Diet and Exercise help

bfelton1985
bfelton1985 Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, I'm a 28 year old married man with a 10 year old daughter. My wife and I are both trying to get into better shape, but it's a challenge. She works at a college in the city and I work from home. Working from home should be beneficial to exercise time, but my work is consistent and I can't find much time outside of a few jump rope sessions each week. We try to eat well, incorporating lots of fresh fruits and veggies into our diets and eliminating the majority of toxic foods, but again, with living such fast paced lives, it is difficult to commit 100%. What workouts can I or we do at home that have a major impact? How can we find the perfect diets for our crazy lives?

Thank you all so very much for any and all help!

Replies

  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    You gotta make time for yourself and your goals.. that might mean not watching that favorite tv show, or taking a nap or anything that you do in your free time.. And you don't need a perfect diet, you just need to watch what you eat and eat less than your body currently needs.. so I would buy a food scale, and start using it to get an idea of what your currently eating and use one of the many calculators on the internet to calculate your calories needed (TDEE) and eat less than that (500 or so a day for a lb a week).

    As for workouts there are a ton of free youtube videos for working out, one big one is fitnessblender.. they got just about everything.. If you want to buy something, for beginners you might benefit more from Focus T25 by beachbody.. its 25 minutes most days of working out, comes with a meal plan and if you do it and follow it.. you will lose weight.

    Basically it starts with you and your wife and if your ready to change
  • jennegan1
    jennegan1 Posts: 677 Member
    I agree with Greenrun99...you have to set aside time to work out. I my self have a 10 year old and a almost 3 year old, if needed wake up a half an hr earlier or work out about an hr or so before bed. I found a time that worked best for me and its usually between 11-12 am. Not always but if I have to then I do it at night time when my youngest starts to settle down for the night. Do I always want to do it at night time no but if I know I havent worked out for the day and havent been that active then I know I have to get up and move....Again check out you tube theres alot of good videos to choose from to give you a variety just need to find out that you like. I stick between Jillian Michaels, Boot Camp Calorie Burn and Leslie Sansone 2 mile walk....If not then try to get up every half hr and walk for 5-10 mins then by the end of the day youll have those extra calories burned
  • Arbeidslyst
    Arbeidslyst Posts: 129
    Hi, I'm a 28 year old married man with a 10 year old daughter. My wife and I are both trying to get into better shape, but it's a challenge. She works at a college in the city and I work from home. Working from home should be beneficial to exercise time, but my work is consistent and I can't find much time outside of a few jump rope sessions each week. We try to eat well, incorporating lots of fresh fruits and veggies into our diets and eliminating the majority of toxic foods, but again, with living such fast paced lives, it is difficult to commit 100%. What workouts can I or we do at home that have a major impact? How can we find the perfect diets for our crazy lives?

    Thank you all so very much for any and all help!

    Don't make it complicated. There are no toxic foods.

    Find your TDEE and then eat at 20% deficit. There are short exercise programs like the 30 day shred that only takes 30ish minutes a day.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Calories in/calories out. Foods aren't toxic and just cutting out things you like isn't going to provide any results. Your weight loss will be 90% your diet and eating at a calorie deficit. Either use MFP as intended and enter all you numbers to arrive at a calorie budget or use the TDEE method to determine a calorie level. Weigh and measure all you food and stay in budget. You can even eat the toxic foods as long as it fits.

    Exercise is for fitness. Work in what you can. Walking is a great exercise. If you work from home spend more time standing if you can. I pace my office while I'm on the phone. Park far away from stores when you run errands. Make a time that's set aside for exercise. 30 minutes a day is a good goal.
  • hwoeltjen
    hwoeltjen Posts: 199 Member
    As a couple people have posted already, you really need to get rid of the idea that time is holding you back. You can always make time for exercise. You really need to make it a priority.

    Jumping rope is probably one of the best cardiovascular exercises you can do. However, remember that cardiovascular exercise is merely a way to increase your deficit. While cardio is important, strength training is key.

    Continue doing your jump rope sessions, and try to throw in some strength training. To start out with you can do exercises like push-ups sit-ups and other body weight exercises.

    Getting a few resistance bands will help you get started without spending a ton of money on weights or a monthly gym membership.

    Again, this all comes down to your eating habits and consistent exercise. As far as your food goes, it's as simple as calories in vs calories out. Just make sure you eat less calories than you burn and the weight will come off.

    MFP gives you a list of macronutrients to track. Protein, carbs, fats, fiber, and sugar are all important macro nutrients to track. You then have micronutrients like calcium, potassium, and magnesium that all play important parts in your nutrition plan. MFP allows you to track all of these.

    If you spend your time trying to hit all of your nutrient requirements much of your diet will take care of itself.
  • gmthisfeller
    gmthisfeller Posts: 779 Member
    Calories in/calories out. Foods aren't toxic and just cutting out things you like isn't going to provide any results. Your weight loss will be 90% your diet and eating at a calorie deficit. Either use MFP as intended and enter all you numbers to arrive at a calorie budget or use the TDEE method to determine a calorie level. Weigh and measure all you food and stay in budget. You can even eat the toxic foods as long as it fits.

    Exercise is for fitness. Work in what you can. Walking is a great exercise. If you work from home spend more time standing if you can. I pace my office while I'm on the phone. Park far away from stores when you run errands. Make a time that's set aside for exercise. 30 minutes a day is a good goal.

    +1

    I get up early, early to run. I started with walking for 30 minutes each morning, and 6 months later I am running 4 miles a day. I use MFP as intended, and I am always very slightly under my calorie goal, I measure every thing I eat, and log it all. I open my log so people can help me out when I need it.
  • waltcote
    waltcote Posts: 372 Member
    If it is that important to you yu can find time...your health is the ultimate price to pay if you don't. Pay me now or pay me later! :bigsmile:
  • bfelton1985
    bfelton1985 Posts: 5
    Thank you!
  • bfelton1985
    bfelton1985 Posts: 5
    Excellent advice. Thanks you!
  • bfelton1985
    bfelton1985 Posts: 5
    Very true.
  • bfelton1985
    bfelton1985 Posts: 5
    Thank you all so much for your help. I have already lost 11 lbs thanks to MFP and being able to keep track of my intake. A good friend of mine who is an MMA trainer suggested the Burn Machine. Has anyone tried it?
  • chad_phillips1123
    chad_phillips1123 Posts: 229 Member
    I agree with most here that calories are the most important thing for weight loss and if you want to get in shape making some time for exercising is important.

    If you're really pressed for time (and don't want to buy some dumb bells or kettle bells to work with at home) I'd suggest some body weight workouts. They usually pretty straightforward, don't take too long, can be tinkered with the suit you, and can be done about anywhere. Here's one I've tried before (there's also an app for it on android):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECxYJcnvyMw

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