Getting started!!
 

Hi i'm a stay at home mom to 6 kids. I'm 5ft 2 inches and my weight was 191 pounds (my highest wait EVER) :(. I just started my change on 1-17, so its just been 6 days. I've been working out with my wii fit every day and using my steps for exercise ( going up and down 6 times in a row...killer! lol) My goal is to get 135 by June 26th. Hope I can make it! I was a big time pepsi drinker...atleast 6 a day i'd say. In the past 6 days i've drank 2 ..other then that only water. So I got my calories down to where they need to be but now I need to work on getting my carb intake down!

So far I have lost 4 lbs. I plan on buying some kind of exercise machine next week. Any suggestions?? I was looking at one of Tony littles machines, anyone ever use one of them??

That is great you are taking those first steps to get healthy! Carbs are my worst problem as well, after I quit my coke habit!! That is coca cola! I consider myself a recoverying coke addict!! LOL!! I have not had one since Dec 31. I know from past experience if I have one, it will lead to two, and so on, until I am right back at it....so I did the cold turkey quit! It was hard, but not has hard as I had expected.

Before you go out and spend money on any home exercise equipment, which you may or may not end up liking, why don't you start with walking? Walking is the best way to start a program, you can build up both speed and distance as you get more conditioned, and it is free!!!

because when its cold out I know I wont force myself to go out and with 6 kids its hard to get out for a good pace walk when they all want to go along. I used to walk with my sister and loved that but she moved away so I have no one to walk with..unless I drag the whole family and then its very slow paced.

Hey, I am new to all this. Thinking if I journal I will take this seriously and get down to my goal weight. I would like to share what I have done in hope that it may help you some. Ive lost about 23lbs so far and know if I get back to business it will continue just needing to get my focus back. I ate anything i wanted except bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, soda or sugary drinks, sweets (only sugar free candy & cookies) lots of fruit any meat cooked any way, yogurt, cheese, nuts, lots of fruit & vegies (the few veggies i like) I did eat lots of beans and corn so I didnt eliminate all carbs but it the weight was coming off with no exercise... it worked better for me than anything else I have tried... hope it may help u too!! good luck... funny thing was like 2 days after I stopped eating those things, I didnt even want them anymore... gotta get focused and get back to it!

my drug is Dr Pepper, I totally feel you. It can't be just 1 its all or nothing. I am a total sugar addict thats why I have to pretty much eliminate it as much as possible in my diet.

I'd recommend a step bench
 

Hi jjbear. Fitday ate my last reply, so I'm trying again.

My sister has the Tony Little Gazelle. Her two boys are always hurting themselves on it! It's not safe to have around kids, in my opinion (hers, too.)

Plus, for the money? You could get a step bench for half that cost.

I'm a mom, too. When my daughter was small, I paid $80 for The Step aerobic bench that came with a short videotape workout.

I've had that for 12 years, used it quite a bit - and it's still as good as new. (The video tape not so much...lol) Over the years, I've picked up new tapes and now rent DVDs from Netflix when I want to try new things or instructors. My step doubles as a weight training bench, too. I still love it.

If I were buying today, I'd pick up the Cory Everson bench for $50 - it comes with a video. It looks like a good value, and would get you started.
Take a look:
http://www.sportsunlimitedinc.com/steps.html

Or... on that same page, there's a Step Body Infusion set that comes with a balance ball, resistance bands, etc. that looks like a good deal.

Good luck, chica! :)

Hello! I am a new 23 year old mama on maternity leave from work, I just had my baby on 12/22 :) I love being a mother, and it certainly keeps you on your toes. My pregnancy weight I got up to 203 pounds and now I am at 184. I'm 5'5" and I set aside about 2 hours to workout eventhough its very challenging at times having a newborn since he's my first priority. I started on saturday of last week and I've primarily been using the Golds Gym Elliptical Trainer (I found it @ walmart last year for about $298 I believe, it works amazing, a great workout and a good investment! It has a built in fan, an iPod connection for music, and several different levels of workouts). My goal is to burn 1,000 calories a day minimum because I am so eager to get back into shape as quickly as possible. I'm going to try to drink atleast 8-10 8oz glasses of water a day, that's another thing I would like to start on a consistant basis. I have to say I think my weight at 184 has been remaining the same for about a week now because of my eating, which is almost non existant. I have to remind myself to eat because I'm so preoccupied with cleaning, school, taking care of baby etc.. and I probably don't exceed 800-900 calories a day which may not be a good thing. I think my body went into starvation mode and is keeping the weight on. I'm trying to mostly eat as many veggies as possible, along with a little bit of fruit (limiting sugar intake) and lean meat (chicken/fish). Yesterday was the first day I did the 1,000 calorie mark it took about an hour on the elliptical with variation of the resistance and my running speed which felt like trying to run in quicksand with the wind blowing against you haha.. Ugh,.. I'm so sore but I'm really wanting to work out 5-6 days a week. We'll see where my weight is next week..I'm trying to be as dedicated as possible, because when you want something bad enough, you'll put in as much effort as it takes to get there. Here's to the new year and to all of us achieving what we want! Seize the day!

