I will be exercising more (I can only walk right now), but I MUST

[Deja Q]

get rid of my tummy in preferably one month.

I will be ditching all chocolate and crap food.

Eating only low-cal low-carb food (onions, broccoli, raspberries, milk (those commercials are utter lies saying it helps to reduce weight...), and imitation crab meat (low cholesterol, low fat, low everything... and as it's made from cod and pollock, it's also mercury free. Woo-hoo!)

I'm even storing my lean ground turkey because of its fat content (12% per 4oz serving). :cry:

But I've got to be free of this.

I was going to take this week's vacation to fiddle with Photoshop, but walking might do me better. Unless there's a way I can sit and keep moving at the same time?! :crazy:

Is one month too much for a 33 year old person with a sedentary metabolism? (I recall at 29, doing a hike at Minnehaha falls gave me CHEST PAINS after a while and I've always had heart problems...)

Or should I just love me for me, warts and all?

[lavenderdiva]

1. How much do you need to lose to lose your tummy?

If its a lot of weight, your program might be a tad drastic for a one month period. I do think you need to love yourself, but in a healthy way. If you've been sedentary for a long period of time, your body might be best served by easing into a walking program, especially if you have a history of chest pains and heart problems. Do you have a bike?

Your lean ground turkey doesn't sound too fatty to me. I get ground beef with 10% fat, and that's the leanest they offer at my store. So ground turkey with 12% isn't too far off of that. Plus the turkey is good for you. You need some variation in your diet, protein wise, and veggie wise, not just imitation crab meat.

It sounds like you are very motivated, which is good, but I wouldn't want to see you hurt your health by doing something so drastic, especially with your heart problems. Its good to drop the weight, and lower the fat, but do so in a healthy manner.....

ps. I'm saying this, not to undercut your efforts, but because I'm worried about your approach...

[Deja Q]

2. I have an elliptical trainer. But I cannot use it right now.

Health condition. (back surgery; I am forbidden to do anything to stress my back until everything's back in place... they said lots of short, frequent walks are all I can do.)

I'd say it's about 30 pounds or so that I'd want to lose. I'd be happy to have at least 15 gone by the end of June.

[lavenderdiva]

3. 15lbs by the end of June, sounds much more realistic...

perhaps you could go on a short walk in the morning and a short walk in the evening. Rather than making it one long trek. Your heart would thank you for that! Certainly not as stressful, yet you are still moving and burning up calories.

I would adjust your diet, but from what you wrote in your earlier post, what you are planning sounds pretty severe, especially if you are recovering from surgery. Your bones and cartilage need to heal, and need good nutrition to do so. Certainly you should modify your diet, to reduce the load your back is carrying, but please do so gradually. Its always easier, I find, to maintain a new weight loss program if there is some variation in what I am eating. I can go on a strict program for a short time, but I am certain to wander off at some point, just 'cuz my system yearns and is hungry for something different.

[Deja Q]

9. Point taken... fortunately,

my diet is high in broccoli, milk, cheeses, and meats so protein is way up there. :9

I also did 2 hours of walking today at Taylor's Falls. a very long drive but I wasn't as badly out of shape as I had thought. I did things slowly, and took a killer photograph: This mountain climbing bloke was climing close to a sign that said "Do not climb here" with an arrow pointing in his direction. (no, he's alive and well! "killer" meant "awesome" as those ironic people shots are my faves...)

[lavenderdiva]

10. Glad to hear from you!

Wow! Your 'walk' today sounds more like a trek!! I'm glad you were able to get out and enjoy yourself though, and find out you're more fit than you thought! I love funny photos like that too...

Do you eat salads? The lettuce, tomatoes, and veggies are so good for your system. Do you like bell peppers and zucchini, or squash?

[Longhorn]

4. I have to agree that 30 pounds in about a month is a bit much

to expect and it if it was possible, it wouldn't be very healthy. But even if you just lose ten or 15 pounds, I think you'll be amazed what a difference that makes, especially when you have so little to lose.

Think of the volume in ten pounds of butter -- that's 40 sticks of fat no longer clinging to your bones! And if most of it is at your waistline, you'll really notice it when it's gone!

