145 Days to Firm Everything!

The best advice I got on working out / losing weight are:

#1: Nutrition is King - doesn't matter if you workout a ton if you aren't watching what you eat
#2: Exercise is Queen - a strong King needs a queen
#3. Supplement is Princess/Prince

The body is like a bank account. The more money you put in a bank account the bigger it gets. The more calories you put in your body the bigger it gets.

I played Santa during the Christmas season last year. My schedule was so demanding I lost 21 pounds between the 12th of November and the 14th of December.

I ate an apple or a bowl of cereal for breakfest. I ate a can of soup with vegetables (one small diced potato, two sliced carrots, half a diced onion, half a chicken breast cut up in a can of cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup) for lunch and salad or another bowl of soup and a half sandwich for dinner.

I was up walking around wishing the mall patrons "Merry Christmas", or I was lifting 40 lb kids up and off of my lap every 5 minutes.

If you strap a back pack on (or a front pack) and put 4, 2 liter bottles in it and carry it around your house and don't eat any more than I did, you will loose weight.

Hope you have lots of fun in Disney World.

Good luck to you and yours.

Do P90X, only takes 90 days ;)

Or have a drink before debuting the bathing suit! Liquid courage!

Have fun ;)

Check out the book, "The Weigh Down Diet" by Gwen Shamblin. I'm sure it's at the library. It's the easiest diet to follow if you are very committed and it costs nothing and you don't have to change anything for anyone in the family. I did it before going to Disney and lost a lot rather quickly.

Another time I lost 40 pounds on 3 months using www.fitday.com It's free and allows you to track everything.

losing weight is 90% diet, 10% working out. What working out really DOES help with is toning muscles but if you don't eat right, you won't be able to see those toned muscles underneath the fat!

I'm in the process of losing weight right now and I can tell you that the MOST helpful thing has been to cut waaaay down on carbs. I'm not really a salad person but I'm forcing myself to eat a salad every day for lunch with protein and then to eat protein + veggies for dinner. the only carbs i get are from veggies, fruits and yogurts (good carbs). i'll also have small amounts of complex carbs like brown rice every once in awhile. working so far! knock on wood. good luck!

if you have access to a wii get the wii dance game. it is loads of fun and good exercise. also their regular exercise videos are fun. another good idea is to pack the kids in the stroller and go walk the mall before it opens. that way you can do the walking where it is warm and not worry about stopping to shop

Get a couple of 30-min. workout dvd's, Jillian Micheal's is a great one. I also highly recommend running, 30 degrees is fine for running outdoors because your body will heat up. (outdoor temp will feel 20 degrees warmer after about a mile) Running is great because it burns a lot of calories in a short amount of time, and helps firm everything up. Just make sure you're eating a diet high in fruits/veggies and not consuming too many calories from processed foods.

I started using caloriecounter.com to track what I eat and I was amazed at how many calories I was eating. This was back in October and I've lost a little over 20lbs. I also exercise everyday and drink tons of water. I don't use the website as more because I've kind of learned what has how many calories and what portions to eat. Good luck! Oh and I use the 30 day shred too and really like it.

Go out and buy illian Michales 30 day shed. It's about $10 at walmart. She is going to kick your behind, but it's so worth it. Your also going to need dumbells, you can get 5lb also at walmart for about $5 each. With the dumbells google differnt excercises to do for your arms. I would also write out what your routine is going to be every day. Concentrate on cardio3x wk and weights 2x week. I realize it's cold outside, me livign in wisconsin an all I think the weather is about the same as you. However every night I am outside running or walking at least a half mile. The faster you walk the faster your heart rate increases, and the faster you warm up.

Also I know gyms are expensive, but do your High schools offer a gym membership? I just joined for $20 a year!!!

cardio is key for weight loss, weights for toning

First off, switch to a plant strong diet, you'll lose weight wicked fast without even trying. Second, cardio burns fat while weights firm you up. I personally like doing Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred DVD. Also, remember to drink lots of water as that helps flush the toxins out and so you don't look so bloated. And if all else fails, I know that at spanx.com, they do have swimwear that sucks and holds;) GL, you just have to remember how bad you want it. I've seen some fun ideas on Pinterest where people take a jar, fill it with beans, glass rocks, whatever and have another jar so for every pound they lose they transfer jars so you can see how far you've come and how much further you need to go. Also, I think taking a picture of yourself every other week and hanging it on your bathroom mirror can help as well.

Only 145 days to firm things up. But on the bright side, you only have to stick to this diet for 145 days! Your best option: go low carb.

Last year, I went low carb by default because my son was allergic to something I was eating that I was passing onto him through my breast milk. I eliminated so many common allergens from my food just to get him to stop crying and start sleeping better. The side effect from all of this was that I lost about 15 pounds without trying. I never even felt hungry because I was taking in lots of protein and fat.

If you want quick results without spending a lot of money or spending too much time in the gym, try cutting out all white foods (bread, chips, rice), sugary drinks, and don't eat after 8 pm. Brush your teeth right after dinner so that you're not tempted to snack.

Good luck and have a great time at Disney!

I second (or third) the Jillian Michaels DVDs. Start with the 30 min workouts (30 day shred/Ripped in 30/shed and shred) and then add some of her other DVDs to the mix. I tend to get bored so I like variety. I also like the Bob Harper DVDs - so once you are comfortable with some of the Jillian DVDs try those out. When I started , I thought a great workout for beginners was Jackie Warner's Power Circuit Training. It is broken up into nice 5 minute intervals for different parts of your body. You can chose to do 15 min intervals or the entire 45 mins. Very doable and i still go back to it when I haven't worked out for a few days or want to take it (relatively) easy.

Good luck and enjoy!! :)

Just finished reading "Chose to Lose" by Chris Powell. Great eating lifestyle plan and simple workout to get your metabolism going and burning fat. I had seen him on Dr. Oz Have a great time at Disney! We are going on a cruise in April and like you I'm not comfortable in a bathing suit...with this program, I'm hopeful!