How to Jump Start My Metabolism

I would keep up the exercise. You may not have appeared to lose weight on a scale because you gained muscle. You did notice weight loss around the waist. I lost weight by running. Exercise is a great stress reducer. Also think about portion control. You'll get there, it may take time. Good luck and stay with it.

drink lots of water...yes, its that easy. Get a water bottle and carry it around with you full and whenever thirsty drink that and nothing else.

The people I know who've had the most success are those who attend Weight Watchers. I know it sounds crazy, but my sister-in-law has done it twice with amazing results as well as a few friends.

I haven't tried it myself yet, but the premise is all portion sizes and understand the nutritional value of foods.

I'd also recommend seeing if your insurance would cover you being able to see a dietician. They can help look at the food choices you are making, perhaps give ideas on foods that would be better metabolically, and create a meal plan that would lead to good, healthy, steady weight loss.

Good luck. I'm stuck at a weight I'm not happy with, am training for a mini-marathon, and have lost 2 lbs after essentially doing nothing for a few years.

i saw something on tv a few weeks ago. the woman said, (as most trainers and nutritionists do) that breakfast is a key to losing weight. but, you have to make your breakfast full of lean protein. she showed a sample breakfast of sliced avocado, 2 scrambled eggs (with yolk), and a sliced tomato includes 600 calories, but that women who ate that lost more weight than women who ate a 300 calorie breakfast, and they were able to eat more calories throughout the day.

I started trying it. i don't have a lot to lose, just that stubborn 10 pounds that keep me up one more size than i'd rather be. however, i started losing weight easily, and i wasn't even trying that hard. i do walk 4 mph for 30 min about 4-5 times per week, and i don't drink pop, or juice, just water. also, i have been trying to limit junk, but i haven't been perfect, but still have been down consistently 5 pounds.

the bigger breakfast makes you fuller, and even if you are hungry for lunch, it takes less to fill you. stay busy, that helps you to keep from snacking, and when you do snack, make sure it's healthy snacks. also, do not eat off your kid's plates. that's somthing a lot of us mom's fall into! try not to keep junk food in your house. it's easier to resist that way!

good luck!

I think you've gotten lots of great advice, so I'll keep my comments brief.

1. Don't "go on a diet", look at it as a lifestyle change. Something you will do for the rest of your life, not "restriction" or "extreme exercise" until you hit your goal weight.

2. Hydrate.

3. God's packaging...lots of veggies, fruits, proteins. If it comes in a box or package, it's NOT God's packaging.

4. If your going to eat something, ask yourself, wait, would I eat a banana or apple instead? If yes, do (eat the fruit instead). If no, you aren't hungry, you just want the junk food (chocolate, chips, etc).

5. Everything in moderation. I don't believe in pure restriction. It creates a taboo item you just want more. Have chocolate - a piece. Have ice cream - a scoop. NOT a sundae with all the fixings.

6. EARN tv time. Watch tv only after you've exercised or during exercise (like a treadmill or stationary bike). Save your favorite recorded shows for after your walk.

Good luck! Keep it simple and you'll succeed.

I lost 40lbs on Weight Watchers after my 3rd child was born. She's 7 now. For the most part, I've kept it off. WW can help you with support, portion control and journaling. They also have great recipe and food suggestions.

What really helps me is journaling my food intake and portion control. For example, are you really having 1 serving of cereal? Most cereals are 1 cup (you should measure and not eyeball). For some cereals, a serving is 3/4 or 1/2 a cup. Label reading for portion control is really helpful.

As for jump starting your metabolism, you can do weight training (in addition to any cardio you do). The more muscle you have, the more energy your body burns - even when you're sitting on the couch.

Sparkpeople.com is a free website where you can track your calories consumed, exercise, and do weekly weigh-ins. They also have message boards and people that are very helpful. Although I find when I have to pay for a service (such as WW), I tend to stick with it better because it's costing me $$.

Good luck to you! Don't get discouraged. We've all been there.

