NEED To Lose Weight - Troy,MI

NO SUGAR, NO POP, NO WHITE FOOD, Limit coffee. Lots of veggies, water and will power to with stand the sugar cravings. I lost 4# in the first week following these few simple rules....a total of 18# in 3 months. YEEHA!!

my husband recently lost a lot of weight, and i was able to get rid of the last 10 pounds i wanted to drop...here are some things we did...

trade white bread and white pasta for whole wheat. make sure that things say 100% whole week. avoid enriched flour. aunt millie's 100% ww bread is good. not too "wheaty" and doesn't have high fructose corn syrup, so it's good for your little boy too. also, try barilla plus pasta. not as bad as some of the other really dark wheat pastas.

if you drink soda, juice, or other drinks with calories, skip them and drink water instead. liquid calories are the easiest to avoid.

watch your portion sizes. if this is a problem for you, then serve your plate and put the leftovers away right away before you eat. have salad or veggies with meals to fill yourself and use a light dressing.

skip desserts and sweets. this is pretty obvious...and hard!

two good tips are always to eat breakfast, and don't eat a few hours before you go to bed. try to have only healthy snacks in your house. if you there's junk there, you'll eat it. try to find some low calorie snacks to have around for when you need them.

one thing that works for us, is that we eat a lot of the the same things for each day...the more choices you have, the more opportunities to make bad choices.

as for exercise, sorry, but it is essential! it is hard to fit it in, and i agree that it is so hard at the end of the day. try doing your exercise at the start of your day. i do my 30 minutes before my daughter gets up, or before my husband leaves for work. if i can't get that in, then i take her for a walk. walk as fast as you can manage for 30 minutes. you can do it outdoors in your neighborhood, at a park , or in the mall. just DO IT.

you will be amazed at how quickly you can lose weight with just a few changes!

Blessings!

I too am trying to lose 15 pds. I found that I can do best when I exercise first thing in the morning. Otherwise I am too tired from the day to do anything at night. I just started jogging (I heard it is the fastest way to drop pounds). I put my 2 1/2 yr. old in the stroller and timed myself to jog for 20 minutes. Then I come home and shower and get on with my housechores. Aim to do this mon-fri. then give yourself the weekend off. Also I went to The Vitamin Shoppe and bought a weightloss shake called SlimStyles with PGX. In french vanilla flavor. I have been taking one of these for breakfast and lunch. I mix in half a banana and a handful of strawberries. It tastes awesome!!! And you don't feel hungry! I blend mine with skim milk instead of water. If I do feel like snacking, then I snack on fruits or vegetables in between. Watermelon will make you feel really full, same with a cucumber with a little sea salt. Must be the high water content. Then for dinner, make a healthy dinner (No fast food, pizza, hot dogs, etc.) I try to do chicken, fish or another healty dish. You can look up low fat dinner recipes on line if you don't know. You will feel really proud of yourself after you jog in the morning. I always feel like I DID IT!!!! Plus your legs will slim right down and firm up. And don't get hard on yourself in the beginning. I had to keep stopping and walking to catch my breath for a good week when I started. You will eventually make it to where you don't need to slow down. Do this before the heat of the day. Like 8-9 am. Good luck!!!!!

i have the same proplem with the night eating. i know that best thing for me would be to just not eat then but i know that is proply not going to happen. so i stocked things like all the one point weight watchers treats (fudge pops icecream) or i pop some air popcorn spray some butter falvored pam spray on it and then shake some falvor on. you can find all sorts flavores for popcorn in the popcorm isle(o caloreis). as far as getting in shape do things threw out the day, like holding your son and doing squats and calf raises. or using him as a bench press, he will think that it is great fun.

Hi T.,

My girlfriend is trying something with great success. You need grade "B" natural maple syrup, pure lemon juice and cayanne pepper. Take 12 Tbsp. each of the lemon juice and maple syrup and blend well. Take 3 Tbsp. of the mixture and mix it into an 8 oz glass/bottle of water and add a pinch of the cayanne pepper. Mix well and drink like you would any other drink. It gets your metabolism going and cleans out your colon taking off the extra weight. Her success has been rather quick, too. It tastes like lemonade with a little kick. Next time I get to the store I was going to pick up the ingredients and try it myself. Sounds like you're active enough you just need to get a jump start on the metabolism.

