New and looking for advice!

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Hawkforceone
Hawkforceone Posts: 3
in Introduce Yourself
:flowerforyou: Hi I'm 33, going back to college, mom of 3 ( 4 if counting my husband, lol.) . I'm looking to lose weight so I can keep up with my kids and be healthier. I'm allergic to aspartame so that cuts alot of substituting my sugar for sugar free stuff out. I don't have any excercise equipment so I depend a lot on stuff I can do at home without it. Any avice on all of that would be great. I am also looking for good ways to get my yogurt in every day without it killing my sugar intake.

As if that's not enough to take on or anything I am also attempting t quit smoking! lol
So there it is. :laugh: That's me. :happy:

Replies

  • mrsjrwest
    mrsjrwest Posts: 17 Member
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    Skip the aspartame anyway and go for the stevia. It's natural, and can be found in products like Truvia, even at major box stores. Sugar free but still healthy.

    I could have access to lots of exercise equipment, but have some time/space limitations. I am using free and easy stuff now (just getting going) like walking, yoga, calisthenics, and Wii Fit. It's all somewhere to start, but you can do it!
  • pholbert
    pholbert Posts: 575 Member
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    Walking is free
  • kunibob
    kunibob Posts: 608 Member
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    I can't tolerate aspartame or sucralose, so I feel your pain on the artificial sweetener front. Good news is that stevia is a 0 calorie sweetener that is getting a lot more traction lately, as another poster mentioned above. It has a slight licorice-y taste, which I personally love.

    Agreed on the walking front as a good way to get started -- or running, if you can grow to like it! A lot of folks have success with home exercise programs like 30 Day Shred (I used that at first, before I started lifting heavier and stuff, and saw some good results with it). It's pretty cheap and a nice entry-level exercise program.

    Sounds like you're making a lot of great life changes, so I wish you the best of luck! :flowerforyou:
  • jenniejengin
    jenniejengin Posts: 785 Member
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    Try this book call "You ARE YOUR OWN GYM" by Mark Lauren, with Joshua Clark. (The Bible of BodyWeight Exercises). You use the body you have to build the body you want, using your own body weight. no equipments
  • pat6250
    pat6250 Posts: 90
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    You could sweeten plain yogurt with fruit, or try agave syrup. It has calories like sugar, but it is metabolized more gradually, so it doesn't spike your insulin as fast. Mashed strawberries are low in calories, but they would sweeten up yogurt nicely. Even if you use honey, you could use a lot less than the factories do, and still enjoy it. If you like fruit smoothies, you can blend in some yogurt and use it as a meal. For at home exercise, I use videos. I buy them on sale at Target, or you could borrow them from the public library to try different ones, then buy one or two that you like. I have a basket with weights, stretch bands, and a bar that I got either with tapes or on sale at Sportmart and Target. A friend gave me a stepper when she was cleaning out her basement, maybe you could pick one up at a yard sale. If your kids have jump ropes or hula hoops, borrow them! If you take them skating or bowling, participate with them. :flowerforyou:
  • JillKathleen
    JillKathleen Posts: 1
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    I've been thinking about the whole weight loss thing in general a lot lately - as I recently rejoined MyFitnessPal to help get myself back on track, so i felt compelled to answer your post...

    I have come to the conclusion that losing weight will not necessarily make me a happier person, but being a happier person could help me lose weight. Essentially-- just liking myself more, means that I know food does not make me happy. Food is just fuel to keep me going.

    MyFitnessPal can be an awesome tool to make me more conscious of the kind of fuel/food I am using. I've had success with it a year or so ago -- dropped 7lbs easily, then plateaued, then gave up and regained 10lbs. I don't blame quitting MFP for the gain. I blame my eating habits-- I eat when I'm bored, furstrated, etc. and I don't pay attention to real hunger cues - sometimes a drink of water or a nap is what I really need. But mostly, for me, it is just about remembering that food is fuel, first and foremost. Careful attention to spending the calories wisely will result in successful weight loss and exercise will earn more calorie allowances. Once I reach my "goal" weight, I know it will take a lifetime of changed habits to maintain that loss. But regardless of how fast I lose or how much weight I lose, I can start being happy today. I need to just do more things that make me happy - not eat more food in search of that happiness.

    Wishing us both luck! Stay happy.
  • C00lCountry
    C00lCountry Posts: 282
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    Check out the low carb yogurts as well.
    Walking, lifting items around house, push up, etc for workout.
  • jenniejengin
    jenniejengin Posts: 785 Member
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    Try this book call "You ARE YOUR OWN GYM" by Mark Lauren, with Joshua Clark. (The Bible of BodyWeight Exercises). You use the body you have to build the body you want, using your own body weight. no equipments

    This is what the back of the book reads:

    As the demand for Special Operations military forces has grown over the last decade, elite trainer Mark Lauren has been at the front lines of preparing nearly one thousand soldiers, getting them lean and strong in record time. Now, for regular Joes and Janes, he shares the secret to his amazingly effective regimen--simple exercises that require nothing more than the resistance of your own bodyweight to help you reach the pinnacle of fitness and look better than ever before.

    Armed with Mark Lauren's motivation techniques, expert training, and nutrition advice, you'll see rapid results by working out just 30 minutes a day, four times a week--whether in your living room, yard, garage, hotel room, or office. Lauren's exercises build more metabolism-enhancing muscle than weightlifting, burn more fat than aerobics, and are safer than both, since bodyweight exercises develop balance and stability and therefore help prevent injuries. Choos your workout level--Basic, 1st Class, Master Class, and Chief Class--and get started, following the clear instructions for 125 exercises that work every muscle from your neck to your ankles. Forget about gym memberships, free weights, and informercial contraptions. They are all poor substitues for the would's most advaced fitness machine, the one thing you are never without: your own body.

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