haha this carrot is too funny
Anyway, HI!!! I'm Renee and I'm a 26yr old mom of 3. I weigh 290lbs and I know I need to lose the weight now. The problem is that I dont have any motivation to do so. I love to eat, I love to cook and I hate to execise. lol, writing these things down makes me feel kinda yucky. Oh but I could use a buddy in the Spring, Tx. area to walk with. I'm a stay at home mom and I have a gym membership at the ymca so a workout buddy would be fun too. I dont know, I guess I just feel silly working out all by myself. Ive been overweight my entire life and now I want to feel better. I'm tired of being sick and tired. I would love some advice about how to get started.
I'll leave you all with the carrot.
Renee

Hi Renee and Welcome,

I was just like you 6 months ago. I loved to eat, loved to cook and hated to exercise. Actually I still love to eat, cook and I still hate exercise.
For me I just took it one step at a time. I count calories, so first I started lowering my calorie intake little by little, then I found an exercise routine that I can do and stick with.
My advice would be to try different things to find out exactly what works for you. Make sure it is something that you can incorporate into your life.
So glad you joined. This is a great place to get motivation, support and inspiration.
Best of luck on your weight loss journey.

Thank you both so much. I'm so excited about this new journey I'm on. I'm off to the gym to walk walk walk. I had apple slices, yogurt and some walnuts for breakfast. I dont know what to have for lunch? I think changing my eating is going to be the hardest. Have a blessed day everyone.
Renee

Renee,

I hear ya, girl! I also love to eat and cook, and I used to hate to exercise.

As far as the eating/cooking, it's a matter of finding the type of diet that fits into your lifestyle. I am doing a self-styled whole-foods-combined-with-intuitive-eating diet, which basically means that I don't eat many processed foods (like white flour, sugar, and junk food), I try to incorporate lots of whole grains, fruits, and veggies into my diet, and instead of counting calories or points or anything I just decrease portion size by paying attention to when my body feels full. I cook almost everything I eat from scratch and it is fun trying out different recipes all the time. You might think that healthy stuff would taste yucky, but almost every day when I eat my lunch at work at my desk, 2 or 3 people around the office are saying, "What is that that SMELLS so GOOD?", lol. If you want some help with recipes, PM me.

As far as exercise, I was too much of a wimp to join a regular gym and have everyone looking at the middle-aged fat woman trying to work out. So I joined Curves because they advertised that they have a supportive atmosphere and it is for women only. I love it! The women who work there are so good at keeping me motivated that I look forward to exercising now. You should give it a try. It's not very expensive and there are about 9,000 of them in the U.S., so you can probably find one nearby.

Good luck! So glad you have taken the first step by coming to this forum! There are lots of people here to provide help and support.

Hey ladies,
So I tried to go to the gym this morning and my 2yr old son would not stop crying. I was on the tredmil for 5 min and the ladies in the child care room came and got me. What do I do? Today for exercise I'm going to mow the front and back lawn but how do I prevent this in the future??

Hi Renee... and welcome! Glad you are here!

I so often see people looking for "motivation" - as if it is some "magic force" and a feeling that is going to help us lose weight. But I think it is rather a DECISION that we are going to do... just as we go to work in the morning whether or not we feel motivated.

If we wait for the feeling of motivation... well it might come for a while if we are fortunate. But feelings are fickle and change like the wind. The feelings of "gung ho" WILL wear off and if it is just a feeling we are going with, we will mess up again. But if we make a serious decision and commitment to eat right and exercise whether we feel like it or NOT... and LOL quite often NOT for most of us... we CAN do it. And so can YOU!!!!

Congratulations on getting started and setting your goals! Hang around here... there is lots of great support and encouragement.

Welcome to 3FC, you're going to love it here...

Wish I was in Texas to be your walking buddy!!

About the 2 year old at the gym. What I would do is start out by preparing him- talk about it ALL morning, then find something he's dying to have (superman toy, DVD, bubbles, a new beach ball. whatever) if he goes to the play room with no crying...he gets it. Yep, they call that bribery. I call it reinforcement so I can exercise!!

After the first time you can make a sticker chart so he has to "earn" his rewards by not crying 3 times, and so on....maybe that would work.

As for not knowing what to eat. I find that to be murder for me. I keep about 5-6 Lean Cusine type meals in the freezer at all times, so i always have something that will do without going overboard on the calories. I also take 5 minutes at the end of the day and think about what I will eat tomorrow- I make a "check off list" so that as I eat them I check them off.....that way it's a list of what I get to eat, not only what I'm "allowed to eat." I reward myself too......when I stay in my calorie budget all week I allow myself to buy something from ebay, or have a pedicure, or just go out by myself for a couple of hours on Saturday (obviously my DH is on board with this one) for some retail therapy.

We're all here for you! Good luck!!

I can't get to the gym because of my kids and my budget so I walk and I use my exercise bike and I stretch and do Pilate type exercises. I just got some weights (2 and 3 lbs) from the salvation army. For me I am focusing my energy like this:
Water: I drink 80 oz a day (or more)
Exercise: If nothing else I get on the floor and stretch for at least 10 min.
Eats: I am counting calories and trying to stay between 1200-1300 calories.
Daily goals: My daily goals are anything from folding laundry to doing a 30 minute workout.
It works for me. I am trying to loose about 2 pounds a week.