how to lose weight with limited excercise

[mommaduck]

Seriously. I'm stuck in a rowhouse, in the middle of a city, not a lot of room, no money for a gym, and even to walk, I would have to take my oldest away from his schooling to have him babysit.

 

I've put on weight since the baby was born and I'm blaming it on being stuck in a box (sorry, this feels like a box to me...having lived in the midwest where there was elbow room and then lived on a couple of farms before moving into the city). I do walk places when the weather is nice. But with it being winter and my nerve sensitivity to the cold (one of the things that makes me break out into hives, literally)...I just feel stuck and I about called the nurse a LIAR when she told me my weight...then it was confirmed on a different scale at a different dr's office this week. I AM NOT HAPPY about this.

[ma23peas]

Use a food diary, limit your sodium, track it with an app on the computer and get your calories consistently under 1500-1800 calories a day...key is tracking every calorie, once you o that or two weeks you realize what a day's eating hould look like...lads of fresh veggies and fruits heavy.

[silliness7]

I have had great success losing weight without exercising just by cutting calories. But I'm beginning to think it would be more fun to eat a bit more, but exercise is time consuming. I just bought a jogging trampoline at Aldi for $35. B-day present for a kid but it's for up to 220 lbs. and I think I might have fun hopping on that. It doesn't take up nearly as much room as a treadmill or other exercise equipment.

[elegantlion]

Have you considered an exercise bike. Some of the upright ones are supposed to be quiet and take up less room than older models. I'm considering this one.

 

I'm running into the weather issue. I can't walk in the cold due to respiratory issues, and I fell a couple of months ago (like a dork), so I'm paranoid about walking when it's snowy.

[mommaduck]

Have you considered an exercise bike. Some of the upright ones are supposed to be quiet and take up less room than older models. I'm considering this one.

 

I'm running into the weather issue. I can't walk in the cold due to respiratory issues, and I fell a couple of months ago (like a dork), so I'm paranoid about walking when it's snowy.

There is no room for one and I can't afford one if there was. We downsized into a narrow rowhouse. (hmmm, that one looks small...will have to look into it later...maybe a corner of the bedroom?)

 

I do make the older kids take walks. When I have an appt dowtown, I walk, or up to the corner grocery. But I drive everywhere else. I'm checking with a friend to see if her and another lady are still walking in the early morning...but feel like I might be crashing their friend time :(

Edited January 12, 2012 by mommaduck

[OH_Homeschooler]

I have had great success losing weight without exercising just by cutting calories. But I'm beginning to think it would be more fun to eat a bit more, but exercise is time consuming. I just bought a jogging trampoline at Aldi for $35. B-day present for a kid but it's for up to 220 lbs. and I think I might have fun hopping on that. It doesn't take up nearly as much room as a treadmill or other exercise equipment.

 

I was just going to post about the Aldi trampoline. I got mine last Thursday and I've been using it M, W, and F mornings (T and Th I do some strength training with dumbbells). I have some good workout videos too, but I prefer to distract myself with entertainment while exercising. If I could afford it, I'd get a gym-quality elliptical but I can't, so the trampoline seems to be a good alternative.

 

At first I put the trampoline together with the handlebars but then I took them off, which makes it a lot easier to stand up and store. I just jog on it for a half hour while watching TV before the kids get up. I have kind of bad knees and this prevents them from getting sore. I even feel it along the sides of my stomach after jogging for a half hour.

 

But even if you didn't want a trampoline, I agree that you can lose weight just by cutting down what you eat. I lost about 30 lbs on Weight Watchers before I started exercising. I just find exercise accelerates the process, it helps tone the body while you lose weight, which is motivating, and I think it puts me in the right mindset if I start the day exercising. That sore feeling I get every now and then is a reminder that I don't want to blow it by eating something I don't need.

[Carol in Cal.]

Exercise at home with a tiny, rickety, easy to move exercise bike, and add weight training with little freeweights using "Strong Women Stay Young".