I had the same problem! I have a couple ideas that have helped me go from a size 16 to size 10 in 6 months. The first few months working out you may not see a huge weight loss, because you will first build muscle, and the burn fat. Measure your weight, waist, bust, thigh, and bicep, to create your baseline. This will help you see your progress in other ways, and keep you motivated! You will lose the boobs, probably, first. That's what so many Mom's have told me, and I think so, too. Also, it's very important that you are getting proper nutrition. If your body thinks it's missing out, it will cling to that fat! Tell your doctor you are trying to lose weight and ask about the vitamin supplements that are right for you. Finally, and I don't know why, but cutting down on gluten has helped me a lot. My husband is gluten sensitive, but I refused to go gluten free myself. I did cut down a lot, though, and it has helped. By the way, 1-2 pounds per week is a healthy goal for weight loss, so if you want to lose 50 pounds, you are looking at about a year... Be patient with yourself, and love yourself. Good luck!

Your metabolism is dependent on how often you move and eat. Its like a camp fire if you keep putting steady small logs on the fire it will keep burning. If you stop eating or don't put wood on the fire it will go out. You can do that by eating lots of small meals with high protein and lots of water. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat soo you can gain weight if you have increased muscle or not lost weight if you gain muscle and lose fat. throw the scale away and go by how your clothes fit. Anorexic patients are almost all fat and no muscle they have heart attacks and sever malnutrition, so skinny doesn't mean healthy. You want to be healthy. Good luck and do not look at the scale. body builders would be call severely over weight if they went by the scale because their muscle weighs alot. People think I weigh 100 pounds because I am small I weigh 125 because I have muscle they can't believe it. Throw away the scale
Good luck

Hi Suzanne,
I'm in a similar situation. Tried different diets in the past, always gained back plus some. After my 3rd was born in June, I read Jillian Michael's Master Your Metabolism ( you can get it at your local library)- it will teach you how to eat, what to eat, what to avoid, about toxins and artificial stuff in our food. It's not another fad diet. It really teaches you how to eat right... I learned a lot from it and my entire family is eating healthier now. It's not just for people that are trying to loose weight, it's for people that want to live healthy and eat well.
Eating right and working out I have lost 20 lbs and still have another 60-80 to loose. It's going slow, 1-2 lbs /week, but that's suppose to be the way to do it right..
I really recommend her book!
Good luck
Yvette

I had baby #2 and gave myself to her first birthday to get to my desired weight. I was able to start when she was 7 months - here's what I did. I was successful to getting to my pre-pregnancy weight by the baby's first birthday. That was phase I. Phase II is to better my BMI rating (about another 10 pounds to lose). This was all baby steps - not all at once.

#1 - stopped overeating. My big down fall. This was in about June.

#2 - started getting my 4 servings of veggies every day (this was my downfall - fruits were easy, veggies were tougher). Eat a big salad nearly ever day with a mere 2 Tbl dressing, and lost of veggies.

#3 - Set a realistic expectation - 20 pounds to lose in the first year.

#4 - Exercised following the No Excuses Weight program (Jonathan Roche - via Fly Lady). Interval exercises 3 times per week, 2 or 3 strength training. I started with 10 minute sessions, and have increased to 30 minutes. I use videos for the cardio. When the weather is better, I'll get back outside and push the kids in the stroller or walk the dogs. (Jonathan says 1 - 2 pounds per week is realistic). You can google him. Inspirational, that there are no excuses to working out - I can find 10 minutes if needed. My library has exercises videos - they have a series that are 5 workouts, 10 minutes each. They are awesome. You can mix and match the workouts in each video for a routine.

#5 - it's as lifestyle change - this is permanent. Eating veggies, not overeating, being a good role model for my kids. Read the Julian Michaels book, and have made some changes to organics where we can. I eat 5 times a day: Breakfast - mid morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner. No eating after dinner - just water. My mindset is that it's about what my body needs, not about what I want.

#6 - my thyroid was hypothyroid - diagnosed after baby #1. I keep my scheduled appointments and keep this in check.

