner, instead of a shake, try a chicken breast with some green veggies.
All the water looks terrific, but don't rely on the shakes as much. Your body needs well rounded nutrition and balance. The breakfast shake is fine, but add in a bit more througout the day, so that you have energy.

someone recommended myfitnesspal.com to me recently & i love it - its really an online food diary, and you can track your exercise there as well. It has really helped me pay more attention to the calories, carbs and protein that i eat every day.

good luck!
~T.

Have you ever considered Weight Watchers? My husband does it and he lost 40 pounds. I know you don't have that much to loose but it still is a great plan. He does it all online and they literally have thousands of recipes to choose from. I have made a few of them and they are great. It is less than $20 a month and I am sure you can cancel if it doesn't work out. It is just a thought if this plan doesn't work out for you. Good luck!! :)