 

Drink water whenever you feel hungry, and wait 10 minutes to see whether that takes care of the hunger. Then eat a big hunk of fresh, raw veggies--a head of radiccio or half a head of cabbage, with more water, wait 10 minutes again. If still hungry, THAT is when you eat your small, measured portion of 'regular food'. Eat slowly, stop when you are almost full, or a little sooner.

 

These help cut back on calories and improve nutrition without starving yourself.

[mommaduck]

What gets me is that we've been eating HEALTHIER this past year (partly due to religious diet), more fruits and veggies, less meat...and I haven't been hungry much of the year. I find that I end up skipping meals, eating something small later. Ironically, it's when I decided that I needed to lose weight, that I went and splurged :( But that was partly due to hearing the flipping bad news. My jeans are looser, I'm eating healthier, I'm nursing...and I've gained weight...and not a little either! 182lbs when I was nine/ten months preggo this past April. 210lbs now! What the what?! I'm also now avoiding eating plain nuts and gassy veggies as I've been dealing with colic attacks (we though gallbladder, but the dr and surgeon are fighting that one out with one another).

[mommaduck]

Exercise at home with a tiny, rickety, easy to move exercise bike, and add weight training with little freeweights using "Strong Women Stay Young".

 

Drink water whenever you feel hungry, and wait 10 minutes to see whether that takes care of the hunger. Then eat a big hunk of fresh, raw veggies--a head of radiccio or half a head of cabbage, with more water, wait 10 minutes again. If still hungry, THAT is when you eat your small, measured portion of 'regular food'. Eat slowly, stop when you are almost full, or a little sooner.

 

These help cut back on calories and improve nutrition without starving yourself.

Thanks, I will pick up some more bottled water (this city water tastes like...well, I'll be nice...let's just say that it's not drinkable, imo).

[OH_Homeschooler]

Well, if you have been eating healthier and have gained that much weight since having the baby, it is possible that you've got a thyroid problem. Pregnancy can really mess with your thyroid. Ask your doctor for thyroid tests.

[NicAnn]

A set of resistance bands are cheap (like $10). If you have room to stand in your house, then you have plenty of room to use them. Sparkpeople.com also has some videos about working out at the office, geared towards a small space.

 

Good luck!

[mommaduck]

Well, if you have been eating healthier and have gained that much weight since having the baby, it is possible that you've got a thyroid problem. Pregnancy can really mess with your thyroid. Ask your doctor for thyroid tests.

I have to figure how to get healthy on my own. We don't have health insurance.

[mommaduck]

A set of resistance bands are cheap (like $10). If you have room to stand in your house, then you have plenty of room to use them. Sparkpeople.com also has some videos about working out at the office, geared towards a small space.

 

Good luck!

Thank you...I will look to see about getting some of those and a couple of weights.

[Xilka]

I had to stop exercising this year due to bad knees.

And I love food, so dieting isn't an option,

which wasn't a problem when I was exercising so much.

 

Now, I find that when I'm really engaged in something, some kind of project, my muscles are also more engaged. Even if it's just computer work. If it's really interesting to me, I sit up straight, my stomach muscles are slightly tensed and my overall posture is better.

 

I think just being aware of your body, whatever you're doing, helps a lot.

 

Also, eat without guilt. I think the guilt actually puts more weight on than the actual food. Enjoy your food. Make healthy choices, but don't feel bad about the occasional pig-outs or choco-thons.

 

And, THINK light. Try to feel lighter today than yesterday. Does that make sense? When I start feeling/thinking heavy, I look in the mirror and SEE heavy. When I think light, I feel light and I actually think that my body reacts to that.

 

One more, very important, thing - try to train your lower abdominal muscles to pull in. At first it's an effort, but then they are tighter and it's not so much work. So when you're sitting, watching TV, waiting in line, cooking... tighten those lower abs - they hold all the rest in place. But don't forget to breathe! It's not about holding your breath, but tightening (pulling inwards and slightly upwards).

