Hey everyone, I'm Veronica.. And I'm new!

[Tomlinson]

Hey everyone, how are you all doing? I'm new and nervous!

I'm a mother of 2 beautiful little girls. After both pregnancies I have gained 30 pounds. Went from about 120 to 150. I know.. not so bad. But my youngest daughter is now turning 3 years old and I've tried to lose the weight a number of times and nothing seems to work. My weight isnt the issue really, as I don't find someone who's 150 pounds to be very overweight. But I want to feel healthier. I would love to have more energy. And to feel great about myself again. I used to go for a long walk every day, but my girls have gotten too big for the stroller and it's difficult to walk with two young children sometimes. When I would go for walks I seemed to have much more energy. Now that my oldest is going to school in september, my youngest will be going to daycare, and my husband will be at work, I think I'll have more time to get out and do these things.
I would also like to eat healthier.. so any tips, recipes.. anything at all would be very much appreciated. I enjoy walks, working out, eating right.. these things make everyone feel that much better about themselves, but finding the time to do these things can sometimes be very difficult. So again, any workout tips would be VERY APPRECIATED.

I just want to feel healthier, have more energy, and looking a little better is always a great thing too.

 

[Steve]

Welcome to the community.

I like your attitude... not too centered on the actual number on the scale. That's great. Who cares about that as long as you look and feel great.

Sounds like you'll have all the time you need to kick things off. Or am I misreading? Looks like you'll have a large chunk of time each and everyday. I'm a bit jealous!

As far as tips, I'd start with the commonsense stuff. Ease your way back into a more active lifestyle. Starting with walks is a fine idea. As your conditioning improves you can start working in some jogging and interval training if you'd like.

You can also add in some form of resistance training. I'm not sure what you have at your disposal, but resistance can come in many forms...even your own bodyweight.

On the nutrition front, mainly balanced meals containing proteins, carbs and fats that are as natural/unprocessed as possible. Adding in some goodies here and there isn't going to kill you as long as the foundation of healthy foods is in place.

If things aren't heading in the right direction, every couple of weeks or so, trim down your portion sizes. Nothing drastic... just gradual adjustments until you find your sweet spot.

This is all very general stuff, obviously, but reading the stickies would also do you a lot of good.

Best to you!

 

[MGR1]

Hello Veronica, I'm Scott. First, let me say welcome aboard. I think you'll find this to be a very friendly and supportive place - I know I have
I like your attitude towards your situation. You don't sound like you have image issues or unreal goals, and exercise is certainly a great thing to add to the mix for extra energy.

I would suggest that you spend plenty of time here just checking things out. I have been through this before and have still learned so much from my short time here it is ungodly. The stickies are great and Steve (among others) posts a lot of good information about exercise. Pay attention to the stuff he links to especially as a lot of that stuff has really changed my game up for the good.

Starting a journal can be very positive experience too. It's why I signed up here TBH, and I only ventured out into other threads after that.

As far as exercise goes I would suggest a mix of both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training. Yes, that means weights. I don't know what your view on this is, but women are typically scared of that for various reasons- namely not wanting to get all big and bulkular. But even if that isn't you, I have a linky for ya.

Below is a link from a sticky in the weight loss through exercise section, and I doubt I can say it better than she does. I will, however, add my two cents real quick. Less is more, and more is less. Less effort (2-3 sessions a week tops) for best results. And then more weight (and less reps) is the answer no matter what you have heard.



As for eating healthier, I think a lot of what recipes you will use or like depends on your personal taste. I personally shoot for the following requirements and guidelines (not getting them all down just yet, but it's a solid goal)

1.) 5+ feedings per day.* 3 meals and various snackings
2.) Protein at every serving, carbs (90-ish% fruit/veg) at every serving
3.) 5-6 servings of veggies daily.**
4.) 1-3 servings of fruit a day** (I do good to get one or two)
5.) Fat is NOT the enemy, make sure you eat healthy fats in enough feedings daily to reach healthy goals
6.) Shop from the outside perimeter of the grocery store as much as humanly possible- everything is better for you when you make it "from scratch". Even pizza. It will all taste better in the long run anyways.

