Hi,
I'm new here and I just wonder if I should be exercising instead. However, I'm checking things out to see if this could be my miracle. I hope it'll help me stay on track.
In my 20's I was in great shape and eating very healthy. In my 30's, 3 kids put my weight at around 30 pounds extra. I'm coming up on my 40th birthday this summer and I would really like to lose 20 pounds. I do well for a while..... and then I slip. I know yo-yo dieting isn't good and it's a set up for weight gain. So I would really like to get a grip of the weight now because I know it only gets harder as you age. I want the muscle tone back too.

Most of us have found that exercising IN ADDITION is the way to do this for a healthy lifestyle, the end of yo-yo dieting, and a better looking body, especially through the forties, fifties and beyond.

A few years ago, someone here described the whole process of weightloss and maintenance as a 3 legged stool: nutrition, cardio and weightlifting. Each leg holds up the whole structure in balance.

I know personally that I couldn't have lost the weight without exercising- both cardio and weights, and that continue maintnance would be impossible. Maybe I could have starved myself down to goal in the first place, but I wouldn't have liked the body that I was in the mirror. For me, not only is the gym what makes weight maintenance possible, but it truly is the Fountain of Youth. I feel stronger and look so much better. I wear smaller clothes at a higher weight because my body carries a lot of muscle, and I can eat more than if I didn't have that muscle. It protects my bones in the long run.

Good luck, please join us here and feel free to ask questions!



Mel

How does everyone fit exercise in and keep it going? Years ago I had the time to warm up and stretch before and after exercise. Now I'm lucky if I can just get in 30 min. of exercise daily. So when I start out a program, I go through the sore and tired body for about a week to 2 weeks. Then I start feeling good and looking good and then something comes up and then I stop all exercise. Any ideas on how to stay active when "life" gets in the way?

DG, that's been my latest challenge as well. In the past I'd go to the gym at 4:30AM but am no longer able to do that. Instead I get up and do cardio in my home, use my dumbbells etc. I save most of my serious lifting days for Fri-Sat-Sun instead. I invested in an exercise bike as well so if nothing else works, I can hop on that and ride in the evening. How old are your crew members? My crew have on and off again done Tae-Bo with me. They thought it was a hoot and I got my work-out in while they "played." As a mom, trying to workout will require you to be creative and multi-task at times but it's possible.

Glad to see you on here and hope that you also hop on our Chat thread as well. A lot of great mini-workouts and links to other sites for workouts get posted there as well as good healthy food ideas.

Also, I have to ask, what part of TN are you in? I'm an East Tennesseean myself, but have been stuck in Michigan for 10 years.

Tiki

Hello and welcome!

I find the only way to get my workouts in is if I do them first thing every morning. I hate having to get up early, but if I don't, I know that the workout won't happen that day.

Do you have equipment available at your home that might help you to do this?
Cindy

I have a 5 and 7 yo and have to do things in the morning before they wake up or in the evenings after dinner with them in the basement to play while I workout. But I have to admit, until about this age, working out consistently was a battle or impossible. They got up so early that I'd have to work out at 5 am to beat them, and I wasn't going to do that with as late as I had to stay up to get things put away and ready for the next day. So it all depends on the ages of your kids and once they start school, things get much better. Right Lydia?

Thanks for answering. It's nice to know I'm not alone with this stuggle.

I live in Middle TN. Born and raised in WI (miss the people). Lived in FL for 12 years (miss the weather).

I do have equipment. I just bought an elliptical a month ago because I started running and I WAS FEELING GREAT! I was into it for a month. But the kids got sick and I couldn't go out and run (I'm a single mom). So I went and got this machine so I didn't have any excuses. By then I lost my stride and have yet to get back into it. And because of the yo-yo exercise I gained weight and that makes me more discouraged and tired. My kid's ages after March (2 have birthdays) will be 11, 8 and 6. 2 boys with the yougest being a girl. I love my kids but found out that I can't exercise with them. I've been trying to get up at 4:30 to exercise - but it's less then 30 min. for exercise because I need to get into the shower by 5 am. How much time does everyone else give to exercise? Sometimes I feel if I can't get 30 min. to an hour in then what's the use?

I'm a single mom too. Doing just 30 minutes a day, if nothing else, will help to get you back in stride. You have to start somewhere. When I'm trying to get back in the swing of things I have (don't laugh y'all) gone to bed in my workout gear so I could get out the bed and hop straight on my bike, pausing only to stick my feet in my sneakers. I've also ridden my bike in a nightgown and furry slippers. Once you get going, it won't be as hard.

Tiki

Um, no, OK.


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Good work, Tiki!

Dream girl: Tiki's right about getting going. It willl make all the difference. Hacking out 30 mins for yourself IS possible. Be as creative as possible (see above, um, perhaps) .....

Tiki,
I also have done the workout gear to bed. No one's watching - so why not. I just have not done the slippers yet. It's good to hear others do it too. O.K. I'm in.... Tomorrow morning - 4:15 am.

I too, have slept in workout clothes (clean of course, not recycled!). Mostly so that I'm not putting on cold clothes when I get out of bed, that way, they're nice and warm.

And I started with 20 minutes back in September. Every little bit adds up.

Silver, I ride the STATIONARY bike in my room. I don't go flying around the neighborhood in my PJs. Too funny!

Tiki

Ah! Thanks for setting me straight. I was worrying.

Hi Dream Girl Good question!

Uhm Yeah. Kind of.

It is really hard to find a time in our schedules to exercise. Right now "all the stars aligned" and I have been able to commit to my workouts for 90 minutes a day after I drop DS1 off at school. This has been such a luxury and privilege for me. One of the most difficult things for me to do in the beginning was to admit I needed a membership to a gym. Not just any gym would work either. There are five other gyms located near me but I go to one that is 20 minutes from me in the next community because of the great child care they provide. So there is lost time in travel as well. But, with all of this, it has been the best option for me.

I have memories of tripping over DS1, he was three at the time, doing step aerobics with a VHS tape. After DS2 was born I was determined to get right back into my workout routine again. I did try it too. I was exhausted after being up half the night with a newborn, set up the step bench in the middle of my tiny living room, started the tape, and began my workout all before DS1 needed to get ready for kindergarten. Usually DS2 would wake up in the middle of it and I had to stop to nurse him. As DS2 became older, he wasn't too cool about sitting in a supersaucer watching Mom dance around a bench without him...Out came the snuggly... Obviously, I needed a safe place to put my children during my workouts.

One of the most difficult things I deal with right now is the guilt I feel about putting DS2 in Childwatch two hours a day when I feel that I should be at home with him doing a craft, reading to him, scheduling playdates etc. Guilt aside, I think I'm a happier mom than I was before I became healthier. I know that I am more confident now too and I know the boys benefit from that.

Anyway, I really do cherish this time that I have right now to focus upon my health. I believe that this is a right that everyone should experience but unfortunately, it has become a privilege for many of us due to all the time restraints and responsibilities we possess.

When DS2 begins school, I'm going to have to reevaluate my schedule again. How will I do all of it?

Yet everyday I'm there I think about this and I realize I can't just give this up. When I do return to work I will look for a prospective employer that provides an onsite facility and an hour and half block of time to get the workouts in. Either at lunch or a later start time. Yeah, I know. In bizarro world. But, I'm going to try.

I have so much respect and awe for all of you who have found a way to do this in your lives. I'm watching and listening to all of you and the solutions you come up with. Perhaps in time a home gym is in my future. A bench, some free weights, a mirror and an elliptical. I could run outside. By the then, the boys will be big enough to spot me.