Getting Started
 

I'm also 5' 2" and my highest weight was 190 in the summer of 2008. Since then, I'm down to 167. However, this is my year! I turn 50, and I'm determined to be Fit by Fifty!! I just stared on the Jan 18 with my exercise routine: X-Fit class MWF, Cardio Kick boxing T/Th, Karate, and jogging a couple of times a week. It sounds like a lot, but it's great! I'm excited to be physically active.

I know last year I wanted to try some things at home. I bought two or three of the Biggest Loser DVD's and that's how I initially lost the first 20 lbs. You can get them at Wal-mart for less than $10 each, and you can customize your workouts. Also, you can buy a set or two of dumb bells or even the exercist bands with handles...they're pretty cheap. For cardio, a NordicTrac ski machine is great. You can usually find one cheap, since people get one and use it for a clothing rack for while, then want to get rid of it! There are lots of inexpensive options without buying big equipment. I agree with the person who said to walk first. George Foreman has a walking DVD you can do indoors and it's a great calorie burner.

Good luck!

How do you like the Wi? I am thinking about getting it but am concerned with the cost. What exactly do I need to purchase in order to use the Wi fit? I do not have anything right now. As for equipment, a treadmill would be a good idea. You can walk anytime and still keep an eye on the kids.

If you don't have the Wii system, you need to get that first; I think it's around $199 now. When we bought our Wii Fit package to go with it, it was $99. So it is a pretty significant investment, but it's more flexible than a piece of exercise equipmnt because you (or your kids) can also play recreational games on the game system. There are different types of exercises you can choose from, if I remember right: balance, yoga, cardio, and strength. Choosing what you want to do, you are on your own. However, they have come out with some games now for the Wii that put you on a program and tell you what exercises to do each day, as well as give you a chance to log in your food. My husband is just getting started with one of those.

I think the most important thing is to just do something, anything, to get started. Good luck to you!

Hello fashionphx,
I am exactly like you, a 24 year old new mommy, gave birth last august, gained weight up to 204.6 lbs and when I gave birth I droped to 182.6 lbs, and now I started dieting (on the new year) and droped down to 169.4 lbs so far!!
I am a breastfeeding mother too, I dont know wether you are or not?? so I'm trying to eat as healthy as I can, maintain a good caloric intake, exercise on the elliptical machine, and still drop weight.
I read a good book called "burn the fat, feed the muscle" for bodybuilder tom venuto, where he exposes all the secrets to a succesfull balanced diet, that works by boosting your metabolism and preventing your body from going into starvation mode.
I My goal is to drop to 128 lbs til summer time (may-june), so when I started dieting I ate a total of 2,000-2,200 cal/day, and did cardio on the crosstrainer 30 min. and that's when I lost the intial 10-12 pounds,but then I dropped my caloric intake to 1,500cal/day and I noticed that my scale got stuck at the 169 lbs!!! I believe my body went into starvation mode as you said. as my maintenance level was on 2,600 cal, breastfeeding takes at least 300 cal, and cardio 400 cal, I'm going to try to stick on 1,800 cal/day and see how it works.
my worst nightmare is when I get on the scale and see the weight is still the same!! or even increased!!!
Also, I read in the book, that you should increase the exercise intensity and duration gradually, to prevent your body from undergoing into adaptation mode. then instead of needing an hour on your machine to lose the weight, you will need more than an hour to lose the same amount you lost in the begging, maybe you should take it easy on the training as well. start off with 30 min, moderate intensity, or try the HIIT (high intensity interval technique) did you hear about? it claims to keep your metabolism up several hours after workout and takes only (20-30 min)..keep me posted with your updates, hopefully we can help each other lose the pregnancy weight and become even better than before :D good luck

Hi, instead of Wii Fit, purchase the Wii and then go for the My Fitness Coach (and save yourself some money). It walks and talks you through a program that will work for you and you can up the challenge. Go For It!

I am also a mom to 6 kids and I was up to my highest weight -184, higher than any of my term pregnancy weights. I tried to lose with just dieting and would start fitday and then go off it and my weight would just yoyo back even higher. I felt I couldn't exercise because of one knee and one ankle having injuries and i was getting in worse shape. And I think that because I am now 52 it makes it much harder than it used to be for me to lose weight. Then I decided to try fitday again and just 10 minutes a day of low impact aerobics. I have only been at it one week now, but I am averaging 1750 calories a day and have lost 4 pounds and I feel really energetic and motivated. I really think the exercise has made a huge difference. I am going to continue like this, and not eat too little but just enough and get just that little bit of exercise each day. I plan to be 145 by December.