Losing weight...

[missypoohsticks]

So we started a "Biggest Loser" contest at work, and I'm participating. I need some suggestions from some of you that are successfully losing weight. I am going to try and keep my calorie intake between 1200 and 1500 calories a day. The thing I need help with is knowing how much exercise I should be doing. I am planning on walking on my treadmill on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and doing yoga on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I just don't know how many miles a day I should walk on the treadmill to start out with....HELP!!!

[PhillyGirl]

I don't know about your questions but I would suggest adding some sort of weight training into your routine.

[Erudite]

MPS, you're not eating enough calories for that much exercise as it is. You're going to have to be very careful there, so that you don't put your body into starvation mode. I suggest getting on sparkspeople.com and plugging in your numbers, so that you can see what the right calorie level is for the exercise level you're working at. You can set it to lose up to 2 lbs per week and then see what the suggested calorie range is for the amount of exercise you're doing. I bet that your calorie level should be nearer 1700 to 2000, but that's just a guess depending on a bunch of other factors.

Since your question is how much exercise...it can help you figure that out. It looks at your goal and then you can adjust the amount of time you exercise to be at the goal you want and then that'll tell you how many miles you should be doing. Strength training too is also recommended, though a good yoga tape can provide quite a bit for you.

While I haven't been wonderfully successful at losing weight, due to my own health and medication issues, I have a lot of friends on the site who have been. The site also has 3 kajillion resources for you, including meal planning with that calorie range. Anyway, you should check it out.

[missypoohsticks]

Thank you for your help Erudite! The only time that I was really successful in losing weight in the past was when I was doing Weight Watchers, and I just think that counting calories and exercising is easier for me right now. I will definitely check out that website.

[Dia Minha]

You can access a lot of information off the Weight Watchers website as well. You don't need to be a member to get recipes, articles on everything from excercise to mental health, and access the community boards. You cannot access the actual program without being a member, but if you have done it before you should be familiar with it enough to get all the benefits from the program without joining.

[missypoohsticks]

I did check out the Spark People website, it has been very helpful. I was surprised to find out that I was consuming the exact right amount of calories.
I have already lost a little over 4 pounds, so I'm on my way!!

[runamyrun]

Congratulations! That is so awesome!

[Erudite]

That's SO great MPS! Keep it down (not up)!

[Meticulous madness]

VERY NICE MPS! Way to go.