I have always struggled with my weight. I've never been HUGELY overweight but it's been up and down on the scale since I went to college and was introduced to the greatness of my college cafeteria. ha!
I've actually lost 5 pounds over the last week or two just by cutting sugar. (of course when you have been eating raw cookie dough and oreos and drinking real coke and then you cut that out - it's not surprising to lose a little). After this week I REALLY want to start exercising and I'm hoping by spring/summer to be back to my pre-fertility drug weight.
I don't have any great tips but I am hoping you DO! I'd love to hear success stories - what works for you -your favorite form of exercises - diet programs that work - low calorie recipes - before/after pictures .......anything on this subject will qualify!!!
A Month Gone.
3 years ago
44 comments:
I had my son about a month after Harper was born. I got on my elliptical machine for 5 minutes every night before I went to sleep. Not only did I lose the 35 lbs that I had gained being pregnant, I also lost 10 lbs from just toning up. Plus, I cut out all sugary foods. My advice would be to get you a really good ellipitial machine and do it for 5 minutes a day and you will see results and FAST!!
Okay, sadly there aren't many links here just yet! ha ha! Maybe all of us struggle with the same 5-20 lbs. My weakness are the Chick-Fil-A brownies. OH my!!
HOpe more people post soon!
Sugar
I'm somewhat going through the same thing. My husband and I have been married a year now, and within that year, the weight has packed on! For one of our resolutions this year is to start and maintain a workout routine. Both of our bodies are kinda the same: running is the only way my husband and I lose weight and get into shape. We've decided to start out small and walk a mile or two on the treadmill and slowly increase our speed. We also are going to lift weights and turn that fat into muscle! Because our schedules don't always match up, I'm going to an aerobics class with a co-worker at least 1x a week. We've also decided to only eat out 1x a week, and soda pop of any kind is completely gone! Plus, instead of grabbing chips or cookies, I'm starting to grab fruits and veggies! Good Luck!
I don't any real advice other than find what works for YOU! Everyone is different and we will all have tips that work for us. I've learned that what may work for one person isn't always going to work for me.
I have a whole blog devoted to my exercising and weight loss journey. It helps keep me accountable.
Good luck to you!
2 squares of dark chocolate everyday. that satisfies all my chocolate cravings so i don't end up overindulging!! it means that i really savour it too!
I lost 20 pounds 4 years ago with the help of a free diet website called www.sparkpeople.com . It is a great site and includes tons of useful tools such as a nutrition tracker, calorie counter, free exercise videos, and motivation tips.
I think everyone keeps motivated in different ways but there are two things that have worked for me.
1. Signing up for a race. There are lots of choices for beginners (a 5K run, a sprint triathlon or duathlon) and because I had something I was working toward, I was more motivated to be consistent.
2. Buying some exercise "prizes" along the way. I would reward myself with new running shoes, a new workout outfit or video, a heart rate monitor, etc. for staying consistent. These little things made it fun and helped me stay motivated.
I had a baby about 3 weeks after you did. He is my second. I never got all the way back down to pre-pregnancy weight with my first. I was about 10 pounds heavier. 14 weeks after Evan was born I had to be in my brother-in-laws wedding in a strapless dress!!! So, I had to lose the weight. I did Weight Watchers along with walking on the treadmill. I loved it and found it easy to be successful while still living a normal life. I am back down to the weight I was when we got married 7 years ago and have remained here for 6 months now. Good Luck!!
Kelly I will be posting my healthy living update today and will link up with this.
Thank you for hosting SUYL once again.
Have a bessed weekend. ~Melissa :)
It is so hard not to struggle with weight issues when all we see on TV are ads for Mc Donalds and Ducan Hines followed by ads for diet pills and weight loss programs!!!
No wonder my brain, and unfortunately those of our children, are TOTALLY confused.
**sigh**
Weight loss if fine as long as we realize that whatever weight we are we are beautiful women.
Thanks for hosting this one!!
Amy
The biggest loser treally motivates. I know the girl who is on the Black team with her Dad. Andrea went to a small christian college with me. Imagine having to tell everyone your weight! Yikes. I need to exercise more...
