First week in, much to learn!

awandell

Hi! I've been actively using MFP for almost a week now. I'm a mom of 3 (6,4,2), and I just closed down our at home daycare (last Friday) so that I could be healthy again. I was seeing how my inability to take care of my health was having a huge affect on our lives! I wasn't being the wife, mother, woman I wanted to be. Every few months, my clothes would feel a little tighter, and I was a little more frustrated every time I saw the mirror. I began having medical problems and just recently began medication. I think changing my lifestyle will bring me to the point where I no longer need this medication.
I am not an athletic person, so my heartrate is ranging from 155-180 in my workouts. I expect for this to go down once my heart grows stronger, and I hope (but I don't know) that I'm not abusing my heart. I'm averaging 30 minutes cardio daily and then putting a heavy load of strength training in. I don't know anything about supplements to help support my strength training. Yesterday, I ran on the elliptical for 1.5 hours (combined) and was so stinkin proud of myself! Ibuprofen is my friend today. I'm having to break up my workouts into 2 a day because childcare at the gym will watch the kids for 1.5 hours at a time.
Thanks for reading this if you did. Any advice/encouragement would be much appreciated.

presentlaughter

The people here are amazing. I'm new too and I am already amazed by how many kind words of encouragement I've received! Your kids will be so proud of you one day for what you are doing to take care of yourself, it is extremely inspirational and admirable!! Feel free to add me as a friend I would be glad to offer any support that I can!

kmeekhof

Don't over do it! One of the worst things you can do is push too hard too soon and you'll either burn out or get hurt. It is great that you have made that step and are taking back your life.... good luck to you!

dittiepe

First off, congrats for taking the steps towards a healthier you. Actually getting yourself started is the hardest part! You will find great encouragement and motivation in the people here. Feel free to add me as a friend
You are doing a great deal of exercise a day! I applaud that, but be careful not to over do it. I would alternate your routines throughout the week, that way you shake your body up and confuse it, thus getting more bang for the buck. On those days that you are getting sore, slow it down a bit. Do some stretches/yoga/pilates or even pool aerobics. Your heart rate is not bad at all for your exercising. Remember that the heart is also a muscle and it needs a workout too Eventually, the more in shape you get, the lower the rate will be.

I would suggest some sort of protein after your workouts. A glass of plain or chocolate milk is a good example.
Most importantly, have fun!

awandell

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm afraid not to try to just work through the pain, afraid that I'll lose the desire to do this, afraid I won't see any results and get discouraged and give up. I need to make this a regular part of my lifestyle, and I have a lot of lost time to make up for. I may not slow down for a few more weeks (I hope). I've never seen anyone injure themselves on the elliptical or doing weight machines, so it seems impossible to me. Like I said, I'm not athletic. And, honestly, I have no idea what I'm doing. Just trying to do something and go hard at it. My husband has also been trying to lose weight for about 2 months, about 100lbs more than I am trying to lose, and he's slow and steady. I don't know if he's not motivated anymore or if he's just found his rhythm. I want to be an encouragement to him too. He's got a much more difficult journey than I do! Thanks for all the help and encouragement. I am really loving this place.

Athena76

Welcome aboard, you'll find many helpful people here and feel free to add me also if you'd like. I'm a mother of three also I don't workout as much as I'd like to but I try to get in at least 2-3 times a week but one thing that I have found is I love to take my kids to the park on an off day and play and I'll tell you what that is a great workout and having fun all in one (plus you wear your kids out) from swinging to pushing your kids on the swing to climbing the monkey bars or taking a walk thru the park all a great fun workout, amazing job on the ellipitical I'm still fighting that machine

kids183

Hi there! I also just joined MFP 5 days ago. Your story is very similar to my own. I have 4 daughters. I work full-time. I'm on a long journey of losing 65 pounds. I'm 3 pounds down since joining (I had lost 10 pounds prior to joining). This site is awesome for keeping track of food and exercise which I found to be quite helpful. (Except for yesterdays calories...where I went over :ohwell: - weekends are bad for me). Please feel free to add me! We can motivate each other!! :happy: