New and I am crappy at this! Any suggestions?

Classyandra

Hello
I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old and I'm no good at dieting! The only thing that ever worked for me was the HCG diet and I got Pregnant at the end of it. Of course I was happy to be pregnant but the diet was all for nothing. I think I am just in need of a lifestyle change! I'm realizing my splurges are really hurting me. I read yesterday that a McDonalds frappe is 600 calories! WOW! I only drink one a week but that is way too many calories! I'm still nursing my 6 month old but we started the weaning process. I figure in about 2 weeks we will be done nursing. I need to lose about 25lbs! I think I need to learn how to prepare ahead of time, any suggestions. I find myself looking for healthy gronola bars, but I still feel hungry after them. I try to save a good portion of calories for dinner since my Husband is the one cooking. He cooks high calorie meals. Also I think I want to try the protien powder but I have NO idea which one is best and not too pricey, any suggestions? It is really hard to find time to work out... I work Four - Ten hour days and then I'm home with my babies the other three. Well I'm home nights after I work but it seems like all I want to do is snuggle with them! Also I have a cookie addiction! lol I eat four hot choc. chip cookies every NIGHT. I know night is not good but I'm trying to break the habit.
Thanks for reading and any and all suggections welcome!

InTenn

Hi there.

Probably the best thing you can do to start is just log everything you eat. You will learn a lot (like you did with the McD's frappe) about what you eat and the calorie content. This will enable you to start making decisions with lower cal options being one consideration.

I'm with you on granola bars. Too many calories and not filling at all. But I have learned that a boiled egg is pretty filling, as is a fresh plum or some celery with Frigo string cheese. Not that you need to eat those things, but by logging what you eat and doing some label reading and reading on MFP, you will find a lot of satisfying foods that are healthier than what you may be eating now.

You might even learn that two cookies is enough. You don't have to give up everything you like, but you will probably choose differently and "save up" for things you really want.

You can get a ton of help here. Cruise the forums for people like you and people who have been successful, friend them, and learn from them. Good luck to you.

dougfreehauf

Set a calorie intake number.....like 1200 calories/day. I wouldn't start that until breast feeding is over. Use MyFitnessPal to put down everything that goes into your mouth, religiously! Then set up some kind of exercise regime. Whatever will work with a 6month old and your schedule. Don't sell the exercise short, it really makes a tremendous difference.

orangesumr

The only thing that helps me in my lifestyle change is that every day in a new day. don't beat yourself up over misstakes! I try to do something new and better each month. This month i'm trying to exercise 5-6 days a week. Next month maybe i'll watch my portion size and work out 5-6 times a week. It's all about moderation. I know i'm going to have pizza on Friday or saturday, so for me that means I watch extra careful during breakfast and lunch so I can splurge alittle bit for dinner. As for whey protein, I find it tastes great in smoothies. I add lots of fruit, greek yogurt, or whatever you want and it really tastes great. My favorite is Vanilla because you can add that to just about anything and y ou don't really taste it. My husband loves anything chocolate, but he drinks his whey protetin just with water or milk. If you don't plan on using a lot of whey protein then Jillian Michaels is best i think. But, if you plan on using lots of it, I would check out GNC or Vitamin Shop and look for their HUGE containers. They are usually $50-75 dollars, but they last a while (My husband drinks Whey protein everyday and it usually lasts him 2-3 months). Good Luck.

p.s. i'm still not 100% awesome at this. We all have issues. The trick is finding out what works and sticking with it. Add me as a friend and we can help each other out on both of our journeys! Friends really do help!!!

herownkindofwonderfull

Hey! So far, everyone's advice on here is AWESOME, so listen to them!

A lot of this comes down to choices. I know that fast food is super easy, as are frozen foods, etc. And when you're leading a busy lifestyle, it's hard to pass up the easiness that comes with all of those. But, with logging your foods you will learn how terrible a lot of frozen meals and fast foods are (they are LOADED with Trans-fat, Saturated fat, and TONS of sodium! Not to mention, they are super duper high in starches and carbohydrates... and not the good kinds (you want to shoot for complex-carbs! not empty carbs!)