Best of luck, start with one thing, master that, then go on to the next thing. The bottom line is to consume fewer calories than you exert. www.mypyramid.gov has some great tools. I charted what I ate for one day and was SHOCKED at how many calories I had consumed - even with healthy food.

You've gotten great suggestions from everyone, but I'd also like to point out that your baby is only six months old. Try not to be too hard on yourself. If you are breastfeeding, your hormones will largely dictate when the weight will come off.

With my first child, I lost the baby weight within the first two or three months. I didn't exercise, and I was eating all the time (breastfeeding). With my second child, I was still at least 10 pounds overweight four months after he was born. I tried working out, and saw no real results. I gave up after a month because my son stopped napping long enough for me to get a workout in. Oddly enough, when he was about six months old, I lost about five pounds. I hadn't done anything different to my diet, I wasn't working out, and my son still refused to eat solids, so I don't think there was any C. in my breastfeeding routine.

So I guess my message to you is that your body might not be ready to dump all the weight right away. This is your THIRD child. 50-60 pounds is a lot to lose, so give yourself lots of time to lose it. Be very wary of fad diets or unsustainable exercise regimens. If I were you, I'd start with small changes to your diet and not worry about working out, unless you're just going for walks with the kids. You're exhausted enough as it is. Try to get as much sleep as possible. The hormones you secrete when you sleep help you with your metabolism.

The weather will be warming up soon, so you can start going for stroller walks with the baby and running around outside with the kids. The warmer weather might also make those cravings for super-hearty foods go away. Don't lose hope, and don't give up on yourself. Slow and steady is the name of the game. Good luck!

I completely understand your frustration. I'm a trainer/instructor, and it took me much longer to get back to where I wanted to be after my second one. The main problem was being inconsistant with what I was doing. She is a terrible sleeper, and I was so tired, it was hard to find the energy to put the effort into doing things for myself. First I would recommend ignoring the scale for now and concentrating on taking good care of yourself. As you know, when you do things for yourself that make you feel good, it builds good momentum, so it is a matter of getting yourself in a positive pattern and creating new habits that are doable considering how busy you are taking care of the kids. The benefits of watching your diet and getting some exercise will also include making you feel more energetic despite the fatigue that comes with having a little one. Take it one step at a time and keep a journal or mark on the calendar everything you are doing to get healthier. If you give yourself stars on the calendar, and see what you are accomplishing each week, it will help encourage you. Focus more on how you are feeling, and how your clothes fit instead of the scale. Try to slowly build a routine that you can maintain instead of going from 0 to 100. And, if you have a day (or two) where your diet isn't the best or you don't get to work out, don't beat yourself up! Just start fresh the next day and get back on the horse. Set up a reward for yourself that if your earn so many stars in a week, you get to (fill in the blank - rent a good movie, go get your nails done, have a girls evening out etc.), so that you are doing other positive "non-mom" things for yourself. We tend to lose ourselves in our children at times, especially when we have a new one, and it is important for us to still be us even though we are moms. Think of it this way, the better care you take of yourself and recharge your batteries, the more you will be able to give to your family. In terms of working out, focus on regaining your core strength (abs and pelvic floor/kegels) and cardio. Pilates is a great way to get core stability back, but you need to start slowly and listen to your body. Add weights or some kind of resistance when you're ready, because a cardio/weight routine (doesn't have to be same day) is the best way to boost metabolism, but you have to watch diet. Remember it's math, calories in vs. calories out. When you are burning more calories than you're taking in, you will lose weight, but it's consistancy over time that counts. Put the work in, and you will get back to where you want to be with time. Be good to yourself!