* This is not mandatory. It can help with managing hunger and for those with higher calorie needs it can be easier to eat that much food spaced out, but YMMV.

** based off my caloric intake right now, you will need to spend some time asking Mr. Google. 1/2 cup fresh fruit or veg, 3/4 cup juice, or 1 cup of the leafy greens and most melons is a single serving BTW. A single salad, made right, can be two or three servings of veggies in an easy to manage dose.


And THE GOLDEN RULE

Leave the house prepared. No. Matter. What. Eat up before going knowingly into situations that will tempt you. Always have good snacks handy. Keep a bag of dried fruit in the car, carry natural peanut butter with whole grain crackers, stock the smarter nuts (almonds and walnuts mainly, but lots of other good ones like brazil), brown bag it to events where you cannot pre-feed to stop hunger and therefore maddening cravings.

I have messed up so many times cause I was "just going to run by my grandmother's for a minute and do laundry" so I ate and left empty handed and 8 hours later ended up eating some lousy Capt D's with my grandmother.

Prepared is the way to stave off cravings, in short.

And I'll try to end it quicker with recipes. We have a member here, karacooks, who has a delightful food blog you might want to check out.


And if you like chili, google for "sun-maid chicken chili" and try their recipe. Sub out 1/2 cup or so of golden raisins for whatever they recommend (3/4 c of raisins I think) for a nice taste.

Best of luck to you, and I look forward to hearing great things from you.

 

[lmack]

Exercising with your kids can be a fun way to spend time with them and tire them out at the same time. Pop in a wiggles DVD (or whatever your 3 y/o likes) and dance and act crazy with the music. Your kids will love it!
Get the kids involved in other ways, teach them how to make healthy foods. There are all sorts of kids recipies websites. I love the bug ones. You take peanut butter and put it on celery and put a line of raisin (bugs) crawling up it. A fun way to get kids to eat their veggies! It's easier to eat healthy if the whole family is involved. Plus cookies and junk food isn't healthy for anyone.
If you are home during the day join a gym, or buy some workout DVD's. There are some great fun ones out there. Learn to do a sexy dance for your hubby! He won't mind, lol.
Make it fun. Life is too short to diet.
Hope this helps!!!

 

[KaraCooks]

Scott, you're such a sweetie!

Welcome Veronica! It sounds like you know what you want ... just need some help getting there.

Definitely read the sticky posts in the forums for more info on all kinds of stuff - there's so much good advice there.

As far as eating, I"m a big fan of counting calories, at least at first. For a lot of people (me!) portion control has always been a problem and I never really knew what a real single portion of anything was. It was a huge shocker for me to realize how much 1 serving is of a lot of things (oatmeal, chicken, potatoes, even apples).

If you don't want to count and weight, at the very least, start keeping a food log so you can see what you eat every day. Even keeping it for just a week will help you realize what your trouble foods - or times of day - can be.

Just to give you an idea of what I eat, I am for around 1600-1800 calories a day. 1800 is my max, so setting my low end at 1600 gives me some wiggle room. I make sure I have some protein at every meal and snack, and then add in veggies, fruits, and carbs - trying to keep them in that order.

My biggest thing is that I try to eat REAL food. I really try to avoid packaged and processed foods. Things like diet meals and "100 calorie paks" can be full of chemicals and preservatives and I think they're counterproductive. (Obviously, this is personal opinion, to a degree. A lot of people have done well eating these foods.) The guideline I try to eat by is if it isn't something my great-grandma could have bought, I try to avoid it.

Anyway, those are some of my thoughts. Hope it gives you some ideas and hope to see you posting more!

 

[Tomlinson]

Thanks guys! I appreciate every reply.. which are all filled with such great advice!
I'm really looking forward to posting more here and learning more and more about how I can be healthier. You have all just given me such great information already. I'll start by counting calories, writing down/watching what I eat, and walking much more.. then hopefully start some jogging a little later on. I love the idea of taking healthy snacks with me when I go out.. it'll be healthier for my daughters aswell. I would love to get the whole family eating better and out exercising more too.
I'm really happy I joined the site.