I was just reading around on this site and wanted to post. I am READY to lose the weight. I just dont know where to start. I am a 29 year old mother of 2. I just had a baby boy last sept. and gained 70 pounds wth my pregnancy. I dod have some serious heart problems and 8 days after my delivery was hospitalized and the drined 35 pounds of fluid off of my heart and lungs. I currently weigh about 182-185 pounds. I seem to fluctuate depending on the time of month. I would like to be about 140 so I need to lose about 45 pounds. My husband was just deployed to Iraq last friday and he will be gone a year. So... I MUST lose this weight. I have to look and feel great about myself. Also as I am sure alot of you feel, summer time is harder when you arent feeling good about yourself , I want to wear shorts and a bathing suit and feel confident and I feel horrible. My doctor suggested LA Weight loss or Weight Watchers. He also suggested The South Beach diet, but one problem I have had all of my life is I HATE vegetables. Im not much of a meat eater either. I guess I will have to force myself to eat heathier and eventually I will learn to like these things. What diet plan has seemed to work the best for you? I was going to the gym 3 times a week and areobics 3 times a week, but I got frustrated when I didnt see a change quickly.. Did I mention I have no patience?? I was just wondering if someone could tell me what has worked best for them. Thanks so much to any one who responds
Hi kls1, you will get heaps of help here. One of the things I have learnt here, is that it all works, whether it be low fat, low calorie, low carb.... I am not on a specific diet plan, I plan to eat 1200 - 1500 calories a day (I am closer to 1500 at the moment) and I exercise regularly, now 6 days a week. I don't have children, if I did I certainly wouldn't be able to do the same level of exercise, it takes a lot of time out of my schedule.
I lose 1 - 2 pounds a week, which is the safest way.
Summer might be a hard time to be overweight, but it is a great time to do something about it, the weather is better for long walks, it's easier to eat lighter foods, there is plenty of fresh fruit and interesting vegetables around......
About the vegetables, give them a try, use different recipes, and try different types, perhaps things you have avoided. I love veggies, because they are so low in calories, you can eat guilt free and they really fill you up.
Best wishes on your journey, and holler if you need anything.
It is true that whatever plan you choose should be one that is reasonable enough to follow for the rest of your life. That, of course, varies from person to person so put some thought into the foods that you enjoy, your lifestyle, etc. Some people thrive on a more rigid plan that "controls" their eating for them others have trouble being "told" what to eat.
Personally, I am a calorie counter as I find it provides for the most flexible eating habits. 99% of the time I choose healthy fare but I don't ever want to feel that I have to deny myself something that I REALLY want just because it isn't "allowed." I began by shooting to average 1500-1800 calories a day (some days are higher, some lower, I look at the week as a whole not each day) and I exercise at least 3 times each week but usually get in 4 or 5 days (this is because I ENJOY exercise now not because I feel I have to push myself to lose weight. I still lose even if I only make it to the gym three times). When I first started I ate three main meals and two small snacks. Now, though, I am in tune with my body and I just eat when I am hungry and eat what I want (not as MUCH as I want, though). I tend to eat often throughout the day so I never feel hungry. However, I don't eat much at any given sitting so I never feel "full" either. I am a mother of three small children and I find that I am better able to chase them around if I am physically satisfied in terms of hunger rather that too hungry to have any energy or so full that I feel weighed down.
This is what has worked for me so far. You know your body best so consider all of the suggestions you get as well as the information you will find elsewhere on the board. Pick and choose those that you feel may apply to you and that you feel like you can live with. If it doesn't work - not just in terms of losing weight but also in terms of whether or not you are happy with the plan and feel good doing it - scrap it and try again. I say this all of the time - every plan works for SOMEBODY but no plan works for EVERYBODY.
Adding daily exercise won't require you to eat any food you don't like and will still help you lose weight.
However, one thing you might try food-wise, since you don't like veggies, is to substitute some soy and tofu into your diet. There is a wide variety of meatless foods that you can experiment with and see if you like them. If you don't like meat much, and you don't like veggies, what do you eat? LOL
1... Start small by incorporating one new veggies/week and a fruit too, then change the next week. Experiement with fruits and veggies. Find recipes be creative.
2... Drink water at least 8-8oz glasses/day
3... Exercise, go for a walk around the block the first time if that's all you can do... You'll soon discover that soon you'll be walking miles. Make exercise a routine thing. Do you think about brushing your teeth? Probably not, soon exercise will be the same.
4... Join a gym if you can afford it, get a trainer to show you the ropes.
5... Join the gym with a buddy...
6... Clean your house of the junk food, if you have kids that are very young they won't notice the junk food gone and they will love the fresh fruits. If you have older kids limit their junk by hidding it. At home here if there is junk food in the groceries when we arrive I send them all to the basement. Out of sight, out of mind, works very well for me.
7... If you feel you need a group setting join WW or Jenny Craig whatever is in your area to start. I prefer to count calories and eat as unprocessed and as close to nature as possible. I log my food in www.fitday.com , LOVE that site. AND I come here several times/day for motivation...
Like many others here, I'm not following a specific plan at all. I eat around 1500 calories a day. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but 1500 is my goal. I've been exercising 3-4 times a week and drinking a lot more water. I'm losing at a fairly consistent rate. My 2-month "anniversary" of starting to make changes in my routines is the 26th and I've lost 25 pounds in those 2 months. I don't expect my weight loss to keep up at this rate, but it's definitely exciting and encouraging to see the scale going down. I also get an unnecessarily large thrill from changing my little weight loss tickers whenever I lose another pound. Like you, I have two kids and that definitely makes this more challenging. I had gotten so used to just finishing whatever they didn't eat for lunch, snacking with them, not exercising because it just wasn't a priority, etc. I started using http://www.fitday.com/ and I think it was one of the best things I've done. I had NO idea how much I was eating every day! I've also started eating a lot more vegetables and fruit. I'm lucky in that I've always liked vegetables, though. I even eat brussels sprouts by choice! Maybe you can "train" yourself to eat more vegetables by starting with sweeter choices like carrots and cucumbers? You could also try adding a little bit of shredded cheese to things like steamed broccolli. I've managed to get my extremely picky preschooler to eat cauliflower by adding a cube of chicken boullion to the water in which it was boiling. You can "sneak" veggies by adding them into meals you already like, too.
My Story
Like you, I have two kids and that definitely makes this more challenging. I had gotten so used to just finishing whatever they didn't eat for lunch, snacking with them, not exercising because it just wasn't a priority, etc. I started using 
Maybe you can "train" yourself to eat more vegetables by starting with sweeter choices like carrots and cucumbers? You could also try adding a little bit of shredded cheese to things like steamed broccolli. I've managed to get my extremely picky preschooler to eat cauliflower by adding a cube of chicken boullion to the water in which it was boiling. You can "sneak" veggies by adding them into meals you already like, too.
