14 weeks

I don't have money to go to the gym so I use the dvd's. Each day I do like 15-30 minutes worth. But whatever you can do at this point is great! Start walking, go as far as you can and try to go further each week. Then add in some cardio. If you think you can do all this now then more power to you! I have noticed that cutting down my sodium intake and watching my carbs has helped a ton! Best of luck to you! Can't wait to see where you are at in 14 weeks!

you can SOOOO do this! I lost 41.6lbs in 15 weeks so you can totally do it. i went from a size 18 to a size 10 in that time. i think you can definitely get in to at least a 16 by then. i did turbofire everday and ate 1200 calories a day of whatever i wanted. i did try and eat more veggies and fruits though. :-) good luck! Add me if you need help!

Wow!!! Kudos to you!! :flowerforyou:

I can totally relate to you with the lengthy relationship and being a mom who before children, was a size 12. Now I am an 18/20 and it makes me a mean bi*ch to everyone around me. Especially my hunnie. I really love the Walk Away the Pounds dvd's with Leslie Sansone! I have a little one in school from 12:30-3:30 and that is the perfect time frame to do 30 min= 2miles or if I am really feeling ambitious I can get 45 min=3 miles, or even 60 min=4 miles! It is easy to follow along, no silly dance moves or anything else that makes you wanna give up. Also I would recommend really trying hard to get more fruits and veggies in your diet and stay away from soda! Have coffee or tea for that caffeine boost we mom's all so desperately need. I can't say I am an angel, I did sneak a diet pepsi into my morning today LOL Best of luck! Remember this isn't a fast sprint, its a marathon! Losing weight takes lots of time and perseverance :drinker:

I've lost about 85 pounds myself. My method was low-carb, and it worked very well. I went from 240ish to 180 in about 18 months. I've calorie-counted myself down another 20 pounds over the last, oh, three years.
The biggest lever when losing weight is food, not exercise. When you exercise, you get hungry and eat more. Not to say it can't be done, but working out a ton as well as eating a lot less is very hard. It's much easier not to eat one cookie than to walk/run two miles.

I am of the philosophy that either low-carb or calorie counting can work, because they both did for me. It's all about your commitment and willpower. I didn't cheat once for a good two years, until I decided to go off low carb. If you think you can do that, research low-carb diets, the science behind it is solid but I don't want to get into it. I would recommend staying away from all the "frankenfoods" with fake sugar alcohols, etc.

If you want to be able to "cheat" once in a while, then you're at the right place for counting calories. If you want to cut weight fast, cut out a lot of calories. I am trying to lose these last ten pounds or so and am eating ~1800 calories a day. Use a BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) calculator, then add in your activity level, to see what your maintenance level of calories is, and subtract 300 or so. Even if you think you can, though, don't go below 1200 or 1300 calories in a day. Your body goes into starvation mode and it doesn't work in the end.

For exercise, lifting heavy things (strength training) is very effective for body re-composition. You say you don't want to go to a gym, though, so cardio is great, too. Really, I think you should do whatever you like to do. Running is great, but it won't work for long if you hate running.

Did I cover everything? Probably not.

Edit: Oh, food! Eat lots of chicken and eggs. They will fill you up and work on both low-cal and low-carb diets.

I love what everyone has said already. It's super important to forgive yourself and know that you can do this.

Different things work for different people but there are a couple of things that work for everyone. And those things are exercise and diet. Just like someone else said there is no such thing as a quick fix.

What I suggest is journal. Journal about what does not work for you (chinese food, late night eating, snacking, feeling lonely, etc) and from there develop a personalized plan. When I first started mine looked like this: NO fried foods, no snacking (because I couldn't just snack, it always turned into a meal), a 20 min walk with my dog everyday (I worked my way up to jogging), drink 2 glasses of water before each meal, and no eating after 8 pm.

Of course, a year and a half later this list is longer but that is what I started with and I got results fast.

You CAN do this. You can do it for you, you can do it for your husband and you can do it for your kids. And just think, you will also make your dog happy too

Happy new journey to you!

You seem to have some good ideas for work outs already (wii fit, walking/jogging with your dog, and the fitness dvds). I would try to find some reliable work out buddies to do these activities with. There are going to be days that you come home and feel too tired or lazy to work out. A good work out buddy will hold you accountable! Also, when/if you can afford to, I highly recommend looking into boot camp classes. I found a coupon for one where I live that made it insanely affordable. The classes can be REALLY hard but they are sooo worth it. I'm doing 4 classes a week and I noticed a difference in my body after the first week! (Although I do jog 1 or 2 days in addition to boot camp.) Also, when you pay for a class, you go! I also pay for a gym membership but because I can go any time and any day of the week I often procrastinate and say I'll do it later and then never do.

Congratulations finding your motivation! Now do everything in your power to stay motivated. Keep your goals in mind and stick with MFP. Good luck!

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