I'm 31, have 5 kids, a great husband, but i'm tired of being big. before I had my fifth baby five months ago, I weighed 332 lbs. After having him, I've managed to get down to 297. I'm gald to be under 300 even if it's by just a few pounds.
I don't really care about loosing weight to be thin I want to lose it to be healthy. Three and a half years ago i had my gallbladder removed because of poor eating habits.
My body couldn't handle carrying my last baby, and my tendons in my abdomen gave out leaving me in tons of pain.
I don't want my kids to grow up being teased because their mom is "fat". I just don't know how to get the weight off. I can manage to not gain anymore but I can't get anymore off either. What can I do to get the ball rolling, no pun intended? I don't eat like a cow you @ss. I don't harldy have time to eat when I'm chasing five kids around all day. Grow up. First of all, I am so proud of you! There are so many people out there who want to lose weight just to be thin or to look good for someone else, but you want to lose weight for you and your health and that is actually the first step to weight-loss. People who want to lose weight for health reasons are more likely to stick with it and lose the weight faster and keep it off longer than those who want to lose weight for someone else or to just be skinny.
The first step for you is to actually understand more about obesity and what it is, some causes, who can suffer from it, effects of obesity, general guidelines for treatment, nutrition, exercise, drugs, behaviors, and other resources for more information.
The following website is a great resource for this information:
http://www.preventdisease.com/diseases/o...
I also have some general suggestions for you.
Always check with your doctor before beginning any exercise and nutrition plan.
You need a good combination of aerobic activity and resistance training combined with a healthy diet. It is not recommended to lose more than 1-3 lbs a week, however in the first few weeks you may see more than that because of water weight, but it should taper off to 1-3 lbs. a week, if that much.
If you want to lose weight the correct and safe way that will stay off for the long-term, you need a good comprehensive exercise and nutrition plan.
A good program looks like this:
Always warm up and cool down
Muscular Strength & Endurance-you need a good resistance training program that includes exercises for all muscle groups
shoulders (anterior, posterior, and lateral), upper arms (biceps and triceps), forearms, chest, abs (upper, lower, and obliques), upper, mid, and lower back, butt, legs(quads, hamstrings, and calves) and outer and inner thighs
Your intensity should be 70-80% 1-RM or 8-12-RM, 8-12 reps, 1 or more sets, 3 times a week for 6 weeks or more when you begin a resistance program. You should begin with 1 exercise for each major muscle group and make sure the days you do resistance training are not consecutive meaning you don't exercise the same muscle group two days in a row. As you continue your program you can add more exercises, add weight, and change up your program to include more days or just work specific muscle groups on specific days. As your muscles grow stronger you will be able to reduce the rest time between each set. You should rest for about 30 seconds between sets.
Muscle is metabolically active and therefore when you gain muscle it burns more calories and helps to raise your metabolism.
If you do not have money for a gym membership or do not have access to one, here is a great website to create a work out plan only using your body weight.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercise...
You can also search for all kinds of exercises that use weight.
Here is another great website for finding some good exercises for different parts of the body.
http://www.preventdisease.com/fitness/St...
Here is a great link to a comprehensive musculoskeletal atlas of the body to help you understand what exactly you are working
http://www.preventdisease.com/home/muscl...
Cardiovascular Endurance-This part is extremely important for fat burning and enhancing your overall cardiovascular performance. You need to include a warm-up and cool-down. In order to have an effective cardio plan you must first make sure you remain in your target heart rate zone for at least 30 minutes a day (you can start out doing this for 3 days a week and build up) and then you can build up to 45-60 minutes a day. This will seriously help to burn fat as well as raise your VO2Max which is basically a number that represents the capacity of your cardiorespiratory system. The higher the number the more efficient your cardio system is. You can learn more about VO2 at the following website.
http://www.preventdisease.com/news/artic...
In order to determine your target heart rate, do the following:
know these numbers:
maximum heart rate= (220-age)
resting heart rate=(get this by counting your pulse for a minute when you first wake up in the morning)
heart rate reserve=(maximum heart rate-resting heart rate)
then calculate training intensity:
TI= Heart rate reserve x percentage(use 70%-85%) + resting heart rate
Now your training intensity number is important because this is the number you want to reach for a particular training intensity. This is the number your heart rate has to get to in order to be in the optimum cardio training zone.