As everyone else had said, you're on this website! So set up a program. Start by simply logging what you eat regularly. You will learn about your choices and I'm sure you will make some changes after seeing that. Once you design a program with a calorie goal, you will start to learn about which foods have what you need (and what you DON'T need). There are plenty of filling, protein filled foods that you can eat so you're not starved through the day!

Opt for eggs, a whole wheat peanut-butter sandwich, fruits and veggies, and protein shakes. Lean meats are FANTASTIC and fish... mmm

I know it takes time, but you'll get there!!! Best of luck! feel free to add me if you want a little support along the way!

-Heather

Boop1959

Hi,

I was introduced by a friend who sucessfully lost 30 lbs. following Dr. Mike's 17 day diet. I knew that I had 30 lbs to lose and was concerned about my health after being told by my doctor that I was pre-diabetic and cholestrol was high and if I did'nt make any changes soon I would have to go on medication.

April 11, 2012, I purchased a book by Dr. Mike Moreno, called "The 17 Day Diet" since I began on the 11th I have lost 7 lbs, and have lowered my cholestrol 20pts and reduced my glucose signifantly! The book is amazing and I am learning about a healthier life style. I highly recommend his book to anyone!!

Classyandra

Thank you all for the helpful tips!! I have been logging EVERY THING for the past 2 days... I've already seen some of my problems. Even though I hit my calorie mark I'm WAY over in sugar intake. It was reccomended a 1200 calorie diet but I started with 1500 since I'm still nursing at the moment. I will start looking into the whey protien suggestions, thanks very helpful. I used to work out in spurts on the wii to Just dance or wii fit and I wanted the zumba but the wii broke need to get it fixed. It really helped because I could have my kids right there with me. I've been cruising the recipe threads and have a lot of great ideas, just need to get to the store! I can't wait for our garden, that will save time and money!

laze11

Where are these recipe threads? are they the ads on the side

Ashley06118

Granola bars don't do anything for me, so i opt for half a peanut butter sandwich when I'm hungry. If I'm having a chocolate craving, I add a teaspoon of chocolate chips to it. Delicious AND low calorie!

MootPointCR

Some things that have worked for me:

One is that I "set" the calories per day fairly high (higher than recommended for the amount of weight-loss I wanted). I've found that I wasn't motivated to plan for a certain number of calories, but I was motivated when I saw that I came in at, or below (often below) the calories per day I set. I often did this by increasing the calories I used for exercise, rather than decreasing the calories I used as intake.

Another is that I *set an additional food goal*. I wanted to add 10-20 more grams of protein per day (I like texturized vegetable protein, because it's crunchy on cereal; it's soy-based). As a breast-feeding mother, you should consider that you need to take in more protein for the little one.

Another is that I log all my activity. Pedometer, stair-climbing, home yoga, strength-work, etc. The program will deduct the (presumed) calories you use against your daily total (which, in that case, should be set high) when you log it in. You can set your personal exercises in the menu, just as you set your personal "meals." You have young children -- you should see how many "steps" you take per day before you beat yourself up about not doing more exercise!

The basic principle is that I add, not subtract, and do something, not nothing. That is, it's easier to develop a habit of *action*, to *do* something, but hard to stop doing, or not do, something.

One more: I took a picture of my evening meals, whenever they were not "standard", were from a restaurant or made by a friend (or your husband, bless his heart!). That way, I would remember and could enter the information later. It wasn't so important to get it all right, but to record it at all was most important.

MelanieAG05

Hey - its great to hear that you are taking on the advice you've been given which is all fantastic advice.

I am not fantastic at this either - in fact i dont think anyone is perfect at "dieting". Try to look at it as a change of lifestyle rather than a "diet". 25lbs is not a massive amount to lose so you should aim to lose it slowly. Without knowing your stats (height, ages, weight etc) it is difficult to make recommendations but I would suggest 1200 cals is too low. Set your goals to lose half a pound a week - the slower you lose the less likely it is to go back on! Also, find out what your BMR (in Tools) is and try not to eat below this amount. I am on 1480 cals per day and I eat about half of exercise calories back (I am 5ft 3, 39 and currently 162lbs, my goal is 140) and this suits my lifestyle.

