Exercising and Weight-loss

Hang in there! You are off to a good start. If you are having to eat on the run alot that could be the trouble right there. All the other advise given by the other mamas are good too. All us mamas are supporting you!

Are you also drinking 6-8 glasses of purified water every day? That helps to flush toxins out of your body as well. You are also right to question the foods you eat - especially on the run. I surely wouldn't give up the exercise either.

Another thing you would probably benefit from is rather than using the scale take your measurements - you want to lose inches. Muscle weighs more than fat, but fat takes up more room. Make sense?

Hope this helps,
~V~
PS Maybe you'd be interested in our $100,000 Cinch Biggest Loser Challenge?

Exercise increases muscle mass as it burns fat. Muscle is more dense than fat, so you will often not see an immediate loss in weight; you will sometimes even see a gain. Don't go just by pounds - look at inches as well. If you've got more energy, and your clothes are fitting looser, you're doing it right.
If you're eating lean protein, a few complex carbs, and minimal fats, and drinking plenty of water you're eating what your body needs to burn fat and build muscle.

I started my diet jan 1 of this year. I have consulted with a doc. I have lost 20lbs and 3 inches in my waste. I have cut out bread,watch the calories and fat intake. I eat salad i buy turkey 99% fat free and use that instead of hamburger and i eat chicken. I bought one of the excerise balls at walmart and i do set up,i work on my legs and back. About 30 min everynight. And starting in march im going to walk 3 times a week for atleast 30 min. You may be eating less but you have to watch what you are eating. My doc gave me a break down of foods and how much and what is in them if you would like it i can fax it or mail it to you just let me know good luck i know its hard just keep on going dont stop!

I see that everyone gave you some great advice. Losing weight is very hard. I have been working for almost 3 years to lose weight. Sometimes I get discouraged & gain what I lost back. Just hang in there! Slow & steady wins the race! One thing I would suggest is maybe you are not eating enough. Your body might be going into starvation mode. Make sure that you eat a decent breakfast with some protein. Maybe a couple of eggs, protein smoothie, peanut butter wheat toast. That will get your metabolism going. Make sure you eat something atleast every 3 hours. This will keep your metabolism going also. Are you drinking water? I suggest keeping a food journal also because this really opens your eyes to what you are putting in your mouth everyday. I agree with some of the other ladies also with upping your intensity with your workouts. Strength training is important also. I have made a group on Cafemom for losing weight. Just let me know if you would like the link. Good luck! Don't worry, the weight will come off! ;)

A.

It sounds to me like it's most likely what your eating if your eating on the run. You may not be eating much but if its all high calorie, that could be your downfall. Try keeping a food diary for a week. Then review it and see if maybe your eating (or drinking) more than you think or if its all high calorie. There are several places on the internet you can look up calorie counts for foods, including fast food places. I found that when eating on the run, keeping the receipt for what you ate and then filling in the diary later when you have time to slow down helps me keep better track.

Hi I recently had a similar experience. I just had our 3rd child and the weight is not coming off as easily so we started back in the gym doing 20-30 minutes of cardio and strength training 4-5 days a week and I too only lost 2 pounds in 3 weeks! I learned the trick was that one it takes your body 3 weeks (21 days) to adjust to your new routine and the second is that you have to have your heart rate up to a certain pace in order to burn calories. You can see what your heart rate should be online based on your age. After doing this for a week I lost 6 pounds last week.

I'm also a dieter but have had problems too. I am now on the Alli diet & so far have had good success. I have to be especially careful because I tend to go way too far. I suffered Anerexia in the early 80's & was hooked on diet pills for a spell. Thanks to a good Dr. & supportive family, I didn't do too much harm to myself. After menepause I have gained some extra pounds & have tried several diet plans. Some are just too hard to stick to or way too expensive for my budget. I got Alli at Wal Mart in the starter pack that was buy one get one. Probably don't have them like that anymore but worth a look. Wal Mart has had it cheeper than any place so far. It makes you very aware of what you eat cause too much fat in your food & you do have what they call Treatment Effects. You also keep track of everything you eat in a little journal & eat no more than their recommended calories per day. I have been very pleased with it & haven't had to worry about doing damage to my heart. No jitters or restlessness. Good luck to you.

TD,

I am an aerobic instructor and have been in your shoes before. First, think about the things that you are eating while you are on the run. You may not be overeating but just eating high calorie and high fat foods. Also when you are walking what is your speed. Here's a tip...walk on an incline of like 3 to start out with if you are walking on a treadmill and then gradually increase the incline. You'll burn more calories that way. If you are walking outside, try walking up some hills if possible. Increase your water intake. Drinking a glass of water will help keep your hunger at bay and also keep your body hydrated. Good luck and stay with it. Remember muscle weighes more than fat and burns tons more calories than fat as well.

You may be gaining muscle and losing fat. That's what happened to me during basic training, which was 3 months. You should also watch your sodium intake. Salt will retain water, which as women we tend to do a lot of anyway.