[BigMamaBird]

Find a doable series of exercise and do them during commercial breaks, or set a timer during your Internet surfing time so you do the set every half hour or so. 20 Jumping Jacks, 10 push ups, 20 reps with a weight on each arm. Just a short doable set. That way it isn't intimidating.

[3littlekeets]

I love the Leslie Sansone Walking videos. You can get them for $8.00 or so at Target or Wal-Mart. They are indoor walking videos, but with extra stuff so you won't get bored easily. I like the 4 mile tape, and I generally walk 2 miles (which takes about 28 minutes). :-). Great tape for those of us with limited motivation to exercise, too! She uses a resistance band in some of the tapes.

[OH_Homeschooler]

Adding muscle by using resistance bands and other kinds of exercises (squats, lunges) is a way to increase your metabolism. It's possible your metabolism just needs a kick-start. It naturally decreases as we get older.

[dsmama]

There are many online free videos you can try. My favorite is Callanetics -- youtube carries some of them. You don't need a lot of space or equipment.

 

Or do a routine of jumping jacks, pushups, crunches. Even some a day will help. I do this sometimes, just five or ten minutes before a shower or when the kids are occupied.

 

Also -- do a search for transverse abdominal exercises. These have helped my post-baby belly a bunch!

[Night Elf]

I am not walking like I'm supposed to. I should be getting 30 mins. at least 3 days a week. Most weeks, I'll do that once. So, it isn't exercise that is helping me to lose weight.

 

I'm doing WW, which is basically healthy eating with healthy portions, and I've lost 18 lbs. in 16 weeks so far. That's not so bad in my book!

[mommaduck]

Is there an online video series for exercising that uses workouts for those of us that are are not small and flexible? I found a bunch of videos on hulu, but I keep seeing these pics of them balancing on one leg, doing back bends, etc.

[mommaduck]

I love the Leslie Sansone Walking videos. You can get them for $8.00 or so at Target or Wal-Mart. They are indoor walking videos, but with extra stuff so you won't get bored easily. I like the 4 mile tape, and I generally walk 2 miles (which takes about 28 minutes). :-). Great tape for those of us with limited motivation to exercise, too! She uses a resistance band in some of the tapes.

Adding to the list :)

[Carol in Cal.]

Is there an online video series for exercising that uses workouts for those of us that are are not small and flexible? I found a bunch of videos on hulu, but I keep seeing these pics of them balancing on one leg, doing back bends, etc.

 

Not online, AFAIK, but Chair Dancing videos are based on the idea that you can get aerobic in a straight chair. They are great for diabetics, people with balance problems, and the very overweight.

[OH_Homeschooler]

I just did a quick search on YouTube for "Plus size exercise" and there were a bunch of hits. Some look like previews for full videos you'd have to buy but at least you'd know what you were getting. I'm sure you could find doable workouts even without adding "plus size."

[JFSinIL]

Watch what you eat and use a wii or another contraption, or dvds. I have gone down 32 pounds since Sept., mostly from 30 minutes to an hour every day in the living room, boxercising or whatever, with the wii. I just added some stuff from an NFL training wii program, too (it came with a heart monitor and elastic band and leg wiimote, too). Exerbeat is a good disc, as are Gold's Gym Dance Workout (I only use the boxercising stuff on the latter, though. Too uncoordinated to dance ;-) )

[mommaduck]

Watch what you eat and use a wii or another contraption, or dvds. I have gone down 32 pounds since Sept., mostly from 30 minutes to an hour every day in the living room, boxercising or whatever, with the wii. I just added some stuff from an NFL training wii program, too (it came with a heart monitor and elastic band and leg wiimote, too). Exerbeat is a good disc, as are Gold's Gym Dance Workout (I only use the boxercising stuff on the latter, though. Too uncoordinated to dance ;-) )

I forgot about the wii. Will set that up tonight.

 

Found some Kathy Smith videos on hulu. They look doable also.