In terms of exercise I understand your difficulties with time! I was once a single mother (until my son was 4) and found it so hard to get out to do exercise. Walking is a good place to start.......try to get out on the days you don't work.....power walk with the buggy. Building muscle is quite important too (more muscle = faster metabolism = higher calorie burn). If you can afford it you could buy a set of weights and do half an hour of training in the evenings when the kids are in bed. There are a few websites with exercises or you could buy some DVD's (Jillian Michaels for example).

Also, I would speak with your husband about his cooking and find out if he is willing to support you and to try to cook lower calorie meals. Sometimes just making small changes to his recipes will reduce the calories eg. less oil, lower calorie ingredients etc. Most importantly - use fresh ingredients as much as possible to eat a clean diet!

Good luck on your journey. Friend me if you wish.

Mel x

Classyandra

Where are these recipe threads? are they the ads on the side

On the Message Boards there is a group dedicated to posting recipes and food pics. I just look at those and try to get ideas.

men1956

One thing I picked up from Dr. Oz at some point was how important consistency is when trying to make a lifestyle change. For me, that meant taking the choice out of the equation to a very large extent for both breakfast (I used to make the frequent trip to McD's or Hardee's) as well as lunch (ditto). Now my breakfasts consist of a Zone perfect bar or Kashi goLean (watch this one the first couple of times you eat one, it can have interesting 'effects'), and lunch is a crunchy peanut butter sandwich on lean wheat bread with 12 pretzel crisps. That means I go about 150-200 calories for breakfast and then 350 at lunch. Dinner time can then be planned around 500 calories leaving room for a couple of snacks if needed. The boost in calories from exercise is also pretty cool on this site.

Finally, it's the long term that counts. Here, with the consistency, I truly have had an eating change that is now a habit. Best of luck to you!

:happy:

beaufoster

I agree with most responses...simply logging every bite of food is enough to get you started. I've found that putting the food in immediately is most helpful, don't save it for the end of the day. Also make yourself look up the nutritional info BEFORE you even take a bite. You'll quickly find your appetite reducing.

Granola bars are fairly pointless. They are high calorie, low nutrition, and tend to only keep you full for an hour. Oatmeal is a much better option and will keep you full all morning. I keep a box of the high fiber, instant flavored stuff in my desk at work and eat it while I check my email in the morning. I also add Chia seeds which have too many benefits to list but are extremely helpful to any dieter.

Water is the next key. Before eating anything I always drink at least 10 ounces of ice cold water. I also drink 6-8 ounces of water before eating any second helpings. That gives your body the time it needs to realize you ate so it tends to help a lot. As for the cookie habit...same thing. Log each cookie and have a glass of water between cookies. Only take one cookie at a time and make yourself get up and walk to the kitchen to get the next one. If your hubbie cooks high calorie meals it's important to practice portion control and fill up on veggies and protein, skimp on the carbs. Use myfitnesspal to look up the actual portion sizes (for instance rice is only 1/2 cup prepared...most people eat well over a cup as a serving).

I understand the exercise issue. Could you take the babies for a walk (or run)? It's a great way to spend time with them and you can teach children so many things outside. Point out and name the animals, colors you see, shapes! You can play "I spy" and use some baby sign language. (Can you tell I work in education?). Diets don't work well without exercise...you'll plateau really quickly. Maybe you can find a friend or neighbor that would like to join. Having someone to diet and exercise with is great. If you don't have anyone friend some people here...it really does help with motivation.

Best of luck! You've taken a big first step. Stay dedicated and don't get discouraged. You'll plateau every five weeks or so which is just a signal to change something (walk faster, add ankle weights, switch your diet to higher protein etc.).

shaunaraye11

I was also a Frappe drinker....or "addict" if you will. To break the habit with the Frappe and the cookies, you need to learn to just say "no". A tip from me on how to do this is to preoccupy yourself intentionally in order to get through the craving period. Chew a piece of sugarless gum. Drink a glass of water or tea. The craving will pass after a few minutes. Think of the craving as rapids on a river. You just need to strategically maneuver your way through. It may feel extreme at the time, but once you make it through, the waters calm and become peaceful again. It gets easier the more you do it.