I am momma to 6 with my youngest being 9-yo twins. I never had to worry about my weight but have a sedentary job now and am in my mid 40s so my weight started creeping up. Sitting down with a bag of cookies at night did not help either! I did not have a lot of time or money so I bought Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred and a couple 3-lb hand weights and that did the trick. I squeeze in the 20minutes every morning before the kids get up. I have been doing it since October and really struggled at first but am now addicted. Once I got through level 3, I started alternating level 1, 2, 3 each day so I don't get bored. I lost 15-20 lbs and have really toned up. I couldn't change what I ate too much since I am cooking for a big family, but I cut out the snacking and that is what worked for me. I feel like this will help me stave off the inevitable weight gain as I approach menopause and will be good for my bones too.
I agree that Zumba is the best workout ever! Ditch the workout and join the party! It is great...and if I weren't pregnant (yipee!!!! we have been trying for almost 2 years and had 1 miscarriage) I would still be doing it!!!!
Good Luck Kelly! You are beautiful with or without the extra few pounds.
I left a comment before in relation to this so I hope I dont bore you:) My son is 16 months old (also a miracle baby after 7 years) Like you, I have struggled with weight but mainly just 10-15 pds fluctuation.
However, once I had him I started WW online. In one year, I had lost around 65 pds. I then started running and am training for my first mini. Since then I have lost about 12 more pds. I am only 5pds away from my goal.
Like some other readers, I look forward to BL everyweek b/c the contestants are so inspiring.
However, I also feel that we are mandated by God to care for not just our spirit but our physical body as well-to treat it as the temple of God. I decided to begin eating only organic, unprocessed foods (and gluten free) I update my blog with pics of new recipes I am trying out and that makes it more fun and holds me accountable.
It has been a learning experience but I have never felt healthier and one with my body. Good luck, you can do it!
I am a big fan of Weight Watchers. I lost over 100lbs total (spent most of my childhood up until senior year of college obese). I actually lost the majority of the weight on my own by swimming, working out at the gym and eating better, but Weight Watchers was awesome for that last 20lbs or so.
I had a baby 5.5 months ago and I am so shocked at how much harder it is to lose weight post-baby! I thought since I'd done it before I would easily zip back down to my pre-baby weight. HA! That has not happened.
I am now doing Weight Watchers Online (no time for meetings these days) and I just started Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I am not a huge Jillian fan but she does have great workouts on this dvd.
Good luck!
Oh to be at the PRE-Fertility Drug weight!!!!!!!!!
Hi Kelly, thanks so much for doing this post. I write a fitness/health blog and I'm always looking for new blogs to help inspire me. I know that it will take me all weekend to read everyone's posts, but I'm looking forward to it.
I want to thank one of your readers, pk from Room Remix for telling me about this post.
Thanks again, hope you'll find some good ideas from those who linked up.
Read The Abs Diet. It is really more of a new way of looking at food vs. a diet. It also gives a lot of very sound advice on how food, vitamins, fats, etc. work in your body.
The excercise plan is so simple too. I stay at home with 3 children, and I can do it! 3 workouts a week, and all you really have to have is good shoes, dumbells, and a stability ball.
I promise it works - without feeling deprived.
I don't have a blog, so I can't link. Nonetheless, since we met this summer with Emily Carter, I have been blog stalking like crazy. I have also been healthy eating like crazy and have lost 24 pounds. I started by giving my brother a $100 bill that he could keep if I ate flour on a non-designated day (weddings, birthdays, special occasions) between September 1 and December 1. It was sooo hard in the beginning. I didn't want to lose that money, though.
In time, though, I read In Defense of Food and gave up almost everything that wasn't real food. I eat delicious meals everyday, but I seldom have refined sugar or flour and if it's in a package, I probably don't buy it. I've always peaked and dropped off after a month or so in the past, but I have lost at least 1 pound a week every week since October (including Christmas week) following this. One of my students even told me today that I need to quit eating spinach at lunch because I'm getting too e-skinny (I teach ESL). I think he might actually be right.
It just feels so good to be in control of my eating and not let my eating be in control of me. I love to eat and I still love soooo much of what I eat. I just eat REAL food and non-real food (oreos and M&Ms--which I loved to sneak before) doesn't really taste good anymore. Seriously.
It's definitely hard when you start, but it's one of those things that I think eventually sticks with you. At least, I hope so.
Hi! I am a long time follower of your blog. Harper is growing so fast. She is beautiful just like her mother! :)
I hated exercising because I would get soooooo sore afterwards. Well, a trainer at a local gym told me a trick to ward off the post workout soreness. I buy WHEY protein powder at GNC. (I have seen it at walmart too) I make a protein shake out of it and drink it RIGHT AFTER i workout. NO soreness. :) there are lots of recipes online for protein shakes. I prefer plain chocolate. They arent the tastiest things but they DO beat my chocolate craving. Good luck to you. I am in this journey with you!
