Seeking Advice on Losing Weight!!

Weight Watchers!!!! It works, trust me. I am a lifetime member. It the most scientifically sound diet. And actually it is not even a diet, it is a lifestyle. You can still enjoy good food, just in moderation. But you learn to eat smart. I have done it both with and without exercise. I have lost more weight on weight watchers when I am not exercising. This is not to say that exercise is not important, cause it is. But just try weight watchers with out the exercise and you will see the pounds come off!
Good Luck!

I asked the same question a few months ago. Someone told me about a free online weight support site and I lost 25lbs in 3 months. I only stopped when I became pregnant. It is called sparkpeople.com If you do check it out let them know lw8843 referred you. It's a great resource for recipes and even helps set up a work out plan. Good Luck.

R.,
You're right, exercise IS the key...hard to say what you can do without knowing your lifestyle/schedule. can you exercise in the morning before the little ones get up or after they go to bed? Or, while the older ones are at school, can you take the little ones to walk at the mall? Or try to exercise while they nap? or, get a great cd or put on the radio and dance with your kids.

As far as eating, the easiest things to do are to cut out pop, juice, etc, and drink just water. Also, skip desserts, and switch to wheat breads and pastas if you don't eat them already. make sure you have a lot of healthy snacks in the house, so you aren't tempted to eat junk...try to include vegetables into your meals, to take the place of higher calorie items.

Food and exercise is the key. I'd focus on eating whole grains. They have more substance and will keep you feeling full longer. Limit your meat intake to about a playing card size per meal, and avoid processed meats all together if possible. Keep the vegetables and fruits fresh and unprocessed. Avoid using lots of dairy, as it has lots of concentrated calories so let a little go a long way. :)

Another way to help keep calories and fat down is to try some meat substitutes. They are similar in taste to processed meats and have no cholesterol and less fats. These can be found in the frozen foods section of your grocery store (Morningstar Farms or Boca products are the best tasting in my book). Also things like Tofu (which if marinated can take on the flavor of anything, then crumble and stir fry. Also eating things like rice and beans, a complete protein and no fat or cholesterol...

Good luck!

In my business, we use a proven program to help people to loose weight thru classes (12 weeks) focusing on the low glycemic eating style, behavior modification (thru journaling), exercise for body composition improvement (fat loss instead of muscle) and supplementation (natural products). I can share more if you want to know!

S.
____@____.com

So, you are a very busy mom! Sounds like you want something easy and convenient, right? There are so many plans out there and it is great that you ask and see what one is a fit for you.

Is support in a program important to you? Are you looking for products that will give you the right ratio of carbs, protein and good fats? Are you the type of person that looks at the ingredients of a product to determine if it is right for you? If you said yes to these questions, but would like more information, go to www.cinchplan.com/mamabear.

Most people still have questions and, of course you can email me or call me at ###-###-#### with questions. The thing I love about this program is that it gets you to your goal weight and I work with you to show you how to stay at your goal weight. No YO-YO dieting.

M.

I lost weight after my 3rd child by cutting out simple carbs. Basically I cut out all bread except a "live" bread called Ezekial bread (in freezer section) and pasta, etc. You need some to keep your metabolism going, but with no exercise your body won't need much of the quick fuel. My dinners are all veggie & meat. I have the bread for breakfast and/or lunch. I also eat more frequently, and smaller portions, and NOTHING after 7:00 at night so I'll burn the calories rather than sleep on them. I have a handful of nuts or a couple of slices of cheese as snacks. I heard your body will store fat and burn muscle if it feels "starved" so I try to eat something small every 2 hours. The protein snacks keep me more satisfied. Of course sugar and saturated fat at bare minimum, and earlier in the day so the calories get burned. I allow Sunday to be a reward day, but stick to dark chocolate rather than cake or cookies. Drink water all day, get lots of fiber & take B vitamins, too. Soon the weather will turn and you can get that brood out for walks. The exercise makes you feel good as well as burn calories. I admit I don't always stick to this and do see the weight creep back if I start eating breads and sugar, but I look at that as the off-norm, rather than back to usual. As I've aged it takes much less to begin putting weight back on. I've maintained my weight this way for 10 years with only a few slips, but never more than 5 lbs (holidays!). Oh, and I don't drink alcohol hardly at all any more. Good luck!