It sounds like everyone else has some great advice, which I will try to follow as well. :) But if you keep it up & still see little results, I would recommend seeing a doctor, because there could be a medical reason. I have hypothyroidism & that makes you gain weight & makes it harder to lose weight, among other things. If you have any other symptoms such as chronic fatigue, feeling cold most of the time, losing hair, constipation, depression, etc., definitely see your doctor. There could be other medical reasons as well, so it couldn't hurt to get checked out anyway. If there is not a medical problem, & I hope there isn't, just keep at it & I'm sure you'll see some great results soon.

The best way to lose weight is the Wii Fit, I lost 9 pounds in the month of January using it for 15-25 minutes per day.

I am a certified personal trainer and here is what I suggest. Walking is great, but you need to add some intensity to your workout. Try finding a course with hills to walk on or just simply do intervals of speed walking or running. Walk for a minute then speed walk for a minute. If you can run walk for 2 minutes and run for 30 sec to a min. I also highly recommend adding some weight training into your routine. When you lift weights you build muscle. Your body burn calories to sustain that muscle so the more muscle you have the more calories your body will use to maintain it. That does not mean you have to bulk up, lean muscle will make a huge improvement as well. I am a big fan of the resistance bands. You can get them at Wal-mart and don't have to go to the gym to workout. You can get a great full body workout right at home. Most band sets come with a video or you can purchase an instructional book. Add weight (resistance training) at least 2 times a week.
Diet is a huge part of weight loss. In order to lose 1 pound of fat you have to expend 3500 calories!! That's a lot of calories, but with a good combination of exercise and diet it can be done. You said you eat on the run a lot. You might think that causes you to eat less, but in fact it typically makes it worse. You might not be able to make the best choices in your food eating on the run. The amount of food you eat does not necessarily determine the amount of calories you intake. It is the quality of food that is important. Try to stay away from processed foods. A good protein keeps you fuller longer!! I could go on forever about stuff to do, but to sum it up add intensity and some resistance training and chose quality foods over processed foods.
Best of luck and don't give up!! 2 pounds a week is a normal weight loss.

One thing that I've found encouraging when working out is to take measurements as well as weight. Measure around your waist, your hips, your thighs, and your arms and then do that once a week. Sometimes even when the pounds aren't coming off, the inches are. You could be replacing fat with muscle, which won't necessarily show up on the scale. :) Also if you are interested in an easy way to follow a healthy eating plan for a few weeks, try any of Denise Austin's books that have an eating plan. One is "Shrink Your Female Fat Zones." It has six weeks of meals laid out. Congratulations on starting a more healthy lifestyle.

Remember, muscle weighs more than fat, so as you are losing fat and building muscle, the weight may not change much, but your body is becoming healthier. Give it time.

Perhaps you might change your goal from weight loss to a healthier you for life. If your goal is quick weight reduction, you're likely setting yourself up for disappointment. If you're looking at just being healthier, a little bit every day, every week, every month, then you won't overemphasize the scale. I'd say just exercise as you have been doing, enjoy it as personal time and a pick-me-up, and perhaps only check the scale once a month. As for eating, it's better to sit and eat, because eating on the run you're more likely to eat less healthy things, to eat too much at a time, and to not pay attention to what you're eating. (Something to think of, too, is that it takes less time to prepare a fruit or vegetable snack than it does to go through a drive-thru or to microwave a frozen meal.) Try to include some protein like eggs, beans or cheese during your day, and more whole grains - these will fill you for longer. Good luck! I'm glad you're able to get some time in for exercise every day!

Here are some tips first make sure you eat a good breakfast, some fruit or yogurt if you are press for time. It is important that you get your system running again after the all night fast. Also if possible take your lunch to work so you can control what you eat. Hide some low calories , low cab snacks in your desk, some peanuts, microwave popcorn the no butter kind a mini bag, the little 100 calories packages of things.

Don't give u!!! It takes time to lose the weight. You may be loosing inches. Keep up the good work. It is a struggle to lose weight but it pays off in the end. Remember it took years to put on the weight and it is a slow process in taking it off.

Good luck!

It probably is WHAT you're eating. I recently lost 25 lbs in 6 weeks time with the Nutrisystem Woman's Walk excercise dvd. It's really simple to do and it doesn't take up too much time and my 2 little ones even enjoy doing it with me! You might need a certain diet to give your metabolism a boost. I kick started my weight loss with Nutrisystem. I did it for about 3 weeks to get me started on the right track then I just started doing it on my own. I'm now at the weight I was in high school and couldn't be happier!! Hope you find something that works for you!!

Sometimes when you start exercising it "scares" your body and it will reserve energy for about a month. The other thing could be that you are building muscle that you've never built before and because muscle holds more water than fat, it may seem you are not losing when, in fact, you are losing fat and gaining muscle. You might try tricking your body too...ride a bike for a few days instead, or try jumping rope on one of those days to reroute the nutrients and blood and get you metabolism moving. The best thing you can do for your body is to keep up the work and ALWAYS eat breakfast and drink more water than you think you need. Once you feel thirsty you are already on the verge of being dehydrated.

are you eating frequently? Are you eating enough? If not, you could have a slow metabolism. Make sure you're eating healthy snacks at least every 4-5 hours.

What are you eating? PM me and let's see what we can do.

L.