Finally! This might actually work
 

Hi all.... i just thought about researching online for food journals today and came across this site. Being free i couldn't say no now could i?! I have tried to keep a diary so many times but many things would always stop me... the calculating, the amount of writing, the lack of stats and the thought of someone finding it... it would always put me off... so this is promising! I cant believe i didn't think about this sooner.... :(

So. I'm a 5'8" and about 225lb 28 year old female. I have literally been a large girl my entire life.... big baby, huge child, big teenager, large woman - there was a short period of time were i was a size 14 (AUS) in high school but generally i swing from a size 16 to a 22... my heaviest was about 255lb but currently i am 225lb. I'm a heavy set shape, or so i've been told. I remember an aunty saying i come from the 'field working woman gene stock' of the family... which sucks as my mum is from the 'slim russian model gene stock' of the family.... obviously its frustrating when your mum has always looked hotter than you! hahaha.

So i moved to the US from Aus for study..... and for the last 2 months i have started riding a bike for about 40mins 6 days a week..... to college and back, and to my surprise i have lost close to 13lb! yay for me!! haha.

My current goal is to get to about 170lb in a year.... thats 55lbs.... i'm not sure how realistic that is but i'm hoping i can ACTUALLY DO THIS (this time!)!!!

Any suggestions on protien/carb/fat ratios i should be aiming for? :confused:

Thanks for reading! :p i look forward to sharing the journey with everyone.

Well I'm older, shorter and started off heavier, so I might have a few pointers. Keep the bike, it's a very good workout and it builds long lean muscle and burns calories. As you drop more weight you may need to increase your workout to keep the losses going, as the lighter you are the fewer calories you burn (horrible but true).

You might want to take a good long look at your macros, and see where you gravitate to, and how that might be improved. One of my biggest issues is that I LOVE carbs, and before I got smart about it, maybe 80-90% of my calories came from carbs. In order to take advantage of all that biking you need to make sure that you're getting enough protein. I shoot for 1,350-1,550 calories/day, and a pie chart that looks something like 40-40-20, but everyone is different, and whatever you're doing is working for you, so maybe it doesn't need too much tweeking just yet.

Good luck and congratulations.

Welcome to FitDay and congrats on losing 13 pounds already! :)

Have you changed the way you eat in the past 2 months or have you been eating what you normally eat? How long have you been logging your food? What is your average macros % now?

Yes, 55 pounds in one year is very realistic! :D

I think your goal is very achievable. A healthy weekly loss is around the 1-2lb mark, so if you take into consideration the plateaus you might experience, and the odd week here and there of minor gain (it happens to the best of us, you've just gotta keep going!), if you stick with it, this time next year, you will be very pleased with your results.

By the way, good on you for taking charge, for getting on your bike and for making a positive change for yourself. :D

Congrats for your new habit SvetaDoll! 13 pounds in 2 months, that’s really good! :)

Thank you Almeeker for the great advice and everyone for the encouragement!

vabeachgirlNYC, I definitely was watching what i ate in the last 2 months but didn't keep a log. I hated doing a physical pen and paper log. So i started online three days ago!

My macros are looking about 1/3 for each fat, carbs and protein. So i need to reduce the fat intake.

Also wondering about the basic metabolic rate they have on here, on the graphs when it says i've consumed 1400ish but burned 2,600ish it looks great!!! I keep thinking the fat should be dripping off me!!! But i suspect i'm getting excited for nothing... haha. Can anyone explain this to me?

Also in future, which thread should i direct these questions to???

fat it's always a bad thing. Why do you feel like you need to reduce your fat intake?

Well, i assume having 30% of my daily intake as fat might be too much if i want to lose weight?? But if its okay..... then awesome! :D

Everybody is different and every BODY is different. I’ve had luck with various macros like 40c/40p/20f, 45c/35p/20f, 45c/30p/25f. They all work for weight loss if you are eating good foods and burning more than you are eating. I hit a ~10 month plateau and decided to go high fat, high protein, low carb and the weight fell off. But high fat doesn’t mean twinkies and potato chips. I eat very strict 6 days a week and for one day I have a “free for all”, but like I said, everybody is different. If you’ve found what works for you stick with it until it no longer works, then change it up.

Welcome. :) I tried to keep food diary's before, via a notebook, and NEVER worked. I love the fitday PC too.

Keep up the good work!

Tina

Are you drinking enough water? 64 oz baseline + another 8 oz for every 10 lbs you want to lose. That can make a big difference.