Give me your best exercise, weight loss, & health advice.

[wambam]

1. Focus on whole foods. If it comes in a package, examine in carefully to decide if it's something you want to put in your body or not.

2. Meal plan. And spend one day chopping and prepping for the week so that you will be more likely to eat the food you've planned.

3. Find an exercise that you love doing. That may mean trying a bunch of different things for awhile. Once you find something you find enjoyable, be consistent.

4. Rest is important. Especially when you're first starting out, try not to over train. Also, a lack of sleep can cock-block weight loss. Make sure you're getting adequate sleep.

5. Get your H on board if possible. It's way easier to stick to a lifestyle change if you have his support and the support of your friends and family. On that same note, don't let them sabotage your efforts. Call them on it if they try.

[thebuddhagouda]

Meal plan for the whole week in advance, so you know you'll have healthy meals every day. Allow yourself a little bit of splurge built in, so you're not feeling deprived.

Find ways to be active that you enjoy and don't necessarily feel like working out. Eventually, your body will start craving the exercise if you don't get it.

Definitely get your H on board. It's so much harder when you're trying to be good, and he's bringing home junk food every day.

[game blouses]

Look for a stroller boot camp or something similar in your area. It's the first workout I've actually enjoyed since...well, ever, and you can bring your kids. Also you meet other moms and can take the workout at your own pace.

[bananapancakes]

I've had a lot of success with weight
watchers.

[iheartvino]

I'm so sorry about your chemical pregnancy.

As far as exercise, you could look into a Mommy and Me/Stroller Strides groups in your class. Or you could look into joining a gym that has a childcare facility. It will get both of you out of the house. If that's out of your budget, do at home work outs while your daughter is napping. Or, just start with walks with your daughter in the morning when it is cooler. See if any of your SAHM friends would like to join you, so you have accountability.

Websites for recipes that I like are skinnytaste.com and emilybites. There are others, but those are my go to websites for healthy recipes. They focus on moderation and not limiting foods.

Protein is really important, especially in the morning. I eat protein and fiber for breakfast, protein on a salad for lunch and whatever I want for dinner.

My Fitness Pal, or any other food diary site, was really helpful to me on my weight loss/weight maintenance journey. It keeps me accountable and helps me to make better decisions.

Good luck!

[BaliHai]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

The best thing I ever did was join Weight Watchers. The meetings helped me tremendously, and so did the structure of knowing how many points I had daily, which, in turn, lead me to a lazy sort of meal planning (meaning I'd plan each day's meal the day before).

I was also a non-exerciser, and I refused to go to the gym and push myself beyond my limits, since I knew that would make me NOT want to go. I started easy with the treadmill for an hour three times a week, added in yoga, and eventually added in weights, the stationary bike, and sometimes the elliptical if I was feeling particularly ambitious. I lost 37lbs from November to April this way, and would have continued that routine had I not gotten pregnant.

If you don't have time for WW meetings, you could always sign up online. If you don't want to do either, the real keys to success on the program are basically fiber, protein, and a ton of fruits and veggies. You can even lose without exercising, though obviously the preferred route is to do both since you get activity points for exercise (which = more food). I also know a ton of people who have also had success using MyFitnessPal or Lose It! or any of those calorie tracking apps. What I always needed, personally, was structure, like I said, which I got from attending meetings and doing classes at the gym, but I know not everyone needs that much guidance.

Good luck on your journey; it's definitely not easy at first (or at all, but especially not at first), and sometimes the payoff takes a while to show up, but it's pretty amazing when it does!

[candreco]

Lots of good advice in here, I would just add to weigh/measure portions until you get a feel for what a serving of something really is. Perceptions of portion size are very, very skewed in a lot of cases. For example, it's so easy to unintentionally double a serving of pasta becuase we're used to restaurant-sized servings.

Using smaller bowls and plates can also help reduce overeating, since a lot of people tend to fill up the plate automatically.

And I'm so sorry about the pregnancy, but good for you for such a positive attitude- that's a hard thing to do!

[cheeseandcrackers]

Remember that weight loss is not a sprint. It can take time and the results will be worth it. Don't get impatient and quit.

[Deleted]

I agree with others to make small changes that you can keep up, rather than making all of the changes immediately and becoming overwhelmed.

