I NEED to loose some weight!!! Suggestions please..

I would like to loose about 30 lbs and firm up some flabby body parts if ya know what I mean.. BUT going on a diet is not something i can do.. I have a VERY small grocery budget and some very picky family members who wouldn't have it if we went on a full out diet.. I'm thinking that if I just give up sugar and slow down on bread that should cut a LOT of calories.. AND I will be starting an exercise routine.. Mostly because I NEED ENERGY!!!! But also to suppliment weight loss.. I have 2 questions..
1.. Anyone have any suggestions for an easy INEXPENSIVE diet/ way to loose weight???

2.. Anyone have Suggestions for a QUICK but intense exercise routine.. Right now I have Sweatin to the Oldies.. LOVE Richard Simmons.. He cracks me up.. Whatever exercise program I use, it HAS to be fun.. Otherwise I won't do it!! Was thinking about zumba.. Anyone tried it??? There are FREE classes here.. Thought it might be fun and maybe I would meet people.. But I would really rather have something that I can do in the privacy of my own livingroom in the mornings..

 

I did really well with logging everything I ate with caloriecount.about.com

It actually made me read food labels and understand how many calories are in everything I eat. You can log your exercise there too.

 

I like myfitnesspal.com/ Sounds like the one Tina posted above is similar. You put in your current weight and goal and it sets a calorie goal for you with the goal of losing 1-2 pounds per week. It has a really big list of foods and you just put in what you ate and it will calculate the calories for you. You can also log your exercise and it will show you how many calories you burned. As you lose, it will adjust your calorie goals to keep you losing. I really like it because it made me realize that it wasn't so much WHAT I was eating, but HOW MUCH I was eating. It was nice to see that I could have a little bit of chocolate or dessert if I was careful the rest of the day.
It has some social stuff on there too, so you can have "friends" who can see your food diary and you can see theirs. It was a good motivation for me to know that someone else could see what I ate-made me think twice before I went over my goal. It was also good because I could look at my friends who had already lost and had a lower calorie goal. It was nice to see that they weren't just eating carrot sticks all day
Anyway, I did it for about 2 months before the holidays and lost over 10 pounds. Now that we got passed dd9's birthday, I'm going to be logging back on next week.

 

I measured everything I ate and lost 10 pounds without exercising. I drank lots of water too, and DH bought be some tea packets (like the 5 calorie bottled water packets), and when he went out and got him a pop he would get my favorite flavored water.

I know about being on a budget, and we can't buy a whole lot of produce, but we do buy some. My family is picky too. I told DH that I wanted to buy more produce and we cut out some of the junky stuff we bought to accomodate. The result wazs that we found out that Patryk would eat grapes!

Ok, I never worked out to Richard Simmons, BUT I MET HIM ONCE!!!!! He accused me of pinching his butt. LOL We were in the marching band, and he chose us out of national submissions to play for him while he was doing a school movement for fittness. I have a group picture of all of us band members and him! He's a really funny guy, but he's really sweet too. (I didn't really pinch his butt, he was just being silly!) However, I'm more of a TaeBo fan. I love me some kickboxing, and coupled with some weighted gloves from WallyWorld you can't beat the exercise it gives.

 

My goal is about the same as yours...just 30 or 35 lbs!!!

I have a Leslie Samsone walking video that I REALLY like. It's only 15 minutes, but there's five diffeent ones on there, so I'm not doing the exact same thing each day. The problem is MY lack of consistancy!!! I also have a half-hour audio walking CD of hyms; when the weather's nice, I often do that around the church the kids have co-op in. I'm also trying to eat salads for lunch at least three days a week.

 

My husband is wanting to loose weight too and I guess our whole family could do better, and so we are trying. I have to remind him about portion contorl.

My husband is really bad about snacking especially on the weekend....... so now instead of getting a bag of chips or something I put an amount in a bowl and put up the bag, it satisfies his need to munch but he also doesn't keep grabbing for the bag. Also, He loves my salsa........ so he's been eating more with that..... seams to make the snacking go a little different than just grabbing hand fulls of chips.

I also have been putting in at least one fruit and or vegetable into his lunch I pack every day instead of "junk"...... he has also become fond of V8 juice, and buys the low sodium.
He's switched from drinking soda in the day to taking a bottle of tea (re-usable bottle my daughter is in charge of filling before night time so its ready to grab for his lunch-- our tea is made with Equal--- I kinow some will wince but because we are diabetic its a better option than sugar).......

we are also going to be baking and grilling more meat instead of frying. And adding additional vegetables at dinner time.

we do not deprive ourselves of Dessert! Last night it was fat free Rainbow sherbert, But most nights, we have a package of "fun size" candy bars, there are 12 in a package (for $1) and that gives us each 2...... just enough to satisfy. The other day I made some blueberry topping with fresh blueberries, water with some cornstarch and a little sugar, brought it to a boil, smashed the blue berries and added some whole ones too... spooned it over angel food cake...... I LOVED THIS!