Hope this helps - S.

Morning T.-
I had great success with Cinch plan as both weight loss and now weight management www.cinchplan.com/cook. I liked it because it was easy to make and gave great online support and program recipes, ideas etc.
Shaklee has been apart of our lives for 12 years now and first supported our desire for nutritional health, but 3-4 years ago we found that the new products like Cinch were great and we developed a way for me to contribute to the household at a pace that did not disrupt the family. (Sorry off subject!)
One of the best things that I did was increase my water intake , I could not believe the increased energy and how well I slept at night. It also help shed the extra weight.
Now my husband and I did start the P90X workouts, but it takes 30-60+ each day. I would recommend just finding a few exercises to do in 10 minutes a few times a week that can involve your son. My now 5 year old loved having 2 lb weights and doing the exercises that mom was doing. That good old hike through the neighborhood is a great place to start when you are ready.
If you have questions feel free to contact me- J. @ ____@____.com

Hello T.,

There is a great, FREE, resource called "Sparkpeople.com". It tells what you need to eat, calorie counts, exercise activities and the calories that you'll burn, great support from the community and so much more. The great thing is that it is FREE.

When losing weight, keep in mind that there is no quick fix. Don't compare yourself to other people or look in magazines for them to tell you how you should look and feel. Don't buy into the lie that the media plays out for us. It does take time to lose the weight. Be comfortable with who you are first and be patient with the results. There is no quick fix. It is changing a life style and eating patterns and habits.

You are loved by your husband and those around you because of who you are.....not how you are suppose to look. Lose a few pounds, buy a new dress and hold your head up high because of who you are to your family and your little boy. Inwardly, in sounds like you are a beautiful person..that is what counts most to people. Not the outer shell.

If you are planning on losing weight, do it because you are doing it for your husband and son. They want you to be healthy and happy so you will be around for a long time. So change, but do it slowly. It takes 21 days to form a good habit and stick to it. So, set yourself up for a 21 day challenge and see what the results are.

The best way to eat an elephant, is one bit at a time. The Elephant, being the huge obstacle that you are trying to over come.....so one bite at a time. One baby step at a time. You can do it!!

I hope that this helps. Have a great day and best wishes for your new life!!

H.

If you want to have results that last you don't have to exercise but you do have to watch what you eat.

Bottom line : if you eat more than what you burn you're going to gain weight/keep the weight.
Obviously you eat mostly in the evening (and what's the little snacking during the day ;-)) so maybe you can make the kitchen off limits for you (get chewing gums instead), or get a glass of water each time you have the impulse to snack. Or maybe brush your teeth just after dinner to avoid being tempted to eat again.

Maybe also you're controlling yourself too much during the day. Eating 3 meals and a couple snacks is more what you need than just 3 meals. Just keep the snacks lights (100 calories) but healthy enough (protein like an egg, carbs... so you don't feel deprived). Don't use substitutes like bars etc etc, your body will just crave the real food (simple piece of bread with cheese !). And they are expensive too ;-)

If you try to walk maybe simply 30min a day (with your son in the stroller or after he's in bed, even better make it with a friend so you can chat ! ) or chasing him at the playground it already enough for you to gain muscles.

Good luck !

I have two young kids and my last baby just about did me in. My body was a mess(LOL). It was not until I started exercising did I lose the weight. My advice would be you must eat to lose weight. However, you have to make wise food choices. Five small meals per day would just start the metabolism.
Sample diet.
1 Breafast- Cereal/fruit/toast juice
2 Snack - Bananna or low fat yogurt
3. Lunch - turkey sandwich on whole wheat grain bread/water/fruit
4. snack -- fruit/yogurt/or protein energy drink
5. Dinner- Mixed vegetables/fish or chicken (small portion) water or if you don't want to cook try a healthy choice dinner or lean cusine.
try to stay under 1,500 calories per day. and most importantly at least 30 minutes of cardio per day. The key is to burn more calories than you take in.
If you can purchase a heart rate monitor. Keep your heart rate over 150 beats per minute for at least 30 minutes per day.
Also, don't eat anything after 7:00 p.m.