I'm no nutritionist but it sounds like your proposed diet includes veggies, fruit, dairy, and protein so it should be okay. You might want to add some whole grains like steel-cut oatmeal or a slice of whole grain bread, for some added fiber. And I agree with lavenderdiva that a severe diet -- that is, one that is very limited in calories and variety -- is difficult to maintain for very long and then we usually dump the whole thing. So eventually, you'll want to add foods and allow for special situations such as special occasions and eating out.

Short walks sound like an excellent idea. Even adding steps around the house can add up. I just got a pedometer to wear all day and my goal is to eventually get in 10,000 steps a day. I can be pretty lazy so the pedometer is a reminder to go keep moving! :D

[MuseRider]

5. You just had surgery

didn't you? Be very careful. First, above anything else, you need to be certain you are eating what you need to heal. That would be a healthy diet with an emphasis on protien. If your back is where you had your surgery (forgive me, I knew you had something done but must have missed what it was) then you may have to put up with some tummy for a while because all the good tummy exercises I know would strss your back. Just go slowly. I would love to lose 40 pounds by August but I know if I do I will be challenging my health.

Good luck but keep in mind your healing process and your overall health and ignore that remaining bulge until you can start to target it. Start walking like was posted above, short walks and gradually increase as your body feels is possible.

[redacted]

6. The math behind weight loss.

First you can love yourself for your warts AND want to have the wart removed.

Second when I was a child we used to camp at Sweet Minnehaha -- same place?

The math and a bit of my story. (which is ongoing)

I lost 25 pounds in a month, but I was very sick no food intake at all.

And I think thats what you basically have to do to lose that much in a month. I was in the hospital being fed through an IV (a PICC line with TPN for those of you who understand what that is). *NO* this was not for cosmetic reasons --I had a drug reaction that gave me pancreatitis, and fasting is how you treat a swollen pancreas.

Even 15 pounds in a month seems like a huge amount to me. Losing a pound is a deficit of 3500 calories. At a deficit of 500 calories a day, thats about a pound a week.

Most women who are of average sedentary-ness (desk job) need the following in calories.

(bodyweight x10) x 1.25.

Ok for me thats was about 2150 calories, last time I figured it out -- I weight less now. (I would say yeay for me here, but it's really the illness that's keeping the weight down right now.)

So for a 175 pound woman that would be about 1650 calories a day to lose a pound a week. If you ate 1200 calories a day (studies have shown thats the minimum you can eat and not have your body go into "starvation" mode -- that where you body rebounds the weight as you start eating again AND it makes it very difficult to come off) you'd lose 2 pounds per week.

So the only way to safely and smartly lose 15 pounds in a month would be if your over weight was high enough that the 1875 daily caloric deficiency required to do so plus the 1200 calories was the amount your of energy body required (i.e. calories.) That would mean your weight would need to be about 245 pounds.

I'm not trying to discourage you -- but before I learned this I would set unrealistic expectations and get depressed when they did not happen.

knowledge is power.

Exercise figures into all this too. I have math for that too.

I can post all this math stuff in a separate thread if people want.

[redacted]

7. Words of encouragement

I am such a *****.

I got all caught up in the math and forgot to say.

YOU CAN DO THIS.

We all can.

And surgery or being sick or any of that JUST SUCKS -- I know and I get so depressed about it. But I am determined to use it to my advantage some how. I've always been a glass is half full person.

And I can teach you a few Photoshop pointers if you want. So you don't feel deprived walking.

I'm one of the Adobe Certified Expert types. I push pixels for aliving. The hours can be long and makes for a very wide behind.

[redacted]

8. Math for a man

BTW, I forgot to include the math for men.

( bw x 11) x 1.25 = calories required

men need to eat 1500 cals a day minimum

so to lose 15 pounds a month eating the minimum a man would also need to weight 245 pounds.

[murphymom]

11. Do you have access to a swimming pool

that offers water aerobics classes? I've been taking a deep water class at our local community pool which is wonderful. It's in a deep pool and we all wear flotation belts (ability to swim not required) and it's very easy on the joints if you're recovering from surgery, but gives a surprisingly good workout. The exercises are designed so that you can work to your own level of fitness without straining yourself.