How do I start my Journey?

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musicgirl_106
musicgirl_106 Posts: 2 Member
in Getting Started
I am a recently married mother of two, my youngest child is 9 months and I've put on about 35lbs sense the beginning of my pregnancy. I quit my job to be a stay at home mom until my son is old enough for me to be comfortable with leaving him a daycare. I have recently bought a scale and decided it was time for a change, I've tried dieting and exercise in the past but I've never been able to stick with it, I believe it's because I went from 0 to 60 right away, I don't know how to ease my way into things, I want this time to be different, I want to become healthier for my family and become a good role model for my children. How did you start your Journey into a smaller healthier you?

I do not have access to a gym and it is to bitterly cold to take my kids for a walk. I do not want to make excuses so I need to find alternative ways to work out. I do not have a Wii or an xbox konnect. I do have an ab circle pro. And steps in my house.
Thank you.

Replies

  • jkess5891mfp
    jkess5891mfp Posts: 3
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    Hi, musicgirl_106! I am also starting up again with MFP. I lost about 15 lbs over the past year (slowish rate, but it was much needed) and I feel better. I have gained some of the weight back and my eating habits have gotten a little out of control along the way. I feel that what works for me when I can't move outdoors or at the gym, is googling/youtube searching free exercise videos. I really LOVE "Pop Pilates" with Cassey Ho. She is very well known in the fitness world, and has some GREAT videos for beginners, and advanced exercisers alike. She also has an app, which is free on the iPhone/smartphones. I would definitely give it a try, even once to see how you feel about her workouts. They are simple moves, and don't require anything crazy (just an exercise mat)- got my mat at 5 Below.. but you can feel your body changing. Add me to support one another!
    - Julia
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Go here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    Do this.. Lot and Lots of stuff to get you started!

    Oh yeah. you don't need a gym membership or exercise equipment to exercise. I wish I had stairs at my house...

    I started out by just moving around the house. I eventually put music on and started dancing (yeah I looked silly but I was worn after a few songs). Eventually I moved into jumping jacks, sit ups, lifting bags of flour, not asking my husband to take the trash out ( I wanted to), washing the car, sweeping the porch, cleaning my house over and over, taking the dogs out for a walk/run.. There is soooo much you can do....

    You get the point..

    If you can invest in one thing, get a activity tracker like Fitbug or Fitbit. You will be amazed at how many steps you can walk in a day, how many calories you burn doing activities like I mentioned above.. Just start moving and once you do, you will want to do more.. These activity tracker also interface with MFP so you have a dash board available to see nutrition and fitness in one place.

  • areallycoolstory
    areallycoolstory Posts: 1,680 Member
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    Sounds like you have started your journey :-) Good for you! Maybe begin by focusing on planning and logging your meals while your little guy is asleep. Just take a few minutes. You need to sleep too:-) Stick to your plan as best you can. Allow for flexibility while trying to stay under your calories. Then for exercise, at the same time each day, do some circuit training with your baby. Try 8 to12 reps of 4 to 6 different movements. Do as many sets as you can for 30 minutes while holding your little one. You could do squats, kettle bell swings,(baby bell), lunges, walking back and forth the length of the room carrying your baby... These might be wacky...just thought of them. Good luck. Feel free to add me as a friend. I am fairly new to MFP as well.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    Welcome and congrats on taking the first steps! Read the Announcements at the top of the message board threads. There is great information in them for getting started.

    As you've already discovered, baby steps are key. Don't try to change your entire life overnight or you're bound to end up frustrated and overwhelmed. Start out by simply logging everything you eat. Every single thing. Logging everything makes it easier to see where you can make simple changes that have a big impact. For example, cutting out sugared drinks and replacing them with water, diet drinks or unsweetened tea can be a big difference for some people, enough to equate to several pounds each month.

    For greater accuracy with calorie counts, weigh solid foods using a kitchen scale and measure liquids that can't be weighed. Don't "play" with the numbers, underestimate calories eaten or overestimate calories burned in exercise. You'd only be cheating yourself.

    Start strength training as soon as possible. In my opinion it's more important than doing cardio because it is much easier to maintain the muscle you already have than to build new muscle later. When we lose weight it is a combination of water, fat and muscle. If you're maintaining muscle then more of your loss will be from fat! Additionally, if you are significantly overweight, your body has built up a lot of muscle mass to move around your extra weight. If you can keep that muscle through strength training while you lose weight you're going to look amazing when you've lost the fat over it.

    The measuring tape is a better tool than the bathroom scale for judging your progress. In addition to "Before" pictures, measure your chest, waist, hips, thighs and any other body part you want to track and start recording them in MFP now. When the scale isn't moving your body might still be shrinking especially if you're lifting weights.

    Get yourself into the mindset that you're making a lifestyle change and not something that you will eventually finish. Time-based goals for weight loss are bound to lead to perceived "failure". Weight loss is not linear and you will lose pounds faster at the beginning than at the end. Don't get frustrated when you aren't losing as quickly over time.
  • dawnmcneil10
    dawnmcneil10 Posts: 638 Member
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    You've got some great advice here already. Mine is to just start being that role model you want to be for your family. It's really not as hard as our minds think, just start doing it, make meals with whole grains instead of the white stuff. For example look at pasta, go with the "smart taste" stuff that still looks white, cooks about the same but has more fiber and protein. That's a pretty simple and reasonably cost effective way to start. If you eat canned veggies switch to frozen veggies. Once you get used to that try whole wheat pasta and fresh veggies and so on.
    Instead of going 0-60 hit the 15 mph zone and look around a bit.

    Exercise can be simple too, instead of loading up the groceries make more trips to the car and back to unpack. I know it's tough in the bitter cold but it will make you feel better in the long run. If you laundry room is off the main floor bring down smaller loads. Sort the folded laundry by person and then cart each persons laundry back upstairs.

    I'm here pretty regularly and don't mind helping you along the way or sharing my experiences so if you're looking for something like that feel free to add me.
  • musicgirl_106
    musicgirl_106 Posts: 2 Member
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    Thank you all very much for your advice and support, I am reading all of these and I will use them. I am very happy that I have found a group of real people to help me throughout my Journey to a healthier life style.

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