You can perform the TI equation for 70% and then another for 85% to get a good range for your heart rate. This is your own personal target heart rate zone.
You can either count your pulse yourself or use a heart rate monitor while you are exercising. You can buy one at most electronic stores. I recommend the heart rate monitor because you don't have to do anything and it lets you know where you are. Some even beep when you reach your zone or when you go above it. Mine has a strap you put on under your clothes and a watch that shows you your heart rate as well as other things. Now of course, any type of heart rate monitor will not be perfect because there are factors that are not taken into account, but it is one of the most accurate ways to keep track of your heart rate that is easily available to the public.
Here is a website to help you calculate your target heart rate zone
http://www.preventdisease.com/healthtool...
Here is a good website for some information on how to measure your physical activity intensity
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical...
Now, I needed to tell you all of that so I can let you know what cardio activities will fit this type of requirement.
The following are great activities for a good aerobic plan:
cycling, jogging, running, walking, rowing, stair climbing, elliptical machine, aerobic dance, bench step aerobics, hiking, in-line skating, skiing, rope skipping, swimming, and water aerobics.
Any of these activities are acceptable only if you make sure your heart rate stays within your target heart rate zone. This does not count your warm-up or cool-down either. You need at least 30 minutes within your zone for the best benefits because for most people your body does not begin to burn fat until you have been working aerobically in your heart rate zone for at least 30 minutes. Of course all exercise is good for you, so even if you do not make it to your heart rate zone, it still is good for you and there will be benefits from it. Just work your way up, start slow, and you will be gradually improving your body's cardiovascular performance and burning fat. Once your body gets used to performing aerobically it will begin to burn fat faster than someone who is not on a cardio program.
You can find calculators at the following website to calculate about how many calories are burned by different activities.
http://www.preventdisease.com/healthtool...
Here are a few websites that will help you to begin a fitness walking program
http://www.preventdisease.com/fitness/fi...
http://www.preventdisease.com/fitness/wa...
Or if you prefer, you can begin a jogging program
http://preventdisease.com/fitness/fitnes...
Body Composition-this includes your body fat percentage, bone frame, as well as how much muscle you have. Most people focus on only weight, but you should not put as much focus on that as much as what your body fat percentage is (get it tested at an exercise facility with skinfold calipers). You should also get circumference measurements done. This includes your neck, shoulder, chest, waist, abdominal, hip (buttocks), thigh (proximal), thigh (mid), thigh (distal), knee, calf, ankle, arm (bicep), forearm, and wrist. You should be able to do this at a gym. You should get all of this information done before you start your program and then you can see how you improve.
You can calculate an estimate of your body composition and target weight here:
http://www.preventdisease.com/healthtool...
The following website will help you to understand a little more about body composition
http://preventdisease.com/news/articles/...
Flexibility- Most people do not even think about this, but it is very important because it helps to prevent injury and it helps you to perform every day activities. It also has an effect on all your other programs. You should perform 10-12 flexibility exercises every day. Slowly stretch the muscle to a point of mild discomfort but not necessarily pain. Hold stretch for 10-30 seconds, and do 3-5 reps for each stretch. This should take about 15-30 minutes per session. If you do not have time to do this every day, try to do it 2-3 times a week.
Here are some good websites to learn more about flexibility and stretching
http://preventdisease.com/fitness/fundam...
http://www.cmcrossroads.com/bradapp/docs...
Diet- You have to make sure that you eat right and that means following the food guide pyramid. All those low carb diets or fad diets out there will not help you lose weight safely. You can read more about the risks of low carb diets at the following website
http://www.preventdisease.com/news/artic...
Know that 1 lb. of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. So if you eat 500 calories less per day for a week than you normally would (by either cutting back or changing what you eat or even by burning 500 calories from exercise) that is 3,500 calories and you should lose 1 lb. that week. I know that does not sound like a lot, but it is a proven fact that you should not lose more than 1-3 lbs. per week because it is not safe nor does it stay off. If you work to lose 1-3 lbs a week then it is much more likely to be the safe way and will stay off for long-term if you continue to live a healthy lifestyle.
