Is it ever going to get easier.

Hi guys and girls I am having a very difficult time losing weight here. I can barely work out for 5-8 mins at a time. Is this normal.

When I started my exercising, I was at 250lbs and OUT OF SHAPE.  I could barely walk up 10 steps before feeling like a heart attack was in my near future.

I got a treadmill and started walking, then I'd jog a whole minute.  Walk some more, jog 90 seconds.  Just build yourself up.  I can now run a mile and a half without dying!

You don't necessarily have to work out to lose weight. It's a myth that the two go hand in hand.

Working out can be helpful but is NOT necessary.

I'm assuming you can't workout for extended periods of time because you've taken some time off working out while raising your kids, am I correct?  There are two critical components to getting back in shape.

I know from watching my sister (26 with a 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter) that one of the hardest things to do with children is say no to them when they want something.  However, and I don't know if you already do this, I think you should set up a diet of healthy foods for the entire family, including your young children.  It is crucial to start them off on a healthy lifestyle at a young age while at the same time maintaining one for yourself.

You'd never imagine how much more energy you and your children will have when you stop feeding them sugar-filled drinks and candy and pizza and you both eat healthy whole grains, meats, fish and vegetables.  The main problem with sugar is that it induces an insulin spike in your blood which gives you a ton of energy for a very short period of time.  Within 30 minutes to an hour, your insulin drops below its normal level and suddenly your body is craving for more sugar (even though your stomach is full).  If you don't constantly supply the body with sugar, it results in children whose moods swing back and forth and a headache for you.  If you do supply the body with the sugar, well... you gain weight.  Some scientists say sugar is more addictive than cocaine.

The solution is to replace sugars with long term energy sources like grains, wheats, etc.  That is the first step. 

As far as the individual exercises go, that is more difficult seeing as you're a full-time mother.  I would recommend a video series like P90x.  You can do it at home with minimal equipment and monitor the kids at the same time.  My nephew actually likes doing some of the exercises with us when we do it (of course to him its playtime).  In the beginning it will be difficult but just workout as hard as you can without pushing yourself so hard that you become frustrated.  There is a plyometrics video that comes with P90x that when I first tried it, I could only do 18 out of 60 minutes.  I did it once a week from then on and forced myself to do an additional 5ish minutes each week until I could do the whole thing.

Good luck and keep us posted.

For a 26 year old, it is not normal unless you are very overweight and out of shape.  Have you cut calories / carbs waaay back?  What kind of exercise are you trying to do?

Take small steps and then add more as you go along. Play with your kids or take a walk with them. Turn on the music station and dance. I exercise when the commercials are on. If you are doing housework you are moving and that in its self is good!  You need the energy to be able to move around in the weight that you need to lose. Do it slow and let your body adapt to your eating changes. DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF!

We all are here to lose weight but our situations vary. I need to lose 65 pounds,I am in my fifties, and I am not a picky eater. I got this way from yo yo diets. NO MORE!!!!!!!!!!  I eat more fruits and veggies,sleep better, my skin looks great and I have dropped two dress sizes. I get very frustrated with myself but I stay on track because I feel and look better. I have had people come up to me and say that it looks like I have lost and that keeps me on track too.

Hang in there we are here for you!

I have cut to eating everything all natural no high fructose corn syrups no hydrogenated oils and all of that. Yet there is still that chick in my ear tempting me to eat that ho ho or cupcake, so I would go all the way to the store to get it.

I am very over weight I weigh 215 and I am 5'5. The only thing I am doing right now is trying to get up in the day and take care of my house work and my family. I started to do this cardio kick boxing DVD with Jillian Michaels but since I am so over weight my knees have begun to hurt. I also use a gazelle from time to time. This is the first time I have stuck with something longer than a day. I have been so depressed since my weight gain that I have let my husband assume ALL the responsibilities so I am trying to get back to the norm.

dont be discouraged!  for me, i would always get really depressed/disappointed with myself when i would launch on a new healthy eating/exercise plan, because i was trying to do too much too fast, and so i would always give up and then feel worse than before

 

my advice is to tell yourself that its OK to take baby steps and then actually take baby steps.  the jillian michaels kickboxing dvd sounds hard, esp if you are not used to working out.  i would start out by walking- i bet you $1000 you can walk and you do it every day without even thinking about it.  so either hop on a treadmill or go outside and walk walk walk.  you will burn calories, i promise!  once you feel more comfortable, try adding in new forms of cardio that are low impact- like elliptical, swimming, etc.  and add in some weight training too! i am not a weight training expert but you can do things like lunges, squats, pushups, etc in the comfort of your own home that will maintain muscle and boost your metabolism even more

 

in terms of diet- again, baby steps.  dont focus on cutting things out- focus on adding things in.  drink more water, eat more fruits/veggies, make sure you are getting enough fiber, etc.  i find this to be a much better mentality.  when you are eating so many good for you foods and drinking so much water, you kind of run out of room for the bad foods

 

its all about making small life changes.  it sounds like you've hit more of a mental roadblock than a physical one.  so i would focus on shifting your outlook :)

I'm much heavier than you, but you have to work yourself up to it.  If you can do 5 minutes today, that's great.  It's more than what you did before.  Next time, aim for 6 minutes instead.  I personally find that video tapes take more out of me than working on a machine.  I feel like it's more controlled movements than trying to lift my fat thigh and kick it up in the air.  So, I know that I'm doing them right when on an elliptical or bike.  And I had surgery on my knee after an accident and have been told that walking isn't great for me.  But, I know if I walk, I'm doing it right.  So, focus more on what you can do and not what you can't. 

read this http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/belfert_bmt0. htm

Thank you all so much. I have friends in my life who tell me that I need to lose weight and that I am unhealthy. It is a breath of fresh air to hear actual words of encouragement thank you so much!