I grew up in a house where my mom never made fresh food and junk food and soda was plentiful. I had to completely learn how to cook and eat in a healthful way after I moved out on my own. I found this cookbook to be a great starting point for learning about nutrition and how to buy/prepare homemade meals with minimal effort. It's pretty basic, but it was what I needed to get started. I've learned that my taste buds changed as I started eating better. Sweet and salty both stand out more to me now, which helps me be more satisfied with less. I can go out to eat at our favorite burger chain once every couple of weeks and be satisfied, whereas before I'd spend an obscene amount of money on constantly eating out because that was the only thing that tasted good to me.  

Good luck! 

[sugarbear]

Can you join a gym with child care?

My best advice:
Eat more protein. Have a full serving at every meal.
Snacks need protein and fat.
Don't shy away from healthy fats: avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts
Lift weights. Heavy weights, preferably. Check out The New Rules of Lifting for Women. It is an excellent resource for weight loss and exercise.
Get rid of ALL PROCESSED FOODS. Eat only meat, fish, poultry, fruit, vegetables.

[froggy76]

Track what you eat.

[hulley]

I agree with lots of what PPs have said. I don't like exercise. I eat when I'm bored/happy/sad/tired/etc. My tips:

Lots of protein
Eat smaller, more frequent meals
Watch TV while doing cardio. Time flies.
Alternatively, read a book while listening to music. For me, it's all about tricking my mind into not realizing I'm working out.
Sign up for something (for me, it was a 5k. I'm super competitive)
Set small rewards (lose the first X lbs, get a non-food treat)

Best of luck! You can do it.

[Cricket0619]

I also would say Weight Watchers.

[melodramatic26]

The bottom line is that it's calories in MUST be less than calories out. Weight Watchers, My Fitness Pal, notebook and pen- somehow you have to accountable for what you are putting into your body and the only way to do that is by tracking.

My #1 advice is to be honest withyourself about what and how much you are eating. Track everything.

Eat less, exercise more.

[maria120]

What works for me:

1.  Try to eat as clean as possible.  Fruits, veggies, lean protein, nuts.  I try to avoid packaged stuff as much as possible.  Eating lots of protein keeps me full.

2.  Drink lots of water.

3.  Get some exercise every day.  Start out walking with your daughter and work up to running if you can.  Also add in strength training. I take a weight lifting class at my gym now, but before I did that I used the 30 Day Shred DVD and really liked it. 

4.  Record your food/calorie intake for the day.  I've been using My Fitness Pal and love it.  I didn't realize how many empty calories and mindless snacks I was having throughout the day until I started recording everything that I ate/drank.

For the emotional eating can you try to wait 10 minutes to eat and see if you are really hungry or just stressed/sad?  Exercise will help relieve stress too.

Good luck

[vallarta]

I think one of the best things you can do for motivation is make some non weight or body composition relate goals. Something like doing a sub 30 minute 5k, 1 unassisted pull-up, or get your blood pressure down to a certain number.

Sometimes the scale doesn't cooperate, but you can feel better about accomplishing your other goals.

[ElizabethBennet]

You sound a lot like me. A lot.

I have no advice because I'm just starting over with healthy eating an exercise. I'm also starting therapy to help get my emotional eating under control.

Good luck!

[Deleted]

I started water aerobics 6 weeks ago and I love it! I like classes and they are good exercise but not super hard and cause little pain. Mostly fun. I have gone 3-5 times a week which is way better than I have done in years. I like mixing in other classes sometimes too.

I have also been using "Lose It". You can scan barcodes of food which is awesome. I set the pounds per week low (1.5) so it's doable. The exercising allows me to eat more which makes it easy too. I have done this for 2 weeks this time, but longer in the past.

I can tell I've lost quite a few inches in my arms and back especially. And about 4lbs.

Make sure you sleep enough. And plan ahead what you're going to eat. Waiting to the last minute kills what I eat.

I also like to look up a few healthier fast food choices so I can go get something if I need to.

I haven't worried about not eating junky stuff at all, just less.

And eliminating alcohol really is the easiest thing for me to quit and seems to make a big difference (if you drink.)

[Deleted]

Oh and another thing--if you take the kids to the pool, keep moving--tread water, kick your legs, whatever--you can burn a lot calories with just hanging out with your little one.

[snickers]

I am so sorry

I will stand by My Fitness Pal until the day I die.
Having friends on there to compete with makes it really motivating for me. I did it along with a good friend & colleague of mine. On days I didn't have the motivation to go for a run, I would log on and see she had already exercised and then nothing could stop me from exercising. Good luck!