I do not like the word diet because most people think of a diet as a short-term way of losing weight when the most effective way of losing weight is to completely change your lifestyle.
Here are some ways to change the way you eat:
Always follow the food guide pyramid with focus on fruits and vegetables and lean meat such as chicken or fish.
Make sure you get enough fiber and water in your diet. You should get 20-30 grams of fiber every day along with plenty of water. You can go to the following websites to learn more about fiber and tips on how to get more in your diet.
http://www.webmd.com/solutions/fiber-sup...
http://preventdisease.com/home/tips65.sh...
http://www.webmd.com/solutions/fiber-sup...
http://www.fiberseekers.com/fiber_counte...
http://www.webmd.com/solutions/fiber-sup...
You should drink a total of 8 eight-ounce glasses of water a day at least. This is different for everyone, but you should be able to figure out about how much water you need a day. You can go to
http://preventdisease.com/news/articles/... to learn more about how much water you should drink.
Get your carbs from complex carbohydrates (pasta, rice, grains, cereals, potatoes, dried beans and peas) that contain whole wheat. When you buy something such as bread make sure the first ingredient is whole wheat and does not contain the word enriched. You can learn more about carbohydrates at the following website.
http://www.preventdisease.com/fitness/we...
You can also learn how to choose healthy breakfast cereals at the following website
http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/N180.h...
Learn what serving sizes are and how to properly use them. This is very important because the average American consumes way too much and it is because serving sizes are out of control. You can find out more about this at the following website
http://dietnews.webmd.com/content/articl...
Even when you go out to eat or to fast food places you can eat healthy. Choose low fat or low calorie food items such as a salad ( fat-free cheese and dressing), grilled chicken sandwich, etc. When you go out to eat you can also split an entree with someone or ask them to put half in a to-go box in the back before they even bring it to you. Here are some great websites to learn more about eating healthy on the move or in fast food places
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/99/...
http://www.webmd.com/content/chat_transc...
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/76/...
http://www.webmd.com/content/chat_transc...
Always eat breakfast and never skip any meals. I have also done research on this and this helps to keep your metabolism up and makes sure you do not overeat, among many other things. Try for 3 meals a day with 2 snacks.
The importance of breakfast and tips on eating a better breakfast
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/116...
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/76/...
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/111...
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/61/...
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/100...
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/11/...
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/79/...
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/41/...
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/90/...
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/61/...
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/97/...
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/43/...
http://www.webmd.com/content/pages/18/10...
Try as much as you can to stay away from saturated and trans fat because they are both bad for you and should be consumed as little as possible. Mono and polyunsaturated fats or good for you but fat should only make up 25-35% of total calories. If the food label ingredient list contains "partially hydrogenated" that means it contains trans fat and should be avoided when possible. The following website offers a plan to follow to help fight fat
http://msn.prevention.com/article/0,5778...
Good fat, bad fat, the facts about Omega-3
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/91/...
Watch out for your caffeine intake, you can find how much caffeine is in certain things at the following website.
http://health.yahoo.com/topic/nutrition/...
A lot of people also focus on high protein but in reality you only need .8 grams of protein for every kilogram of your body weight.
People who are on a resistance training program may consume up to 1.2 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight.
So for me I weigh 135 lbs. and I figure my body weight in kg as follows:
135 divided by 2.2= 61.4 kg
61.4 kg x .8= 50 grams of protein a day.
61.4 kg x 1.2=74 grams of protein a day.
My range is 50-74 depending on my exercise level.
You can check out this online calculator to find out about how much protein you need.
http://www.preventdisease.com/healthtool...
The following website also has a list of the 29 healthiest foods or 鈥減ower鈥?foods and why they are so
http://www.bellybytes.com/articles/29foo...
There is a formula you can use to calculate an estimate of how many calories you would need to eat every day to either maintain your current weight or to lose weight based on different factors.
