Lost weight stuck at home (pics)
JosieJo2000
Posts: 162 Member
OK, so this was me at a low point 
I had a back injury, my son was diagnosed with special needs, my husband was deployed overseas and I was stuck at home with 2 gorgeous children but no babysitting or respite. A friend sent me this photo thinking nothing on it, but I was horrified and I made a decision that day to change. I am short (about 5'2" or 158cm), small frame and I think weighed about 68kg (150lbs).
I decided calories in, calories out was the way to go. I could control the food, although I knew it would be hard. I ate to gain energy, I ate to feel better, I ate to forget. The first few weeks were really tough. I cut my calories down to about 1200 but felt dizzy and awful. I bumped it up to 1400 and felt much better.
Then I decided I wouldn't really progressed unless I exercised. I dreamed of going for a long walk, or a swim or going to a group fitness class but there was no way I could escape the house. I was on my own, and babysitting was too expensive plus it's difficult to find someone who wants to look after a disabled child. So, I sucked it up and started at home. I danced to my kids' Wiggles DVDs, I lunged down the hallway, I did squats between washing dishes. I bought some hand weights and used those, plus did crunches, push ups, dips. Cardio was harder but one day I went outside and started walking down my driveway and up the neighbours in a loop (it included a steep incline). I called it my "mouse wheel". Around and around. The neighbours thought I was mad at first. Then I started jogging the loop and going for a bit longer. The neighbours started shouting out encouragement. I must have looked completely insane!!
The first few kilos came off easily, then I plateaued. I decided to eat a little more but also ramped up the resisance exercises and did a bit more cardio including rope skipping. My husband came back from deployment to a new wife and I had time to get out a little more so started doing longer runs. After 8 months I'd lost about 16kg (35 lbs) and was down to 115lbs. I entered a 12km fun run, and a small triathlon.
That was a little while ago, I found the jogging quite hard on my joints (I'm 40) so now I swim and cycle, and I've kept up the resistance / weights. I also use a TRX which is awesome! It's still hard to fit it in but I've tried to make exercise part of my day like brushing my teeth. Sometimes it means going at 5am, or 7.30 at night.
Just wanted to let all you wonderful people know that I understand it's disheartening when people say things like "just go for a walk" when it's not always that easy. But you CAN do it, it IS a little difficult for the first few weeks but stick with it and you'll feel the best you ever have. It's not about being perfect, it's about being kind to yourself, making yourself a priority now and then in the day (you deserve it!) and being happy. It also makes you a happy mother, happy partner and generally positive person to be around. Best wishes to everyone :flowerforyou:
I had a back injury, my son was diagnosed with special needs, my husband was deployed overseas and I was stuck at home with 2 gorgeous children but no babysitting or respite. A friend sent me this photo thinking nothing on it, but I was horrified and I made a decision that day to change. I am short (about 5'2" or 158cm), small frame and I think weighed about 68kg (150lbs).I decided calories in, calories out was the way to go. I could control the food, although I knew it would be hard. I ate to gain energy, I ate to feel better, I ate to forget. The first few weeks were really tough. I cut my calories down to about 1200 but felt dizzy and awful. I bumped it up to 1400 and felt much better.
Then I decided I wouldn't really progressed unless I exercised. I dreamed of going for a long walk, or a swim or going to a group fitness class but there was no way I could escape the house. I was on my own, and babysitting was too expensive plus it's difficult to find someone who wants to look after a disabled child. So, I sucked it up and started at home. I danced to my kids' Wiggles DVDs, I lunged down the hallway, I did squats between washing dishes. I bought some hand weights and used those, plus did crunches, push ups, dips. Cardio was harder but one day I went outside and started walking down my driveway and up the neighbours in a loop (it included a steep incline). I called it my "mouse wheel". Around and around. The neighbours thought I was mad at first. Then I started jogging the loop and going for a bit longer. The neighbours started shouting out encouragement. I must have looked completely insane!!
The first few kilos came off easily, then I plateaued. I decided to eat a little more but also ramped up the resisance exercises and did a bit more cardio including rope skipping. My husband came back from deployment to a new wife and I had time to get out a little more so started doing longer runs. After 8 months I'd lost about 16kg (35 lbs) and was down to 115lbs. I entered a 12km fun run, and a small triathlon.
That was a little while ago, I found the jogging quite hard on my joints (I'm 40) so now I swim and cycle, and I've kept up the resistance / weights. I also use a TRX which is awesome! It's still hard to fit it in but I've tried to make exercise part of my day like brushing my teeth. Sometimes it means going at 5am, or 7.30 at night.
