Ok, I've used all the wrong methods to lose weight and i have been struggling with this weight loss thing for a good 3 years or more. If anything i've only put on more weight. So finally i've decided to do it rite. No more fasting and crash dieting and all that nonsense. I have vowed to eat healthy and get at least 2 hours of exercise everyday.
My goal is to lose at least 10 kgs before Christmas. I need all the support i can get and i'd like it if people could have expectations from me, that way i wouldn't want to let anyone down and i'll keep pushing myself till i reach my goal.
Your help and support will be deeply appreciated.

hey i support you.. i have been eating healthy too for about 3 weeks and working out 4 times a day for an hr an a half and i only lost like 5 pounds..and the scale wont move ne more.. im starting to feel like i should crash diet again.. i did lose inches though..but i wanna c results on the scale too..im 5,7 and i was 160 now im 155

Hi there. I have a couple of suggestions for you.

The first thing I"m going to say (and you may not like to hear this, but I'll put it right out there): I think your goals are unrealistic. I'm not saying that to be blunt or rude, but because of this: when people set unrealistic goals and can't keep them, they feel like they've failed and they give up. One of the BEST things I ever did was set REALISTIC goals. Accomplishing something makes you want to continue - so set goals you can accomplish.

10kg before Christmas is 22 lbs in 8 weeks. I don't know how much you weigh now and that can make a difference, but it's highly unlikely under normal circumstances that someone could achieve that. Under holiday circumstances, with the type of foods that are going to be available over the next 2 months, and the parties, and everything else ... it seems like a recipe for failure.

2 hours a day of exercise is not only excessive and something you can't keep up- it's totally unnecessary. It almost sounds like you're trying to punish yourself into losing weight. If you don't normally exercise, then there is no way you'll be able to complete 2 hours a day every single day. After the first few days you'll be sore and tired and may even be in pain from using muscles that you've not used before - and you'll HAVE to take a day off. If you don't take a day off, you'll risk injury or damage to your body, or your body will quite simply quit and you'll get ill.

A much healthier option is this:

Find out how many calories you need to eat to be healthy and still lose weight. For most people, that's going to be about 10-11 calories per pound of body weight. For example, I weigh 170 and so I eat around 1700 calories per day.

Register for a free account at fitday.com or thedailyplate.com and start logging your food. You'll see how many calories you're getting and where your nutrients fall. You want to make sure that the calories you eat are healthy calories - lean proteins, complex grains, and healthy fats - and not junk.

Try making slow substitutions in foods to help get you on the way. Instead of sweets, eat a piece of fruit. Instead of chips, crunch on veggies. I know it's not the same, but it's a start. Try to have a bit of protein and either veg or fruit every time you eat. Then fill in around that with other things.

Get a little bit of exercise every day - weight training and strength training is very effective for weight loss and there are lots of good threads on the board about them (look for posts by Steve). But make a plan to exercise a minimum of 3x per week for between 30 mins to an hour. If you can get in more than that, great! But set 3x as your Must-Do-It goal. Make sure that you get your heart rate up there and that you're breathing hard and sweating by the end of it. For some people that means really busting it out, and for some people that means a fast walk. But the more you do it, the better you'll be able to do it.

If you set reasonable goals and be consistent with them, you'll be able to lose a nice amount of weight by Christmas.

I agree with KaraCooks. You're being unrealistic about what you can achieve in such a short period of time and particularly now that the holidays are fast approaching. You are setting yourself up for disappointment.

Look at what you're eating and log it either online or in a written journal. Whatever is easiest for you. You should also begin increasing the amount of water you're drinking. I know it's tough but drinking 8 (8 oz) glasses a day help to eliminate waste in the body as well as reducing your appetite. It'll be tough at first, but you can do it.

Definitely commit to 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise. This can be jogging, walking, biking or running. You need to get your heart up and keep it within your target heart rate zone in order to effectively burn the fat. Fat is metabolized after 30 minutes of exercise. So if you can do 40 minutes or so you're body will start burning the fat after the initial 30 minutes. You'll need to do a warm up and cool down each about 5 minutes long to reduce potential injuries.

I've lost over 63 pounds in the past year and created a site about how I've done it at JOGGING, WEIGHT LOSS ONE STEP AT A TIME.. I went from a size 16 to a size 8 and I've never been an 8 before so I know if i can do this you can too.

Be realistic and persistent. Don't kill yourself trying to lose the weight. It took time to get it on your body and it'll take time to get it off. And don't try losing more than 2 pounds per week because any more than that is unsafe.

Start slowly and build from there. You can lose the weight. Good luck!

Elaine

Thank you so much for taking time out to put it all down for me. I Really appreciate it. Currently I weigh 77 kgs and I'm 5.3" I eat 4 meals a day starting with a bowl or cereal or oats for breakfast and a cup of tea without sugar, for lunch I have one bowl of fruits one cup of rice with a little gravy, i snack on digestive biscuits around 5 in the evening and a cup of tea, dinner is at 7pm again a bowl of fruits or veggie soup. Thats my meal plan. For exercise I walk for one hour every morning, post the walk I do some home exercises like stomach crunches, leg raises, push ups and squats. Before I go to bed I run up and down the stairs for 10 mins to make sure I've digested everything I've eaten.
I don't know if my routine is good enough. Tomorrow will be my 4th day. I'm not going to have any expectations regarding weight loss, I'm giving it my best and thats all that matters.
I'm really happy to know that there are people who care. Thanks for all the help and support. God bless!