You can go to this website to calculate an estimate of your total daily energy requirement from your BMR+AMR.
http://www.preventdisease.com/healthtool...
Here is a helpful website to understand how to manage your metabolism
http://preventdisease.com/home/weeklywel...
Also here is a helpful website to find out what nutrients a food contains
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/se...
Here are some other websites to help you understand how to eat healthier
http://www.preventdisease.com/fitness/nu...
http://www.preventdisease.com/fitness/we...
http://www.mypyramid.gov is a great website to use to keep an online track of calories and many other things. It is free and also provides you with additional information to help you lose weight.
Here are some great websites to give you some tips on eating healthy on a budget:
http://diet.ivillage.com/issues/ichoices...
http://magazines.ivillage.com/goodhousek...
http://www.uottawa.ca/health/information...
http://www.ideamarketers.com/library/art...
You can check out the following website to get the facts on some common diet myths
http://dietnews.webmd.com/content/articl...
The following website will help you learn about how to eat for a power workout
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/42/...
Avoid brown bag boredom
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/111...
100 Calorie Snacks
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/94/...
Here is another website to check out to understand the modes of fitness better.
http://preventdisease.com/fitness/fundam...
I have a powerpoint presentation on several of the fad diets that people are on today if you would like to contact me for it.
I also have a powerpoint presentation on the importance of breakfast if you would like more information on that also.
I would recommend you find a certified personal trainer and a registered dietician in your area to help you lose weight.
It is very important to know that not all personal trainers are educated the same and therefore you must make sure if you use one they are properly certified. The following website gives you more information on this subject.
http://www.preventdisease.com/news/artic...
Once again I'd like to say congratulations for being concerned about your health and how to become healthier.
Feel free to contact me for anything! Well I think that you are beautiful also! You sound like such a great person...your husband and children are truly blessed! I am glad that I could give you some information to work with, just contact me if you have any questions about what I said. Report It
Read some effective weight loss diets tips and exercises on this site I'm almost 300 lbs. & battle weight loss, & I'm sick & tired of people calling me a fat a s s. Stop Eating Like A Cow One thing I can tell ya is DO NOT do the gastro surgery! I know to many ppl that thought it was going to be the easy way out, but it ended up with to much trouble and I know of one person locally that died from it. Being a good 270lbs my self after my first child, and still there, I would never go the gastro way! Ya need to be there for your children when they grow up.
I would try going to the doctor. Tell them you need help! Maybe there is a special pill that could help. Have you tried any over the counter diets, slimfast, dexatrim ect? Try walking to that made me loose weight along time ago or get a pool and swim! That sheads the pounds.
I dunno much else how to help, but DONT DO gastro, your children will thank you for it later! Expend more calories than you intake. It really is that simple.
Do not drink soda. Not even diet soda.
When you go to the store, park far away. As you've probably heard repeatedly "Diet and exercise"- My wife is big , but that is her natural bodyframe. She has been going to the gym and says that is the best thing she's done to control her weight. She says it makes her feel better too!Good luck ! i guess exerzing is the best way. walk 30 minutes every day. As a overweight girl i may not be the best to give you advices. but i belive that being active is the best way Honey you have to exercise. You said nothing about how much you exercise so I'm lead to believe you don't. Go for a walk every day with the kids, I do. Try a cardio glide from wal-mart it's like tony Little's gazelle that used to be on t.v. if you can't buy it right now put it on lay-a-way also try the South Beach diet,that's what has worked for me. I also take a multivitamin with EGCG to boost my metabolism and I drink AZ.Diet Green Tea and bottled water insted of sodas. First consult your doctor to determine what kind of exercise regimen would be safe with your health issues, and then, I would suggest starting a regular exercise program. For heavier folks, swimming is an excellent way to get the aerobic workout you need without being dragged down by gravity (it is great for skeletally/arthritically challenged people like me too). Swim laps, a few only at first, but work up to a steady pace and at least 30 minutes of straight swimming, or you can do water aerobics. It burns a lot more calories than you'd think, and you won't do your joints, bones or muscles as much damage as you would with high impact exercises on land.