[JudoMom]

I love the Leslie Sansone Walking videos. You can get them for $8.00 or so at Target or Wal-Mart. They are indoor walking videos, but with extra stuff so you won't get bored easily. I like the 4 mile tape, and I generally walk 2 miles (which takes about 28 minutes). :-). Great tape for those of us with limited motivation to exercise, too! She uses a resistance band in some of the tapes.

 

:iagree:

 

I lost over 85 pounds in 2006 by counting calories and using her DVDs. I've even done them in hotel bathrooms while my family was still asleep.

[cjbeach]

I don't get out much either. I like my elliptical... a lot. I like the Tracy Anderson workout vids. The biggest difference for me has been changing my diet to low, low carb.

I recently went on a cruise to get a bathing suit body back I bought the prepackaged meals from dietdirect.com rather than do all liquid diet because I need to CHEW! It worked quickly (it's high protein) and was pretty painless. But I only committed to 2 weeks just to get me over a plateau.

[MicheleinMN]

Mini-rebounder/trampoline. Even if all you do is walk on it, not bounce or jog, it will still help you move more. I lost 40 lbs. when I used it, and gained it back when I stopped. Needless to say, I have put walking on it back on my list of things I need to do for me.

 

And I store mine in my closet when I'm not using it.

[abacus2]

I have to figure how to get healthy on my own. We don't have health insurance.

 

Thyroid medication is not expensive and is not something that gets better with better food/more exercise. Try to get a thyroid test at a self-pay appointment somewhere.

 

Since you have a wii, I highly recommend Exerbeat. It has made it easy for me to exercise regularly in my living room. It has one kind of exercise that uses the Wii Fit board, but that is not required. A basic Wii with one controller works too.

[mommaduck]

Thyroid medication is not expensive and is not something that gets better with better food/more exercise. Try to get a thyroid test at a self-pay appointment somewhere.

 

I don't think you get it. DH changed jobs this summer due to black mold poisoning. He took a drastic paycut. There is no extra money right now. I'm even trying to figure out what I can do from home to bring in extra.

Edited January 12, 2012 by mommaduck

[redsquirrel]

I have lost over 40 lbs. I have found that weight loss is much, much more about what I eat than how much I move. I do exercise quite a bit because I like it, but the weight didn't budge until I started counting calories and weighing and measuring my food.

 

Exercise helps keeps it off, but portion control makes the weight come off. You can't out exercise a bad diet. But, if your thyroid is an issue, then all the portion control and exercise isn't going to help.

[SailorMom]

Weights - you can use cans of food if you don't want to buy weights.

 

Walking - why not just push your son in the stroller?? No babysitters needed, and I doubt you do school for the entire day. My best workouts were after DS #2 was born and I was pushing a double stroller with both DS's in it :)

 

Of course you can lose weight without exercise, but it isn't a healthy way to do it and you will have a harder time maintaining anything you lose. Muscles burn calories, fat does not.

[butterflymommy]

Another vote for Leslie Sansone.

 

 

and there's a link at the end to the second mile. :)

[StephanieZ]

Calories in - calories out = weight change

 

So, if exercise is not an option, then it's all calories in.

 

A typical maintenance calorie amount is about 1800 cal/day for a 150# non-exercising woman.

 

If you cut 500 cal/day, that is 3500/cal a week deficit, and should result in a 1# weight loss each week.

 

(If you weigh a lot more than 150#, and you do 1300/cal day diet, you will lose more rapidly.)

 

It won't be fast, but it will be safe and effective.

 

More veggies. Fewer starches, less sugar, less empty fats. More veggies, more veggies. Don't drink your calories.

 

If you can add indoor exercise (say a DVD thing), that'll speed up your losses.

[mommaduck]

Weights - you can use cans of food if you don't want to buy weights.