I was desparate to loose it too!
I wrote in to Mamasource and had great help!

I droped about 8 lbs in 2 months! I took out all flour and sugar. It sounds really hard to do but it wasn't that bad. I had great substitues for those. I can give you recipes that I lived off of and ideas for keeping your belly full. I am just not the type to starve myself in a diet. If I am hungry I will give up quick.

You can also google "no sugar, no flour diet" and get more advice and ideas.

Hi T.---I am taking a series of wellness classes taught by a Naturopath who has her PhD in Nutrition. When it comes to body weight, we should want to think in terms of eating to optimize our health. Optimal health includes such things as weight management, a balanced immune system and disease prevention. The best way to do this is to select our foods that will support this goal. We need to eat a variety of foods, primarily from these 4 groups: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Use animal protein sparingly, more like a condiment or flavoring. Think of a chicken or steak salad, our family of 4 shares 2 medium sized chicken breasts, when we have them. Minimize or eliminate cows milk, go to www.strongbones.org to learn why my family, former milk lovers, no longer drinks cows milk. You can get more absorbable calcium from green leafy veggies like spinach, kale, bok choy and broccoli. Fewer calories from these foods as well.

The more fiber you eat, the less food you can eat. Choose nutrient dense foods which don't have very many calories in them. Your body will drop the weight automatically.

Exercise is very important, for many reasons. I would suggest doing it first thing in the morning. Your energy levels will skyrocket with exercise and the resulting weight you lose along with it. Schedule your exercise like any other appointment. You wouldn't cancel a haircut because you didn't feel like it, would you?

I have some great recipes and meal ideas, as well as research and articles for you to read. You will achieve more permanent weight loss if you just think about eating for health. Don't think about restricting any foods. Just be aware of what is food and what is a treat. Don't have treats in the house, then it is much easier to not eat them. And don't think you have to cook two different meals. What is good for your weight loss is also very good for your family's good health. You may have to educate everyone on why it is important that you've changed some eating habits. I can help with that.

Please feel free to call me with any questions. I'd be glad to help. I do not charge for consultations. I just am very happy to help others achieve optimal health.

Talk to you soon. D. ###-###-####

It's like Nike says..."just do it." We joke at my house that it's called "working out" for a reason...it's WORK.

You really just have to built it into your day. Either get up in the am, work out while the kids nap or take an hour when your husband gets home at least 3-4 days a week. You can get pilates videos, go for a fast walk/run, do many things around the house or join a gym.

Stop eating after dinner-- those calories are harder to burn. Eat a protein with a sugar so your blood sugar doesn't spike and make you hungry.

Good luck!

I have been using Lance Armstrong's web site, Livestrong.com, under the MyPlate tab. you enter in your hight, age, weight, how much you want to loose in a week, and it will tell you how many cals you can have in a day. As you eat something you just log it in. And most things are there and you just click on it and how many servings. And then as it adds up how many cals you've eaten it will tell you how many you have left for the day. It has really helped me be accountsble to what I eat. There are times that I still want something bad, but now I just eat less of it, and I have now accepted that if I really do want something bad I have to either addjust other foods that I eat in the day, or I need to do a bit more work out to "earn" it. But I don't eat bad stuff a lot any more. Now I choose healthy foods so that I can eat more.
It wll also keep track of your work outs with how many cals you burn doing something and will re-adjust your cals for the day. And as with the food it has a lot of things already calculated and you just click on what you did and for how long. It has everything from swiming, lifting weights, arobics, to feeding you child, washing your kids, doing laundry.
Oh and I almost forgot the best part. It's free. Although there is an option for more features that costs I think $30 for 6 months. But I do the free one and am very hapy with it. It will also give you graphs of the foods you eat and charts of your weight losse, and some of you measurements. So the free part really does already have a lot
I have already lost 9lbs. My goal is another 10 and for the first time I really feel like I can do it. Good Luck!!

