Greetings!

I am finally serious about losing weight. I am 44, female and need to lose about 20 lbs.
I started walking this month ( the 6th to be exact) and I counted about 117-123 steps a minute and walk 30-40 minutes a day. I only missed 2 days due to rain or working too late.
I also cut out my daily doritoes ( ha) or that donut and replaced it with popcorn or cut veggies. My question is, since this is a slow process, will I notice anything along the way and should I do push ups as I want to reduce my upper/ chest area which carries the most weight! Also, am I walking enough or should I do 45-60 minutes and a faster pace? Thank you in advance and any other helpful advice, like certain excerises to speed things up, I would be so grateful! P. S, my husband is very proud of me so far since I have been lazy for 10 years! Lol


JD in Ohio

You are on the right track giving up doritos and donuts for starters. You must also look at your personal eating habits as well and analyze what else am I eating that is preprocessed food where they can add a lot of hidden sugar in. I don't eat bread anymore other than maybe one or two slices a month. I don't miss it anymore - it's been a year now since I started skipping bread. You also need to totally skip fast food restaurants. You'd be shocked if you knew just what really is in the foods they serve there. Also, you need to concentrate on MSG in your food. They add it to just about everything nowadays. Canned soups are loaded with MSG. Google MSG and you'll get an eyefull. The MSG actually makes you want to eat more and more. Fresh meat, fish, and eggs and fresh fruits and veggies have no MSG. I stick to that and I'm OK. You could look into the Atkins Diet or the South Beach Diet also to give you some insight into food choices. The exercise is good for your body if you walk over 30 minutes a day. Every little bit helps. Just remember, you didn't put the weight on overnight and it will take some time to get it off. But you have made a good choice. Hope you stick to it.

JD you are on the right track. It is important to keep moving. It takes 3500 calories to lose one pound. It is hard to cut all that from just food so exercise will help you meet that goal. You burn about 8 calories a minute doing a brisk walk. More exercise and less food means weight loss. Avoid processed food and eat a lot of bulk i.e. vegies and fruit and whole grains to keep you full so you do not get tempted to indulge. Eat 3 small meals and 3 snacks a day. You lose more weight when you stoke the fire and keep that metabolism cranked up. Good luck!

Awesome decision, girl! :)

I made a similar decision back last year and went with the South Beach Diet. I read the book, not went with the meals. Read the book... it will help show you what is good/bad for your body type.

For me, I took the book and personalized it. I pretty much try and stay away from anything that turns into sugar in my body... white flour, white sugar, etc. For the first month, I went without ANYTHING white or sugary - including fruits... but that wasonly for a short time. Soon, my body got used to not eating pastas and white sugar (my favorites!) and the weight started coming off.

For me, It was a life-style change. Learning to eat all over again. I'd stay away from "meal plans" or pre-packaged meals - even diet meals. Read a book - whether Atkins, South Beach, Weight watchers.. - and learn what is good and what isn't. It will really help.

My results? 50 pounds and counting, over 20", and from a 22 to a 12! :D All from reading a book.

You can do it girl! Keep us all posted! :)

Thank you all ( Twinkie, Rab and HChick) Oh No.. A twinkie... jk

I feel real good about it and don't expect it to happen right away, but if I can slowly lose weight as I slowly gained it, I will be happy. Funny how you don't really notice that you are gaining until one day...

Anyway, I have noticed that I am not as sleepy and don't require my daily nap. I probably took a nap 6 days a week right after work and before dinner. Now I am doing my walk which I don't feel tired anymore! Again, thank you for your response. That is wonderful, HChick.. so encouraging too. How long till you started noticing?



P.S I live in Ohio also!

I started noticing a rise in my energy levels within the first two weeks... I think it was from not eating sugar and heavy pasta all the time... Physically, about a month. One thing I did was measured... measured everything... waist, butt, calves, thighs, arms, bust, everything... and wrote it down. I was able to actually see the inches come off.

I was born in OH!

OOPS! Didn't think about measuring. I guess I will just have to wait and see by the way some older clothes fit. I did weigh myself but since the 6th it went down, then back to the same, then down a pound or two, so that isn't reliable yet. Today I walked 43 minutes and the hills are so much easier. Oh well, it will take time.
So, can you tell me how long it took from each size? Like, you went from 22 to what in how long? Ok, I hope you don't mind me asking.
Until next time, God Bless.

Women and men lose weight differently in different areas... but I went from 178 lbs to 155 - 160 (depending on the week, really) in about 4 months...

:) To a 12... some 10's are fitting, too! :)

Its real exciting!

How long it took for each size... wow... well, I'd say the first month, didn't really see much... after 2, I started seeing that things didn't fit right... I'll have to look at my measurements to tell you exactly, but after 3/4 months I was down several sizes.

For me, it was "easy". I really didn't start exercising until I hit a 20 pound plateau. If you're already incorporating an exercise regimen, you'll probably be light years ahead of me.

I'm just loving the fact that I'm back down to where I was after grad school... and just in time for bikini season! ;)