 

PS: I used to love working out to the Richard Simmons videos, but I've never seen them for DVD...... they were a lot of fun and I try to remember the exersizes and just do them on my onw in my room since I do not like exersizing infront of anyone.

 

One of the many things I took away from the cancer research project I worked on a year ago was the desire to live a healthier lifestyle and how much of a need there is for teaching about how to do so.... preventative maintenance if you want to call it that.

The word "diet" never used to bother me but it's one word that drives me right up the wall. Losing weight isn't about dieting, it's about lifestyle changes that will last. It isn't about skipping meals or not eating certain foods, it's about portions sizes, food choices and activity. The information within are just basics but hopefully a little bit of help to anyone who reads it.

If you're really interested in lifestyle changes that will have a positive impact on your life, try the following basic things:

‎1) Increase the amount of water you drink daily - We're supposed to drink 2 liters a day (1/2 gallon) at minimum unless you're on a fluid restriction. When you feel thirsty, it's the first sign of dehydration. You won't find yourself running to the bathroom anymore than usual once you adjust to the proper amount of water because your body will use the water to nourish your cells and muscles. Your body can't function properly when it isn't hydrated enough (have you ever noticed when you go to the hospital one of the many things a doctor does it look into your mouth? They're looking to see how hydrated you might be.

2) Eat 6 smaller meals a day as opposed to 3. By doing that, you raise your metabolism. Apples are awesome... complex carb with only 70 carbs (and your body burns about 70 carbs just breaking it down). You only need to eat fist size portions. If you drink a glass of water before your meal, you won't eat as much as you might have in the past because you've partially filled your stomach up with water.

3) DON'T... I repeat DON'T skip meals !! I learned this the hard way. When you skip meals, your body says "I'm not going to be fed again for "X" hours, I'd better store this up"... as fat, then you see the measuring tape expanding and doing so quicker than you thought possible.

4) Do away with the simple carbs and welcome in the more complex ones. Choose whole grain products over white bread, rice, pasta.

5) Increase the amount of fruit and vegetables you eat on a daily basis. Need to get my little plug in there for Kiwi. Kiwi is an excellent source of Vitamin C (higher than oranges), reduces the risk of age related macular degeneration by 36%, high in fiber, lowers cholesterol (I know this for a fact) and stabilizes blood sugars... all that in one tiny little kiwi fruit.

6) Increase your activity level. 30 minutes a day if you can. Walk up and down steps if you have to, something to get your heart moving.

Make small goals and make it fun. Consider this an investment in your future. Make it about living a healthier lifestyle and enjoy it !

 

Over the last six months, I've lost 20 pounds and kept it off - whereas past attempts achieved only temporary results. I've done this by making the following dietary changes.

1) I eat no potatoes or bread whatsoever - zero
2) I avoid rice and pasta but will occasionally eat a small amount
3) Instead of rice, I will usually have a single measured portion of quinoa
4) As another alternative to rice, I'll eat grated cauliflower (microwave to heat)
5) For snacks, I eat only unsalted nuts or grapes
6) Overall, I'm eating less meat, and pretty muck stick with chicken
7) I've gotten used to veggie burgers, for example
8) I tend to drink one glass of red wine about three times a week
9) Other than fruit, I now stay away from desserts
10) For breakfast, it's granola and skimmed milk
11) To drink, personally I drink only herbal/fruit teas. No soda whatsoever. I know I should drink more water, but I always prefer hot drinks.

It's not easy to eat something a little different when the family are all eating a prepared meal. For example, when my wife makes spaghetti for dinner, I have the sauce - but I'll have grated cauliflower or spaghetti squash instead of regular spaghetti. It's a little extra work, but so be it.

In addition to these dietary changes, I make every effort to walk or run every day. My goal is to run five miles each day, but two miles would be adequate. This is a struggle when (i) I'm sick, (ii) it's raining or freezing outside, or (iii) I'm on a business trip. Still, I try hard to stick with this.

It takes a little bit of discipline, especially the walking/running part, but it's worth it. Now, even when I'm not able to run, I find that my weight does not increase. Also, I've found that it's what I eat, not the quantity, that makes the biggest difference.

For the record, my waist size dropped from 34/35 to 30/31. This has been expensive because I've had to buy new pants and get others altered, but it's a price worth paying.

I hope this information is useful, and all the best as you embark on your journey. The key for me is to be reasonable and not absolute. Change your preferences and stick with them over time rather than go for broke.

