Suggestions on Small Changes to Routine for Health

P.,
You are wise to take it slowly and one step at a time!
In addition to the other suggestions, I would highly recommend starting the morning with a protein smoothie. I can recommend a protein powder that I use. I put in a cup of soy milk, the powder, wild blueberries, spinach and whatever else I have on hand. The smoothie is delicious and you will feel great!

Instead of thinking about "losing weight" think about gaining a healthy life. Our minds do not want to "lose" anything! We want to gain. Gain gradually more healthy eating habits and enjoyment of fresh food. Gain energy by getting out side for a walk, or playing with your son, going for a swim, riding a bike, etc. Pick activities that you, or you and your son, enjoy. Gaining more active time can be a fun addition to your lives, not a chore or obligation.

When "life is super stressful" is not the time to step on a scale every day and stress about what it reads. Throw out the scale. Reduce your stress through increased activity and fresh healthful foods, and adequate sleep.

Take a 20 min walk every day and avoid the white stuff--rice, potatoes & bread!

Have a bowl of clean ready to eat fruit sitting in the fridge, easy to grab! also carrot sticks or cherry tomatoes whatever you like so it's as easy to grab as a pretzel or chip bag. They say protein is good to curb your apetite so a few almonds or nuts is another snack. Park farther away from store so you have to walk (maybe wait till weather cools for that!!) I read an idea-dont know if it is a good one or not, keep a small pair of weights out on your dresser and as you're walking by grab them and do ten reps
Good luck it's hard after age 40 and I find the best way to actually exercise is to go to a class where someone makes me do it for the full hour!

1. treadmill even if it's just a comfortable walk (or neighborhood walks if that is your style, i never liked walking in our neighborhood)
2. keep a pitcher of water with 3-4 slices each of lemon and lime and drink that instead of regular water. obviously, sodas and a lot of milk or juice are no-no's.
3. cut your carbs - my health coach suggested taking 1/2 the noodles, rice, or bread that i normally would.

a lot of it depends on your current habits, but those things have helped me :) good luck!

No liquid calories! Alcohol occasionally but no soda, starbucks, or anything else.. Water should be your main beverage. Anything else is a special treat to have every so often.

Also-check out Bob Harper's Skinny Rules book. It has everything that you will need to know and follow concisely presented

I don't know how old your kids are, but find things that you enjoy that you can do with them; ride bikes, play tag in the yard (or house!), dance, do the hokie-pokie, go for walking adventures (look for insects, butterflies and neat flowers), swimming, blow bubbles outside on a windy day and chase them! You get he idea... You are more apt to get good exercise when you do things that are fun. Remember, if you are moving, you are exercising, forget that gym mentality!

Switch to drinking only water (except maybe for your morning coffee if you are addicted to that and don't want to give it up---but don't add in lots of sugary stuff. Drink it black or with a teaspoon or two of 1/2 and 1/2). And start walking.
I turn 44 this year, and I actually started running this January. I love it. Well, right up until the heat/humidity finally set in about 3 weeks ago. I toughed out the first week, MADE myself get up early enough to be able to run one day last week, and then pretty much ignored it since then, b/c it almost doesn't drop below about 80 right now (even overnight) and the humidity is high. The temp would work, if not for the humidity. blech.
Anyway, if you have a treadmill, you could still keep at that (I don't--no room for it).
But walking, you can do that in small 20 minute segments 2 x a day.
My run normally averages taking me about 90-100 minutes (get dressed for it, drive down the street to where I run stretch, run, cool off after, come home and shower)... but having a treadmill would make it less time consuming.

And cut out white stuff, like OneAndDone mentioned. Bread, rice, potatoes, sugar....

If you haven't already, cut all soft drinks and prepackaged, processed foods. Just those 2 changes will change your overall health and well being.

When you're under stress, you gain weight in your tummy. The stress hormone causes us to keep fat there. Supposedly Green and Black tea block cortisol to help avoid that. I make a pot of hot water in the morning and put both green and black tea bags in it. There are benefits to both kinds of tea, so, I figure I'll get best of both worlds. I have hot tea in the morning, then put it in the fridge and have iced tea the rest of the day.

I would start making swaps. Rather than cut down on snacks, snack differantly. Think about what you snack on. Do you like snacks that are crunchy salty, creamy frozen, fried, sweet? Then think of an alternative.
Have a handful of raw nuts, kale chips, or whole grain pretzels for crunchy salty. Freeze your own yogurt pops - greek yogurt, fresh fruit, and honey to get your creamy frozen fix. Fried - oven fry some sweet potatoes. Sweet - fresh fruit.