At the same time, you could perhaps join a group like Weight Watchers or if you're more of a solitary type, consult with a dietician and work out a dietary plan that you can maintain indefinitely (NOT just a weight loss plan that you toss aside once weight is lost).
As for the problem with worn out abdominal tendons, you might want to see a personal trainer or physical therapist and ask him or her to recommend some rehabilitative exercises you can do along with a regular workout. (I do physical therapy for my back as an adjunct to regular lap swimming to enhance the benefit for my worn out and degenerating lower back.)
I hope some of this helps!
Cheers! I've had a lot of sucess at Weight Watchers (50 lbs so far). Like you, I've been at least somewhat overweight all my life and reached a point where I realized that my weight was impacting my family and my health. Use that sense of urgency to effect real change and commit to this being a long term project. WW taught me difficult lessons about food choices and portion sizes and I'm much better for it. I also get a lot more exercise than I used to (tip - exercise earns you points that you can use on treats!).
Whatever you do, remember this. Every day (every meal) is a new opportunity to do things right. If you stumble, don't stay down. Put it behind you and focus on the next opportunity. That stategy will keep you from giving up as soon as you have a bad meal, day, or week. Be persistent and you'll be suprised how much progress you'll make. You didn't get to your current weight in a month or even a year. Give yourself time to get it off too. Best of luck to you. Exercise every day. Try smaller portions and eat healthier. Also drink tons of water! it makes u feel so much better and help u lose weight by cleaning out ur body of impuritys. And dont eat out if u have to eat out get a salad. Try it
and dont get upset about what others think, it will just make u deppresed and eat more sorry im not very good with this diet stuff but i went to www.sparkpeople.com and signed up. I learned a lot about wieght loss. It helped a lot of people out. I think you should check it out and see what you think.
Dont forget about Jenny Craig. I dont know if you have seen the commercials but it seems like they really work.
good luck! dont stop trying! i know you can do it! In 1999 I was 230 lbs. By 2001, after dating my husband and spending way too much time eating at restaurants, I was up to 272. At the end of 2001, I had plantar fascitis and couldn't walk. I looked everywhere and found out that the problem might have come from the quick weight gain. I decided to lose weight.
I joined an online support group with other people who had to lose 100 lbs or more and started reading. I figured out what was working for them, what changes I could deal with, and which ones I couldn't take. And began to make changes. I did not exercise for the first 35 lbs. (about 3 months) because I still couldn't walk. It took me 9 months to lose 75 lbs. I eventually went off my diet, gained back 20 (over the course of two years) and now have lost 15 of those 20 that I gained back--I'm still down by 70lbs from my original weight.
I found a huge thing was drinking half my weight in ounces of water per day helped...so at 270 lbs, I was drinking 135 ozs of water a day. Now I drink around 100 ozs. a day. This kept me full. I would have small snacks, careful to measure them out, and drink 16 ozs of water with a snack, which kept me fuller than if I had just had the snack. I also started to keep track of what I ate during the day, after a few weeks, I started to eat the same foods, but only consume 3/4 or 1/2 of what I had eaten previously. Once I got into this groove, it helped a lot, I was eating less, at least.
I kept up my resolve to lose weight by looking up "weight loss" and "success stories" online. These helped me realize that I wasn't alone. It really made a big difference. the last thing I did--I found out what foods were my biggest weaknesses--french fries, chips, and ice cream--and avoided them except for once a week, I could have one of them, and only one serving was allowed. I found that with these foods, I was not able to control myself and push away from the table when I was full...
Hope this helps....best of luck! I'm usually in great shape. I don't know why. I exercise to keep sane more than anything else. When I don't work-out, I get very depressed. I hate to think I'm adicted, but when I'm stressed, it's all I can think about. It doesn't make me a better person, but it helps calm me & get through tough times. I hate the argument that I will outlive everyone...who would want to?
My wife was heavier than me when we met.
She has lost significant weight over the last several years and she credits a "step counter". She started trying to get 10,000 steps per day. She parks in the farthest spot, and always avoids escalators. Walking the dog everyday helps.
Health is a good motivator, but appearance is better (unfortunately). |