This worked for me when I needed to lose weight - 20 pounds in two months, and the weight stayed off as long as I followed the diet even after I stopped the walking. When I went off the diet, gained weight back. Basically, for the first THREE WEEKS, totally cut out breads (and anything made with flour and sugar), pasta, rice, potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes and peas. These are all high carbs. Then after three weeks, you may eat one portion from one thing on the carb list a day, but you MUST eat vegetables before or with it. One portion is 1 cup or the equivalent of 2 slices of bread. To lose the weight, you must also walk 45 minutes a day. After I lost my 20 pounds, I stopped walking because it was winter and I got lazy, (the anniversary party was over!), but by continuing to follow the diet, I didn't gain any weight back. Also, fill up on homemade soups - chicken broth with
vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes...this diet also increases ENERGY. Also, drink only skim milk and water. I like to slice a lemon into a pitcher of tap water and set it in the fridge over night - it's better than plain water for the next day. Watch veggie dip and stuff like that, too. GOOD LUCK!

Hi T.,

Yea! You got started. Keep exercising. Also watch your portion sizes. A serving of meat should be no larger than a deck of cards. Drink water, water, water. Fiber One has a drink mix with 10 gms of fiber. Also there are fiber bars by Quaker, Fiber One and Kellogs that have 9 gms of fiber. Eat more vegetables (no butter).

If you would like to lose 2-3 dress sizes in 10 minutes visit www.ardysslife.com/getyourslimon

I have been wearing "Body Magic" for 1 month now and love it because I look good in my clothes instantly. Your gut is flattened, buttocks lifted, back supported and posture improved. Check it out. You can become a distributor for as little as $30. It's a great product.

Sounds like you might be wanting a miracle? :) I can teach you how to eat low glycemic. It will improve your energy and help you to loose and maintain weight loss. The program is called Transitions Lifestyle System. I am offering free classes, but I cannot provide free materials. If you want to know more, let me know!

S.
____@____.com

Hi T.,
I agree with all that's noted below. The only word of encouragement that I would like to offer is, once you START exercising, you'll have more energy to CONTINUE exercising! One can only eat an elephant one bite at a time - start off for just 10 minutes in the evening, doing anything - jumping jacks or skip rope - then build on that. And dancing - dancing is wonderful exercise - make this an activity for you & your son each evening. Good luck!

T., your schedule and your enthusiasm is almost like mine. However I am older. I do have a daughter well infact I have 4 daughters. And as you know all girls try to lose weight. My oldest fights it constantly but is an exercise nut now, but went back to take classes after her 4 year finance degree. She seems to be successful at what ever she tries. She is now a certified physical trainer working in a chiropractor's office and has run two triathelons. I'm not sure what makes her drive so strong, perhaps it's just something you're born with....like determination. My second daughter use to be the heaviest of the 4 girls, but a couple of years ago something got her going and now she is the smallest of the group. But she runs a treadmill until I am tired just watching her sweat. I keep asking them how do you do this. But I haven't gotten any real response. I don't know whether I am just tired, exhausted, have lost my drive, am discouraged or what, but I too can't stop the late night eating. I eat a sensible breakfast milk and ceral, sometimes a slimfast for lunch or a subway, and then a normal sized supper.

If you get any good responses, I'd appreciate you passing them on to me as how to get motivated. I have no one in my neighborhood or my age that wants to exercise with me. They all have gym memberships or are self motivated. If there was a bottle of motivation or willpower I'd drink it. I don't believe in taking all kinds of diet pills to curb your appetite as once you stop taking them you just go back to eating again. Everyone on TV says it's a mindset......so how do you set your mind or reset it for that matter? Ha. I'll check back every once in awhile on Mamasource just to see if anyone has responded to you with some good motivation advice. C. S.

drink lots of water, no more pop, and snack during the day you may not want to splurge at night. while it is nice out take long walks and walk fast.

The best advice I can give you is to contact Dennis Landra. He is a wellness consultant I ran into about a year ago. He has helped many people with what you are going through. If you balance your nutrition his way, you will be amazed at how good you feel, and how easy it really can be.

Dennis Landra
Wellness Coach / Supervisor
###-###-####
____@____.com