Hi all, thank you for listening to me and being quite a supportive bunch. That's definitely something I'm looking for right about now...so here's my story. This past New Years I decided to make a resolution to get off my lazy butt and change my outlook on health and nutrition. I've grown a lot in the past nearly 3 months, and have changed my diet and exercise routines dramatically. Here's what I do:

- 25-30 minutes of dance or aerobic exercise in the morning (7 days a week).
- 30 minutes of weight-bearing workouts in the afternoon (4 days a week).
- 30 minutes of either Pilates or running on elliptical machine on the off-days of weight-bearing workouts (3 days a week).
I've also made it a point to always take the stairs and walk as much as I can throughout the day (to work, to class, etc.). If I have something else going on, like cleaning the house or doing some other equally as tiring activity, I may substitute it for the secondary workouts, but I always wake up in the morning and do SOMEthing.

I want to lose at least 50 pounds, and I know I can't healthily do that by the summer, so within a year or so is fine by me. I want to use more targeted workouts to combat my problem areas (tummy, hips, thighs) and stick with these targeted workouts to get the results I need. I have tons of support from my boyfriend and he has even began doing his own little routines. Once in a while, I feel very depressed about not getting the results I want immediately - let's face it, we live in a "I want what I want NOW" world, and not seeing results is depressing. I think my goal is extremely realistic and I have already begun attaining it, it's just a matter of focusing more heavily on where my problem areas are and precisely how to shrink them!

I weigh approximately 205 pounds, I'm 5'7", and 23 years old (24 in 5 days!). I've calculated my BMI and have devised a good plan for myself which involves the following intakes: 1292.79 calories per day, 48.48 grams of protein per day, 177.76 grams of carbohydrates per day, and 43.09 grams of fat per day. If you're wondering where I got this information from, here's a link: http://www.room42.com/nutrition/basal.shtml

Before I began doing these routines, I was very sedentary and ate just about anything you could possibly imagine that was bad for you, including take-out every other night, lots of junk food, etc. I'm a computer nerd, so that explains my sedentary-ness. Regardless, I decided I had to make a change because I was not feeling healthy and was also not "regular" if you know what I mean. I started incorporating a lot more fiber into my diet and can safely say that is no longer a problem! Hooray..

In any case, I've been exercising regularly (every day) for over a month now, and have seen LITTLE results. I've noticed that my arms are getting much more defined because I use dumb-bells to tone my muscles - and I also feel that my tummy has shrunk a little bit, but overall I don't see the results I am after. I read in another forum that I should get a blood test from my doctor to check my thyroid and see if there's a problem there, so I have already scheduled an appointment for next week. In any case, I would really love it if some of you would comment as to what you might think would improve my situation.

I do keep a food and exercise Excel sheet that I update frequently and have found that I burn a lot of calories throughout the day. I drink plenty of water, but not nearly enough as some of the other diaries say I SHOULD be drinking (I drink close to 40 oz per day). For the most part, I avoid lots of bad foods though I do have a sweet-tooth that I have curbed a little by getting frozen yogurt or very light ice cream (100 cal. per serving isn't so bad). I'm also quite scared of the sugar substitutes because many times the taste doesn't come close to the real thing, plus I'm not sure of how bad it is for you (aspartame has been known to give people health problems). I also eat lots of dairy, but I have cut down to skim milk and I usually only buy low-fat cheeses whenever I can, though it's not always an option. My carb intake is generally around my goal levels per day, I eat only whole-grain pasta, rice, and crackers, and only lean cuts of meat, very rarely do I even eat red meat. I've also incorporated more veggies into my diet by eating salads for lunch along with an apple, and more veggies for dinner as well whenever they fit in.

Well, I've babbled enough! If anyone has any interesting advice or comments, I'd love to hear them and thank you so much for listening.

I drink very rarely (maybe once every few months, if that), but when I do I make sure I get a little tipsy. Today is St. Patty's Day and I plan on going out! I deserve it. So, I'm gonna go light on the dinner to account for the expected intake of carbs that will commence this evening (I will drink light-carb beers and will try to drink the lowest carb liquors I possibly can).

Breakfast: 3/4 cup Post raisin bran cereal, 1/2 cup fat free milk
Lunch: 1 1/2 cup romaine lettuce, 6 carrots, several cucumbers, and 2 tsp. Kraft roasted red pepper Italian with parmesan dressing (only 35 calories and DEEEElicious!), 1 Macintosh apple, 5 oz. Stonyfield Farm Light banana berry smoothie.

I've been eating about the same thing every day for lunch and breakfast for the last few months. Once in a while I add in some low-fat turkey in my salad to get some extra protein - or I substitute the smoothie with a light yogurt that has a low amount of calories. I'm very pleased with my lunch choices as they are extremely low-cal and provide tons of vitamins and just enough protein to be good, while limiting the carbs tremendously.

Sounds Like Your Doing Great And Have A Good Weightloss Plan! Welcome To The Forum And Feel Free To Join Our Clubs And Challenges!

Oh And Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hi Sare! Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you have given your weight loss program a lot of thought!! When you say you haven't really seen much result so far from exercising do you mean in the mirror or on the scale?? At any rate, a check up with the doctor certainly couldn't hurt. If anything, you can at least rule that in or out. Glad you found the forum here. Look forward to reading your journal. Hope you have fun with your night out!

Thanks for the support, Fluff! Well, I've been sticking to this program consistently for about a month. Before that I was only exercising 3-4 times a week and doing just cardio. I gradually worked my way up to what I'm doing now...

When I say I don't think I'm getting results, I think I mean on the scale. It doesn't seem as if my clothes are fitting looser than they were before. I realize that due to water retention, food consumption, and muscle gain, the scale may not reflect my true weight...so I should probably break out a tape measure and see what those results reflect.

Had lots of fun last night. I had my normal lunch: salad with carrots, cucumbers, and two tsp. of dressing, half a light smoothie and an apple. Same breakfast: Post raisin bran with 1/2 cup fat free milk.

Dinner...was weird. I actually didn't end up eating until about 9 p.m., and we went to a restaurant where I got a bowl of clam chowder and a beer. All in all, I think I had about 3 beers and two mixed drinks and 1 shot. Not too bad, considering how I felt this morning

A friend of mine recommended eDiets.com, she said it's super cheap and it plans like EVERYthing for you, tells you exactly what types of exercises you need to do for the week, and you can plan your entire schedule around it. They even offer you recipe ideas and have a support forum, and if you need help they also have a nutritionist that will give you advice! Unbelievable. She said the price was very minimal, maybe $5 a month. I think I'm going to start doing it! In fact, I'll sign up today...