I am glad to be participating in this thread today. I have struggled with weight loss for years, especially since my last two children were born, who are now 9 and 6! Too long! I've cut sugar out of my diet a week ago and so far I've lost 5lbs. Lots more to go, but I am encouraged that I am headed in the right direction. It's hard to stay motivated sometimes. I am hoping to find lots of good tips from all the great posts!
I love the free Sparkpeople.com site. This is an all inclusive site - nutrition, exercise, education, accountability, chat rooms, progress reports, and even recipes. Spend some time looking around as their is a lot of information and different faucets to this wonderful site. I used it, and will be again once I get the doctor's clearance from my c-section, and was able to lose 28 pounds and gain lots of nutritional knowledge in just 4 months. (I wasn't as active as I should have been.)
thanks for the comment about fertility drug weight. it's something i'm really struggling with right now, and - because i'm relatively young to be running the infertility gamut - none of my friends have been through it. nice to know i'm not the only one to put on weight on these drugs.
(p.s. i've never successfully lost weight. the most weight i ever lost was random. oh, to unexpectedly lose 15 pounds again!)
I didn't want to make a post, but wanted to share a few tips with you. If you've tollerated cutting sugars from your diet for a week, you may want to consider South Beach Diet. I did this from Jan-May before my wedding a few years ago and lost 30lbs. I consider myself of average built, so it was a pretty sizeable weight loss. It's kinda like Atkin's, but only for 2 weeks, then you introduce fruits & whole grains back into your diet. You basically get to eat the good & natural carbs, but cut the ones that are bad for you...ie:Sugar. I also highly recomended the Bender Ball for toning up the mid-section. It's easy to use and easy to store. My one year old also loves playing with it. Good luck!
I get up at 5:30 a.m. (I know!! It's hard!!) to exercise before my children get up. I used to go to Jazzercise, but just use their videos now along with a few others-I rotate them. They include some weights/toning at the end of aerobic sections. I also read through the book First Place not long ago and have implemented some of their principles. Lots of water and not letting the the junk into the house. Nothing super magical- I think it has to be a mind set to live an all round healthy lifestyle.
Any word on your friend Dan?
Spin...Spin....Spin! All I can say is SPIN rocks. We burn any where from 800-900 cals in one sesson. It really depends on the instructor but at my 24hour fitness we have some rocking ones. I love to keep eating my normal food, so spin helps me to stay in check!
i lost 40lbs last year on Weight Watchers.I started in Jan 08 and still going. I have 10 lbs more to go till i reach my goal weight. i love the program and it works. plus i can eat whatever I want.
GOOD LUCK!!
www.sparkpeople.com changed my whole outlook!! add step aerobics, body pump, jogging, and zumba (just to mix it up i like a variety!) and sometimes pilates ... i made sure i worked out at least 5 x a week. and ate 1200 - 1500 calories a day. sparkpeople helped with all of this, the tracker is addictive (in a good way). i plan to do it again and as a lifestyle after the baby comes!! God willing!!
Kelly, I don't have a blog and my journey/solution is too long to post here so I sent you an e-mail explaining how I've been losing my post-baby weight. I forgot to say in the e-mail, though is that accountability is the biggest motivator of all! If nothing else, keep track of how much you're losing and tell a friend (or 2)!
Hey! Two of my friends and I just started the Couch to 5K program. None of us have EVER been runners so it's challenging but so GREAT! We are signed up for a Habitat for Humanity 5K in March - so we feel like we have to stick to it. It's an 8 week program that gets you ready to run the 3.2 miles. We are going into our 3rd week! I am looking forward to the 5K and supporting a great cause at the same time! Amber
Check out the link here
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
Congrats on the 5 pounds!
The blog post I linked to is actually about a year old, but it's still the diet I follow today. Even if you don't want to become a vegetarian, I highly recommend cutting out high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and hydrogenated oils. They are hard for the body to digest and/or lose, so they end up staying with you longer! Reading labels and becoming familiar with ingredients was one of the best things I ever did.
