Losing Weight - Lawndale, CA

I'm struggling with the same thing. But I don't work out, it gets worse. I get more tired and not motivated to do anything, including housework. I'm a Curves member. I stuggle with that too though. But it's easy to do. It's just a half an hour, no counting, no men, no guess work, and just three days a week do get results. It takes being intentional. What first got me going was to make my weight loss a priority. I'm constantly on and off too, but this past summer I was very successful losing weight for my sister's wedding. I went to Curves three days a week, and I counted calories. I didn't have to buy special foods. I ate between 1500 and 2500 calories a day. (Depends on your weight of how much you should consume). I didn't eat my breakfast and lunch all at once. It took me a couple of hours to eat my breakfast, and the same for lunch. I believe that improved my metabolism. One should eat mini meals every two hours. For dinner I ate what my husband and daughter ate, even if it were a little on the fattening side. If they wanted something really crazy to eat, I just ate cereal. I really enjoy cereal. Drinking milk really helps with weight loss as well. I know it's hard. I think this weekend I'm going to try something new. I'm going to boil about three chickens, pull off the meat and freeze in 1-2 pounds in each freezer bag. So when I get home from work or working out (which can be from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm) I can put something together with the chicken that's quick and easy. Like chicken soft tacos or something.

I just found this and it's awsome and I've lost 6 lbs in 1 week just from doing the program it's www.sparkpeople.com and it's FREE!!! it's an exercise and healthy eating guide with recipes that everyone in the family will love and counts the calories for you and you can change things around if you don't like what they suggested that day plus there is a whole message board community and spark teams to pair you with people like you to give you spport and they give you small goals to start with like drinking 8 glasses of water a day and taking a walk and you tell them how much time you have to work out and they develop an exercise program based on that and your fitness level. Check it out it's free and I love it!

Hi,
I knew I was overweight from having 2 kids, but I wasn't ready to do something about it until I saw a picture of myself at Christmas time and was shocked at how bad I let myself go. I joined ediets and signed up for the "ediets weightloss plan" as well as "Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover" and I'm so glad I did. They have every tool imaginable to help you succeed. You weigh in a once a week and have a virtual trainer so you can do all your exercises from home...and it's only $12 month.

I understand how hard it is to "eat healthy" when everyone else at the dinner table is slapping butter cubes on their potato. But, if you don't take a stance, you'll always be making excuses. I eat a Healthy Choice frozen dinner right before the rest of my family eats so I'm full and satisfied while they are eating dinner. If I get hungry later, I snack on mini-popcorn bags or have some diet hot cocoa just to tide me over.

In terms of working out, when my husband and kids are done with dinner I clean up the kitchen and he bathes the kids and when they are all done, I say goodnight to the both of them and I head out to the garage with my ipod in tow and workout for an hour to two hours. Once you start seeing results, I promise it gets easier.

I weighed 140 pounds Christmas of 2005...I know weigh 117 pounds...the lightest I've ever been and I've been able to maintain my weight loss with the help of ediets. I wish you lots of success.

P.S. Counting Calories is KEY!!

www.ediets.com

Gosh, I can totally relate. I'm not even employed and finding the time to work out is hard. I think it's important to want to be healthy, not just lose weight... I do want to be a skinny, hot mama, though for my own enjoyment. I'm learning about nutrition... have figured out my BMI... and how many calories I require. If you know how many calories you need to stay as you are, then you'll know how many will put weight on or take it off. For example, if you figure out you need 2000 calories to stay at your present weight, you'll know that if you take in more than that without any added activity to burn them, you'll GAIN! On the flip side if you keep track of your calories and eat less and add some activity like going for a walk after dinner or an aerobics dvd in the morning consistantly, you'll LOSE! Cutting down your calories can be tricky... you need to learn what you can eat that's the most for your calorie buck. I've switched to 1% milk, whole wheat instead of white bread, rice and pasta, I eat more fresh veggies, poultry, take vitamins and drink lots of water. Eliminate high fat and high sugar foods, especially the ones that don't have much nutritional value. Added activity can mean parking at the back of the parking lot of the stores instead of driving around searching for that "rock star" spot. Chase your kids around and play with them, stuff like that. Don't eat ANYTHING after 8 o'clock... if you get hungry drink some water and tough it out... it will pass. Counting calories and changing your eating habits is a pain in the butt, but it gets easier and it's so worth it. Get that skinny outfit out that you'd kill to fit into again and hang it somewhere where you can see it. Get a buddy to do it with you so you can motivate and encourage each other. Me and my friend are doing the Body by Glamour program at Glamour.com and it's taught me a LOT!!! Has lot's of great tips. Also, Slimfast.com has a free program, I don't do the shakes and stuff cause I feel it's too much sugar but the recipes on the site are fabulous! Plus, they are great for the whole family. It's too hard to cook seperately... besides why wouldn't you want your fam to eat healthy too? Start now when kids are young, they might hate it at first, but when they get hungry enough they'll eat... lol. Break the cycle and create good eating habits so they won't be your age one day dealing with the same issues. Good luck!