Classyandra

You are all so helpful thanks!!! I do take the kids for walks when we can... We live in Northwestern PA and the wheather isn't cooperating considering the 6 month old. But we do have a zoo membership and try to make it there and walk around twice a month if possible. We go for walks whenever possible. We love being outside so hopefully when the wheather gets better we can get back to the park and outside! I have been saying no to the Frappe this week! I saw somewhere a recipe for peanutbutter chocolate protien balls? I might try that in substitue of cookies. I really need to focus on Eat This and Not That like that book. Instead of fast food yesterday we got Subway. That had to be better right? I have Gronloa bars today but I'm gonna try and go for better breakfast in the future. I sit at a desk at work and I just want to eat ALL DAY! You are all so encouraging! Thank you!

Classyandra

IWater is the next key. Before eating anything I always drink at least 10 ounces of ice cold water. I also drink 6-8 ounces of water before eating any second helpings. That gives your body the time it needs to realize you ate so it tends to help a lot. As for the cookie habit...same thing. Log each cookie and have a glass of water between cookies. Only take one cookie at a time and make yourself get up and walk to the kitchen to get the next one. If your hubbie cooks high calorie meals it's important to practice portion control and fill up on veggies and protein, skimp on the carbs. Use myfitnesspal to look up the actual portion sizes (for instance rice is only 1/2 cup prepared...most people eat well over a cup as a serving).

Oh I drink At least 50 ounces of water a day... is that enough? I'm used to drinking water from when I was pregnant and also for nursing. I don't really dring anything else expect coffee/tea drinks. Occasional glass of wine.

Tanjalee37

Hello, well you did take the first step, and that was to get on here. lol. I don't want to tell you what to do. but I can tell you what is working for me. I set my calorie intake at 1200 a day. sometimes I meet my goal other days, I eat under my goal, I am still learning as well. lol. I am doing the Whey Protein Shake in the morning, which you can buy at Wal Mart. I bought the chocolate one which is pretty good. one scoop is 140 calories but 2 scoops is 260 calories. they both count as a meal. but I figure 140 calories in the morning is not enough so I eat a banana, or a boiled egg. and that gets me over 200 calories. but then I go to the gym and workout about 1/2 hour later. and I am there for about an hour doing cardio. treadmill is my favorite. just giving everything I have. I also take a vitamin B12 in the morning for energy. after the gym I do my errands till about noon, then I come home and have a salad, and my water, followed by house cleaning, more errands. then my daughter gets home from school, and we cook dinner together I try to stay away from the breads and pastas. once in awhile its okay but not all the time. then her and I go to water aerobics on tuesdays and thursdays, or we just go for a walk around our neighborhood. I try really hard not eat past 7pm, and just pushing that water. I know it must be hard with little ones and working. life is stressful, Just try to make time for you. if your hubby does all the cooking, maybe he can start cooking in olive or coconut oil if he frys. maybe switch to grilling and baking adding more herbs and spices, and less salt. I hope this helps.

pantsdailyon

Hello, well you did take the first step, and that was to get on here. lol. I don't want to tell you what to do. but I can tell you what is working for me. I set my calorie intake at 1200 a day. sometimes I meet my goal other days, I eat under my goal, I am still learning as well. lol. I am doing the Whey Protein Shake in the morning, which you can buy at Wal Mart. I bought the chocolate one which is pretty good. one scoop is 140 calories but 2 scoops is 260 calories.

Is it possible to just do the second scoop, since it's only 120 calories vs. the 140 in the first scoop?

leolin6

I have found that if you take a bite of the granola and suck on it versus chewing it gives you the sweet sensation and lasts longer. It does have oatmeal in it so it's not as bad as cookies and usually is about the same amount of calories as 2 cookies. If the weather is bad, go to the indoor malls to walk with the kids in the stroller, take healthy snacks for you and them both and keep drinking your water. Good luck!!