Hi Suzanne,
You've received lots of good comments.
As a personal trainer, I recommend this things:
eat breakfast that contains protein and fiber
keep a food log
take your measurements, you may loose inches and not weight
get support-from a friend, a class, online, etc
exercise--something aerobic at least 5 times per week, strength training every other day-make it a pleasurable experience
when you feel the urge to eat and you may not really be hungry, drink a glass of water and wait ten minutes to see if the urge goes away
Take some good quality supplements. Everyone needs a good multivitamin, most people are deficient in vitamin D and B. If you want to know the ones I recommend, let me know.
Get enough sleep
Don't try to change everything at once.
Don't give up! Getting healthier is definitely worth it and it will improve the health of your children also.
Good luck and God bless.
Victoria

First off give yourself a break, you are figuring out how to do a bigger household and not getting enough sleep. They usually say unless you have gained more than 30 pounds it's 9-12 months to lose it. There are no magic pills, cleanse that will help. You need sleep, a schedule, and to cut back food a little at a time, and to move a little more. Magic of large numbers coming off will not happen, but it will come off this way and stay off no extra money. Also the more controlled you lose it the better skin readjusts and has less marks where it would have left lose skin and scaring if lost to fast.
Don't beat yourself up over this and remember Mom needs meal times, if kids don't finish their meal, don't "help" finish them, nothing after 7pm at night.

Let me repeat the previous suggestion to have your thyroid checked!! I did some years ago, and was prescribed a very low dose of daily thyroid meds(very, very easy to take and no side effects!!) which very gradually made a long term difference. Thyroid issues are very common and very under-diagnosed in women. It's a very simple blood test that takes about five minutes-please have this done, in addition to diet, exercise, etc. Best of luck...

just get moving! LOL! Do not use CLA...we just talked about it in my organic chemistry class. 50% of it will help your metabolism, but the other 50% will cause cancer (when its made 2 forms of it are created)

Baby steps! Since that is what started this! I started with breakfast, make sure you eat one! I bought V8 juice and had that with whatever I was eating for breakfast. It's a quick easy way to add a healthy start to your day! Plus I will admit I don't eat enough veggies! Brings me to my 2nd point make snacks ahead of time. Even if it is celery and peanut butter (ant's on a log). I have my hubby watch the kids on grocery day. We usually go to a club store so we buy in bulk, I marinate meat and rinse all my veggies on this day and store them, clean and dry. I do disguise my veggies I put a jar of mixed veggies(baby food) in spaghetti sauce. I find if I am eating the snacks twice a day then It helps w/metabolism. My Mom is a diabetic and when I eat the way she is supposed to I always lose weight w/o trying to! Best of luck to ya!

You are not alone. Have you have your thyroid checked? I am hypothyroid and even though I am on medication for it, it's still not easy to lose weight. Working out is good, however you really need to do something that fits into your natural routine that you can do over a long period of time. Make small changes that are easy, and they become habit. I started just walking on the treadmill 5 days a week in the morning. At first just a quarter mile at a slow pace had me huffing and puffing. Now I can do 2 to 3 miles a day and it takes me less than an hour. The weight is slow to come off, but I feel good and my muscle mass is building. I sleep better at night. I have more stamina and I feel less hungry. I go more by how my clothes fit me rather than getting on the scale every day. Daily weighing only discourages me so I don't do it. It took 3 babies to put all that weight on you. It's not going to go away in a few weeks or even a few months. Be patient with yourself.

Before my 2 kids I did the south beach diet. They have an online version or you can just get one of the books. I only have the book. When I followed it I lost 25 lbs in 3 mo w/out exercise. After each kid I loosely followed it and got back to my pre pregnancy weight. My old job was my downfall and I would always gain weight back. Last July I was laid off. I was able to spend time with the kids and exercise. We got out and walked every day and ended the walk at the park by the house so they could then play. My clothes started fitting a little better during the first couple of weeks but I didn't see much change on the scale. I didn't give up and kept at it and started seeing the pounds come off around the 3-4th weeks and continued. In the 6 mo I was back at work I had gained 15 lbs (bad eating habbits). In 2 mo I had lost it all again. Give exercise time and don't give up, right now you are reprogramming your body and you will see results soon. With food, try to stay away from processed food as much as possible, no soda (not even diet), and no juice. I drink lots of water. When working I would eat out at restaurants. Since I'm not working I am not eating all of those extra calories and it helps. We only have delivery about 1x every 2 weeks now for dinner too. We used to do delivery an average of 2 times a week when we both were working. Good luck

I can understand how you feel. I think the worse thing you can do is look at a scale. A better way of judging weight loss is noticing if your clothes are getting bigger. You probably did lose inches, but were too focused on the weight.