Hi, I know how you feel! I have actually found something that works but you have to have the dedication to stick with it. You will see results and it's more of a healthier lifestyle than diet. I started Herbalife a year and a half ago and have lost 30+ lbs. Let me know if you would like more information I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Other than that I just posted on Diet and Fitness for the Ontario area an Exercise group that I am starting for thoses that would like to join me. If you are interested let me know its at the highschool in the evenings for about an hour or so and just walk or run to help eachother lose weight or stay in shape. It's like asupport team to help one another reach our goals. There are alot of other ideas I have for the group. Let me know I would love to talk to you about it if interested!

Some inspiration for you:

Just for today, I will live through this day only. I will not brood about yesterday or obsess about tomorrow. I will not set far-reaching goals or try to overcome all my weight loss problems at once. I know that I can do something for 24 hours that would overwhelm me if I had to keep it up for a lifetime! Just for today, I will do something positive to improve my health.

Everyday I choose to reduce, maintain or gain weight. THAT CHOICE IS MINE and I CHOOSE TO LOSE WEIGHT. I will not let the stress of life's circumstances force me to give up my choice. I will be STRONG because I know that eating food, or even eating LOTS of food will not fix any problem.

MY CHOICE IS TO LOSE WEIGHT TODAY!!!

i gained 50 lbs during my pregnancy, i lost 30 with no problem. i started wlaking after the third month about 1.5 miles a day and was binge eatting (skipping meals) and wasn't seeing much result so gave up on that, my daughter just turned 7 months and i am going on a cruise this summer so i know i have to def get rid of this 20 lbs. i know as hard as it is i get up in mourning and work out for 30 mins on elliptical and do 50 crunches. and since i hvae time at night i work out for another hr, but i realize not everyone has all that time. but since my husband is a trainer the most important thing he taught me was i need to eat three times aday, normal helpings and breakfast is the most important. and than you don't hvae to worry about cooking just for them you need to eat to and not deprive yourself of good things, i eat the same things my husband eats and its only been three weeks and i can already tell a differnce. and if you don't have time to do running, at least get down and do 50-100 crunches and some push ups in morning and night and you will see little differnce with just that..

Hi K. -
One of the things that happens in our bodies during pregnancy and other big changes is an increase in candida, which is yeast. Most doctors are thoroughly clueless about this.

Too much candida in the body causes cravings for sugar (which it feeds on) and it can cause exhaustion, weight gain and other really fun side effects. You can easily treat it by cutting out sugar and alcohol (which converts to sugar), white flour, and take an anti-candida supplement (buy at Whole Foods). Once it's under control you can go back to your regular diet.

Also, I have found an EXCELLENT local holistic doctor named Dr. Randall Robirds. He can help you too and he's really wonderful. You can find all his info on the internet.

Good luck to you! - L.

I know what ur going through.. I am still carrying the weight that i gained with my first daughter.. that was 5 yrs ago.. I gained 70 lbs with her.. During my second pregnancy I managed to only gain 25 lbs and I lost 16 lbs of that after she was born.. Now im working on losing some more weight... During my pregnancy last yr all i did was walk.. Now I take my 3 1/2 month old daughter and my 5 yr old and go walking as much as i can.. I dont do diets either... When I walk I am keeping my diabetes under control and my weight.. I was diagnosed with diabetes last yr at the beginning of my pregnancy.

I work out really early in the morning, that way nothing gets in the way of th work out. set your alarm for 30 -45 min earlier then usual and walk/run on the tread mill. Usualy if you just get up and do it your not fully awake until the work out is over. then you are done with the workout for the day. As far as eating, increase fruits and veggies, then you are full and don't have room for the fattening stuff. Good luck

Hi K.,

Losing weight is a process that we need to go through. It can't be done overnight unless you are truly determine to lose those weight.

