Weight loss/exercise - Where do I start???

Okay embarrassing confession time :redface:. For as long as I can remember I haven't exercised, haven't eaten properly and I have not being looking after myself.
My weight is just going up and up and up and I've decided that enough is enough I need to do something about it. My thighs and bum are covered in cellulite and my fat just jiggles and jiggles (think the Homer Simpson episode). My family has massive weight issues with morbid obesity which I am terrified I'm heading down the path of if I keep on this track. I don't have the energy to play with my kids and I cant find clothes that fit me. I've finished having my kids so it's now me time. I want to be that hot wife, LOL!!

So my problem is I don't know how to eat properly or exercise - silly I know.

Where do I start? How do I eat properly (and on a budget)? We are on a tight budget so I can't do Jenny Craig or similiar programs.

Any help tips would be greatly appreciated.

Dan.

Oh and what are your favorite work out songs/music?

Good on you for wanting to make changes! :) I know it just clicked with me that I needed to "fix" myself, for the sake of DD and my DH. I want to be that hot wife too lol.

I'll be back in the morning to let you know what I've done so far which is helping me lose weight a fair bit :)

Xox


Sent from the land of "iSomethings" so forgive me for any spelking misstaks ;)

I'll also be back in the morning.....I want to know what xXHopeXx is going to tell you Liviam :)

Ok, so here's a general run down of what im doing, I'm not following a specific diet as such, but here's the general idea :)

- im only drinking soft drink with main meals, and even then im only having 1 small/medium glass, and at night time, im trying to only have diet soft drink.
- all other times i drink water, i always have a pump bottle/water bottle with me, so if i'm thirsty, i have that. That helps to flush out your system, and ironically lose weight because the body stops retaining water because Its getting enough :)
- Im trying to have the most carbs in the morning, so i'll often eat something like bacon and eggs, or leftover spaghetti, scrambled eggs on toast, or something like that with a fair bit of carbs to give me energy throughout the day.
- if i dont have breakfast, i have an early lunch which is similar to breakfast, of sometimes just a normal lunch. If i have a late breaskfast, sometimes i skip lunch (depending what time I have breakfast) or i'll have a weightloss shake/bar/soup or something similar
- for lunch ill have something like a meat and salad sandwich or wrap with some yoghurt or fruit or similar.
- for dinner we nearly always have salad, whether its beef strips and salad, or chicken and salad, whatever meat really, and we just coat the meat in a marinade, have lettuce, tomato, onion and feta cheese (we're not really adventurous so tend to stick to that salad lol), mix it all together and have a big bowl, or until we're full really and the marinade on the meat acts as a dressing for the whole salad. so itsl always different! those 10 minute marinades are awesome! so yummy!
Or we also have meat and veg, try not to have potatoes or rice or pasta, but we do a few times a week, and if we have carbs at night, we have a smaller serving of dinner (or just a smaller serving of the carbs, I.e. rice or potato, but normal size serving of everything else) slow cooked meals are AWESOME and same with most foods really, just use common sense about what sounds healthy! :)
- for dessert ill usually have frozen yoghurt, or yoghurt and museli, or occasionally a custard or something, if i feel like dessert anyway, sometimes i do, sometimes I don't
- for snacks if i just want chips or something i try to have grainwaves or red rock deli (or the aldi/woolies equivalent because its cheaper lol) as they have less oil and fat and are *better* for you lol.

A big thing is I allow myself one "bad day" every week. Not to go nuts, but I allow myself one bad meal (whether it's pizza, takeout, sausage rolls, whatever I feel like, but with takeout I'll always get the SMALL size chips and diet drink) and maybe also a small chocolate or something. Funnily enough this actually gives your metabolism a big boost and kicks it into overdrive for awhile and helps you lose weight! :)

i also *try* to exercise every day, but sometimes it just doesnt happen lol, most times i'll be able to do it a few days in a row then end up having a couple days off because im busy, or something like that. but my AIM is to do it EVERY day. that way i cant just say ill do it tomorrow, because I know I have to do it tomorrow anyway lol
- my ultimate aim fitness wise is to be able to do 2km in 12 minutes, but a major goal is 15 minutes (i work out on the treadmill) i obviously have mini goals, first was to be able to do it in under 20 minutes, then 17mins30sec, then 16min30sec, etc. after 15 minutes, 12 minutes, thats my absolute ideal time, as i went to a personal trainer a few times, and they said thats an ideal level of fitness, so hence my goal.

now that im closer to my goals, im starting to add an extra km onto the end, and once i do th initial 2, im seeing how quickly i can do the extra 1km, whether it takes 7-10 or 15 mins, i aim to improve that too, which will help boost stamina levels and overall fitness, burns more calories, and I'm actually working out for longer than just 15-20mins if I can't use the wii.

