Working Out at Home

If you can afford a treadmill, eliptical trainer, or the like, find a tv series you like a lot that has a continuing story line -- like Lost, 24, Grey's Anatomy. Watch one episode per work out. It helps the time pass quicker, it distracts you so you don't notice the extra effort as much, and it gives you something to look forward to (for example: "I can't wait to work out so I can see if Jin and Sun find each other in this episode"). Works for me!

I work out every morning when I wake up. If my plans for the day interfere with my normal work out then I wake up at 5:00 and work out. I do not allow myself an excuse. I want to be around for my family and being healthy is one thing I can be proactive about. I watch what I eat but am more focused on my activity level (I eat dessert a few times weekly). On days I work it is difficult and I either wake up early or walk 40 minutes on my lunch.

I can not be motivated by myself. I do go to a gym to be held accountable. I understand with working and home responsibility it makes it difficult to get to the gym and takes time (for me leaving home to getting home about 2 hours).

My family is my motivation (and support) and also buying smaller clothes doesn't hurt to be motivating.

Before I got pregnant in graduate school I was 25 pounds heavier than I am now. I didn't completely change the way I ate but mostly increased my activity. We rarely eat out (maybe once or twice a month) and I think that really helps too. That is probably the biggest change in diet I made.

My work out week usually includes:
2-3 one hour strength/weights
2-3 40-50 minute walks or 30 minute run
1 one hour kick boxing class / spinning
1 one hour pilate class

If I worked too late the night before and am not able to go to the gym in the morning I just do a video off of my cable provider.
I don't get down if I miss a work out but just do not eat as much that day. The other thing I do is that I check the scale every day (for me this really helps to know where I am at).

Also keeping a calender of when you work out this can make you feel like you are accomplishing things and may be your motivation. Even if you can only do 10 minutes at the end or beginning of your day, it adds up. If you start small it will eventually motivate you to do more.

Good luck, you can do it. It is really hard to commit. I have a supportive husband which makes it much easier. You just need to make it part of your day and after a few weeks it will be part of your routine.

I bought that Jillian Michaels 30 day shred because it has 20 minute work outs which are easier to fit in. Let me tell you those work outs are a killer. She works your whole body in that time. It is really hard to stay motivated. I think if you can find a buddy that helps push you when you don't want to helps! Good luck!!!

Sparkpeople.com is a great weight loss website. They have food plans, or you can enter in what you eat manually. They also have trackers for your workouts and even show you exercises to do. It is the best weight loss website that I have found and best of all, it's completely FREE! Check it out.

Read the book, "Women, Food, and God"...its not religious at all but it really puts together why you overeat! I'm almost done with it and its really opened my own eyes.

Good luck!

A little success goes a long way! I started with NO SUGAR and NO WHITE FOOD. Watch your labels for the sneaky -oses that is in almost everything. Just doing that I lost 4 pounds in one week...very inspiring and kept me going. Good luck!