It is not easy but you can make it fun and exciting while practising self dicipline. Say, forget about losing weight but focus on what you need to do to lose weight. Example, take a walk with someone you like or you love for about 5 minutes everyday, then since you like the person you walk with what about taking a walk for 10 minutes or more. Then watch the food you eat. You dont need diet that is not fun for me but make sure you are watching your food. Eat healthy foods like fruits and vegetable. On top of that you might want to check my home base business. We carry all stuff including vitamins cereals crackers etc. products to help you lose weight. Visit my website at www.bv1712.myopportunity.net My pleasure to see you losing those weight

I know you asked your question about losing weight almost a year ago. HOw did it go?

I have a great suggestion for you if you're still struggling. I managed to lose 105 pounds in 16 months... no surgery... no pills... so if you're still looking for help email me back! :)

J.

I see tons of responses to your question and they are all very uplifting and informational. What I would add is this. To lose the extra pounds something is definately going to have to be sacraficed and inorder to stick with it you will need to find the motivation within yourself to meet this weight loss issue with success and have it stay off.
Some of the weight issue could be a mental thing, like are you overeating to fill a void? If so there are many books and self healing things that you can do to start healing your inner self. Another thing could be the type of birth control that you are on. Deprovera, the shot, makes it easy for women to gain weight and super difficult to lose.
Eating dinner past a certain time like 630 or 7 at night can help you lose weight. Make sure you are eating breakfast and not skipping out. You can eat 5 small meals a day or you can make sure that your dinner is the litest meal you eat.
To get extra work out. Choose to take the stairs instead of the elavator whenever possible both you and your daughter will benifet. Don't always look for the closest spot during the day at the store.
And the last thing I would say is this. I am in the military and I do not like to run or exercise, but being fit is a necessary part of life, it's tough to get into a routine but once you get the mental motivation via a picture of what you used to look like or the idea that you want to chase your daughter around without being out of breath, you want to be alive to see her get married and see your grand babies, exercise will become a natural extention of your day, something that you will look forward to. You can also join one of the numerous online support groups for encouragement.

Set goals for yourself and make sure that you are taking care of the total you, mind, body and spirit.

My advice is to stop seeing it as a "diet" and just start watching your portions. Don't eat late at night eat very small meals and several snacks a day. Allow for whatever you LOVE to eat so you won't feel deprived. Join sparkspeople.com it's free. You can keep track of your intake so you can see how many calories and grams of fat, carbs etc. you are consuming or if you want it can give you a meal plan and shopping list. The website will help you figure how much weight to lose and when you can expect to loose it by as well as give you a target for your calorie intake. I actually play "do I really wanna eat this" and will go look up what it will "cost" me there...if I can "afford" the calories then I go for it if not...either I opt for a smaller portion (if I just HAVE to have it) or I skip it all together - argh brownies, the route of all evil...
The other thing is maybe going for a walk with your family after dinner (I don't do this because DH works evenings) but honestly housework is exercise so don't go thinking you aren't getting any just because you didn't get on a "machine"!
Good luck!

Yeah, I know a great diet! It's called dental work over the course of 2 months and having your husband deploy! :-) But seriously, after my husband left, I was hitting the gym 3-4 times a week and eating less and didn't lose anything. I got sick back-to-back-to-back so the gym visits stopped. I have basically taken my portion sizes way down and only have one snack in the morning and one in the afternoon and I've lost 6 pounds. So, what I'm really trying to say is, it isn't always about working out so much as doing something (chasing after a kid is plenty) and just not eating as much. Skipping meals is NOT the answer. Just reduce portion size and try to fill those portions with things that will fill you up (fiber, protein, etc).

Oh and YES, I feel that way every day! I still have not gone back to the gym! It's hard when you're so busy!!! You are certainly NOT alone!

I started doing Jazzercise about 10 months ago to shed pounds. It's really fun, there's women of all shapes, sizes and ages, and ...at least where I go...there's childcare! I think it's really worth looking into in your area. At Jazzercise Vista there's classes as early as 5:45 am and as late as 6:40 pm, so it fits into everyone's schedule.