 

It's worth paying a little extra for organically grown apples. Of all the fruit and veggies out there, apples, apparently, retain the most chemicals on their skin. At a minimum, wash an apple very well before eating.

 

My goal is not to lose weight, my goal is to be healthier. But in getting healthier, loosing weight will be a natural part of that process.

What we have done over the past couple of years is tackle one area at a time. BABY STEPS! If you cut out everything all at once and deprive yourself of ice cream you're going to fail and then eat a gallon of ice cream one night while watching a chick flick... LOL Focus on what you feel is most important or easiest first.

This is what we did...

First, we quit buying cokes. That's a lot of unhealthy, empty calories. Next, we quit drinking juice and milk. Because even 100% juice (like Juicy Juice) is mainly (natural) sugar-if I had a juicer, I'd use it, but clear juice...not healthy. And we get plenty of calcium from the foods we eat. If we drink juice or milk now, it's a treat, not a normal part of our diet.

Next, we cut out boxed/packaged snack foods. Not all, but most. About the only thing we buy now for 'snacks' that prepackaged is pretzels and graham crackers. Now we snack on fresh fruits and veggies. I find these cheap at Aldi and Sam's Club. We buy whatever is on sale at Aldi each week and then at Sam's each week I buy a $5 bag of cauliflower/broccoli/carrot mix, 1-2 bags of salad mix ($3-$4 each) and a 3 pack of celery for under $3.

I used to think we couldn't afford all that fresh food because pound for pound it is more expensive than prepackaged junk food, BUT real food fills you up more! Plus it's nutrition and lower in calories and fat. Make the switch and you won't regent it.

Another tip, be prepared. My weakness is eating out. Snacks or meals. I always bring a glass of water each time we leave the house. I often pack snacks too. To avoid going out to dinner or ordering pizza, I try to keep quick, easy meals on hand or a homemade freezer meal. At least once a week we have baked potato and salad for a meal.

Make healthy substitutions one at a time until they become habit. Don't give up after one try. Personal examples: I won't eat just any whole grain pasta, I kept trying different brands until I found 2 we all liked. Some are so chewy we don't care for them. I can't eat beef (tears up my stomach) so we eat veggie burgers (Boca burgers bought in Bulk at Sam's Club) and substitute Boca crumbles or ground turkey in our recipes. Pay $0.30 extra for natural peanut butter. Pay $0.20 extra for Jelly with no HFCS in it. Use brown rice instead of white. Remember-one thing at a time.

Cut back on the unhealthy stuff. Use 1/2 the meat called for in a recipe. Make mini muffins instead of full size ones. Buy 'fun size' candy bars instead of full size. Things like that.

Before you eat-drink a FULL glass of water. Make sure you know the difference between thirst and hunger-often times we don't.

 

2 things that helped me:
1. I put little notes on the fridge and "snack cabinet". Just reminders to make good choices or reminders of my goal.
2. Fill up a water bottle I bought that was my water goal for the day. It helped me much more than the thought of needing to dring 6 of a smaller bottle. I could visually see when I needed to pick up the pace in order to finish by the night.
Ok, there is a third. Similar to what others said about logging food. I just wrote it on a calendar, but knowing that I had to actually be accountable for and write down each item I ate made me rethink some choices. I did not want to write down a bad food and have it staring me in the face each time I looked at my calendar. It helped to have veggies cut up and ready to grab (more work on the weekend, but helped so much during the week). I have slacked off for some time. I don't have alot to lose, but could use building some muscles for back support and such.

 

Water is my number one healthy habit to start.. I drink a TON of cokes. Sweet tea from the chicken place is my weakness.. I get one or two every single day.. But I CRAVE lemon water.. LOVE IT!! It quenches my thirst.. That and exercising are my first steps THEN NO more eating out!!!! Costly and unhealthy at the same time... Snacks will return to veggies and fruits and instead of cokes I'll be buying some refillable bottles and we can fill them with tea or whatever they want.. Mine will have water or tea sweatened with stevia... Stevia takes a little to get used to but it's good.. Much better than the artificial sweetners out there.. Thanks so much for the motivational advice.. You guys are AWESOME!!

 

If you cut back on soda consumption alone you will see a significant difference in that alone.

I have what I refer to as a large "sippy cup" :lol: It's a large refillable bottle I use for water drinking. I call it a sippy cup because one of our residents asked me the other day what it was and it was the easiest way to explain it to them (1L bottle with a straw in it that reaches the bottom of it and it gets refilled several times a day.

 

If you need an incentive to stop drinking coke, then consider the decades-old and unresolved suggestion that aluminum ions are somehow involved in the onset of Alzheimer's. One of the principal sources of aluminum entering the body is cans of soda. Stop drinking coke and you'll avoid that unwanted source of aluminum.