[winnied]

I lost weight 6 years ago and then just gained half back within a few months last fall.

First, it will suck hardcore at first. You'll be hangry. You'll hate it. It gets better.

Track what you eat and be honest. Learn about foods. For example, I love mayo but I had no idea just how bad it was until I joined Weight Watchers.

Eat food you like but in moderation. Learn to cook the foods you like. Do you go out for Mexican or Chipotle a lot? Learn to make leaner mexican meals at home. I love a good shrimp enchilada or ground turkey burrito bowl. Like chinese? Make non-breaded kung pao chicken. I have recipes if you want them.

[RandZB]

Lots of good advice here. There's no magic trick to weight loss. It's pretty common sense. Try to get some exercise every day. Figure out your BMR and TDEE to give you some parameters on how much you should be eating. I do better when my diet is high in protein, and I drink a lot of water. I've lost about 12 pounds in the past several weeks just doing the "eat less, move more" method. I still have a ways to go, but I'm not on any time frame so I'm just shooting for a pound a week or so.

[justsam]

I'm a big fan of Spark People. I've been using it to track my food, and it's really easy. They have such a huge database, it's rare that I come across something I need to enter myself.

I joined a gym & started working with a trainer a year ago. It's been the best thing I've ever done for myself. Expensive, but so totally worth it. I've had to stop the trainer for a bit for financial reasons, but I learned a lot & have been able to keep going on my own.

The biggest thing I learned from my trainers (I've had a few over the last year) is that the scale isn't the end-all-be-all of weight loss. Measurements are what really count. So I'd recommend taking your starting measurements. I'm only down 15-17lbs in the last year, but I've lost 27" - because I've put on muscle.

Good luck! It's hard at first. But once you start making these changes new habits, it's easier. And it feels so good once you start seeing the progress you're making.

[daisybuchannan]

One good meal isn't going to make you skinny, just like one bad meal isn't going to make you fat. 

I think this mindset helps me not beat myself up if I indulge. 

[justsam]

Jun 24, 2013 14:46:24 GMT -5 daisybuchannan said:

One good meal isn't going to make you skinny, just like one bad meal isn't going to make you fat. 

I think this mindset helps me not beat myself up if I indulge. 

I tell myself this, too.

[DotAndBuzz]

I'm so sorry about your chemical pregnancy.


I didn't follow any sort of official program, or count calories, but this is what I did when I decided I wanted to drop the baby weight and get/stay healthy. It was easy for me to maintain, because it wasn't a major lifestyle overhaul.

Drink water. Like, a lot.

I joined a Jazzercise facility that had child care available (for like $2/class). That was key, because then I couldn't use that as an excuse to not go. They also had a variety of classes - standard 60 minutes, 30 minutes, toning, low impact, etc. I'm now a member at a gym with childcare, and can honestly say I would NEVER go if it wasn't for the child care. Totally worth the extra money to find a family oriented place like that.

Meal plan with whole-ish foods. I read somewhere that you should be able to identify the majority of ingredients in a food by looking. So that means minimal processed/pre-made stuff (I don't count cereal or pasta on that list!), and more whole grains. Sit down at the beginning of the week, plan on what you want to eat, make a list of what you'll need, and only buy that. It doesn't have to be super fancy, or use a ton of new "fad" ingredients that you're not used to using (like kale, quinoa, etc). Make what you know you'll eat, and stick to.

When you have a meal, try to eat more slowly, and pay attention to when you're comfortably full, not "OMFG, I'm stuffed and want to take a nap now" full.

When snacking, try to go for protein rich snacks or fresh fruit/veggies, but if you are craving carbs (and come on, who doesn't crave those?), take out a set portion, and put the box away. Don't just open the box and start eating, because you'll eat WAY more than one portion. Goodness knows I do when I do that.

If there's something that you think of as your weakness (like for me, it is ice cream - if it is in the house, I will eat it until it is gone, even if that is only 2 days after I bought it), try to only buy that in small quantities, or don't buy it at all. Save it for a treat and go out for it, instead of bringing it home where it can sit and taunt you.

Good luck!!!

[winnied]

Kung Pao Chicken Recipe: www.singforyoursupperblog.com/asian/somebody-give-me-a-cookie/

I make twice as much sauce and add a lot of heat via chili flakes. I also add broccoli.