Weight Watchers has been the best program for me as far as nutrition goes. It truly has moved from a weight loss program to a lifestyle (I tried it the first time in 2000 and have lived using their methods for the last 10 years - the only time I stopped was when I was pregnant, of course, and even then, I still used it to make sure I was eating healthy). The reason it works so well for me is that no food is truly "off limits". It just has you do everything in moderation while also focusing on getting fruits, veggies, and whole grains into your diet.
A great motivation for me as far as workouts is to set a goal. I keep setting fitness goals for myself. And then I tell someone about them (usually my husband or a few close friends) - that helps keep you accountable. My most recent fitness goals surround running. I have NEVER been an avid (or good) runner. But I set a goal to run a 10K this past spring. It ended up being sidelined temporarily because I ran into knee issues but those issues ended up being totally reversable so I am now back on track. Or you can set goals like walking a mile. Once you achieve that, increase your goal to walking 2 miles. Then you can increase your goal to walking further or maybe walking faster than before. Then you can maybe work up to running. I started out my running with doing intervals (walking briskly for 2 min, jogging for 2.5 min, then "sprinting" for 30 sec and repeating that cycle 4 times). Another good motivator is to find a "buddy" to do the workouts with you.
I know finding time to work out is very difficult - I work full-time outside of my home and also have a son who is about to turn 1 and a daughter who is about to turn 4. I've found that you simply have to schedule time to exercise. Yes, it means a little less time with my kids each week but the results are worth it. My daughter has noticed our family's devotion to physical fitness (she's learning by the example we set rather than by us having to tell her that fitness is important) and now talks about how she wants to learn to run like mommy when she gets older. I even entered her into a kids quarter mile fun run in Royal Oak a couple weeks ago - we completed it together and she was SO proud of herself (and mommy was full of pride too!) Further, when I am with my kids, I have SO much more energy to really play with them. So our time together is of higher quality than it was before I was in shape.
My best advice is to make small changes. Once those small changes become "the norm", then add new, little changes - both in exercise and eating. Slow changes don't produce quick results but they do produce results and those results are more likely to last long-term. And before you know it, you've started shedding weight and feeling better overall.

If I don't exercize first thing in the morning, it usually doesn't happen. Sometimes I make a game of it and act like each time I go to the bathroom, I have to do 10 squats, while I am doing dishes I have to do plies, and then in the evening, while I am watching t.v., every time there's a commercial on, I have to get up and workout with freeweights or jog in place.

As far as what to eat goes, I'm usually most successful when I keep my meals ultra simple or plain, eating basically what I call "peasant food". For breakfast I will have a piece of fruit, a slice of cheese toasted on top of whole wheat bread. Lunch maybe some hummus and vegetables and crackers, and then dinner might be a veggie burger (w/ bun) and a salad. I think fruits and veggies are the key and the more colorful and better. You can't get fat eating fruits and veggies, unless you are dousing it with loads of ranch and butter that is. And swapping out your processed carbs for healthier carb options like brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat pasta and yams. It's really hard to go to town on whole grains; they fill you up pretty fast.

Hope this helps.

My BIGGEST motivation was being diagnosed with cancer 2 years ago and wanting to become as healthy as possible for my husband and 2 kids.

I signed-up for a 1/2 marathon (I'm not a natural runner and haven't run in almost 7 years). A local running shoe store had a program that you could enroll in to train, and you really have to follow it to do well in the race.

Now that it's done, there are more excuses and reasons for not running as often. Believe it or not, I didn't lose a lot of weight, but I changed my body by replacing all the fat with lean body mass (muscle).

The BIGGEST thing you can do is to be more aware of what you eat and how you eat it. It takes the stomach 20 minutes to register fullness. Most of us eat WAY more quickly than that and over eat as a result. I know I do. Drinking a glass of water before meals is recommended to help fill you up and to prevent over eating.

However, there are some hormones that play a critical role in weight and may be out of balance (though most have NO tests to diagnose the imbalance or treatments to fix them). Hormones that can effect your weight include but are not limited to: insulin, cortisol, ghrelin, leptin, amylin, GLP-1, thyroid.

Almost universally, people agree that Weight Watchers (my husband's doing the online version for time considerations) is the best, most balanced way to lose weight and be accountable to it.

GOOD LUCK!

The thing that did it for me finally was to sign up for races. Knowing I had a race coming up motivated me to run. I started out slow with 1 mile at a time and signed up for a 5K race a couple months after starting. I then worked my way up to a 1/2 marathon. I am currently 32 weeks pregnant and can't run anymore but can't wait to start running again. I have NEVER felt this way about any exercise or program before. The feeling of finishing races is awesome! I also had a buddy that I did alot of running with when it was nice outside and that was huge in helping me continue.

I was a member of curves for 8 years. I loved it. Then my friend had to close her Curves. Since then I've been doing the Wii Fit Plus at home. But it seems like you're attempting to do things but not following through. With working and family it becomes a challenge to take the time for yourself.