With that said, there are a lot of ways to change your metabolism. I would recommend going on-line and looking at organic/natural remedies. One, that I am using, is taking a tablespoon of organic virgin coconut oil three times a day. This helps my thyroid. It doesn't taste bad, so I don't mind. We have changed our eating habits and eat almost all organic. Plus, we bought a tabletop distiller and distill our water. Being hydrated is the first step.

Best wishes!

Fruit, veggies and lean protein (like boneless skinless chicken breasts). Don't watch portions just eat natural food and that will jumpstart things. Hang in there girl, I am in your boat too, and I started this last week and I already feel tons better!

All the answers given you have been wonderful for me to read and to learn more. I just wanted to comment - I also had three kids. I was 105 lbs when the first came and very young. I wore my size 3 jeans home from the hospital. Second one I had gotten up to 115 lbs and wore stretchy pants home. Third one I gained 95 lbs and had toxemia. Something about the 3 rd kid - maybe because we are older - makes getting the weight off super hard. I just wanted to say, don't be so down on yourself. Be patient and keep working at it and stay active with your kids as much as possible. God's blessings to you and I hope it all comes off quickly for you!

I sympathize. It took me 6 months after I started running several times a week to get any smaller (that's measured by clothes, not the scale), and then it was only because I got the flu :).
One thing I found in the past is that I remained overweight as long as I was nursing. Once my children stopped nursing, most of the weight came off on its own. It's ironic since I was careful to eat well while nursing and not as conscious of my food after.

my sister in law had great success by just cutting out all sweets while still eating otherwise the same way, so i decided to try it... the catch is that you really have to cut out all sweets completely. it worked great for me, too. i heard on The Doctors that eating one brownie each night and two or three pieces of pizza once a week adds up to 22 pounds of fat each year! that really made me realize how that one sweet after dinner each night adds up. it might not be the fastest way to lose weight, but it's also much easier than counting calories or otherwise dieting. good luck!

J. sassack
www.UrbanSuburbanFamily.squarespace.com

Hey there,
Anytime someone says they're having a difficult time losing weight I think; parasites and yeast. I would recommend maybe looking into a yeast cleanse, and also a parasite cleanse. Both yeast and parasites feed on sugars so I would at least cut back on any processed sugars. Whole Foods sells both kinds of cleanses and I'm sure an employee can steer you in the right direction as to what kind- especially if you're still nursing.
Above all else though, be patient with yourself. I myself just had my second baby 4 months ago and I've got some of the same issues going on. I'm waiting to cleanse until the baby weans so I'm just sort of at a stand still as to losing the weight. I feel like stress is definately a factor so I try and do yoga at least once a week and I've been working on trying to do a relaxation video at night after the kids are in bed.
As far as food goes, I could definately use more healthy calories. I try and snack on organic fruits and veggies, homemade hummus and if I HAVE to have a sweet, I get organic dark chocolate (and hide it from the rest of the fam!) :) Or I'll bake an organic cake or cookies from scratch. That eliminates the toxins anyway that I might be ingesting from a box of mix.
At any rate, I'm right there with you sister! Everyone I talk to says this is just a season of my life and after watching one grow crazy fast, I know that it is. Just seems like forever when you're in it- but it'll pass.
I hope that helps.
blessings,
J.

