Weight Loss Question/exercise Routine!

If you have a Wii, get Just Dance 2. That's something all of you can do together. It's really fun. As a matter of fact, my 5yo son, 7yo daughter and 8 yo niece are playing it right now. It has an exercise option also. the sweat points on it count for 4.2 to 10 calories per sweat point. i use 10 calories because that seems more realistic to me, but there are reviews and blogs that say it's 4.2. also when my kids were younger, i would let them play outside while i walked/ran in my backyard. i still do that when it's not too hot. i typically like to exercise in the morning. it works better for me. i seem to lose my umphh by the evening. although if i don't do it in the morning i will typically do my elliptical while watching a netflix movie streaming on my computer.

I am a firm believer than you can eat anything you want in moderation. 'Diet' is an evil, 4 letter word. If you want a cookie, look at the serving size, then eat just that many. Add more greens and veggies to your diet... fresh fruit is good for a snack, but has a lot of natural sugars.Are you a coffee drinker? Sprinkle cinnamon in the fresh grounds... it helps boost metabolism and suppresses appetite. Drink a glass of water before meals; it will help you feel full. As far as exercising with kids, and this sounds silly (it is!) I bought KID exercise videos (because Chaleane Extreme was kicking my @SS!!)... they're fun, AND it keeps the kids busy so I can actually shake my butt! We have Hannah Montana's dance moves and another one by Tony (the p90x guy), which is really good. Have fun! If nothing else, DANCE and sing like a maniac ;)

Drink an OBSCENE amount of water. Crystal Light is a good option but may trigger you to want something sweet or salty. I do plain water and then "earn" my Crystal Light. Right now I've drank almost a GALLON of water this morning. I'm FULL and you really can't eat much if you're constantly running to the bathroom! LOL!

Eat high fiber foods. FRUIT is my favorite fiber.

I personally like the morning work-outs. It's gets it out of the way and your blood pumping.

WALKING is HIGHLY underrated. I've lost LOTS of weight just walking. Just wear comfortable clothes and buy GOOD shoes.

Chasing kids around will work muscles you noramlly don't use. When we go to the park WE GO TO THE PARK. I don't sit around texting and ignoring my son, I get right in there with him. I'm climbing and running around with him. It's BORING to watch kids play but it's AWESOME to play WITH them!

Weight loss is very simple: You need to burn more calories than you consume. There is a very simple rule of thumb: take your weight, multiply it by 10. (ex: 175 x 10 = 1750) Eat 1,750 calories/day. In one week, you will lose 1-2 pounds. Then adjust. (170 lbs x 10 = 1700 calories, etc...)
If you don't eat too many calories and go for a simple one hour walk/day, you WILL LOSE WEIGHT. Don't sabotage the whole plan by having fried fish on Friday...in order to lose 2 pounds/week, you need to have a calorie deficit of 7,000......a meal of fried food can easily have more than that.
What works for me: I NEVER eat fried food (it's easy because I don't even like it). I NEVER eat partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats), artificial sweeteners, artificial flavors, artificial colors, MSG, BHT. This eliminates a TON of junk (unfortunately for you, it would eliminate crystal light.) Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens (cancer-causers) and are banned in other countries. I drink a lot of water (2-3 Nalgene bottles/day), I almost never eat after 7 pm, and I exercise 6 days/week.
I have a 2 & 3 yo. I take them on long walks, or I use the jogging stroller and go running with them. Sometimes the 3 yo bikes along side me. (Your 3, 4, & 8 yo probably could, too!) If the weather's bad, I use an elliptical that we have in our basement when the kids are napping. This might not be an option for you, but I love to take classes at my local Y. (boot camp or body sculpt are my favorites b/c they incorporate weight-lifting which I have a hard time doing in my own) The classes are 45 minutes long and they have a babysitting service which costs me $3 total for both kids for one hour. It's a nice break, especially when my hub is working over-time and can't watch them for me!! :-) Lastly, I vote for work-out in the morning--not only is it an energy booster but if you get it over with, then you won't let excuses get in the way!!! By the way, this is the most important piece of advice: Weight loss is 99.9% mental.........if you BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, then you can do it! If you don't think you can do it, then you are setting yourself up for failure. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!!!!!!!!! :)

Eat lots of fresh fruit like strawberries,blueberries. Asparagus is good for belly fat and is a natural diruretic. It will make you pee a lot. Watch the caffiene that you drink as it makes you hold water so does too much salt. I heard cabbage is also good to eat when trying to lose weight. Eat some carrot sticks together as they are good for everyone. Go for a walk,go to the swimming pool if you have one. At night after they go home,go for a family walk or walk on the boardwalk depending on how far you are from it. Best of luck

I've recently lost over 35 lbs (since Thanksgiving). Diet and exercise have been the way I've done it. I haven't drunk a ton of water (I'm with you in that regard). However, I did track my calories on www.sparkpeople.com - what an eye opener. Also, I figured out my triggers. There's always food out in our pantry for people and I ALWAYS ate it. Now I ask myself 2 questions. 1) Am I really hungry or is it just because it's there? If it's just b/c it's there, I drink water or tea. 2) If I am hungry, while this satisfy me? If not, go find something that will.
Good luck - slow and steady really is the way to go.

