davisbritt

Hello everyone,

I'm a 24-year-old mother of two. I, as everyone else in my family, am "plus size." In fact, we like to say that we don't grow nothing small in our family . I know that I will never be skinny, it's just not in my genes. But where I am now is definitely out of control. When I was a senior in high school, I weighed about 210 lbs., which in itself wasn't that great. But now, after giving birth to two 9+ lb babies, I've gone up to almost 260 lbs. I know that it's going to take a lot of work for me to get to my goal weight of 180 (I want to get to 210 by my birthday, 7/16) but I have to do it. I need to be healthy so that I can be the type of mom who can run around with her kids at the park without getting winded.

I work full-time and then go home and continue working as a full-time mom, so finding opportunities to exercise is a bit difficult, to say the least. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can squeeze some work out time in my busy day?

LiterateGriffin

The first time I was doing Atkins, and successfully losing weight, I bought one of these: Stamina InMotion for Health Pedal Exerciser at Brookstone?Buy Now!

Then I made a deal with myself: I could watch as much TV as I wanted... as long as I kept pedaling. It didn't have to be fast, I didn't have to sweat or even raise my heart rate... I just had to keep my feet moving.

I'd sit on the couch, folding laundry, watching TV, and pedaling away.

For various health-reasons, I need to be able to keep my work-out low-impact. This gave me a way to have a mild workout, that was NOT as "invasive" as sitting on a big, full-sized exer-bike... I could lay back on the couch & be comfy... While keeping moving.

Every little bit helps.

Also, while you brush your teeth or do dishes, ACTIVELY suck in your stomach. (This is exercise. You're tightening -- and thus USING -- your abdominals. They are part of the core muscle-groups that makes everything else easier.)

When you're as big as I am, even a small increase in your exercise level -- like that "bike" I link to -- will have a REAL affect on your weight. Remember: SOME is better than none. You'll want to work in "real" work-outs as well, but this can increase your "baseline" activity level.

salg715

After an illness that has left me with no exercise and a counter-intuitive diet for nearly a year I'm just getting into the exercise cycle again. It used to be easy to schedule in time, but after being out of the habit of exercising I'm finding it more challenging. I'm not sure how old your kids are but some basic yoga activities can be a way to engage with them and start getting yourself moving. A resistance band and can go a long way to and most come with easy exercises you can do in short spurts. I find if as soon as I get out of bed I spend 5 minutes doing something- crunches, planks, push-ups, stretches it gets me started on the right path for the day. I know it's hard for working Moms to have their own time. Family walks and games of tag can get you moving without being a pure workout so you can slowly set up a schedule of time that is truly yours for exercise. I wish you the best of luck in reaching your goals!