I need advice for my routine. Flab be gone!

Ransou

It took me 5 years after my pregnancy to finally realize how obese I was, at 200 lbs.

My weight loss journey began last year in February. Since then, from dieting alone, I lost 30 lbs. 13 of those lbs roughly after I started using MFP.

Currently I am at 170 lbs, and that has been my weight since October, although my lowest was 164 lbs- because I gave up after October. I jumped back onto the diet train a couple of weeks ago- I guess it's good that I've only gained 6 lbs since then. Anyways...

I've realized that dieting will only get me so far. I needed to move my butt too. By body looks like flubber because of my pregnancy almost 6 years ago. When I was pregnant, I'm ashamed to say I didn't take very good care of myself. So, after pregnancy, my stomach sagged. Love handles became prominent, and my thighs-- lets not talk about those. Not to mention these bat wings. And the muffin top isn't flattering either.

I'm tired of being a squishy.

So, into exercise I went. But how? Baby steps, I hoped. I got my hands on a Wii Fit Plus, board and all. I've been using it for 6 days straight, strength training every other day- but yoga and aerobics are every day. Strength training days I will play for 2 hrs and burn 500 calories (so it tells me...). Yoga and Aerobics days are usually 1 1/2 hrs, and around 300 calories burned. I rotate yoga so I'm not doing the same thing ever day. But strength training is limited. I love my super hula hoops though, sometimes doing the 6 min duration 3 times a day.

The first three days of this killed me. I could barely waddle around the house. But the yoga felt great, stretching my muscles when they were sore. But I kept at it, and the soreness eased away. To my horror, I actually gained 4 lbs after I began exercising. After tons of research, I chalked it up to water retention in the muscles (I drink 4 16.9 oz bottles every day) and adjusted my calorie intake to accommodate my exercise, consuming 5 350 calorie meals a day, usually resulting between 1500 and 1700 calories. I figured that 350 is a good number, that the body can handle that many calories in a sitting.

I eat healthy cereal, oatmeal, protein bars, 3 2 1 Shake, low fat Yogurt, Sugarless Whole wheat bread, eggs, healthy soups, lean meat, carrots, pickles, peas, corn, green beans, bananas, almonds, salmon, peanut butter, almond silk milk. I also take an iron supplement, B Complex supplement with vitamin C, and women's mega ultra vitamin pack for metabolism and energy.

I'm still trying to think of things I could do. I literally obsess over it, I think, and I know it's not healthy. I just started doing some of these things recently, so I know I'll have to wait about 2 weeks to 1 month for any results to start popping up. I'm also looking into Gyms and getting a membership soon. I researched Zumba, but became intimidated- I'm terrible at coordination, and following steps at a fast pace. Work outs are useless if I have to pause and say 'Wait, what---' as I flail around like an idiot. But it looked fun, I'll give it that.

I was wondering if anyone could give me insight, advice, or motivation to keep going. Or any changes I need to make...Anything I should start or stop doing. I know using the Wii Fit isn't 100% effective, but it's been good to me. I like the privacy, and the one on one with the silly trainers.

Some things I'm trying to focus on:
Build up Metabolism
Burn fat/ get rid of pregnancy pooch
Tone body/ muscles
Gain energy and motivation

Thank you guys for your time!

vorgas

First off, congratulations! You've made the hardest step already.

Next, the absolute BEST workout plan is one that you will actually use. Bottom line: move. So find something you enjoy. Sounds like you're already doing that too, so congratulations again!

Some people like repetition so they can see and measure progress on a regular basis. Some people like variety so they don't get bored. Neither is right or wrong, just what works for them.

I will say, dont be afraid of free weights. Women's health journals all trumpet about the value of lifting for women. The boards are full of women who lift and who look fantastic. Once recently went from cardio bunny to power lifter and has seriously improved.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1222939-look-what-3-years-of-lifting-can-do
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1230107-ladies-don-t-be-afraid-of-the-weightroom
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1220061-another-female-heavy-lifting-nsv

Lets look at your goals and compare them to lifting weights:
Build up Metabolism: Check. Muscle burns more calories per day than fat. Repairing muscles requires protein. So that protein doesn't turn to fat. Lifting weights requires glycogen, so that glycogen has to be replaced and doesn't turn into fat.
Burn fat/ get rid of pregnancy pooch: Unfortunately you can't spot reduce fat, but burn fat and it will go away.
Tone body/ muscles: Check. You can't have tone without strong muscles. Period. Please note, that doesn't mean huge. It just means strong.
Gain energy and motivation: Check. As your body becomes stronger, you can do everything easier. So you have more available effective energy at any given time. Motivation is up to you.

I know you say you are doing strength training, but it's not quite the same as lifting weight. Take a look at Stronglifts 5x5 (if you like repetition and progress) or New Rules of Lifting For Women (if you like a lot of variety).