what works? diet? fitness? ADVICE, please!

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ambryl9
ambryl9 Posts: 1
in Introduce Yourself
Ashamed to say- I need some help. When I found out I was pregnant I was 115 pounds. When I gave birth I was 198.
The last time I was weighed was probably 6 months ago and I was 170. I have got to do something.
Currently I am wearing mostly size 10, with a few 8's and 12's. I cannot afford much to help with weight loss.
I know it's bad, but I wanted to use a little bit from my tax return to try and be healthy and look half decent again.
I would love to hear any advice on where to start!
Here is a little information about me to take into consideration.
Single mom with no help. Wake up at 5:15, get dressed, get daughter ready, leave by 6:15.
Work 7:45-5:30. I do not eat any breakfast, and the only thing I eat at work (if I eat at all) is crackers or muffins and water.
Get off-pick up daughter -commute home- get there around 7pm. I never have time to cook anything good =( I know, I need to make the time.
So when we get home so late she is starving and fussy so I do something fast like out of box: hamburger helper, potatoes, chicken pot pies, green beans, frozen corn- you get the idea, fast stuff.
Then I have to bathe her, get a shower myself, and we usually are in bed by 9:30-10.
I have thought about purchasing a used Xbox Kinect as I have heard there are games for it that have great exercises. I haven't had a gaming console, or even touched one, since the super Nintendo so I know NOTHING about this except from word of mouth.
But that still doesn't help with diet.
I have a Jillian Michaels DVD and have done it about 8 times and am already sick of it. My daughter always jumps on me when I have to get down to do some of the floor exercises, and being that I have a ruptured discs in my back, it hurts my back & makes my legs tingle. And I feel no motivation doing the dvd. It's boring and not 'fun' or entertaining...I don't know exactly how to word it. It just got old quick.
I wish I had the time and could afford some of the local classes like zumba, but I can't. But I know I would probably have a ball!
It's not necessarily the size I am that I hate, but the details. I am embarrassed about my huge gut that is now that funny pooch/pouch looking shape. I have always disliked my big thighs that rub together.
Since weight gain /being pregnant, my skin has indentions, odd dimples, and cellulite that I never had before (along with stretch marks of course). Even if I just knew how to tone up, make this size look good, I would be happy.
So that is why I thought of maybe a Kinect. It would be at home, so even though we have a long schedule and there isn't much time to mess around with, I could stay up 45 minutes later or something to exercise with it, or get up earlier too. Can any of you think of other ideas to get some fitness in. Wouldn't it be nice if I could find a way to exercise at my desk office job?! Any ideas!?
& of course need to learn how to eat healthy, too. & what kind of snacks do you eat throughout a day?
At work we only have a little minifridge we have to share, so I try to just buy things already made to toss in my purse. like crackers, or a packaged grab and go bar.
I always find myself in the grocery store staring at boxes ranging from Kellogg's Fiber Plus Chewy Bars, Clif Bar, Atkins products, Special K Protein Shakes, etc.
I have a bad sweet tooth =( So what tastes good, is good for you, and is filling?
So, can anyone help? Any suggestions at all? Diet plan? Exercises? Supplements? Equipment? Fast easy meals? Anything?
I have no idea where to start. I just need to know things that really work!
Thank you!

Replies

  • lewcompton
    lewcompton Posts: 881 Member
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    Cheap stuff that works... Overnight oats so you have them ready in the morning...
    http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/980177/overnight-oats-recipe
    Snacks: Almonds place serving size in baggies, cheese sticks, fruit and veggies... they all keep pretty well in the desk at work...
    Lunch: PB on whole grain bread and sliced fruit instead of jam, use leftovers, or just do three dedicated snacks through the day...
    Dinner: Lots of cheap easy things out there... eggs, tuna, whole grain(brown rice, barley, quinoa, whole wheat couscous, whole wheat pastas), legumes (beans or lentils are very cheap), veggies... Frozen are fine and prevent them from going bad in the refrigerator.
    Late snack: same as earlier meals/snacks... apple with some PB really goes a long way... and its pretty cheap.
    Drink lots of water...
    Exercise with a step in front of the TV... Use some old phone books duct taped... You can make something to use pretty cheaply...
    Good luck!
    Anyone is welcome to add me... 131 pounds since the first of July.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    You left things so open I could go on forever but I need to be brief, so I will be. :)

    If you don't have a crockpot invest in one, especially one where the crock separates from the heating unit. You can make some delicious, low cost, healthy meals the night before, put it in your fridge then turn it on low when you leave the house. You'll come home to a house that smells lovely and dinner is ready to go.