I agree with Sue W. focusing on establishing healthy habits that you can live with for the rest of your life is a better approach than trying to lose weight. I have found making minimal changes has had a big impact such as switching from white rice to brown rice, wheat bread over white bread, whole wheat pasta instead of regular pasta and using stevia instead of sugar or other substitutes. I try to keep fresh fruits and veggies on hand at all times, cut up and ready to go in little baggies (mostly for veggies), so my family and I are more inclined to eat them.
I have been doing a bootcamp with my neighbor at 5:30 in the morning. Twice a week I get up at 4:45 in the morning. Craziness!! However, I really enjoy it. There are way more pros than cons about it. If I just make myself get to bed at a decent hour the night before, getting up IS NOT a problem. I get it done and out of the way for the day, especially on these hot summer days. Sometimes it is hot and muggy at 5:30! One morning we watched the sunrise and the sun was blood red. It was really cool, but also kinda creepy. LOL. I feel better and I have met some lovely, health-minded people. I also don't have to deal with the headache of finding childcare for my kids since my husband is home at that time getting ready for work. Bootcamps seem to be very popular as there seem to be so many offered everywhere. Groupon and coupon sites like it often advertise specials for them all the time which really helps to defray cost. I also enjoy walking with my kids around the neighborhood while they ride their bikes or putting them in the wagon and hauling them around. That is quite a workout! I like to do 5k races. I usually walk most of them, but they are fun and again the people I meet are always positive and health-minded. It is just a vibe I like to be around and emulate. I bet I could find a 5k for every weekend through the spring, summer and fall months if I wanted. They are so popular and benefit some sort of charity or cause.
My husband's company has a wellness program that we both have to participate in and it has offered a lot of great tips and advice for managing a healthy lifestyle. One tip in particular that I really like encourages people to focus on consuming 1 whole grain per day, 2 fruits per day and 3 vegetables. (Of course this goes without saying that you are also including some dairy and protein, but these three are the ones people usually eat too much or too little of, of the five food groups.) I thought that is an easy way to start implementing and keeping track of better foods into my diet.
Another fun thing I have tried recently is the Game On Diet. (www.thegameondiet.com) You play it as a game with friends and it is all about implementing healthy habits like getting enough sleep per night, or drinking 100 ounces of water per day and eating 5 meals that consist of a protein, carb, and healthy fat with several servings of veggies too. Exercising for twenty minutes each day, etc.You get a meal off each week and also a day off, so you don't feel deprived, but start to learn how to keep those portions under control. It is the most fun on a diet you will ever have. The book is a super funny and quick read too. Good luck!
HTH,
A.

Hi P., If you, or anyone else, is active on Facebook, there is an online support group that is really great for this purpose. Just search "Be My Diet Buddy". By joining a group doesn't give anyone access to your personal page unless you are friends with them. Anyway, there are people on there at many different places of getting healthy and weight loss. People will post questions or offer suggestions of things that are working for them. Sometimes its a good place to just pop on for encouragment before you want to grab that box of donuts! Good luck!

ahh, I see you're in Richardson? Just wanted to add on to Angie H's answer. You're in luck! You can join http://www.canyoncreekfitness.com/
Cost-wise, it is cheap compared to what others charge for boot camp. MWF is WOMEN ONLY! There are all levels and ages of women there. The average age is at least 35-55. It is at 5:30 am. (Oh, I just read you don't want to spend an hour working out!) Like Angie H said, it feels great when you get something accomplished so early in the morning while everyone is still sleeping and you can watch the sun rise. I'm not a morning person either. But, I've been doing it. You can try a class for free.
As far as changes to your diet and being smart, check out The Starch Solution by Dr John McDougall, the movie Forks Over Knives, http://www.engine2diet.com/~engine2/about_e2. I think these are "smart" diets in that they are NOT telling you to restrict your carbs and eat all meats and cheeses. I'm waiting for that fad to go away. Come to think of it, their focus is not necessarily weight loss. It's healthier eating (fruits, veg, grains) with a side benefit of weight loss and better numbers (cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, etc). Good luck and hope to see you one morning.

I get the best results from eating light for dinner and not snacking at night, and going to bed with an "empty" stomach. I sleep better, too.

I have a huge sweet tooth, but I have found that cocoa-dusted almonds and freezing big chunks of watermelon on popsicle sticks satisfy the sweet urge!
I also take the stairs, both up and down, instead of elevators/escalators. Park as far AWAY from the door as you can in parking lots. If there is anything close to you, like a grocery store or bank, walk or bike to run that errand instead of driving. My son's preschool is 1.5 miles away, and I am going to try walking him to school in the fall, sneaking in a little exercise for us both before work! Just standing instead of sitting burns more calories, so try standing/walking around a bit as much as possible while you are in a waiting room, watching TV, etc.
We also try to do one big outdoor activity a week, like going to the zoo or spending a couple of hours at the park. When yopu make a conscious effort at places like that to run around with the kids, do the little run/jump activities while you are walking around the zoo, carry your smallest (if possible) in a backpack or carrier instead of a stroller...you can sneak in a bunch of exercise without a formal gym session.

My friend in Denver tried everything to get rid of that baby weight look , and finally was easily able to do it with BodE. It is a protein Burn that you drink when you get up so your body starts burning fat and not muscle. Then you have breakfast. Mid-day you get a text it is snack time, and at noon there is a text to tell you its lunch time, and whether to have carbs or protein. Mid afternoon another snack time, and then dinner at night. You drink the second can of Burn at lunch or it the afternoon. It was the plan I have been on that I never felt hungry or had cravings. I just felt really, really good. To read about it go to http://annnoblehealth.com. Click on Bode weight solution. My number is on site if you have questions.