Just wanted to let all you wonderful people know that I understand it's disheartening when people say things like "just go for a walk" when it's not always that easy. But you CAN do it, it IS a little difficult for the first few weeks but stick with it and you'll feel the best you ever have. It's not about being perfect, it's about being kind to yourself, making yourself a priority now and then in the day (you deserve it!) and being happy. It also makes you a happy mother, happy partner and generally positive person to be around. Best wishes to everyone :flowerforyou:
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Replies
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great job! very inspirational. U look stunning
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Awesome, very inspired. Congrats to you on your success
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This post made my day. So positive, and a huge thumbs up for all your hard work. You're very inspiring!0
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Congratulations! Your hard work and determination definitely paid off. You look wonderful.0
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Wow!!! Wonderful job, well done!!0
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Great job...you made no excuses.0
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Good JOB! One of my part time jobs is working as a pediatric home care nurse. I know how hard it is for the parents to get exercise. Heck, I lost my baby weight but I think had I done it at home I wouldn't have been able to as well. I needed that gym. And it was easy for me doing it there.
I needed to be out and about. So KUDOS For you. I admire women like you who have to do it at home .No breaks. They have to get it done.
Your transformation is amazing.
I know have to switch my workouts to home and even though i am in maintenance...I am a bit worried since I have to do it at home. You just remotivated me. I have no excuse. Thank you. And beautiful picture!0 -
Great story!!! You look AMAZING!!!!!!!0
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Wow!!! Wonderful job!!!!0
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Good Job, very encouraging...0
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Great job! Thank you for sharing. I am a stay at home mom to 3 kids and I homeschool them so all my workouts are at home. You are proof that it can be done.0
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I needed to be out and about. So KUDOS For you. I admire women like you who have to do it at home .No breaks. They have to get it done.
I know have to switch my workouts to home and even though i am in maintenance...I am a bit worried since I have to do it at home. You just remotivated me. I have no excuse. Thank you. And beautiful picture!
Believe me, I would MUCH prefer to be out and about. One of the saddest things was running in my mouse wheel and looking longingly down the street thinking "Oh if I could just jog down there..." lol. I had LOADS of excuses, but in the end I guess I thought "How much do I want to change?". I didn't like how I looked, but worse than I hated how I felt. I was tired all the time, everything hurt, and I'd get out of breath easily. I decided that exercising at home was better than feeling that way - and it was! Plus I managed to make it fun. I'd put groovy music on, I'd dance, I'd set myself goals (such as doing full push ups rather than having my knees on the ground). I tried not to obsess about my weight so much but as I got fitter and stronger the kgs started to fall off. I had no idea how important strength training is - I'm a big fan now! I was never sporty at school and I'm very unco-ordinated so it felt great being able to do a triathlon (small as it was) or run in a fun run and say "hey, I can be sporty too" - in a nerdy, weedy kind of way
When my husband came home from overseas I could get out more which felt WONDERFUL but it's still a juggle to fit it in (as I said - sometimes 5am starts) but I try to make it happen. I also like keeping up the exercise because I really like to eat. At my size (I'm short and a very small frame) my maintenance cals are very low - so I exercise to buy a bit more food!
The only downside is that as I got fitter I looked more like a 12 year old boy - the boobs almost disappeared lol - but my back feels great, I have more energy and I'm a happier person. Sometimes things at home suffer a bit - eg, the vacuuming might get done tomorrow and not today because I went for a swim. But at the end of the day, family, health and happiness are the most important things
Good luck with training at home - you look amazing, you obviously know what you're doing and I'm sure you'll be fine! I guess the best piece of advice I was given was that even if you don't feel like doing anything try to push yourself to just do 10 minutes. One of two things will happen - you'll start, it will feel great and you'll end up doing more. Or, you'll do the 10 minutes and stop which is better than doing nothing at all. High intensity stuff is much easier to fit into the day than a one hour walk, and resistance work can be done in front of the TV which is a bonus! There are some great DVDs around too.0 -
Great job ! No excuses , just results 0
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You look great! Congratulations!! Your hard work has paid off!!0
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That's fabulous = loved your story!
Where do you TRX? At home? Where did you buy it from? I have just done a workshop and fell in love with it!