Everyone has given such good advice. May I offer something else. I drink a green smoothie every morning (lots of info on these online). Mine consist of kale, spinach, broccoli, parsley and any other green thing I want to put in it. You need a good blender for this. I also add some heavy cream, sunbutter and frozen blueberries (small amounts). This is low carb but it really jumpstarts my day. I eat low carb all the time and never feel hungry. I have lost 40 lbs in 3 months. Going to the Atkins website helps you see what you can have. My husband has been doing this for years. His cholesterol is way down (from 269 to 158), he is leaner than he was when he was in the Marines (body fat 18 percent), and most importantly-his blood sugar is down with his Hemoglobin A1C at 5.9 (measurement of average blood sugar over time-this should be under 6.4 for diabetics). He takes no medication for his diabetes. He has occasional treats like birthday cake with no elevation of his blood sugar so his doctor states he is extremely healthy. I WAS NOT A BELIEVER in Atkins. Hence I waited years before I started. It is not for everyone, but it works. The new Atkins site does not encourage you to eat meat like a pig, but does encourage low carbs, lower calories, and a balanced diet including fruits and veggies. Just remember to keep moving. Good luck to you.

Don't weigh yourself.
How did the exercise make you feel? Did you feel more confident? How about eating less? Did you feel better?
That's what this is really all about, right? The number on the scale doesn't tell you anything.

I have a great plan for you. Add exercise and you will feel great and lose at a healthy rate. At first glance it may appear expensive, but it really isn't when you consider it includes 2 meal replacements each day, vitamins and snacks. It helps you to lose fat while maintaining muscle, which will actually help you lose inches too. Your metabolism should stabilize. Here it is. See what you think:
http://www.cinchplan.com/healinghappens

I bought the Fit Yummy Mummy e book and joined Club FYM for a while. It was super helpful. Due to finances I stopped my membership but I found it helpful because I could ask any questions and got tons of positive feedback from other Moms using the program. It completely changed the way I look at food, eat, and exercise. I am done in 15 minutes a day 6 days a week. I look like I just left high school now. Well kind of...I'm not done tightening up my belly yet but it's close, lol. It was $40 to buy the e book which has the workouts right in it. If you want help I'd be more than happy to help you just send me a PM. It boosts your metabolism by building muscle and you eat smaller portions more often so your body never enters starvation mode. GL!! I know it sounds crazy but I am impressed at how easily and quickly you see results...not in the scale right away...inches since muscle weighs so much.

I tried almost everything and ended up going to see Dr. Wasson (in Naperville). His number is ###-###-####. I lost 35 and my husband has lost 48 and we've both been able to keep it off (will be 2 years this July). He teaches you everything you need to know about eating and what you should eat and not eat. Everything is spelled out. He does take PPO insurance and you will have to take blood tests and other types of tests to monitor how you are doing.

He's awesome. I am finally back to my prepregnancy weight and love it, love it, love it.

If you don't exercise, cutting portions is the must. Focus on eating lean foods and ban sweets, fried foods, juices and alcohol for 6 days out of 7. You need one day (could be Sunday) when you can at least taste (I didn't say over-eat) some forbidden foods so you don't feel too deprived. I hate diets and don't have time/willingness to follow recipes, so I basically eat small portions (made of proteins, veggies and cereals - example: rice with canned tuna and corn or peas) throughout the day, and I never skip b.fast. For a snack my favourite is yogurt mixed with some Kellog's Special K. if I need chocolate I buy the same cereal mixed with dark-chocolate covered flakes - yummy! Remember to NEVER eat carbs after 5pm, that's when the metabolism is at its slowest. Also remember that there many more foods that you CAN eat than the ones you cannot. It's just a matter of how you cook them. For a salad, add a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil and a little salt (salt helps retaining water so too much it's not good - also if you have high blood pressure it's bad), no other dressings. If you can, avoid bread and pasta, or keep them at the minimum anyway. When you go out to eat, choose Asian restaurant, where you can get rice and veggies and white meat. At Mc Donalds I go for the grilled chicken cesar salad, which I love. Don't get overwhelmed, try to choose a diet that fits your taste and your lifestyle so you can keep it up and remember that Sunday comes every week!
Also, it may seems strange to you, but i jump started my diet this year with a bowel cleansing...I got my bowel empty from all the junk and felt refreshed, new and ready to treat my body as royalty. Our body is our temple and if we take a good care of it, it will show. Good pound-losing!