I'm glad you found this site, as you will receive some great resources and support!
I would be interested in hearing your answers to Diane's questions, as we could provide many "random" suggestions and informative tidbits, but without more information about you and your lifestyle, we will be lucky if a few of our nuggets of information are relevant to you and your family.
What have you tried that has worked in the past to lose weight? What is your motivation to lose weight? Do you have time to exercise most days of the week with a personal trainer or take a class at a gym?
Do you know how many calories your body needs to fuel itself, versus how many calories you are expending each day? This is one BIG piece of the puzzle, and merely cutting calories isn't as easy as it sounds to sustain. Weight Watchers has personally helped me lose 20 pounds (I am also a SAHM), and it took 6 months of following their plan and working out 1 hour most days of the week. I had to really put exercise and diet on the top of my list with much support and babysitting help from my family, in order to get to a healthy weight. (Now, I can have exercise as an important part of my day, but not necessarily the top...it's more balanced, now).
The best ways to cook include grilling and using the oven with as little added fat as possible. Some of my favorite cookbooks are: Cooking Light, Weight Watchers Momentum, Diabetes Comfort Food. They have healthy recipe suggestions that apply to any lifestyle! One of the Registered Dietitians I used to work with said that she adds a little fat (butter, olive oil, sour cream dip) to her vegetables instead of meats and grains, and ends up eating more veggies. I actually found that following the recommended "5 fruits and vegetables a day" is very difficult to do, and when I did this...I was satisfied longer and did not need to eat as much at mealtime. Some of the secret to fruits & veggies is the fiber: keeps you feeling fuller longer; same with whole grains with lots of fiber.
Do you have favorite recipes? You can also find ways to cut down on the fat and calories of recipes you already make with healthy substitutions.
If your family enjoys being active together, this is a wonderful way to get everyone involved in your weight loss goal. Go on a walk together in the evenings (we put our son in a stroller for half the walk so we can get our heart-rate pumping; then he gets to walk back home after playing at the playground). Go on bike rides together, go swimming, hiking, play ball in the backyard or park...anything to get you physically moving every morning and evening!
Sounds like you already choose healthy snacks, but some of my favorite are a handful of nuts, seeds and dried fruit (no added fat or sugar; some are fried!).
Let us know what you have tried, if you are able to go to a gym, use a personal trainer, a Dietitian or use an online weight loss program...these are all great motivators! It takes a lot of time and sustainable effort to lose weight, and having a weight loss buddy helps your chance of success, too!
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I'm glad you found this site, as you will receive some great resources and support!
I would be interested in hearing your answers to Diane's questions, as we could provide many "random" suggestions and informative tidbits, but without more information about you and your lifestyle, we will be lucky if a few of our nuggets of information are relevant to you and your family.
What have you tried that has worked in the past to lose weight? What is your motivation to lose weight? Do you have time to exercise most days of the week with a personal trainer or take a class at a gym?
Do you know how many calories your body needs to fuel itself, versus how many calories you are expending each day? This is one BIG piece of the puzzle, and merely cutting calories isn't as easy as it sounds to sustain. Weight Watchers has personally helped me lose 20 pounds (I am also a SAHM), and it took 6 months of following their plan and working out 1 hour most days of the week. I had to really put exercise and diet on the top of my list with much support and babysitting help from my family, in order to get to a healthy weight. (Now, I can have exercise as an important part of my day, but not necessarily the top...it's more balanced, now).
The best ways to cook include grilling and using the oven with as little added fat as possible. Some of my favorite cookbooks are: Cooking Light, Weight Watchers Momentum, Diabetes Comfort Food. They have healthy recipe suggestions that apply to any lifestyle! One of the Registered Dietitians I used to work with said that she adds a little fat (butter, olive oil, sour cream dip) to her vegetables instead of meats and grains, and ends up eating more veggies. I actually found that following the recommended "5 fruits and vegetables a day" is very difficult to do, and when I did this...I was satisfied longer and did not need to eat as much at mealtime. Some of the secret to fruits & veggies is the fiber: keeps you feeling fuller longer; same with whole grains with lots of fiber.
Do you have favorite recipes? You can also find ways to cut down on the fat and calories of recipes you already make with healthy substitutions.
If your family enjoys being active together, this is a wonderful way to get everyone involved in your weight loss goal. Go on a walk together in the evenings (we put our son in a stroller for half the walk so we can get our heart-rate pumping; then he gets to walk back home after playing at the playground). Go on bike rides together, go swimming, hiking, play ball in the backyard or park...anything to get you physically moving every morning and evening!
Sounds like you already choose healthy snacks, but some of my favorite are a handful of nuts, seeds and dried fruit (no added fat or sugar; some are fried!).
Let us know what you have tried, if you are able to go to a gym, use a personal trainer, a Dietitian or use an online weight loss program...these are all great motivators! It takes a lot of time and sustainable effort to lose weight, and having a weight loss buddy helps your chance of success, too!
August 30, 2009 - 1:26pmThis Comment
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