You look great and you have done it the old fashioned hard way - good on you!0 -
What an inspiration. This is what I wanted/needed to hear. If you can do this, I can too. Thank you for being so detailed in your blog. Trying to stay at 1200 was driving me insane, but bumping it up a bit made me feel guilty. I am so glad you have your family together again. God bless you and yours, and those still deployed.0
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Lovely story! You look fabulous! 0
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I needed to be out and about. So KUDOS For you. I admire women like you who have to do it at home .No breaks. They have to get it done.
I know have to switch my workouts to home and even though i am in maintenance...I am a bit worried since I have to do it at home. You just remotivated me. I have no excuse. Thank you. And beautiful picture!
Believe me, I would MUCH prefer to be out and about. One of the saddest things was running in my mouse wheel and looking longingly down the street thinking "Oh if I could just jog down there..." lol. I had LOADS of excuses, but in the end I guess I thought "How much do I want to change?". I didn't like how I looked, but worse than I hated how I felt. I was tired all the time, everything hurt, and I'd get out of breath easily. I decided that exercising at home was better than feeling that way - and it was! Plus I managed to make it fun. I'd put groovy music on, I'd dance, I'd set myself goals (such as doing full push ups rather than having my knees on the ground). I tried not to obsess about my weight so much but as I got fitter and stronger the kgs started to fall off. I had no idea how important strength training is - I'm a big fan now! I was never sporty at school and I'm very unco-ordinated so it felt great being able to do a triathlon (small as it was) or run in a fun run and say "hey, I can be sporty too" - in a nerdy, weedy kind of way When my husband came home from overseas I could get out more which felt WONDERFUL but it's still a juggle to fit it in (as I said - sometimes 5am starts) but I try to make it happen. I also like keeping up the exercise because I really like to eat. At my size (I'm short and a very small frame) my maintenance cals are very low - so I exercise to buy a bit more food!
The only downside is that as I got fitter I looked more like a 12 year old boy - the boobs almost disappeared lol - but my back feels great, I have more energy and I'm a happier person. Sometimes things at home suffer a bit - eg, the vacuuming might get done tomorrow and not today because I went for a swim. But at the end of the day, family, health and happiness are the most important things
Good luck with training at home - you look amazing, you obviously know what you're doing and I'm sure you'll be fine! I guess the best piece of advice I was given was that even if you don't feel like doing anything try to push yourself to just do 10 minutes. One of two things will happen - you'll start, it will feel great and you'll end up doing more. Or, you'll do the 10 minutes and stop which is better than doing nothing at all. High intensity stuff is much easier to fit into the day than a one hour walk, and resistance work can be done in front of the TV which is a bonus! There are some great DVDs around too.
Awesome! Thanks! With a new work schedule and a small apartment my space is limited. I have two kb dvd's I don't have any dumbelld dvd's. If you can recommend any that would be awesome(when you have time!) I do know what to do at the gym..but am an utter NEWBIE when it comes to working out with dvd's at home. It's a WHOLE other ball game! So if you have time and can send me some rec's I'd love it. Again..you look awesome and an inspiration.0 -
Where do you TRX? At home? Where did you buy it from? I have just done a workshop and fell in love with it!
It's great isn't it?? What I love about the TRX (or fitballs etc) is you get "two for the price of one". So if you're working on your biceps you're still engaging and working out your core. Saves times, especially when I'm feeling a bit lazy It's also great because it's so portable. Last week I took the kids to the park and strung it up on some play equipment and did a work out while they played. But mostly I do it at home and just hook it over a door.
I bought mine directly from TRX. Was a bit pricey but has been worth it. I have just learned the moves from a DVD but think a workshop or personal training session would be better to make sure my form is correct. I have a habit of making things up as I go along Have fun with it! 0 -
Trying to stay at 1200 was driving me insane, but bumping it up a bit made me feel guilty. I am so glad you have your family together again. God bless you and yours, and those still deployed.
Thank you for the kind words
Oh hear you about the 1200. I felt insanely guilty too, but funny thing is when I bumped up my calories I lost more weight. Some people say it's because I was in "starvation mode" - not sure about that given my height, I think in my case when I ate 1200 I didn't have enough energy to move around so I tended to sit all day. With a few more calories I was getting more incidental exercise by just being up off my butt. Plus I was a more pleasant person to be around lol!0 -
Thank you! Your post is beautiful and encourage. Great job; way to stick with it!! Cheers!0
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Fantastic accomplishment!!