 

Walking - why not just push your son in the stroller?? No babysitters needed, and I doubt you do school for the entire day. My best workouts were after DS #2 was born and I was pushing a double stroller with both DS's in it :)

 

Of course you can lose weight without exercise, but it isn't a healthy way to do it and you will have a harder time maintaining anything you lose. Muscles burn calories, fat does not.

Again, I'm sensitive to the cold...to the point of breaking out in hives. We walk during late spring to early autumn. We no longer have a stroller so, when I take my daughter with me, I put her in a sling (also hard on my shoulder). This past autumn my oldest daughter and I walked, with the baby, an hour and a half to her dental appt....it's typically a ten minute drive by car). My face was so red that I looked like a raspberry. Yes, my son does school most of his waking hours...early morning to early evening. He is in cyberschool and busting his butt to be able to graduate early.

[mommaduck]

How do you count calories in homemade meals?

[Joanne]

FYI, a lot of current research suggests that exercise itself has a minimal effect on weight loss. The desire to lose weight, and the strength of that desire is correlated with more exercise, but research suggests that diet is the overwhelming factor.

 

Additional research shows resistance/weight bearing exercise to be more effective than cardio (more suggestions that possibly "calories in-calories out" is not a wholly valid theory).

 

For me, that eating style is low carb. Some bodies do well on other programs.

[LG Gone Wild]

How do you count calories in homemade meals?

 

I know the answer! I have been using fitnesspal. Just enter in the ingredients, the amounts you use, and how many people your recipe serves. Calculates it for you. If you have it on a smart phone or tablet with a camera, you can scan your items in even. So. cool.

[Mom-ninja.]

DVDs and streaming workout videos. You don't need a lot of room. I have no exercise equipment except a mat and 3 lb weights. I workout in my living room after clearing away a space.

[LucyStoner]

Diet changes. Try low carb or Weight Watchers.

[The Governess]

.

[silliness7]

I have lost over 40 lbs. I have found that weight loss is much, much more about what I eat than how much I move. I do exercise quite a bit because I like it, but the weight didn't budge until I started counting calories and weighing and measuring my food.

 

Exercise helps keeps it off, but portion control makes the weight come off. You can't out exercise a bad diet. But, if your thyroid is an issue, then all the portion control and exercise isn't going to help.

 

 

:iagree: Even healthy food has calories. I'm impressed by people who can eat more fruits/veggies and start walking and start dropping pounds. If only it were that easy for me. :tongue_smilie:

 

I had to monitor every calorie that went in my mouth. But I used a free program online www.caloriecount.com that made it easier and gave me a report card at the end of the day with all kinds of information about the health of that day's diet. It had a little bar graph that tracked my weight-loss progress and compared it with the computer projection. I lost a lot faster than the projection which made me think that my lifestyle was not quite as sedentary as I'd led the computer to believe. Anyway, it was motivating for me.

[Tess in the Burbs]

I lost 56 pounds with WW many years ago. Never a day of exercise :-)

[silliness7]

How do you count calories in homemade meals?

 

I wrote down every calorie that went into the dish and added it all up. I weighed the casserole zero'ing out the container or weighing the empty container and then subtracting that out.

 

Then I came up with a ratio for the casserole. Every 1 gram of casserole is 2.5 calories or whatever. Then I weighed my portion. I weighed it after I cooked it so I wasn't weighing water that would evaporate. I also kept a record of it so that I wouldn't have to re-work it every time I fixed it. My casseroles were pretty standard and that was easy to do. If you do something like surprise soup where you throw all the week's left-overs in a pot and make a meal out of it, it's still possible. It's just more work. You have to weigh and record as you throw things in the pot. I'm pretty lazy and if I didn't feel like counting it all up I would just eat a couple of eggs and toast or something. Easy to count. And feed the hodgepodge to the family. I'd generally have to be sneaky and feed the family first and eat my meal later. I'm not making eggs and toast for everyone who doesn't care for hodgepodge. :D

[silliness7]

I know the answer! I have been using fitnesspal. Just enter in the ingredients, the amounts you use, and how many people your recipe serves. Calculates it for you. If you have it on a smart phone or tablet with a camera, you can scan your items in even. So. cool.

