Hello, I'm kind of new here

Alondrasilva10

A little background: I had my little one two months ago. I gained 40 pounds during pregnancy. My pre pregnancy weight was 135lbs. I now weight 153lbs. I am having a little trouble losing the extra 15-20 pounds and would really like to see how everyone started when it came to eating healthy/exercising.

 I go to the gym 2-3 times a week for about 30 minutes. I work full time, go to school part time, and have a two month old child so time is hectic. I don't eat TOO bad.. or not as bad as I used to and I have just recently started drinking more water. 

Do you have any advice for this clueless beginner?? 

cmurphy09

I spoke with my PT about this. He said this is the most common problem he hears and gave me some tips, it all has to do with changing up your routine.

Make sure you're doing enough cardio, time at the weight machines, stretching and be sure to warm up first at the cycle. Also be sure to consult a PT for tips on weight machines so you don't incorrectly target the wrong muscles and how to target the right muscles without putting on weight but gain lean muscle.

Nicolendave2012

Im a stay at home mom with 2 kids and my husband works 70+ hours a week so i dont have much time to go anywhere. I have a wii so i do my wii fit. I do all the yoga poses, half the strength and then i do the running. I also do 1 hour of my just dance and do crunches jumping jacks and arm curls throught the day. I basically eat grilled chicken and steamed veggies. I find different ways toflavor the chicken because the same thing can get a llittle boring. And for snacks i eat baked chips and salsa. I lost 6 lbs in one week.

cmurphy09

Crash Into Me:

Lean muscle vs. what? Thick muscle?Most women aren't capable of bulking up like body builders or even regular men.nbsp; If you're wanting to join a gym, many offer a free session with a personal trainer, especially at this time of the year.nbsp; If it's not offered for free, look into purchasing a session or two until you feel comfortable.To be quite honest, you should learn how to lift free weights and not rely on machines.nbsp;nbsp;Also, you can do all the cardio in the world, but you'll notice results much faster with some regular weight training in there.nbsp; Lifting weights burns more calories, even into the next day.nbsp; Just make sure you eat and drink enough to keep up your strength.nbsp; If you're interested in tracking your food intake, look in myfitnesspal.com or sparkpeople.nbsp; Both are free online tools to hep you and they both have apps.

Men are capable of bulking up in upper body easily women in lower easily. If you do the exercises incorrectly you'll have more muscle weight than you may want...

And yes, women are capable of bulking up if they want that's absurd, as I know quite a few personally and actually kind of sexist of you to say. As for free weights, I disagree unless you're taught how to use properly. Machines are more equalizing in weight.

Sunidaze

I'm now more than 40 lbs. under my pre pregnancy weight.  Now granted, I get more time in at the gym than what you do (I work full time+ but we have a gym in the building so I go most days on my lunch break as well as a few days a week before work, occasionally on the weekends and a couple of nights a week at the Y), but I have also started finding more and more ways I can get workouts in at home - I have kettlebells and a dvd, yoga dvd, exercise mat, I use an app for inspiration for various workouts I can do at home (workout trainer by skimble). 

I've had gym membeships and have gone pretty regularly since 2000, but this time around it's different for me...I am approaching it differently.  I no longer workout in my comfort zone, but push myself each time (which is necessary since most days I don't get the amount of time I'd like so definitely aiming for quality over quantity).  You definitely need to work weight/strength training into your routine, find a gym employee that can instruct you on proper form for both free weights and machines. 

And diet is a very big part of it.  Not so much how much you eat but what you eat.  I have been gradually (very gradually) working into more of a clean eating/paleo kind of thing (I refuse to call it diet) and hoping this works out for me.

layuh

I'm not sure if your breast feeding but I would count calories. I lost 30 pounds doing that with very little exercise. I use MyfitnessPal application on my phone. Good luck!

Alondrasilva10

layuh:

I'm not sure if your breast feeding but I would count calories. I lost 30 pounds doing that with very little exercise. I use MyfitnessPal application on my phone. Good luck!

 

I am breastfeeding which is my main reason why I will not go on a diet (this does not mean I eat whatever I want since I 'have an excuse'. I simply try to eat healthy as best as I can with the portion I feel comfortable with). When I go to the gym, I either jog for 30 minutes or am on the elliptical for the same amount of time. I never do weights.. simply because I am clueless in that category. I will look more into it though  

vlagrl29

cardio will be your best friend.  in the beginning of my weight loss I did NOTHING but cardio 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes and ate CLEAN.  I lost 1 pound a week.  it wasn't until i got a good layer of fat off of me that I started weight training hard.  I didn't like that when i would lift in the beginning that i would actually gain weight because of the muscle....i wanted to see that scale drop.  Even in the last 5 pounds i upped my cardio and lost that pound a week.  now I don't care if I loose, so I mostly lift now

KateVA

I would change up your cardio to intervals - high intensity for a few minutes (3-5) then lower for 1-2 minutes then repeat. It will get your heartrate up higher and burn more calories.  And I disagree about some of the weight lifting comments - learn how to use real free weights and use heavy weight for less reps. You won't bulk up. Today in my workout I lifted 100 lbs off the ground and over my head (clean and jerk) - I'm 5'5" weigh less than 125 lbs with low body fat (15-18%) and weight lifting has never made me bulky. It just gives me definition. My thighs are probably a little thicker but much smoother than when they were thinner and lumpier.

ksyknelvr73

Well, you are only 2 months out so honestly, 18 lbs left to go isn't bad AT ALL. I gained 53 pounds while pregnant, and dropped 37 within the first 5 months...leaving me with 16 pounds to drop. I couldn't get them to budge until he was a year old. I started counting calories (I used My Fitness Pal), and I started walking around my neighborhood EVERY DAY with DS in the stroller. We walked about 2 miles on average, a brisk walk with lots of hills. For the first 2 months of my weight loss, that's all I did...and then I added in the 30 Day Shred for my last month (I was in a 3 month weight loss "challenge"), and I dropped all of my remaining weight and I have managed to keep it off. I started a new weight loss goal recently so I still have some more to lose, but I am sitting at my exact pre-pregnancy weight right now and have been for almost a year.