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sschuetz Posts: 4 Joined: 2008/01/03	2008/01/03, 09:29 AM Hi I am new here. My name is Susan. I started my diet over a week ago. My goal is 100 lbs by this time next year. I am on a 1200 calorie a day low fat diet. I am alternating total body work outs on my Bow Flex every other day on the off days I am doing pilates. I also am doing 20 minutes every morning on my Gazelle. I am on the Slim fast Plan. I will be weighing in every Sunday. I have been doing this for over a week and it is going surprisingly well for me. I am adjusting okay. Was wondering if there are any Trainers out there that could give me some pointers and to see if this plan design is good. I did do this once before. I lost a ton and through time and circumstance put it back on. Do you think I can accomplish my goal sooner then a year with this type of a plan?
amyksmith76 Posts: 601 Joined: 2005/07/26	2008/01/03, 10:04 AM Hi sschuetz. Congratulations on your decision to become healthier and more fit. I do have a few suggestions for you though, in my opinion, the reason that you gained the weight back before is because you are on a "diet" rather than changing your lifestyle. When you lose the weight, you really haven't learned anything about eating healthy because you have depended on pre-packaged drinks for your meals (except for dinner). When you adjust back to regular meals, you will most likely gain the weight back, plus a little more. Do a fitbuddy search under slim fast to see all of the posts on it. It's not a great idea unless you are using it to supplement your regular diet of 5-6 small meals a day. Even as a supplement, it doesn't contain much nutritional value, you are better off drinking a protien shake. As a supplement, NOT a meal. With the exercising that you are doing, you should be eating more calories, 1200 should be the ABSOLUTE minumum that you should be taking in AFTER exercising. I don't know what happened in the 70's or 80's, but 1200 calories seems to be this magic number that people decide to eat when they are "dieting". It's usually not enough to sustain you, causing more damage than good. As a general rule of thumb, if you burn 300 calories while exercising, you need to eat at least 1500 calories (if you are sticking to the 1200 mark which I don't recommend). If you log onto fitday.com, you can track your calories that you eat as well as the calories that you burn during exercise. You shouldn't have more than a 1000 calorie deficit in one day. Remember 1-2 lbs. per week is a healthy weight loss. Any more than that is unhealthy and increases your chances of gaining it back. Try mixing up your cardio a bit and extending the length of time that you do it until you are up to 45 minutes or so (eventually, 20 minutes is a great start). If you haven't exercised for a long time, the Gazelle may be working fine for you. Be sure that it is increasing your heart rate. The Gazelle really works mostly on momentum meaning that once the machine gets swinging, it will keep going without much effort on your part. Once you notice that it's not getting your heart rate up enough, it may be time to try new cardio, jogging, walking, aerobics, swimming, kickboxing, etc. Great job lifting weights and pilates. They are both invaluable in your efforts. I hope you find these suggestions helpful, I don't mean for it to sound that you aren't doing anything right. The fact that you are doing something is excellent. Too many people don't even try. Remember, baby steps and you will get there!
flyonthewall Posts: 1,823 Joined: 2005/01/18	2008/01/03, 02:21 PM Nice response amyk, and I agree with you 100%!
amyksmith76 Posts: 601 Joined: 2005/07/26	2008/01/03, 09:41 PM Thanks. :)
sschuetz Posts: 4 Joined: 2008/01/03	2008/01/04, 09:00 AM Thanks very much for the feedback. I will step up the Gazelle more. All my training is home based. I have to hectic of a schedule to get the gym in. Been there done that. So I need to work with what I have. I see what you are saying however the weight gain came for other reasons. I know how to eat correctly alot of it was for other reasons. I went with the slim fast because it is a grab and go. LOL. It is working the scale showed it last night. :):):)