Water--Using a HUGE bottle that holds the entire amount I want to drink in a day helps. That way, I can see how much I have left to go. (Am I about halfway after lunch?) Try adding lemon or lime slices to give it a little more flavor.

Exercise--As others have said, walking is great, but I find that I don't push my heart rate much when my 3-1/2 year old is stopping every five feet or so to examine rocks and pick dandelions. Try doing something before the kiddos start placing demands on you for the day. I've had some success with workout videos from the cable company's free on-demand service. Ours has a pretty wide variety of workouts available. Pilates seems to tone my belly the most.

Eating--For me, I do best when I eat a breakfast that has protein, rather than just carbs. It was something to learn because I'd grown up with breakfast cereal most of the time. Try nonfat Greek yogurt (I like the texture of Greek better than regular) drizzled with honey. Or any frozen fruit in the blender with any plain yogurt. Plain lets you avoid all the extra sugar put into flavored ones. Or peanut butter toast. Or a couple of eggs. I'm a fruit fan, so I always eat fresh fruit, too. When I eat well in the morning, I find that I don't feel hungry for lunch as early and end up snacking less.

Learn what serving sizes actually are. Then measure out a serving of something BEFORE you start eating. Leave the package on the shelf. That way, you have to decide whether you really want more or not.

I eat the best when I track what I eat. If I write down everything that I eat, including quantity, I'm less likely to eat junk food. I think it's because I don't want to figure out how much I"m eating and record it. Also, try to keep track of how you feel when you eat. Are you hungry? Or is your mouth bored?

Best wishes!

I learned so much from My Food Diary (I think its similar to Spark People??) before I got pregnant with my son. For years I was exercising away and starving myself, only to gain weight each month. Thanks to folks on My Food Diary, I learned that I need to eat MORE - I need to eat at least 1800 calories, PLUS whatever I burn. I was wearing a heart rate monitor (also thanks to the folks on MFD) to learn how much I was burning by walking the dogs twice/day and doing aerobics, which was 600-700.

The old way was burning 600 calories = eating 600 calories.
The new way was burning 600 calories = eating 2400 calories.

I didn't focus on points/fat/carbs/etc because I was losing 12lbs/month. I hit a brief plateau and learned that the chicken breasts I was eating were loaded with sodium, so I started buying plain chicken breasts (instead of marinated or 'flavored') and that broke me thru the plateau. Had I plateau'd again, I would've started looking at fat/carbs/sugar/etc to find a trigger.

Recently, I've joined a gym that has unchoreographed workouts that change every single day - you never know what you're going to get when you show up. Its awesome, its the first time my husband and I both go. We do unlimited lean protein/veggies/fruit. We don't count anything. We limit desserts to once/week and make healthy versions. We limit pasta/potatoes to once/week. The first month, I lost 10lbs of fat (got a fat scale) and gained 3lbs of muscle, so a net loss of 7lbs. There are various exercises that I could barely do at the beginning, but did 30 of them tonight.

With kids - scooters, bikes, rollerskates, pool, team sports, etc.

Good luck!!!!

This is what works for me. I work out on the Wii with the Wii fit game/program, I put Arbonne's fiber booster in foods (not taste no grit) I drink a lot of water (1/2 my weight in ounces of water ex. 120 drink 60 ounces) including Arbonne's Energy Fizz Tabs - Citrus or Pomegranate
High-energy fizz tabs they help boost and sustain energy. Contains natural ingredients to help control hunger and appetite. Clinically proven ingredients help increase metabolism drink and I take Arbonne Omega 3's daily(I have lowered my bad and raised my good cholesterol and lowered my CHD risk to below normal) and the Women's Essential Vitamins, every month or two I drink the 7 day detox to get all the fat and toxins out of my system. I also follow the Weight Watcher's points program to help stay on track with calories. I eat fresh fruit and veggies and drink decafe Green tea about 6 cups a day (which also gives more water) I never ever drink flavored drinks since studies find that the sugar substitutes can cause you to want to eat more. If you need an Arbonne Consultant I have PM'd you my contact info. I am always looking for weight loss buddies to help each other stay on track. Good Luck in your search for what works for you.

http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/register.asp?from=frie...

I've lost 33 lbs so far this year just from using SparkPeople-read the book its amazing!

My kids (8, 3 and 1) play Wii Fit, go on alot of walks and just play ball or whatever they are interested in doing. Make up games. I say anytime you notice you've been sitting for a bit get up. Even just play Simon Says! Every little bit helps.

Exercise is best whenever you will do it. If you think you can get up first thing in the morning and get your sweat on then thats the time to do it. Same with evening, afternoon or night.

Its not about always eating a HUGE variety or even just a few items. Its about how much of those items you are eating. Start logging your food intake, you may be surprised one way or the other.

You Can Do This!