- im also using the Wii Fit, i aim for 30mins of that every day, but again, sometimes it doesn't happen as I workout when DD is asleep, and it depends whether I've been doing things before I workout or if she unexpectedly wales up. But the aim is still there and it goes surprisingly quick! I vary the exercises on that, but general faves on that are boxing, and the steps, whether its rhythm stepping or free-step while i watch TV, and then also the obstacle course is also fun but i tend to do whatever grabs my fancy in that respect, and on the Wii, i tend to burn at least 150-200cal in itself

sometimes if im feeling particularly energetic i take DD or the dog (or both if DHs home) for a 20-30 min walk too, but not overly fast paced, but not slow lol

If you don't have a treadmill, you can always look in the app stores and download a couple apps which basically tell you how far you've run, your average speed, etc. so it makes it work pretty well like a treadmill really :)

ETA - weights are also a good way to help build muscle which although with weights you initially put on abit of weight (muscle weighs 2.2x more than fat!) muscle NEEDS to use energy just to be there! So if you build lean muscle (not like body builders lol) it not only helps you to look good, but it helps you massively to burn weight! :) there are plenty of different exercises you can do with weights, and provided they're balanced with cardio, you won't get bulky (that and being female helps too lol)

i cant think of anything else atm, but if you have any specific questions ill try answer! :)


Sent from the land of "iSomethings" so forgive me for any spelking misstaks ;)

Oh! Work out songs!

- what you want - evanescence. Great upbeat rocky song, helps you go fast paced lol. Lyrics can also apply in sections to wanting to lose weight :p
- throw your hands up - quote ft. pitbull
- part of me - Katy perry
- call me maybe - carly Rae Jensen (sp?) one can dream about the boys chasing ;) lol! That and it's such an upbeat song! Lol easy to get into!
- whistle - flo rida
- turn all the lights on - t-pain

Whatever songs YOU like/love an make you feel like getting up and dancing or being active lol! I prefer songs with a faster beat, it helps me to walk/run faster lol.
Aggressive/angry songs are good too to help use up your frustrations during exercise lol!


Sent from the land of "iSomethings" so forgive me for any spelking misstaks ;)

On my way to work chick but pop into diet and weight loss chatter! BL!

There's lots of free advice online about portion sizes.
Basically I aim for as unprocessed/fresh as possible. As much vege as I can manage and lots of water.
Calorie King and MyFitnessPal are free online recording tools. Personally I find recording my intake the best way as I feel more accountable. They also offer meal plans if you want.
There's also lots of free online home workouts. Basically though walking is a good start.

Some great advice given by Hope & Kim!

Just want to add, you need to have goals - what are you aiming to achieve? I am not talking about broad goals such as 'to lose weight'.

How much weight? By when? How are you going to achieve it? Are you going to weigh yourself once a week and measure yourself say every 4 weeks? (sometimes no weight loss on the scales but you have lost cms). What about when you reach that goal? You need to set new ones to keep you focussed..... The other thing is you need to make the change forever, not just for now b/c then the weight will come back....

Best of luck

I had really good results with Bodytrim. Not as a lifestyle thing - I definitely think changing the whole way you think about food is a must if you're going to have long term success - but its a great kickstart to get you well on your way to your goal. I find that's the hardest part - you can work your ass off, eat really well but if you don't get good results its so disheartening.

Anyway, if you want to know the Bodytrim stuff let me know - no point in you buying the package, just not worth the money.

Good luck with it lovely. I'll be joining you as soon as this little one is on the outside!

Hun deciding to make a change is a huge first step so well done!

I've lost around 8kg so far and I got DH on board and he has lost close to 15kg (he's looking very hot too btw lol!)
So this is what we are doing:

1. Cut out junk and processed food (we give ourselves one treat day a week where we eat any meal we want but outside of that it is fresh, unprocessed food)
2. No soft drinks. If I feel like something fizzy then I drink plain mineral or soda water with a squeeze of lemon in it.
3. Exercise every day. It doesn't always happen but I try really hard to get at least 30 mins exercise a day. I get bored so easily with exercise so I need to mix it up a bit. I go the gym and do my own programme or I do a fitness class. If I can't get to the gym then I do an exercise DVD or go out for a walk. Anything as long as it gets you moving!
4. Track calories using my fitness pal which is a free app. I used this for a couple of weeks just to get an idea of how many calories I was consuming. It really is surprising as to what you think is low fat may not actually be low calories.

I haven't tried any of the shakes or other programmes so I can't comment on those. My SIL lost a lot weight using tony ferguson but then put it all back on within 12 months and I really want to avoid doing that. We both wanted the lifestyle change rather than something that is a quick fix IYKWIM so we opted to go back to basics and it really does work if you are disciplined (yes I've fallen off the bandwagon a few times!). My biggest weakness is chocolate so I just don't have any in the house anymore and I will occasionally treat myself to a small square rather than a whole block or have a jarrah hot choc which are not so bad calorie wise.

I think the biggest benefit has been that we all eat so much healthier now. I bake muesli slice/muffins/biscuits for the kids to have as snacks instead of buying any snacky type foods for them and we have reduced our grocery bill a little too which never hurts.
Best of luck hun!

Favorite songs during workout:
shook me all night long by ACDC (remix)
Womanizer by Britney Spears
La Bomba by Ricky Martin
Madonna thunderpuss remix..

and for weight loss you must start jump roping. I have tried running, biking, sit ups, and all sorts of exerices and none seemed to work as well as jump roping. Jumping rope will seriously work every muscle in the body. I'm convinced that it will expose your weak links.


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