South Beach Diet Fat Chicks on the Beach!

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Old 03-13-2008, 10:52 AM   #1  
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Default Exercise Suggestions needed......PLEASE

OK I have to admit it. Love the eating lifestyle but the exercise bug really hasn't bit. I'm in Central Florida where the weather is beautiful and I have an almost 5 year old daughter to do stuff with. I just have the hardest time wanting to exercise. I did buy one of those bouncer balls (but my excuse is I was waiting to get under the 300 mark to fit in the weight restrictions of the ball). I need some suggestions and would love to incorporate them with my daughter. Her weight and height are perfectly fine but she can sit and watch TV all day if I let her and her snacks are starting to get carried away. I want to get her excited to do stuff and have some fun. She starts Kindergarten this fall so I won't have my time with her anymore during the day. She's my little best friend. We do have a pool in the back that will be opening in the next couple of weeks but I want to get in a variety of things we can do. Any suggestions?
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Old 03-13-2008, 11:10 AM   #2  
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Does she ride a bike yet? Even with training wheels? I used to walk along with Brian when he was learning to ride his bike. Now I ride with him. We go walking sometimes too. And yes, we are eagerly waiting for it to get warm enough for us to swim.
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Old 03-13-2008, 11:14 AM   #3  
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Hi Cann, I am not great at exercising either. I feel like I am just now starting to get a handle on it, but don't know if I'll ever love it. I'd pretty much always rather be on the couch with a book. Swimming is one thing I have always done with my kids and that's great exercise, so once you get that pool open, you can jump around with her in the water. Do lots of chasing, Marco Polo, and throwing balls around, with a few laps thrown in for good measure to get your heart pumping.
I also have started doing the WATP DVDs at lunch. But when my daughter is around, she likes to do them too. Maybe find some fun dancey videos for you to do together.
My kids are walkers, so I walk to and from school with them every school day. It's a half mile each way, so that's 2 miles/day.
When the weather gets nice we try to get to a park on the weekends to do some hiking in the mountains.
And we recently joined the YMCA so we can use the pool in the winter too. The kids got very interested in the Racquetball courts, so we have been playing around with that also. Nothing that resembles a real game, of course, but we get in there and hit the ball around and chase after it. I think I'll get some racquets to put in their Easter baskets.

Then there's always just getting out for a walk after dinner, or kicking or tossing a ball around in the yard. Have you got a basketball hoop? My kids always love to shoot some baskets. Now don't get the impression that we are sporty. My kids aren't really into team sports, and I never was either, but kids always seem to like to like to run around and play. DD also takes dance classes, and DH does horseback riding. There's lots of fun things you can get them involved in.
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Old 03-13-2008, 11:25 AM   #4  
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Hey Cann! I agree with Schmoodle. Check out the WATP dvds. I think she even has some that are geared specifically for kids. Plus, they're pretty easy to get into and would be great for someone starting out like you!

Here's the website where you can find the WATP information/dvds. Some libraries also carry them and I know you can get them through Netflix as well. This is a good way to check them out without spending money on them.

Good luck finding something for both of you!
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Old 03-13-2008, 12:11 PM   #5  
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Take her to a playground--push her on the swings, chase her around, help her on the monkey bars, etc. It will get you at least moving a bit instead of siting, plus it gets you out of the house and away from food (I knwo you didn't mention eating as an issue, but it is for me, and getting out of the house always helps).

Workout DVDs are great, and I think they even make some specifically for kids. Maybe something kinda dancey and fun but not too complicated.

Of course, walking and biking are fabulous as well. Or anything that gets you up and out--does she have a scooter? I know my niece loves going out on her scooter, and you could walk along with her.

When all else fails, I say turn on some upbeat music and dance around like a maniac. What kid doesn't love that? This is even great while doing chores--makes you kinda bop around and pick up the pace while you're vacuuming, dusting, doing dishes, etc., and makes it feel more fun than just boring chores.

Man, maybe I need to get myself a 5-year-old to help keep me in shape
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Old 03-13-2008, 01:26 PM   #6  
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I definalty ditto the Walk Away the Pound videos!!!!! They are Awesome, and simple to learn...they even have a family one. My daughter who is 3 loves to exercise with mommy, I even bought her her own little weights.

Also I have seen the most results using the WATP videos. Than any thing else I am doing.
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Old 03-13-2008, 01:27 PM   #7  
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Hi, Cann!

I know how it feels to not want to exercise! When I was at my highest weight (and for at least 40-50 pounds down from that), it was pretty exhausting, if not painful, to exercise, so I certainly wasn't motivated to do it on my own. But I figured out early on that it's an essential part of successful weightloss. You can get TONS of great information, encouragement, and advice in the Exercise! and Weight and Resistance Training forums here at 3FC.

Do you have any local gyms or YM/WCA's? Our local Y has aerobics classes designed for parents and their children. That might be a great resource! Lots of yoga studios offer classes for parents and children, too.