I have a business that I work with savvy moms and here is what I suggest to them. Do you have a favorite pair of pants/jeans, dress, or an outfit that you want to fit into? If so, hang it up in a place you will see it everyday.

Since you work, park the farthest away from the door of the building. This will get you walking without realizing it.

Make 1-2 changes each month. Then it will become habit and before you know it in a year's time you will have made 12-24 changes.

If you would like a Personal Nutrition Consultation, email me and we can set up a time to talk.

Creating a healthy family is like a game of Follow the Leader. Our kids will do what we do. Take care of yourself first.

Weight Watchers is fantastic! It will fit any lifestyle, will teach you how to live healthy for your whole life (and how to cook for your family too), and it's reasonably priced. Many insurances will pay or reimburse a good part of the cost. There are meetings, day and night, in many locations. Go on their website. Some employers ever have them on-site. I have been going for 21 months and have gradually lost 105#. It's not a quick fix, although newbies lose their initial weight pretty quickly. They will definitely motivate you to do more exercise too. You'd never be sorry and it's a permanent solution if you practice what you learn. Good luck, Cherie!

Try www.sparkpeople.com.

I have lost 10 lbs in about 6 weeks just keeping track of my calories, staying in my range, and working out 2-3 times a week (even if "working out" is actually doing yardwork or whatever). They have so many valuable resources, it's all totally FREE, and they really promote a more "healthy living" than "diet" approach.

If you decide to join, look me up. My username is kthartline.

BTW - I don't get kickbacks, I don't work for them, I am getting nothing out of telling you this info. If you were to put me in as "referred by" I'd get some extra "points" which are used for NOTHING except by getting a ton of them you get a "sticker" for your page saying you've earned so many points. I just want you to know that I'm not pushing something on you for a profit or anything. I just know that it works to help so many people learn to live healthier lives and keep track of what they eat and it's completely free. You can use all the tools and go gung-ho or just use it for info or just a place to track your food intake. It's completely up to you how much you use it.

Oh, and my motivation? I have a little girl. I want to live healthier to set an example and I want to live long enough to see my grandchildren. I also want to be hot, in shape and turn heads again. LOL! May sound shallow, but it's the truth. :)

Good luck!

I found a picture of myself when I was about 20yrs old, aka before kids, and put it on my fridge! I know I might not ever look like that again, but it's nice to be reminded of my "potential".......

Hi Cherie!

I represent USANA HEALTH SCIENCES. We have a program called "Reset" It's a 5 day program that helps you get off your carbohydrate addiction. Most of us have this addiction! It's the American way. We eat something high gylcemic that spikes our blood sugar, then our blood sugar drops again and we crave more high gylcemic foods. Foods like breads, pastas, sweet things, etc.... It's a rollercoaster! This 5 day program helps you to get off the carb addiction, and therefore loose weight! You replace 3 meals/day with a low glycemic shake, healthy bars, and nutritionals. It also comes with an excercise video that anyone can do, and we also recommend walking 30 minutes/day. After the 5 days, there is a transform phase where you replace 2 meals/day with the shakes and then eat a low glycemic meal for the 3rd meal. And then the maintain phase where you have 1 shake for breakfast, and then eat 2 other healthy meals. The whole idea is to stop spiking our blood sugar so we stop craving all the bad stuff!! What we need is a LIFESTYLE change, and not a diet. Diets work for a while, but statistics show that most people gain all their weight back within 1-2 years (and then some). The flavors of the shakes are Chocolate, Vanilla, and Strawberry and you can put them in a blender and add fruit and ice to make a smoothie! They are very good, and by not eating high gylcemic, you will see pounds begin to shed even in the first week, as well as feeling much more energetic!! I have done the 5 day reset myself and have been in the maintain stage for about 5 years now. My husband and I are both faithful with it and it has done wonders for us!!

You can check it out on my website or you can always email or call me for more information. I wish you health and happiness!!

B. Hooyer
website - bhooyer.usana.com
email - ____@____.com
phone ###-###-####