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So, I will grudgingly admit that losing weight / toning up at 27 is A LOT harder than when I was 17. I have accepted that, as much as I did not want to admit to it, and thank goodness I started my life change NOW and not LATER!!
I started my lifestyle change a little over 2 weeks ago. I am eating LOTS and LOTS of fresh fruit and salads, have limited my bread / carb intake, taking in correct portion size of good, lean meats and overall am sticking to the correct portions of the food groups. Not eating out and I have also eliminated alcohol for the time being.
My daily eating schedule consists of:
breakfast - high fiber cereal w/fresh fruit, low fat milk, orange juice
mid-AM - lowfast ligh yogurt w/fresh berries
lunch - large salad w/light low fat dressing, maybe a snackwell cookie or a half of sandwich
mid-PM - fruit (apple, peach, etc), sometimes a low cal snack bar
dinner - somesort of meat with veggie or a salad
late-PM - somesort of small snack
I am getting 3 servings of low fat dairy per day. I am drinking water non-stop throughout the day (approximately 60-80 oz), and I am steering clear of any sort of pop (er.. soda), candy or sweets. And I'm not suffering from any cravings either, so thats good.
I have been exercising consistantly. I am doing 30 mins of moderate cardio on either an elipitical or treadmill (out of shape, so I am pacing myself on speed, intensity and duration) per day. What I am doing is making me break a good sweat and my muscles feel the hurt but are not overworked. Then I am dong approximately 30-40 mins of strength with reasonable weights (not too light, not too heavy) with 5 reps on each series per day. I work several upper, ab, and lower muscle groups. Back in my high school days I was a competitive swimmer .. so I am well educated on working out correctly as to not cause injury. I'm sure either the weight or reps will increase as my muscle mass increases.
As of this morning .. I'm only 1.2lb lower than when I first started this shindig. That is a little discouraging. However, I do feel really good, my energy is increasing, and my belt is fitting a little looser. But, no really obvious changes that are visible or on the scale.
You should take your measurements! I started on the south beach diet 5 weeks ago. and also starting exercising then. I have lost 9.5 pounds and around 10 inches total..not just around the waist, but everywhere. my jeans are much looser and I could actually wear a smaller size! the measurements are key. the exercise really helps. the next week, poof..you could be down 4 more pounds.
I see a difference within 1-2 weeks....But my body responds fast. I notice when other people are getting in shape after they have been at it for a month or so. Look at your strongest areas and your weakest areas. Thats where I always see the change first.
So, I will grudgingly admit that losing weight / toning up at 27 is A LOT harder than when I was 17. I have accepted that, as much as I did not want to admit to it, and thank goodness I started my life change NOW and not LATER!!
Muscle mass decreases with aging, especially when it is not being utilized.
I found the best way to account for calories is based upon your weight:
Don't be impatient if you don't see the pounds drop off quickly. The slower the loss the more likely you are to keep it off. And don't think of yourself as being on a "diet" but rather as having changed your eating patterns/habits for a lifetime. The other thing is that if you have been overweight for some time your skin has lost some of its elasticity so if you take off the excess weight slowly it gives your skin more time to slowly constrict rather than sag when the underlying fat is lost quickly. I sometimes go for a couple of weeks not seeing any loss and then the next time I weigh I will have lost several pounds. Slow and steady wins the race!
Sucks to be old. Even increasing the weight on your lifting exercises (women notoriously use too little weight and basically waste their time weight-lifting) will make a difference even faster.
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