[beeamma]

Hi all,
I am new to this forum. Full-time working mother of a toddler. I need to loose 15lbs of my pregnancy weight. I am lacto-vegetarian.

I am looking for recommendations on what program I should start with and what I should keep in mind when dieting.

Thanks again in advance.

-BA

[Mollz]

Oh man, I should be writing my paper!! I have a good start on it and as long as I get a good amount done by Sunday, I'll be sweet.

If you're looking for "what do I do" advice for dieting, I'd recommend tracking what you eat. I reckon that's the biggest thing when you start on a diet. You have to look at what you eat: how much, when, where, what kinds of food are most prevalent (fats, carbs or proteins) and where you can cut down. So, number one is get a food journal (search google for online ones: my fitness pal, the daily plate, fit day, etc). Stick to the serving sizes listed on the bag or box. If possible, make your own; it always tastes much better.

Second is to find out how many calories a day you need to eat to get rid of your excess weight. A 500 calorie/day deficit from your basal metabolic rate (how many calories you burn lying in bed all day) will give you a 1 pound per week loss. Similarly, 1000/day will give you a 2 pound per week loss. Doctors don't recommend going over 2 pounds per week since you may not get the nutrients you need.

If you're not into calorie counting, talk to some of the chicks over in the South Beach, Weight Watchers or Fat Smash forums about getting started. There is no shortage of women and men here with recommendations for starting a diet.

As for exercise, it's a very important thing to do when losing weight: it helps with fat burning and muscle building- not bodybuilding but muscle toning. Don't worry about weight lifting; you won't get giant man-arms from lifting a few pounds. Cardio is great, but you need muscle tone to help combat the lean muscle lost when dieting.

That's about all I can help you with right now; I'm super tired (it's 11pm and I need to be up for 7:30). Call out if you have any other questions.

[mortonpixie]

I second what Mollz said - with the exception of the calculation of calorie needs. You can't go below your Basal Metabolic Rate or you will literally starve your body to death. My BMR is 1640 (according to my age and weight) - if I cut 500 off of that I'm sitting at 1140 calories per day - dangerously low, and cutting 1000 would be impossible. You should take into account your lifestyle and any exercise into your estimated daily burn, then back down from there. Here's a calculator to help you:

http://www.nutritiondata.com/tools/calories-burned

As a mom of 4 with a full time home daycare, I know how short time can be. My suggestion would be to invest in some exercise videos that you can do after your child goes to bed.
You can browse and preview them here:
www.collagevideo.com
Read reviews here:
www.videofitness.com
and buy them cheap here:
www.ebay.com
www.amazon.com
Also, check out the public library and goodwill.

It will take some changes - but you can do it!!

[AFChick]

I'm a mom of 2, one with special needs, and I'm in the Air Force full time (sometimes more than full time ).

Eating: Ditto on what's been said before...calculate your BMR + cals burned by exercise, then cut back by 500 cals/pound/week you want to lose.

For exercise:

I do 3-4 "workouts" per week. These are my big workouts. I usually run or do an elliptical machine.

I also try to sneak extra calorie burning in where ever possible. I like to walk during lunch. If you walk about 3-3.5 mph for 45 mins, you don't really sweat (so don't have to shower), but you can burn a couple hundred calories. This can get you half way to one pound/week without excessive effort. I also like to walk right before bed.

Strength training: You should try to incorporate strength training (especially core) training into your workouts. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn...even at rest. Core workouts help protect your back when you do everything else. I like the "core secrets" videos.

Hope that helps...best thing is just to start...you can do it!

[Mollz]

Originally Posted by mortonpixie

I second what Mollz said - with the exception of the calculation of calorie needs. You can't go below your Basal Metabolic Rate or you will literally starve your body to death. My BMR is 1640 (according to my age and weight) - if I cut 500 off of that I'm sitting at 1140 calories per day - dangerously low, and cutting 1000 would be impossible. You should take into account your lifestyle and any exercise into your estimated daily burn, then back down from there. Here's a calculator to help you:

You're right MP; I was trying to be as articulate as I could, but being tired, it didn't help obviously!!

What I meant to say was to calculate your BMR, add your exercise factor in and go from there. The calculator MP has put up is a good one, but they are all different. This particular one said that I need 2600 calories a day (I'm pretty active overall) to maintain my weight. Another one says I need 2400 a day to maintain and still another says 2300. You've got a 10% give on either side- I usually go with the smaller number.

A starting program would probably be about 1300-1400 calories a day (don't go below 1200 ever!!) and take in some moderate exercise (30 minutes 3-5 days a week).

That'll teach me to post when I'm tired!! I ended up in bed at half past midnight and stayed awake until about 1am, got up at 7:30; took at 90 minute nap at 1:45 this afternoon. On the up side- I haven't eaten much today other than breakfast and lunch!