I barely work out and have kept off the 20 pounds I lost over 2 years ago just by eating healthy foods. AND, I still eat sweets! :-)
Let me start with how much I used to HATE running. Loathed it, is more like it. I had a bunch of friends who did the Couch to 5K program who hated running as much as I did and now all love running. I decided to do it in August. It's a 9 week program. I cannot say enough about it. It is such a great program! I would have told you there was no way I could run 1/4 mile let alone a 5K. It teaches you how to run and does it in such a manageable way that little by little you are getting better and stronger and it DOESN'T HURT! I did my first 5K twelve weeks after I started the program with a goal of finishing under 40 minutes. I did it in 33 minutes! I bought an MP3 player and a watch with a second timer ($9.99 at Target) and really great to covet that 30 minutes to myself three times a week. I could listen to MY music and not talk to anyone else just for those 30 minutes. And I knew I was getting stronger which would make me a better person/wife/mother.
Good luck!!!
Seasun Zeiger's "Stepping Up" Step aerobics DVD is my new fave! I burn over 800 calories in an hour when I do her workout. I could calories and do aerobics DVD's. Works for me! Great post! Have a wonderful day!
Hop on over to my blog, Worthy of the Prize, link #144. I am currently doing a give-away for some cute Women's Workout Gear that will assist you in your fitness endeavors. Check it out if you are interested! Goodluck as you strive to GET FIT!
The best exercise plan I have come up with so far is to make myself walk 1 mile for every 30 minutes I get on Facebook. I was spending WAY TOO MUCH TIME on Facebook, so this helped me to not only increase my exercise but also to decrease my Facebook time!
I've been doing weight watchers and biggest loser/jillian michaels dvds about 5x a week. I'm down 20 lbs.
I can't say enough good things about weight watchers. The weight really started coming off after I started the 30 day shred. It's difficult, but only 20 some minutes. Plus it got me into the routine of working out, and now i'm working out about 45 each day.
I did Weight Watchers & it was seriously the easiest "diet" I've ever done! I lost all 35 pounds of baby weight in 3 months. You can read about my experience here:
http://tinyurl.com/yceytaj
I did the 30 day shred [ahem... more like 10 day shred] and actually saw results in that short time. I am planning on starting it again once I decide to get up off the couch & put reality shows on hold ;)
I had my baby girl in May and I gained 80 lbs with her and lots it all as of last month, I did low carb and Fat Flush ... and a few whole body cleanses that worked :) GL and for whatever its worth you look amazing and God loves you just the way your are, not to mention Scott and Harper :) I hope the posts help
thanks
I can't believe she is a year old!!!? And crazy, but I just posted about this!
Just found you and I am so excited to read more peoples tips and stories. I have a series (sort of) going on). I posted the first (I have the second up on my main url).
GREAT idea!
Holly @ 504 Main
My friend lost 80 pounds by walking and doing the walk away the pounds Leslie Sansone exercise tapes. She ate less and moved more, she still ate what she wanted just less of it. Myself, I have lost 20 pounds so far (1 years time I fell off the wagon for about 4-5 months but am now back at it), I do the Walk away the Pounds tapes, Richard Simmons tapes, fittv.com, and random exercise tapes. I borrow alot of the exercise tapes I do from the library. I try to keep my calories between 1200-1500 a day and not eat after 7 p.m. and exercise 3-4 times a week for half and hour at a time. I will not deny myself anything but instead of a whole candy bar I can have one of those mini ones. Portion control is key.
Just to add to my previous comment-I also love sparkpeople.com
Love the topic! I have a friend in Canada who lost 62 lbs with Club Shrink It so I am starting with it this year. I LOVE it so far! I don't ever have to feel hungry because I can eat these healthy cookies or drink a shake that helps me lose. I also feel less hungry because my nutritional needs are met with the liquid seaweed and vitamin pack. Gotta say I LOVE the Limu Plus (seaweed stuff) - I have so much more energy since drinking it!!!
The other thing with Club Shrink It is that I have a group that I meet with once a week to help keep me on track - kind of like weight watchers but much less expensive! Lots of fun too! Anyway, here is a link if you want to know more about Club Shrink It: http://clubshrinkit.com/ You'll need a promo code: 186414
Have fun losing weight!
Inspired by this post i have decided to start a series of posts on nutrition, weight loss, and general health tips.
I am a former health coach and nutritionist turned SAHM.
Check out my blog each Thursday for The Thursday Wellness Watch!
http://growingongettysburg.blogspot.com/
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