    Stir fry is easy, cheap and quick. Use frozen stir fry veggie mixes (abour $1 - 1.50 for what will be enough for two meals for the two of you) with left over chicken, pork or beef. Make steamed rice or throw in some cooked spaghetti noodles at the end of the fry. For the sauce, I add soy sauce, granulated onion and garlic powder when I finish browning the protein.

    I'm not one for DVDs or other workouts. They bore me. Instead, I took up running. Walking is also a good activity. You can take your daughter with you, push her in a stroller for more of a workout. Have you looked into Couch to 5K? If your back can handle it, it'd get you from walking to running in a couple of months and running is cheap.

    Feel free to friend me, if you wish.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Use your diet for weight control; excise for fitness. They are two completely separate things, though people seem to like to insist that you have to do hours and hours of cardio to lose weight.

    You should have fitness goals that are outside of your weight loss goals. Net to a caloric deficit (i.e. if you're using the MFP method there is a caloric deficit for weight loss built in...activity level setting don't include exercise..it's extra, so you're supposed to eat them back and NET to your goal). Net to your goal and you will lose weight...tons and tons of exercise is going to require tons and tons of food using the MFP method...just FYI.

    Have reasonable expectations...no body drops 10 Lbs of fat or whatever in a week. When you see people with big drops like that, it's water. 1 Lb of fat = 3,500 calories period. Weight loss is slow...safe and healthy weight loss should be from 1/2 - 2Lbs per week loss depending on how much you have to lose. Just keep chipping away at it, and you'll make progress. 25 Lbs down in 5 months (10 Lbs before MFP) for me...it works.
  • vamari22
    vamari22 Posts: 22 Member
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    Ambryl9 - what are your weekends like? Could you set aside maybe 2 or 3 hours one day each weekend or every other weekend to make a couple of dishes that refrigerate/freeze well (e.g., casseroles, soups, etc.)? If you can do that, you can separate them into single serving containers and have something you can "grab and go" or heat up quickly in the evening. Another option would be to make larger meals on the days that you do have extra time to cook so that you can eat the leftovers over the course of the week.

    For breakfast, I've found that hard boiling eggs ahead of time makes for a great solution because you can just grab a couple and eat them before you leave or at work.

    For lunch, it sounds like your best bet is some kind of meal that doesn't need refrigeration (e.g., sandwiches with some sort of whole fruit and fresh veggies; tuna and crackers).

    For exercise, I personally like exercise videos because they're relatively cheap and I can switch them around when I start to get bored. My current favorites are Jillian Michael's 30 day shred and the P90X DVDs because they provide a decent amount of intensity, I can modify them based on my body's needs and they have several different workout options that I can choose from so I don't get bored. If exercise videos just aren't your thing, walking or running is always a good, free form of exercise. Also, since you have a young child, you could set aside some "play time" every day or a few days a week where you do fun, active activities with her (e.g., walk in the park, play ball, play hopscotch, play hide and seek, etc.).

    I know how hard it is to fit cooking/eating healthy and exercise into a crazy busy schedule, so I hope you find some of this helpful. Please feel free to add me if you like.

    Vicki
  • fitgal05
    fitgal05 Posts: 149
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    I was around that weigh too and for years. I recently just lost over 30 pounds. Guess what...I did it spending zero dollars. I started running last year, and I did a 21 day yoga challege. They email you a daily videos for yoga you can do at home and it's 20 minutes. I always say you can find 20 minutes a day to fit in work outs. But lately I'm focusing on my diet and now I work out at home with weights too and I still go running. I eat really clean. I food prep and make sure I pack healthy foods to eat all day long. Good luck and you should add me. :)
  • fitgal05
    fitgal05 Posts: 149
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    Oh and those processed diet bars, and crackers I don't buy because I'd rather spend a few bucks on fresh produce and again I try to eat real clean. I snack on nuts and more veggies or even low fat cheese. The weight dropped faster when I stuck to this.

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