 

O.K. nevermind!! This way is way cooler :D

[Caribbean Queen]

What gets me is that we've been eating HEALTHIER this past year (partly due to religious diet),... Ironically, it's when I decided that I needed to lose weight, that I went and splurged :( .... 210lbs now! What the what?! I'm also now avoiding eating plain nuts and gassy veggies as I've been dealing with colic attacks...

 

I am so curious as to what your religious diet is. No pork?

 

You could cut out sugar and white flour. The whole food diet is very good.

[NanceXToo]

I didn't look at all 5 pages of responses, but seriously, buy some Leslie Sansone "Walk Away the Pounds" DVDs.

 

You don't need any special equipment (maybe some resistance bands and/or small hands weights for some of them and even that can be optional, really).

 

You don't need much room (at most you have to be able to take a few steps in any given direction in your living room).

 

You don't need much coordination (perfect for someone like me lol).

 

It's four basic steps. Walking in place, knee lifts, kicks, kickbacks. She has you do them at varying speeds, positions, etc, she's very motivational, she's got a whole bunch of different DVD's from beginner to more advanced and depending on which one you've done, by the end, you might have walked 1, 2, 3, 4 or even 5 miles. Some of her DVD's incorporate a bit of jogging, some a few kickboxing moves, some a bit of upper body stuff, and so on. I love them. Seriously, look into it.

 

Even my kids sometimes like joining in for a while, I don't have to go outside and freeze, I don't have to worry about little kids keeping up, I don't have to own big expensive equipment, I don't have to already be in supermodel shape just to be able to physically DO the routine, I just pop in a DVD and hang out in my living room. Couldn't be easier.

 

ETA: Okay now I just scrolled back through some responses and see she was already mentioned lol...so just count me as another vote for her!

Edited January 13, 2012 by NanceXToo

[BamaTanya]

I didn't look at all 5 pages of responses, but seriously, buy some Leslie Sansone "Walk Away the Pounds" DVDs.

 

 

Another plug for Leslie Sansone. Hers were recommended here several years ago (maybe it was Judo Mom?) and I tried them. I got hooked! At that time some were available on Exercise TV (my dad had cable On Demand), and you may find them at your library. Or your thrift shop. Or ebay. I've seen them on sale at Amazon or Walmart for $5-6 -- like this one that has 5 different workouts: http://www.amazon.com/Leslie-Sansone-Walk-Pounds-5-Day/dp/B0013JRDZM/ref=sr_1_33?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1326462344&sr=1-33

(I have this and use these workouts often!)

 

You don't have to have a lot of space or equipment to squeeze in some exercise.

 

Good luck!

Edited January 13, 2012 by BamaTanya

[MariannNOVA]

I apologize if this has been mentioned --

 

I know the size of a row house -- dh and I looked at them in Phila when he was considering med school. Yes, a little cramped.

 

Second: My suggestion: A Leslie Sansone walking DVD -- there is a three mile one (Van ? is one of the walkers) that is my favorite. You can probably buy it on itunes and download to your computer and do it from the computer screen.

 

Her dvds are really good for the situation you describe. The 3-miler doesn't feel like much of a workout, but it IS!

[mommaduck]

I am so curious as to what your religious diet is. No pork?

 

You could cut out sugar and white flour. The whole food diet is very good.

Eastern Orthodox. If done completely (not expected...especially if you are a child, elderly, have health issue, nursing, pregnant, etc), you fast in one way or another half the year. We've been on a very basic fasting schedule so far...no meat on W/F. But we've added a lot of fresher food...veggies, fruits. I've also been learning new recipes (eh, some are healthier in some ways, but not in others...ex. spanikopita, but I make that about four times a year)...I've learned to make shrimp chowder, how to work with eggplant a bit, etc. Unfortunately, grains are used a lot (grains, fruit, and veggies are never eliminated).