Hang in there, you can do this. I read your profile, at 26 with 4 kids, you are my hero! Anyone who thinks it's easy to do what Moms do everyday has never had to do it!!!

If you can find the time to pamper yourself in other ways, you'll feel more energized about the exercise portion.

Good luck....

baby steps is the way to go! I found that if I tried to do too much at once, I wouldn't be able to. I'd get discouraged and fall back into old habits and have to start from scratch all over again.

You also don't have to do all your exercise at once. You can break it up into 5-10 minutes here and there throughout the day when you have time. It doesn't seem like much, but the little things add up over time.

 

Good luck! :)

well, your friends dont sound very supportive! do they know that it hurts your feelings when they say things like that? it sure would bother me if anyone said those things to me

 

i find these forums to be an amazing addition to any weight loss/fitness goals that you set for yourself.  its a great place to ask questions without feeling judged, and its a great place to talk to other people just like ourselves.  alot of this difficult journey is mental, not physical!

When I first started working out, I could only be active for 10 minutes tops, and that was with several breaks. Now I run for at least 30 minutes a day at 5 mph  with almost no pauses. I also lift weights for at least 20 minutes a day.

 

It just takes a little getting used to. It will get easier. It took me about 2 weeks to get past the 10 minute mark. Then I moved on to 15 minutes for a few weeks, then 20 minutes for 2 weeks, and now I'm pretty sure I can go for as long as I wanted, but I limit myself to 30 minutes.

 

Keep at it and you will succeed.

Original Post by amheffron:

I have cut to eating everything all natural no high fructose corn syrups no hydrogenated oils and all of that. Yet there is still that chick in my ear tempting me to eat that ho ho or cupcake, so I would go all the way to the store to get it.

I am very over weight I weigh 215 and I am 5'5. The only thing I am doing right now is trying to get up in the day and take care of my house work and my family. I started to do this cardio kick boxing DVD with Jillian Michaels but since I am so over weight my knees have begun to hurt. I also use a gazelle from time to time. This is the first time I have stuck with something longer than a day. I have been so depressed since my weight gain that I have let my husband assume ALL the responsibilities so I am trying to get back to the norm.

 When I started I weighed 208 and am also 5'5".  Other than driving school bus, I'm a stay-at-home-mom.  So far I've lost 8 lbs (Since April 7/08).  As far as cutting out all treats, I chose not to do that because I don't want to feel deprived.  So I have a small treat of whatever I'm craving at the time (about 50-100 calories).  This way I don't feel like I'm on a diet.  I want this to be for good, and to me a "diet" sounds temporary.

The exersice I get is my eliptical trainer and have just started a routine someone from CC suggested www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id+1305014 .  I'm obviously not doing the whole thing as it's supposed to be, but I'm working on it.

Good luck and stay with it, we're all doing this together.

Original Post by amheffron:

I have cut to eating everything all natural no high fructose corn syrups no hydrogenated oils and all of that. Yet there is still that chick in my ear tempting me to eat that ho ho or cupcake, so I would go all the way to the store to get it.

I am very over weight I weigh 215 and I am 5'5. The only thing I am doing right now is trying to get up in the day and take care of my house work and my family. I started to do this cardio kick boxing DVD with Jillian Michaels but since I am so over weight my knees have begun to hurt. I also use a gazelle from time to time. This is the first time I have stuck with something longer than a day. I have been so depressed since my weight gain that I have let my husband assume ALL the responsibilities so I am trying to get back to the norm.

 

Sorry, no idea what I just did here.

It is normal if you're very out of shape. Don't worry, it DOES get easier if you're willing to commit to it! ;-)

Original Post by amheffron:

I have cut to eating everything all natural no high fructose corn syrups no hydrogenated oils and all of that. Yet there is still that chick in my ear tempting me to eat that ho ho or cupcake, so I would go all the way to the store to get it.

I am very over weight I weigh 215 and I am 5'5. The only thing I am doing right now is trying to get up in the day and take care of my house work and my family. I started to do this cardio kick boxing DVD with Jillian Michaels but since I am so over weight my knees have begun to hurt. I also use a gazelle from time to time. This is the first time I have stuck with something longer than a day. I have been so depressed since my weight gain that I have let my husband assume ALL the responsibilities so I am trying to get back to the norm.

First of all congrats on cleaning up your diet. That is a great first step. Also, for the time being why don't you try taking short walks (perhaps w/ your little ones in a stroller....instant added resistance).  Start slowly and go as far as you can and then increase a little every day.  I am a big proponent of weight lifting BUT if for now walking is all you can do, there is nothing wrong with that. I lost ALL of my baby weight from my first pregnancy through diet and walking my son in the jog stroller. I never lifted a single weight or did a workout video.  As you get stronger then try your DVD again and see if you are ready to do it. There is no shame in starting out slowly.  Everyone has a starting off place....the idea is get things moving in the right direction.  Good luck to you and definitely come back here and post. This is a great place to help you stay motivated.

Hang in there, it doesn't happen overnight, but it will happen.  I'd suggest that you start with one thing at a time; get yourself into the habit of eating healthy foods, and keeping track of your calories.  Try to walk for 20 minutes every day, and build up to 30, 40, 50 and then an hour.  I get up at 6:00 am now, because that's the only way I can invest an hour walking, but now that it's part of my routine, it's my favourite part of the day!  I know that I can't afford more than an hour a day, so now I'm working on building speed - hopefully covering 8 kilometres in an hour, instead of 6. 

But the most important bit of advice I can offer you is that, while it's very important to make health and fitness an integral part of your daily routine, don't let "dieting" become the central focus of your life.  Enjoy your family, spend quality time with them, and never forget that, whether you intend to or not, you're teaching your children by the example you set.