I've had my own trials & tribulations, was told I wouldn't ever walk without a limp and would be in perpetual pain for the rest of my life unless I had surgery. That was not an option to me when they gave me odds of 50/50 for living the rest of my life in a wheel chair. I found ways to workout that didn't hurt too much, I got better, stronger & could do more. No one believes what I've conquered as looking at me today, it seems I conquered the impossible.
Well, apparently, you conquered the impossible as well! CHEERS to NO EXCUSES, EVER!!!0 -
No one believes what I've conquered as looking at me today, it seems I conquered the impossible.
Well, apparently, you conquered the impossible as well! CHEERS to NO EXCUSES, EVER!!!
Wow, you're amazing!! There will always be excuses, and I understand why some people can't seem to get past them. I was in that position myself! And some people have it much, much harder than others. The 18 year old me had meals cooked by my mother and went to the gym every day, plus swam at the beach. I had no excuses.Then life got complicated and a bit harder. You have to be ready, if you're not ready to tackle it and do the hard yards that's OK. Be kind to yourself. But I think when a person is ready they should know that if the will is there you can make it happen, no matter what. And that's just what you did!!0 -
you're amazing :flowerforyou:0
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I needed to be out and about. So KUDOS For you. I admire women like you who have to do it at home .No breaks. They have to get it done.
I know have to switch my workouts to home and even though i am in maintenance...I am a bit worried since I have to do it at home. You just remotivated me. I have no excuse. Thank you. And beautiful picture!
Believe me, I would MUCH prefer to be out and about. One of the saddest things was running in my mouse wheel and looking longingly down the street thinking "Oh if I could just jog down there..." lol. I had LOADS of excuses, but in the end I guess I thought "How much do I want to change?". I didn't like how I looked, but worse than I hated how I felt. I was tired all the time, everything hurt, and I'd get out of breath easily. I decided that exercising at home was better than feeling that way - and it was! Plus I managed to make it fun. I'd put groovy music on, I'd dance, I'd set myself goals (such as doing full push ups rather than having my knees on the ground). I tried not to obsess about my weight so much but as I got fitter and stronger the kgs started to fall off. I had no idea how important strength training is - I'm a big fan now! I was never sporty at school and I'm very unco-ordinated so it felt great being able to do a triathlon (small as it was) or run in a fun run and say "hey, I can be sporty too" - in a nerdy, weedy kind of way When my husband came home from overseas I could get out more which felt WONDERFUL but it's still a juggle to fit it in (as I said - sometimes 5am starts) but I try to make it happen. I also like keeping up the exercise because I really like to eat. At my size (I'm short and a very small frame) my maintenance cals are very low - so I exercise to buy a bit more food!
The only downside is that as I got fitter I looked more like a 12 year old boy - the boobs almost disappeared lol - but my back feels great, I have more energy and I'm a happier person. Sometimes things at home suffer a bit - eg, the vacuuming might get done tomorrow and not today because I went for a swim. But at the end of the day, family, health and happiness are the most important things
Good luck with training at home - you look amazing, you obviously know what you're doing and I'm sure you'll be fine! I guess the best piece of advice I was given was that even if you don't feel like doing anything try to push yourself to just do 10 minutes. One of two things will happen - you'll start, it will feel great and you'll end up doing more. Or, you'll do the 10 minutes and stop which is better than doing nothing at all. High intensity stuff is much easier to fit into the day than a one hour walk, and resistance work can be done in front of the TV which is a bonus! There are some great DVDs around too.
Awesome! Thanks! With a new work schedule and a small apartment my space is limited. I have two kb dvd's I don't have any dumbelld dvd's. If you can recommend any that would be awesome(when you have time!) I do know what to do at the gym..but am an utter NEWBIE when it comes to working out with dvd's at home. It's a WHOLE other ball game! So if you have time and can send me some rec's I'd love it. Again..you look awesome and an inspiration.
I think I'd be embarrassed to dig out the DVDs and tell you what they are - I just bought any old crap that was cheap on eBay lol! I bought a couple of fitball workouts, a pilates workout and a step workout (I have a step at home). Also some cheesy aerobic ones (eg Abs, butt and thighs). They got me moving, and showed me some techniques. After doing them a few times I sort of worked out my own routines. There are much better ones out there now, and some pretty hard core ones! (like Insanity). When I got fitter and wanted to go to the next level I went to a personal trainer for a few sessions and she wrote a weights program for me which is really worthwhile. Have you got stairs at your apartment? They are a killer workout! Good luck 0
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