Hey - What Really Works? Tips? Sucess? SHARE Please :)

I'm in the same boat. I've got the stationary bike (looking for a new one actually), recumbent bike, weights, weight bench, stepper, balance ball, Xbox kinext etc etc at home too. For me it seems like I'll start something and do great with it for about 2 weeks and then something will happen and I'll get "too busy" to keep at it. I've just joined a 4 week fitness bootcamp, started last week, so we'll see if that helps provide that push to keep active past the 2 week mark!

Good for you looking for help. I have to say that HIIt training has taken me to a new level in fitness and getting off a plateau. I warm up for 5 minutes on the Cybex arc and then I do 30 seconds as hard as I can and then go slow for 30 seconds and I do it for 20 minutes. I do steady cardio for another 20 to 40 minutes and then I cool down down for 5 minutes. Once you do it for 6 weeks you will be amazed at how far you have come. In 6 weeks my slow down use to be my best and I love it. Overestimate what you eat, under estimate the calories you burn, drink at least 64 ounces of water a day and dont weigh yourself more then once a week. It works for me and im consistent! Good luck with your goals! Add me as a friend if yah want.

Hi and welcome just record all your calories and you have all the equipment anyone would ever need all you need to do is make time to use it. I try to go to the gym at 3 pm because that is when i start to get hungry then by the time i get home it is time for dinner. Which helps me tremendously. Good Luck and Best Wishes

Hey, you can follow my blog--I´m writing a tip a day, where I include my old strategies, new strategies, and strategies I just read about and am trying out... http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/30tips
Hopefully it will inspire you to develop your own unique strategies as well.

I have a bunch of stuff that was collecting dust, too. I know what my problem is, though: I get bored FAST. I have found that if I do something different every day, it kind of keeps things fresh. The novelty comes back! :happy:

What works for me... NOT focusing on this being a DIET...but rather a Journey to become healthy.... Diets always seem to fail as nobody really likes being on a diet and feeling restricted.

For me, I don't believe in the fad diets, the Adkins, South Beach, Special K Challenge, Herbal Life, Slim Fast, etc... I believe in order for me to really make a difference in my health and weight, I need to learn to eat properly NOW... not, loose the weight with a fad diet, then try to go back to a normal eating regimen as it will just throw havoc to your system. Our bodies don't always know how to react when we throw back all the foods and stuff we eliminated on our "diet".

For me, this is what I did to change my way of eating...

1. I drank LOTS of water...eliminating Pop and limiting juices. Fruit juice still has sugars, so I would rather have the actual fruit.

2. I switched out my white rice and pasta's for Brown Rice or Whole Wheat Pasta...eventually even switching that to Dreamfield's pasta as it only has 5g digestible carbs per serving unlike whole wheat which has approx 40g per serving.

3. Switched out my white bread, crackers, muffins, waffles, etc. to whole grains also.

4. Switched from using vegetable oil to using Olive Oil.

5. Substitute applesauce for oils in my baked goods.

6. Switched from sugar to Spenda... Splenda also makes a Brown Sugar which is approx half brown sugar & half Splenda.

7. I measure EVERYTHING. And we can't always go by a serving size marked on the box... if you are on a "diet" of less than 2000 calories per day, you have to compensate. It took me a while to figure it out, but by logging everything I ate and drank into MFP's food tracker, I was able to figure out the correct serving size for my "diet" needs. Pay attention to carbs, sugar, protein, fat, sodium, etc too... we need balance.

Easy way to visualize your portion control... use a smaller than what today's standard size plate is. divide the plate into quarters... 1/4 of it should be a healthy carb. 1/4 of it should be a lean protein, 1/2 of it should be fresh or steamed veggies. Canned is higher in sodium, so I stayed away from them as much as possible.

8. Switched from regular dairy products to lower fat. I can't consume a lot of milk or dairy products because of my allergies, so this was especially hard for me to get in my recommended daily allowances. Though, yogurt and cottage cheese don't seem to affect my allergies like milk and cheese do.

9. I started to "bulk cook". I made up healthy soups, dinners, and such and froze in single serving containers to use for work. Healthy options to grab and go with... eliminated the need for fast food.

10. Pack healthy snacks in your purse, bag, or keep in your drawer at work to eliminate snacking from the vending machines.

11. Read, Read, Read... I found reading health and fitness magazines kept me focused, gave me new ideas, and helped me stay on track!


As for as my fitness went... This is what worked for me.

1. Find something to focus on as to WHY you want to loose weight. Initially, for me it was because I wanted to look as good if not better than I did in HS come our 20 year class reunion. I was ALWAYS thin in HS, but I was a loner, the shy one, guys rarely talked to me let alone asked me out. So I had it in my head that I wanted to be the one they would say "Wow, look at Lisa!" And, my husband was deployed to Korea for a year, so I wanted it to be a huge surprise for him when he came home... After that, my motivation was to remain healthy. Even though I was never really overweight by more than 10-15 lbs, I was a patient for hypertension. Had hypertension from the time I was 17 years old...borderline then, put on meds when I was 20... and didn't come off meds until I was 35. Cancer, Diabetes, and heart disease among other diseases and health problems run rampant in my family. So, that became my focus. To beat the odds...

2. I joined Curves... LOVED it! Worked out there 3-4 times a week. Usually doing the circuit 45 minutes rather than 30 minutes as the program details, then I would do strength training usually daily...alternating between upper body and lower body. I usually work my abs daily... Between my Curves workout, I also walked at the walk park, walking 4.0-4.5 mph for a minimum of 30 minutes...

3. I varied my workouts all the time as I subscribed to several magazines so would get new routine's to try every month. It kept everything new, and kept my body guessing as to what was next. Between my equipment at home, dvds, Curves, the walk park, and the base gym, I had LOTS of options to keep me motivated.

4. I am a sucker for challenges... I am just now starting over on the 100 push-up challenge, 200 squat challenge, and 200 sit-up challenge....though, I'm doing crunches as I love love love crunches. I know, I'm weird...i love the push-ups too! I love how they make my shoulders and abs look...lol. I have also joined a few online challenges with other woman to keep my motivated and it helps me when I have to hold my self accountable to others...

5. When I am in the state of mine "I don't want to workout today" I DO IT ANYWAY... by the time I would get half way around the circuit or make my first lap around the walk trail, I was feeling good, happy that I forced myself to go.

6. I really think the key to my success as with statement number 11 on my eating healthy list, is READ READ READ. The more I learned, the more I stayed focused on my goals. In fact... I enjoyed my journey to health so much that it is now my goal to become a personal trainer or even a coach at my local curves so that I can share with others everything I have learned...


So, off the top of my head, that is a few of the things that worked for me... maybe a few of them will help you reach your goals too. Best of luck to you!

Lisa

Don't overthink it. Yes, it's a calories in calories out equation but it is not exact. Everyone is different, and that's what makes it so hard.

I have a caloric "sweet spot" that seems to be optimum for weight loss. I try to stick to the low end of that range (1400-1600) most days, but on big exercise days (like my slow long run day), I'm @ the higher end, and may even go over a bit. I also try to keep it healthy during the week, allowing for a splurge meal or 2 on the weekends.

I have some other tips on my blog entitled "The Choice is Yours."