I recently wrote on Mamasource titled
Weight Loss - discouraged.
A gal named Terri has helped me immensly!.
Since then i have cut out sugar and flour from my diet and it is totaly do-able. In two weeks I have lost two and a half pounds.

If you want more info on it I can send you more ideas of what you CAN eat.

I have been told that the combo of sugar and flour keeps weight on. Illiminating it cause it to melt off.

Hi R.,

Congrats on another little one. I was in your shoes a year ago. I have lost 30 pounds and continue to loose weight by using herbalife products (shakes, protein, and supplements). You can loose weight by working out and eating healthy food, but I needed something easier than counting calories. That's why I like herbalife shakes. I had two shakes a day, with healthy snacks, and one healthy meal. I lost 22 pounds (and 28 inches) in 12 week weight loss challenge. If you are interested in a weight loss challenge or herbalife products, please feel free to email me at ____@____.com. I'm sure I could find a challenge in your area. Good Luck!

Hi R.!
I learned about plant-derived minerals during the summer, and I started taking them and from what I've learned, we all need 90 essential nutrients. If we don't have all 90, then we become deficient and that's when our immune system gets low and diseases start. Also, your body starts craving foods because it's missing nutrients! So when we give ourselves these nutrients we won't be munching when we shouldn't! Eat whole, healthy foods - meats, veggies, fruits - and try to stay away from processed foods. The foods we eat really don't have all the rich minerals and vitamins we need - that's why we need to supplement. The company is called Youngevity and you can go to www.youngevity.com and and if you have some time,read about Dr. Joel Wallach - he's a brilliant man! I'll be glad to help you with any questions. You can email me at ____@____.com

You are a very busy lady! I would start with NO SUGAR or "white" food (white flour, ie: pasta, white rice, potatoes). NO diet pop, eat lots of veggies and drink water all day. Just eliminating sugar completely (read your lables) can make a huge difference, though you might get a headache. Start slowly, you will see results and be ecouraged by your own success.

Hi R.,

I too am in the process of losing the baby weight, my daughter is 7 months old and it is impossible to go to the gym. I joined weight watchers before christmas and have been losing steadily since I started. Also I recomend a book called Lean Mommy by Lisa Druxman, she is the creator of Stroller Strides. There are alot of great things that you can do to exercise with the baby. I found that most of the things that I was doing when I played on the floor with her were in the book. And it has a lot of nutrition information too, including most of the information that I learned from Weight Watchers! It's a great resource:)

I am a strong advocate for Weight Watchers. I started it back in 2000 and have been following the premise of counting points and focusing on whole grains/lean proteins/veggies/fruits/lots of water ever since (well, I don't really count points during pregnancy but other than that, I'm alwasy counting!) As for exercise, get it in whenever you can. Even if it's only 10-20 min here and there. Keep an exercise ball around so that you can interact with your kids while doing little exercises. When it's nice out, take your kids for a walk or bike ride. Involving your kids in your exercise is good for your body and also teaches them the importance of a healthy, active lifestyle. And like otehr posters mentioned, involve the entire family in your healthy cooking. It helps everyone!

Hi R.,

I am a new mom (I have a 6mo old son) and also a personal trainer. You are right that exercise is important, but your diet is just as, if not more, important to loose weight. It takes a lot more work to burn calories than to decrease them from your diet. They must go hand in hand to get the best results, but if you are cramped on time, you will get the fasted results with adjuting your diet. You need to limit your caloric intake to create about a 300-500 calorie deficite from what your body needs/day. If you go too low, your body with go into starvation mode and you will not loose weight. The number of calories you need depends on your weight and a great source to get nutrition advice is www.nutrition.gov.

As for exercise, even 30 min/day is better than nothing. You should try to do some form of cardio 3x/week and strength 2x/week. You can do any form of cardio that you enjoy, walking, jogging, biking, swimming, etc as long as you do it. The strength will give you nice sculpted muscles once you have lost the weight. If you are unfamiliar with strength training, you should contact a personal trainer in your area to show you the proper form so you don't get hurt. I hope this helps and good luck!

A.

Wow R., You have a lot going on! You are receiving a lot of good advice on making better food choices. Portion control is a great piece of the weight loss plan. Here are a few more pieces to consider for you...

Have your doctors talked with you about your hormone changes and stored nutrient depletion after several babies?

