New to posting

AftonP

I am fairly new on this site and very new to posting on here. I have read several of the message boards and found that everyone is very motivating and gives great advice. I am 24 years old and I am just tried of not looking good in clothes. I would love to loose at least 50lbs, but more is always good too. I have a full-time desk job, so I don't get much exercise and I go to school full-time at night. On the weekends I do get in some exercise by walking on my farm or using my dad's paddle boat in our pond. I just don't feel like I have the time or energy after working full-time and going to school to visit a gym. By the time I get home it is too dark outside to walk around or go out on the pond. So if anyone has any tips or exercise I might could do at home or work, I would greatly appreciate them. Also I al looking for friends to help keep me motivated to reach my goals. Thanks and hope everyone has a great day!! : )

williams3023

Yikes! Sounds like you are busy! Do you get an adequate lunch break? I usually squeeze some workout time in over lunch. I have a pretty flexible schedule and a gym nearby so it works for me. Otherwise, I have some co workers that bring in tennis shoes to work and go walking over lunch in filing rooms and around the building or up and down stairs. A little walk is better than nothing at all!

Samantharose8akaDebbie

Hi. I also have a seated job and the energy just has not been there, until now. I have been forcing my self to drink 8 - 12 glasses of water per day and at lunch time I get up from my chair and walk around the block 10 - 15 minutes. This really helps. I feel so much better. Now, if you live in a cold state, you can go on line or to a fitness place and see if you can purchase just the pedals. You could utilize them under your desk while at work or during homework and just pedal for exercise. Hope this helps. Keep your chin high and you will succeed.

sdirks

Sounds like my life 3 years ago, when I was putting myself through school. Yikes! I packed on a lot of weight, too. For me, stress was a major cause of the weight gain. And poor food choices. And lack of sleep. Sleeping less than 7 hours a night can cause you to retain 1lb a week, so get as much sleep as you can to see the best results possible.

I think, because your time is limited, you should really focus on quality over quantity. Healthy fruits and veggies, lots of nuts and lean meats for protein. Go easy on the sodium and watch your sugar--not eating anything that comes from a box is a good rule of thumb. Really fuel your body.

I force myself to do workouts in the morning because I don't have enough time during the day. There are some great 10, 20 and 30 minute yoga/pilates or kickboxing workout videos available. Netflix and the exercise channel are great resources. You don't have to spend money to get a good workout, but you have to stay motivated. I pick videos with skinny, perky instructors. They annoy me with their energy and flexibility and I usually end up cursing at the screen, but all that blustering, huffing and puffing just makes me work harder. If the video's giraffe-girl with no boobs can do 40 pilates leg rotations in the plank position, then so can I. WITH cleavage, thank you very much.

Even with our little "tricks," like yelling at the dvd instructor or replacing croutons with raw nuts to save on carbs, the most important thing is that this is NOT A DIET. It's a lifestyle change. You commit to it every day. It's not easy, but you're worth it.


PS: check out some of the sticky posts, especially "Expectations" and "700 Calories and Not Losing." It's important to know how the MFP food diary works, how exercise calories and deficits work, in order to get the best and healthiest long-term results. And take anything posted by SHBoss as a nugget of gold, lol! I keep an excellent post of his in my signature for new folks, he's that clear and concise.


Good luck & Welcome! Glad to have ya! :flowerforyou:

marjaskow

You don't need equipment or to go outside for good cardio. Do you have stairs in your house? Try going comfortably fast up then down, then backwards, once each way sideways and then forward skipping a step. After every 2 flights do something at the top or bottom, like jumpiing jacks, lunges, or toe touches. After awhile carry some sort of weight while doing it. You can go as many times as you want adding whatever in between. It goes by faster than you think since you are constantly changing it. Before I finally got a treadmil, that was my warm up for any other kind of exercises I decided to do. Throw in some sit ups or stengthening stuff and you have a great, quick workout without any equipment or needing much room.

AftonP

Thanks guys. These are really good tips. I am open for trying anything. It definitely won't hurt. Hopefully it will help and yall are right anything is better than nothing. I'm sure I can think of some sort of exercise to do while I'm studying and during my lunch hour at work.

Thanks again everyone!!!

20in24

HI there
Have you ever heard of p90x? Its a series of workout videos with a nutrition plan and everything. I LOVE doing one of the videos when I finally get home from work. The whole thing is a program that you can buy... I think its rather pricey and found a used copy on amazon.com. It may be something you are interested in. Worth looking into at least.

AftonP

Thanks I have never heard of it, but I like to get on eBay and amazon. I'll have to check it out. I am really open for anything.

pdneely

You will do great!!!! Everyone I am sure is behind you all the way.

AftonP

One of my friends that I work with is also on MFP and we decided to hit the gym at 6:30 tomorrow morning and see how that goes with working all day and then going to school at night. Wish me luck everyone!!

losetheflab

Hi Everyone, I will be starting tomorrow morning. I have done this before and it felt so good to reach goal..My problem is maintaining. My daughter has been sick lately and we have been told to lay off dairy for a while. She is only 6 but has stated that she wants to eat healthier to feel better (school nurse got to her). I think this time it will be a family change - not dieting, just changing to a healthier lifestyle so the girls can grow up to make healthy choices and avoid the yo-yo diets I have been on for 20 years. Looking forward to this!!!!