First the bad news... At 34 your metabolism is probably slowing down. Making it easier to gain weight. At 34 it is also harder to lose weight at say 25. And it will only get harder.
The good news, you are only 34, so weight loss is a lot easier than say 40, or 50. Lose the weight now, and keep it off, and you will prevent a whole number of heath issues down the road.
Here is what my nutrionist told me to do... First cut back on your food portions, and eat more vegetables. Meats and other proteins should be no more than 1/3 of a meal. The rest should be vegetables... She also said start slow. Make little changes over time. Make these changes permanent.
For me I started with little things, double cheeseburgers became singles. If I ordered fries, I only ate half of them... At subway my 12" sub became a 6" sub. I choose the leaner meats on the sub and put lots of vegetables on the sub. Something I never did before... Milk went from 2% to 1%.
I cooked more often. If I ate fast food at lunch time, I looked for meals that were better for me. Chick Fil-A has a grilled chicken sandwich and instead of the fries, I get the medium fruit cup. Wendy's I get the plain baked potato instead of the fries. Fuddruckers, I get a 1/3 lb burger instead of the 1/2 burger. And instead of fries, I get the apple slices. I love pizza, but now I only eat half a pizza, and it's a veggie pizza.
Little changes... Dan't just decide tomorrow that every meal will healthy.... Start slow. You have to retrain your brain. If you make little changes over time, they become habits. Permanant habits... I constantly make changes to improve my diet. What I eat today, is maybe 25% of what I used to eat. I tried a pickle yesterday, I always hated them as a kid, but I wanted to see if I still hate them. Yep, can't stand them. But if I had liked them, I would have added them to my diet.
Log everything you eat into the fitbit app. When you go out to eat, use your fitbit app to help you choose a healthy choice to eat.
80% of weight loss, is what you eat. Exercise helps, but it's very minor to weight loss. Maybe 20% at most....
Setup a weight loss goal in the fitbit app. And start with the easy 250 calorie deficent. Increase that as you get used to.
Cut the calories you eat. But be careful to eat enough. For most women, you need to eat at least 1300 calories a day. Eatting fewer than that, and your body tries to hold onto fat, and you actually gain weight by not eating enough. I know sounds crazy, but our bodies are designed to survive periods of lack of food.
So you have to eat enough. Eat 6 times a day. 3 meals, and 3 snacks. A snack mid morning, mid afternoon, and mid evening...
When I started, I burned around 2700 calories a day.. So I tried to keep my calories I ate to around 2200. And I lost a 1/2 lbs to a pound a week. Today I eat around 1800 calories a day. And lose 2 to 4 lbs a week... Start slow and as your body gets used to the lower calories, then you can drop it some more...
Take a look at Breakfast bisquits, you can find these in the cracker section of most stores. 220 calories with fibre. Great way to start the day... Drink lots and lots of water. Water keeps you feeling fuller, and is good for you. Most people don't drink enough water.
Go for walks. They don't have to be long walks. 10 minutes, 20 minutes... Work up to an hour... Then look at biking. Or swimming... Slowly increase what you can do.
Too many people decide I'm going to eat nothing but salads and do 2 hours of cardio class a day, and I'll lose 40 lbs in a month... And its hard, and they quit. It just doesn't work that way. It took you months, or years to gain the weight. It's going to take you months or years to lose it too. It took me 6 years to gain 60 lbs... It's taken me 5 months to lose 40 lbs. I still have 57 to go...
Lastly weight loss is a journey, it takes determination, commitment, and control.
You will have weeks were you don't lose weight. Change what you are doing. If you are walking, try biking, or running... Take a look at your diet again.... Keep at it. Don't give up.
There will be so many discouraging things that will happen... Let it go, and keep with the program. Keep stepping. Don't go off your new eating habits.
A lot of people think they need to DIET to lose weight. The truth is you need to CHANGE your diet. Going on a diet implies that I will eat a special way until you lose the weight, and go back to your old ways. Guess what if you go back to your old ways, the ones that got you overweight in the first place, what's going to happen? You gain it all again.
But if you change your diet FOREVER, you will lose weight, and never gain it back. What you eat today, that's the past. That doesn't mean you give up everything you used to eat, but it means you make healthier choices. If you love ice cream, you can still have it, just once in a while, and you have to give up something else to have it.
You can do it Amanda. Its a one day at a time thing. Start slow. Make permanent changes. Keep making changes to your diet, and your exercise. Keep active. Keep stepping... Don't give up, and believe in yourself... Whenever I feel discouraged, I say "Keep with the program" and I do, and whatever issue had me down, it goes away. Stay strong, stay positive.
Believe in yourself. Believe you can do it.
Feel free to add me as a fitbit friend, if you need advice our encouragement.
You can do it!
John | Texas,USA | Surge | Aria | Blaze | Windows | iPhone | Always consult with a doctor regarding all medical issues. Keep active!!!