Also, Melaleuca makes a great fat-burning bar called "Access" that burns fat (versus protein) when you exercise. If you are interested, let me know and I'll tell you about the company and their other products as well.

living healthy should be a way of life for the entire family. a healthy diet should be a life time commitment for everyone in your family, not just you. I am not an expert yet, i hope to become a nutritionist one day, but the best advice i know to give you so far is to get rid of refined sugars and starches, and increase fiber. try to find things your daughter can help you with around the house, and get a work out buddy. I hope this helps.

Hi K.,

My suggestion would be to pull the treadmill out and begin slowly. Ease into it....when the feeling hits you start walking for 15 minutes. The next time do 15 min. Don't go over until your are comfortable with taking the next step of 30 min. Give yourself a reachable goal....2 a week or 3 times a week.

You will gain more willingness to stay on that treadmill longer and longer turning walking into running!

That is how I got started because I barely had 15 minutes to myself. Now I look forward to stealing that time for myself.

I hope this helps!

If you watch your calories and carbs at the same time it rreally does wonders.. I mean just try not to go over a certain amount on your calories n carbs. Set yourself a goal.. Also if you eat small like 1 serving sizes of whatever youre eating that helps.. Eat lots of yogurt, special K bars and stuff thats healthy, filling and low calorie.. But working out makes it go faster ;) Good luck girl I know how hard it is.. But I started going to the gym in January and til I got a job a month ago I had lost 8lbs.. I lost 6 if that faster when I started doing the serving size diet a few months ago.. Im still doing it and taking DDexatrim Max and lost another 1lb in the last few days.. Try it too or Hydroxycut is suppost to work good too.. GOOD LUCK GIRL!

Hi K.,

I think your ex is being a little insensitive, don't you think?
But lets not make it about him, or what he wants you to do, or look like for that matter.

If losing weight is what YOU want to do, and feel better about yourself, then more power to you. Lady, what you need is a plan, and maybe a little help with getting your glycemic index in check for you to stop the cravings, and really not crave all those foods that are bad for you.
One thing that I started to do is go to sleep early enough for me to have 7-8 hrs of sleep, and then wake up an hour before getting ready for my day to excercise. Doing cardio before you eat does help to lose fat faster. Then eat a good breakfast (low-glycemic). Make it a habit to do this to start 3 days a week for 30 minutes, until you move to 5 days a week for 45-60 minutes of cardio. I tell you the fat will melt(not weight, but fat).
If you need any more info. or suggestions, please give me note, I will be glad to help you out, even to hold you accountable if that's what it takes for you.

The only thing that concerned me about your motivation to start is that you stated "My ex-husband has starting making comments like, "don't you wanna work out?" so I'm thinking I should."

Just because he wants to be a jerk, teaching is daughter to be rude and disrespectful toward her mother- this should not be what motivates you! If you want to do this for YOURSELF, then GREAT! If not, you are destine to fail before you even begin! I hope that your motivation is for yourself, not to prove anything to him. He is your EX for a reason, what ever that reason may be!

That said- most people are exhusted at the end of the day. Getting into the rutine is the hardest part. If you can afford to hire a personal trainer for a once a week session to keep you on track, that might help. If one of your friends is using one (or has in the past) they might be able to ask if they'd like to take on a "in home" client. It may also help keep you motivated to get your daughter involved. By making part of your rutine a "game" you play with her, SHE will remind you "it's time to play". It can be "who can jump rope the most times in a row" or some kind of resistance training that SHE is your resistance. The one part I will warn you- DO NOT LET HER WEIGHT TRAIN! My niece is a PT, and said that it's REALLY bad for them. I think she said it damages their growth plates. Until about the age of 14, they should only do things that are rythmic or use their own body weight. (Jump rope, tread mill, bike, pull-ups, push-ups...)

For permant weight loss, you will also want to change your diet to more health minded foods. Keep fruits and vegatables in easy to handle portions, and don't by the things that you know you'll cave in for if they're in the house. If you LOVE Oreos, but only kind of like the Lemon ones, either don't buy any, or buy the Lemon ones. Be the women you want your daughter to become! If that is being accomplished, you are already PERFECT!

Take care~ J.