Is your food choice convenient (doable for your life) as well as good for you? Is it important for you to not have artificial sweetners in what you choose?

If this fits what you are looking for I can offer you more resources...just let me know.

Have a great day!
M.

Our family has been losing weight with Weight Watchers. I have HAP insurance so I get to go for $25 for 12 weeks x 4. It is a wonderful program and we often have young moms in our meetings. You can bring your little ones if you need to.

The best advice I have is weight watchers. I just recently lost 26 lbs after the birth of my second child and I am back in my pre pregnancy size. You can eat what you like, you just have to control your portions. I love the program and strong;y recommend it.

Good luck, you can do it!

R. your baby is very young. My advice to you is to throw out all diets, they never work in the long run. My suggestion is for the whole family with you as the leader.
Just eat HEAlTHY diet is whatever you eat anyway Your Dr. may have a nutritionalist to guide guide you in setting what you eat. If you eat healthy and are actlive the weight should stabalize and you should feel great.

Hi R.,

First, you have a lot going on. Stop beating yourself up.

Second, focus on being healthy... not dieting. If you're breastfeeding, then you shouldn't be dieting anyway.

Third, look for things that everyone can do together! Like... have a dance party with your kids! Turn on some music and everyone dances for 30 minutes. No sitting down! No pooping out! Everyone keeps moving for 30 minutes. Doesn't matter if you march, or swing your arms...whatever... just crank up the tunes and have some fun. It's a great way to spend time with your kids and set a good example of getting some exercise. Also, while the older ones are at school you can get out and walk with the younger two. Obviously on really cold days, not a great option. But as the weather starts to warm up the opportunities to get outside will present themselves more and more. One thing that really helps me is shutting off the TV! I have a policy the TV doesn't even go on until my daughter is in bed. Granted, she is only 17 months old. But, if you tend to have the TV on most of the day, think about carving out a couple of hours where the TV is off. You'll be more motivated to do other things.

You could also do some yoga. There are some great stretches that kids can do too! You can get your older kids involved. Stretching your muslces helps keep them lean and strong.

Fourth, start making healthy food choices. Go through your fridge and cupboards... how many REAL foods do you have? Really look at your food. Is it mostly packaged stuff? Or do you have foods close to their natural state. The closer your foods are to their natural state, the HEALTHIER they are for you.

www.nourishyourkids.com is a GREAT resource. It is run by a nutritionist AND a pediatrician! It mainly focuses on feeding your kids REAL healthy foods...but if you change the eating habits of your kids, then you will follow right along. Set a good example and keep everyone healthy.

Fifth, stay hydrated. Toss out the juice. Toss out the sodas, toss out the coffee. I know I know! But WATER is the BEST hydrator. It nourishes your body and helps flush out the stuff you don't need. 6-8 glasses a day. DRINK UP!

If you start with these steps, the weight will come off and you will be healthier all the way around. After 4 kids, the weight most likely will be a bit tougher to come off and your shape will most likely be a bit different. BUT, healthy is the primary goal. :-)

Good luck!

Hi, R.,

You have received some excellent advice, and I only have one thing to add... just my mom's experience.

My parents went vegetarian and started exercising vigorously and neither of them lost weight at all, which was very frustrating for them both. Now, it was easy to see that my dad's cookie habit (if they're in the house, they're munched at until they're gone) and his pop habit (lots of coke, sprite, you name it, every day) was his downfall... but my mom:

Eating a low-fat, high fibre, whole-food almost vegan diet, her weight didn't change by more than a pound or so in a whole year. While she was lamenting this, I wondered out loud if she wasn't finding what I'd found (accidentally):

If you are eating really good food in portions that are too large for your body's needs, you will not lose weight no matter how much you exercise. Even if it's all 100% clean, low-fat, nutritionally-dense... if it's too much, it is just too much. Yes, it is possible to get fat eating whole grains and carrots.

Either leave 25% of what you serve yourself on your plate every single meal you eat (and after a week see if you aren't just automatically serving yourself smaller portions) or, if you don't have that kind of willpower, use smaller plates and serve yourself half to 3/4s of what you would normally serve yourself.

Oh, and don't 'help' with the food budget or protecting the garbage from 'wasted' food by eating the nibbles left on your kids' plates... bad, bad plan, that! Those nibbles add up in a hurry.