 

I lost 20 pounds in 4 months using myfitnesspal.com. When it comes to simply losing weight, it really is just about calories in, calories out. Ideally, either via a doctor or dietitian, you'd get a good idea of how many calories per day you can consume to lose 'x' number of pounds per week. However, if that's not an option, you can try to figure out your BMR and TDEE numbers. You can see an explanation of that via this post on myfitnesspal.com: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Really, dieting-- at least in the sense most people use the word-- won't work. You need to eat foods you expect you'll eat the rest of your life. You just need to learn to mete out how much and how often. The more you feel deprived of something, the more you'll crave it. It's like self-sabotage. I still eat out, but I visit their site online [if they're a major chain, chances are they have nutritional info available online] and figure out what I'll eat BEFORE I go. If they bring out free stuff [like Mexican food places bring out free chips and salsa], I'll either ask them not to [since I won't miss it if it's not there, but I'll eat chip after chip if it is] or make sure it gets placed far out of my reach so the rest of the family can have them.

Exercise is great. It helps improve your overall health and aids your joints. However, it's not a really big factor in weight loss. In fact, a lot of people find they eat MORE when exercising because the exercise makes them hungry. I'd suggest getting your calories under control first then adding in the exercise portion of your regimen. I go to the gym 3-4 days a week, and it's helped me tighten up some spots. But I can't credit it with weight loss as I still lost my pound a week even when I was unable to get to the gym.

One of the things I like best about sites like myfitnesspal.com is that they have apps so you can simply scan your items and the program automatically logs the calories for you. They also let you log in recipes and figure out how many calories per serving you'll get. It really helps to see how many calories you have already spent out and how many you have left. It also tracks a wide array of nutritional info so you can see how many vitamins/minerals you're getting.

You might also start checking out sites like this one from Paula Deen's sons: http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_category/category/the_deen_bros_take_it_lighter They take her recipes and lighten them--- includes calories per serving. You'd be suprised at what a difference switching from ground beef to ground turkey/chicken can make to lighten a recipe as well as make it healthier.

You can do thirty pounds reasonably easily. Just keep an eye on the calories going in and out and add in the exercise after a month or so.

 

I am trying for 30-35 lbs, too! Since I spend so much time at the pool with my daughters who swim, I've been taking advantage of the walking track behind the pool. We also joined a community center, because of dd14's severe asthma attacks at the team's pool. When we go there early in the morning (usually twice a week, afternoons can get more crowded), I swim with her. I'm not fast, but I am a decent swimmer, so my goal is just to keep moving.

Food is also an issue here. Dh is the pickiest of all of us. He is basically a meat and potatoes guy, though he is good at portion control. I do buy lots of produce, ground turkey, chicken, and things like wheat flour. We do eat a lot of pasta (garden variety), partially because it is so cheap and partially because my swimmers need carbs. They swim 6 days a week 1.5 hours for the younger and 2.5+ for the older one). I don't want to cook two meals, so I have been trying to have more veggie options with the pasta dishes. Except for DH, we all eat salads for lunch a couple of days a week.

So far, I'm not really noticing any changes, but I'm trying not to be discouraged! I have never taken off weight fast--ever. I once did a crazy fad diet that all my friends were doing. They all lost at least 5 pounds in a week, and I lost 1.

 

I've heard some people talk about good smartphone apps they use, but I don't have a smart phone so I know nothing about them, but if you have one you might try looking into some of them. I would think that would make logging food easier. That scanny one sounds cool.

The thing for me is, I don't diet. I don't use the word. For me, it's like okay, you're fat and out of shape (me, not you! LOL) so your lifestyle isn't working. You need to make lifestyle changes. If you diet to get the weight off and go back to old ways...the weight is just going to come back on when you quit dieting.

The point for me is not to look better in my clothes, it's to feel better and have more energy and live longer to spend time with my kids (and grandkids, hopefully, one day)

 

JosieB, I absolutely agree.. It's a lifestyle change.. It's really not JUST about loosing weight for me.. That would be an added bonus.. The exercise helps me feel better and gives me more energy.. I have been SO tired lately, My choice of food is not the best so that doesn't help the energy levels either.. I know when I drink a Dr Pepper, I feel icky.. My hubby brings me one almost every day along with a chocolate bar.. I'm going to have to use LOTS of self control when those come in.. Especially the chocolate.. Tomorrow morning I will be starting my workout dvd's.. I can't WAIT!! I have a whole set of Richard Simmons DVD's.. I'll eventually add to the library, but for now this is what I have..

 

Oh GOSH!!! Meg2006 THAT IS SO COOL!!!! I would LOVE to meet him!!