If you search online, I'm sure you'll be able to find a bunch of activities for parents to do with their kids; with your great weather, you have an awesome chance to do a lot of wonderful things!

At five, your daughter is likely to encounter formal playground games soon. You might want to inquire (if you don't already know) at your local school about what games the kids play on the playground. Then you can teach them to your daughter and practice them. Things like hopscotch, jump rope (that might be tough at her age?), foursquare (recruit DH and a friend?), and simply games involving large balls are likely candidates.

What about going for walks or hikes? Do you have a local nature center? We have a couple and they host tons of activities for parents and children, including some really cool hikes based around watching for animals or learning about nature. Some are even at night! (how cool would that be for a kid?) Walking is a really simple activity...though it used to hurt my back and hips a lot, as with other exercise, I found that with each pound I lost, things were easier and less painful. It's worth it!

There's also an exercise video forum. You can check it out for more info on possible videos to try at home. Lots of them could be fun to do with your daughter, especially ones geared for kids' exercise. I have no idea how good or bad they are, but here are a few I found in a quick search on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Fit-Kids-Worko...5429004&sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.com/SPRI-Sweat-Chi...5428965&sr=8-6 (this one is for aerobic balls...so you could use the one you've been saving, now that you're at the right weight! )
http://www.amazon.com/Move-Groove-De...5428965&sr=8-3
http://www.amazon.com/Denise-Austins...5428965&sr=8-1

I second swimming as a great activity/exercise. I know some people feel very self conscious about getting in a swimsuit, but you literally cannot beat water aerobics as a way to get in aerobic exercise without feeling pain and exhaustion, no matter how much extra weight you're carrying! It's awesome stuff! Once you've taken a class or two, you could do the exercises with your daughter, provided your pool has a shallow enough area for her to stand in.

I think you're doing a wonderful thing--setting an example and making exercise something fun for your daughter is a great way to start her on a life of health and fitness!
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Old 03-13-2008, 01:29 PM   #8  
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I love the dance idea, Jilly! Dancing with puppies can be fun too!

I have never tried the WATP videos, but I'm going to have to check them out...I still don't understand how they work! Once you walk far enough, how do you see the screen? I assume you're walking in place, but doesn't that get boring and hurt your feet/knees?
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Old 03-13-2008, 01:42 PM   #9  
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Laurie, I didn't really understand how it would work either until I tried one of them. You walk, or march, in place mostly, but lifting knees high and increasing speed gradually. Then she adds in upper body movements with and without weights to increase aerobic activity and work the upper body muscles. Some of them are lighter, some get fairly intense. What I really like about them is they are not complicated, so you don't have to learn a routine or choreography - I could do them right off the bat. Also you don't need a lot of room, and since my rooms are all small, I don't really have anywhere I can jump around too much. Also, they are fairly low impact, so I think the risk to joints is minimal. I used to love to do Jazzercise, but it was too high impact for my hips. I think the WATP is known as "walkaerobics" but it reminds me of the low impact stuff you could do along with jazzercise if you wanted.

Oh, I haven't gotten bored yet, but it's been a few weeks. But I've got three different ones and I cycle through them. I've also supplemented with a couple from the library.

You guys reminded me of when DD1 was little, and her cousins would come over, we had a CD (probably a tape back then) that had Kermit singing, and they loved to put that on and just dance and sing around the living room for hours! It was so fun, a room full of five little girls from 2 - 7 having a blast. Thanks for the memory!

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Old 03-13-2008, 02:07 PM   #10  
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WATP is great.

if you have on demand tv there is a whole section of FIT tv stuff to do....

or just take a walk with her and play I spy or something like that....
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Old 03-13-2008, 02:22 PM   #11  
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I agree with everyone else....WATP DVD's are great.

I don't have any kids but I did watch my niece everyday for a few years. We would walk to the park and play a lot. I also took her to the zoo quite often. She loves animals and there is a lot of walking at the zoo! We would also go to the museum and the aquarium. Lots of walking. We would also go on bike rides and I would pull her in the wagon. I had a small lake near my house back then and we would walk to the lake and feed the ducks. I still love to do that! Also, I was at target last night and I saw a DVD for yoga with mommy. Maybe that would interest you?
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Old 03-14-2008, 05:37 PM   #12  
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Does Petunia like to dance? How about turning on some music every day and you two have a 20 minute dancing session! Fun and aerobic.

And I second, third, fourth, etc. that motion about a daily walk. Start small and work your way up to longer and faster.

Last edited by JerseyGiant; 03-14-2008 at 10:02 PM.
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Old 03-14-2008, 05:46 PM   #13  
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Since there are so many AWESOME ideas here that I don't need to repeat, I just wanted to say HI! We're from Orlando but have recently moved to Atlanta. Jeesh... recently... try three years ago. HA! Time really flies, doesn't it?

Have fun with your little one~
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