I know how you feel! Over the 15 years my husband & I have been together, I gained about 45 pounds. Over the years & 2 kids later, I have gotten in better shape by excersing more but wasn't watching the food in take so, January 2006 I decided it was time for it to go & went to Weight Watchers. Since I don't work, I was able to go to meetings in person but you can also do it on-line. Years ago, I did the no carb/no sugar diet & lost about 20 pounds but very quickly gained it back. I've had some set backs since I started in Weight wacthers 2006 & am down about 30 pounds. I found the Weight Watchers points system pretty easy to follow. A lot of it is portion control....I realized I was eating HUGE portions. Sometimes more than my husband! Plus restaurant portions are so big now it's easy to do. There was one booklet they gave out that had portion sizes which really helped. It's amazing to see what size of a portion we should actually be eating! I'm no longer a member but am doing it on my own. I still have all the points info but pretty much know how many points most things are & I'm also trying to be really good about portions. As you said, it's hard at the end of the day to fit in excercise but it's really important to be active. Even tho I don't work it's hard for me. And if I stop for a while (holidays or some other event usually causes this) I then have to force myself to get back to it. But in the end, I feel better. Start out small....just cut back on your portions & add in lots of water as well as fruits & veggies. I eat Weight Watchers frozen meals & snacks a lot & they're really good & filling. I also make one meal for everyone at dinnertime but am careful to eat a normal-sized portion & not clean my kids' plates! I don't work for Weight Watchers & I know this sounds like a shameless plug for their program but it really wokred for me! Good Luck!

YES, I FELT THAT WAY TOO. My son is almost two years old, and I still haven't lost ALL the baby weight, and I've yo-yo'd just a bit. I gained about 50 lbs during pregnancy, and I've lost about 30 over the past year and a half, but I have that 20 lbs I can't lose, and don't have enough motivation to stick to something that I know can work. My advice to you is start slow, and concentrate more on your diet... you can easily eliminate a little bit at a time that will slowly get you on track, i.e. cut out soda, late night snacking, desserts, etc. I know what you mean about cooking for the ones that aren't on a 'diet', but you don't eat all three or four meals with them, so make the ones you don't eat with your family count (salads, whole grain stuff, etc). I work full time too, and I also don't feel like working out, so just concentrate on diet, not really on exercise.

Try Nutrisystem. It is soooo easy for moms because the food is ready made, though it does give you a few items of choice (fruit, veggies, and protein). I LOVE it! You can even choose your menu. Check on the website. I have lost 15 pounds already and 6 people have noticed (and said something).

i feel the same way! i keep thinking that i need to set my alarm 30 minutes earlier so i can get on the treadmill. but my 6 month old still gets up 3-4 times a night. so sleep is a big issue with me. even that 30 minutes is crutial to my mental well being! but it might work for you to get up just a bit earlier every morning. good luck and remember that there are a lot of us out here that are going through it too.

Hi I would like to give you my opinion, base in my experience.
I think the first thing will be to change your diet, what I have tried is to eat 5 to 6 meals a day. Take healty snacks(vegetables) to work.You don't need to have big meals what you are trying to do is by the time you get dinner you eat less. When make dinner try to make it healty, and introduce the same for your family that way you don't feel like you are not eating the same. After I had my child I gain weight also, I staring having salads instead of pasta. Also I took walks after dinner, that is something my baby really enjoy. I tried to have dinner as early as posible, I don't buy sodas water is our family drink. I hope this help you.

What I have been using that I've actually lost 8lbs in the last two weeks, is natural and organic, no side effects and the Spokespearson for the product is Heather Hansen from the Biggest Loser is O3World.
Check it out, I love it!
http://myO3worldproducts.com

S.

Start out slow. Start off by walking around the block with you daughter. Do that every night before she goes to bed. It will be a good time for you and her. Then when you do that for a week start doing some crunches before you do your other "chores" as well as walk every night. Just do little things and then you will be on your way to feelin better and lookin better. Oh ya also, drink more water and eat my fruit and veggies. Stay away from the pills and stuff like that. Just make little changes.
Hope this helps you out some.

K.,

I did weight watchers online program and really liked it. You do have to have some discipline (like not cleaning up your kid's leftover food and not snacking while you are making dinner) but the point system is easy, so is the on-line food diary and I liked most of the ww recipes that I tried.

Even though the rest of my family wasn't on a diet, I made them eat the same types of things for dinner I was eating, I just practiced portion control and tried to add more veggies and salad into my dinner.

I found it a lot easier to go for a walk or do some exercise first thing in the morning even though it meant I had to get up earlier. In the evenings, I'm too busy and too tired and it is just too easy to not do it if I put it off until the end of the day.

Good luck!
T.