Hi I am sorta new here....I have joined a little while ago and like my dieting I stick to it and then I don't . I come to this site and get encouraged and then lose interest in dieting and so i wait a while again and so on and so on.
So what I am doing again is looking for support stories and encouragement on losing weight. I'm interested in how everyone did it and lost the pounds. What exactly did you all do and how it turned out (ie. WW, JC, Atkins etc).
I did WW in the past and for the amount of time that I stuck to it, I did lose some weight, so I am trying it again.
Any suggestions on what to do to stay motivated?? That is my biggest problem (like many other's I assume lol) is sticking to a program and not giving up. I am not that keen on exercising, but I know that goes hand in hand with eating properly and losing the weight. Not to make it sound like I am giving excuses, but I live out in the middle of no where and not close to a gym, swimming pool or neighbours I have a 3 1/2 and 1 1/2 year old children that I find hard to take outside for walks especially since it is starting to get like winter out there. Any suggestions ????
Love to hear anyones stories on how they are doing it .
I do have an exercise suggestion that has worked for me. Playing with you kids can be a great substitute even when they are as little as yours. Crank up your radio to something you like and dance with them, and really get into it swinging your hips and pumping your arms . There are actually lots of things you can do like play tag with them or lay on your back and let one of them sit on your tummy and do pelvic lifts. You will be spending quality time with your kids and get exercise too. Just try to stick with the game you are playing for 20 - 30 minutes.
I'm no success story at the moment because I haven't been at this very long and I have a long way to go, but the way I've ever been successful at losing weight (obviously not successful at maintaining) is calorie counting. That's what I'm doing now. I bought some little spiral notebooks from target that have snap closures. I keep one in my purse and write down all my foods and the calories each day.
Once or twice a week, I transfer the calorie information to spreadsheet where I also document what physical activity I've done on which days and for how long. The spreadsheet is good for tracking which weeks in a month seem more productive for weightloss, when I seem to have more trouble sticking to plan, whether the weeks that I exercise more produce better results than the weeks I don't, etc. I can also get an average of the calories I've consumed in any period of time.
Regarding exercise, you don't need to live in a city or close to a gym. I'm currently in a very small rent house with little floor place 20 miles from the nearest gym. I do a couple of things for exercise. If the weather's nice, I might go out and play basketball on the portable basketball goal or I'll jump rope for a while or do walking lunges up and down the driveway. If it's dark outside, I rely on exercise videos like WATP or my newest one The Biggest Loser workout. When I had little kids in the house, I used a treadmill (which is in storage at the moment and wouldn't fit in here anyway) that I bought new but very cheaply from Walmart 8 years ago. It still works great.
Hi and welcome. I live a long ways from a gym too. I do a lot of walking outdoors when the weather cooperates. I bought a used treadmill last winter that I use quite often. I also use an exercise ball, jump rope and old Richard Simmons "sweatin to the oldies" tapes. (I really need to get new exercise tapes), but these are better than nothing. When my 2 yr. old grandson is here , I play outdoors with him and the dogs for exercise. Please take Meg's advice and read the Goal and Mini-Goal sections to learn what people are doing and how it has worked for them. Everyone is so different and it's important to find what will work for YOU.
heylo there....
there are so many ways to find exercise, but you gotta find one that suits your lifestyle and personality.
I introduced walking to college at the start of september, walking up and down this massive hill is a great work out in the morning, i think that really helped me start to lose weight.
Last night i went running (well slow jogging lol) I hate running, as a kid i was always getting out of running class. But i see it as a massive challenge, (like my weight) daunting, i hate doing it. But i know jogging is one of the most effective ways to increase your fitness. Im also a person who enjoys a challenge, if i went to a netaball class, or i went to the gym i would get bored becaus ei have done it all in the past. This is gonna really challenege me emotionally and physically.
I also have a exercise bike at home i picked up on ebay for about £30 which i think is about $45?? maybe its a bit rubbish now i destroyed it i think, but im gnna repair it and get back on it while i watch a motivational show like sex and the city.... (i wish i had there legs)
and diet... well. I have no money to be spending on joining clubs like WW and not enough money to buy expensive foods on another diet, enther mind the time to cook them, so i stick to my own knowledge of dieting, whic you find everywhere online. How much to eat, when to eat, why to eat, what the best food, and i count calories, considering fat as much as possible.
im finding at the moment my diet is working very well, but i suppose that becaus ei was such a fat slob before....
whatever you do i hope you do well.
at the end of it all its all about choice what you put in your mouth and what you do to your body, and only you can educate yourself to make the right choices.
Thanks for the replys. I can't really afford WW as well, so I am doing it at home. I find that to be a little challenge becasue if you mess up nobody know but you. That is the hard part.
I am going by their guide for food and what their points are. Today is day 2 and I hope that in a week I will see a tiny difference.
I want to start a mini goal and see if that motivates me.
I thank you guys for the responses.
Calorie counting with a diet program to monitor nutrient levels is what works for me. I used to exercise more, but various health problems put the free weights, the treadmill and the exercycle on hold. Now I only do mild calisthenics while watching TV, and a little weight training for my arms with 5 lbs dumbbells. It's sufficient.
Hi Lindsay,
Have you ever considered checking to see if there is a TOPS (taking off pounds sensibly) group near you. I joined TOPS in January of 2005 and since then have lost just about 50lbs. I think it's a lot like weight watchers...you go weigh in every week and they have things scheduled for each week like maybe a presentation or a game or something of sort to motivate, encourage, and teach you about having a healthier lifestyle. There is no hard diet to follow as in you don't cut out anything....basically it's making healthy choices such as you can have m&m's just not an entire big bag and not every day. It's the easiest way to learn a lifestyle change I found personally. Something that I can actually stick with. And going each week and having others support and hearing their successes really motivates me and even hearing their struggles reminds me that Im not alone in it. Each chapter sets it's monthly dues. Our group that I belong to currently charges a low $5.00/month to be in it.
And as far as exercise Im trying to get back into a routine but me and my husband got a membership to a Y nearby. It only costs us like $60.00/mo. which for us isn't really money that we have to spare but sometimes you have to remind yourself that you are worth it for your health and future.
I wish you the best of luck and totally encourage you to find a TOPS nearby and maybe go sit in for a night to see what it's like.
You have to motivate yourself. Trying buying new clothes a size smaller. Make them something you really want to wear and then hang them in plain sight. Hang pictures of you at your worst on the fridge door. If you work, put your gym bag on the passenger seat and head straight for your workout after work.
If the weather isn't "bad" out, head out for a stroll with a double jogging stroller. Or get the kids involved in a dance routine indoors, crawl around on the floor with them...act like a kid yourself, it burns tons of calories. You could also go bike riding. Get one of the trailers for the back that is enclosed so the kids will be comfortable and stay warm.
i do that got great big nasty pictures of me on the fridge, i was thinking of making a collage on the cubord door of the food today of women who are slim to stop me going in there when i shouldent be.
What's your weight lose story (need ideas)
. I come to this site and get encouraged and then lose interest in dieting and so i wait a while again and so on and so on.
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. There are actually lots of things you can do like play tag with them or lay on your back and let one of them sit on your tummy and do pelvic lifts. You will be spending quality time with your kids and get exercise too. Just try to stick with the game you are playing for 20 - 30 minutes.
You could also go bike riding. Get one of the trailers for the back that is enclosed so the kids will be comfortable and stay warm.
