Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum and looking for some advice. I am 22, 5ft 6in and around 160lbs and desperately want to lose some weight. I have previously gone from 216lbs to 130lbs but the weight is creeping back on. I have never done any exercise - until this week that is! I have joined a health club and plan on doing 4 x 1 hour workouts per week. I will go to a mixture of classes such as cardio, yoga, body pump (using weights to tone up). Is this enough? And how quickly will I see changes in my body shape and weight? Does anyone else have any other recommendations?

Also, can anyone guide me on what would be the best diet to eat? I am a strict vegetarian - how many calories do I need?

Thanks,

Den

Just curious.......how did you loose the weight before?

I live in Scotland and went to a slimming club called Slimming World. It has 2 plans - red days and green days. Red days you are allowed unlimited meat, fish etc and a certain amount of measured cards. Green days you are allowed unlimited carbs with a measured amount of protein. It worked well for me but I want to have more control and I thought calorie counting would be best but i'm not sure.

I don't mean to be cruel with my response, but I wonder how you can get overweight and being a vegetarian. I suppose now that I think about it you could be eating things like bunches of cheese or whole cans of peanut or.... Or perhaps none of these and you just have a slow metabolism. I guess I always thought that vegetarian equalled skinny. Guess I need to get up to speed.

Anyway, I'm guessing you're a female. That will make your results slower than if you were a male. Nothing against females of course that's how God made us. But it sounds like you're on a good track. I'd just say stay on your plan you got and check your results in 2 months. Get your schedule in stone because going from no activity to too much can be overwhelming. You may want to quit if it gets overwhelming. I'd say, just stick to your 4 x 1 hour a week. See how you're going after 2 months or perhaps a month and decide where to go from here.

As always, if it doesn't work out, I'd suggest sticking in a weight regimen too. That'll help knock off the pounds for sure or at least the fat

I don't mean to be cruel with my response, but I wonder how you can get overweight and being a vegetarian. I suppose now that I think about it you could be eating things like bunches of cheese or whole cans of peanut or.... Or perhaps none of these and you just have a slow metabolism. I guess I always thought that vegetarian equalled skinny. Guess I need to get up to speed.


There are a LOT of overweight and unhealthy vegetarians. You know, a 7 layer burrito has no meat... ;)

Anyway, you are definitely on the right track. Within a couple weeks you should see some good results. The trap that you have to avoid is using the scale as an indicator for your progress. Big no-no for a while. As you start to condition your body you will be adding some lean muscle. Muscle is more dense than fat so while your scale may not be moving, you are gaining lean muscle tissue and losing fat (as you gain muscle, your metabolism will go up as well... a big plus). So please, for the love of Wayne Newton, stay off the scale for a while. Use the mirror, or measuring tape, or how your clothes feel as an indicator.

Your primary concerns as a vegetarian are getting enough protein and healthy fats. I'm a veggie too so I can help you out in this department. :) What's your current diet look like? What foods do you eat, how much, and when?

As far as calories go, to lose weight you should be taking in 1600-1900 calories a day (on the higher end of the spectrum on days that you work out, lower on days you do not). Content - what you eat - will help tremendously as well.