Help me out, need to lose weight fast-ish

[Anonymous]

Okay so this is my first post in this sub. I am 37 and have a toddler and kid in kindergarten. I don't drink, I don’t smoke, and I don’t really like treats (I do love bread and pasta). I feel like I ballooned I am back somehow in pregnancy clothes. I absolutely cannot exercise just cannot, not even walking. I live in the woods, I take care of kids, I work, and I have a small house. I am exhausted and I’m out of shape, I used to love walking in DC and miss it. Im trying to eat lots of veg and rare fruit, I skip breakfast and don’t eat after 6. I want to apply to a program and interview in person and I want to look good and feel good. Which means I have to lose weight somewhat fast. Is that even a thing? Do I just keep cutting calories or do I need to do weights in my house? Im at a loss because I feel like a teenager asking this I used to be happy with my body but now I wear ridiculous baggy clothes to not see myself. What else can I do?

[Anonymous]

Cottage cheese y mandarin oranges or blueberries plus eggs and bacon. Grilled chicken or fish and a veggie fur dinner.

[Anonymous]

I am confused. Why can’t you absolutely not exercise?

[Anonymous]

Have you had your thyroid checked recently? If not I would recommend doing that first. Aside from that, food logging (recording everything you eat, using a scale and everything) seems to have helped me lose a chunk of baby weight so far

[Anonymous]

Get a food scale, measure and weigh portions and do an honest count of calories to see honestly how much you are actually consuming in a day. Some of this is simple math. If you are eating 2500 calories a day and you are burning, say 1800, that’s a good part of your problem right there. It is very common to underestimate how much you eat, and the only way to get your arms around it is to measure, weigh, and log all of it for a week or so. With kids it’s easy to nibble here and there off their plates - the last few chicken nuggets, a handful of grapes, a cookie or two — mindlessly, all day, on top of what you yourself are already eating. Log it. You need some data. It can be mind-boggling to look back at a food diary for a day or a week and see where the extra pounds are actually coming from.

The calorie cops will come here and say that counting calories doesn’t work, and that it’s *what* you eat that matters. It’s both, actually. You have to start somewhere and that means getting a handle on how much you are actually eating.

Lose the bread and pasta. Seriously. If you cannot completely lose them, then at least be honest with how much you are eating. Are you eating one serving, or are you honestly putting away three? Look at the box to know how much a serving is. It’s not a giant bowl, it’s like a cup.

Lean into protein, veg, fruit. Cooked with seasonings but not drowned in sauces, especially commercial ones that are just tons of sugar, more empty calories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cottage cheese y mandarin oranges or blueberries plus eggs and bacon. Grilled chicken or fish and a veggie fur dinner.

OP helpful and to the point thank you, will add to the rotation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am confused. Why can’t you absolutely not exercise?

OP not sure when kids are up at 6 and go to sleep at 8 - I clean cook prep after they sleep and then work more and then …just sleep. I can’t go outside bc of wild animals like bears and the dark woods. I don’t have the money or space for a big workout item like treadmill (small 2 bedroom home). I don’t know any other exercise but walking running biking and not sure my yoga mat and some YouTube will make a difference…? I guess I should say I can’t just go to a gym or “take a walk” at lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you had your thyroid checked recently? If not I would recommend doing that first. Aside from that, food logging (recording everything you eat, using a scale and everything) seems to have helped me lose a chunk of baby weight so far

OP I haven’t but have my annual soon and food scale I saw a lot mentioned here and I don’t have! So good tip!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Get a food scale, measure and weigh portions and do an honest count of calories to see honestly how much you are actually consuming in a day. Some of this is simple math. If you are eating 2500 calories a day and you are burning, say 1800, that’s a good part of your problem right there. It is very common to underestimate how much you eat, and the only way to get your arms around it is to measure, weigh, and log all of it for a week or so. With kids it’s easy to nibble here and there off their plates - the last few chicken nuggets, a handful of grapes, a cookie or two — mindlessly, all day, on top of what you yourself are already eating. Log it. You need some data. It can be mind-boggling to look back at a food diary for a day or a week and see where the extra pounds are actually coming from.

The calorie cops will come here and say that counting calories doesn’t work, and that it’s *what* you eat that matters. It’s both, actually. You have to start somewhere and that means getting a handle on how much you are actually eating.

Lose the bread and pasta. Seriously. If you cannot completely lose them, then at least be honest with how much you are eating. Are you eating one serving, or are you honestly putting away three? Look at the box to know how much a serving is. It’s not a giant bowl, it’s like a cup.

Lean into protein, veg, fruit. Cooked with seasonings but not drowned in sauces, especially commercial ones that are just tons of sugar, more empty calories.

OP incredibly helpful thank you for the tips and I’ll get more serious I’ve tried it my way and it’s just not working but that nibbling off plates (now with two boys so extra nibbling!) hits home. I do overdo past portions but I’m committed so will buy a scale and log and be honest.

[Anonymous]

I found this really straightforward to follow and had a lot of health markers improve too. It's written by a doctor who runs a metabolic health clinic at Duke. Skip the Auduble version, you will miss key lists and graphics and much of the point. One huge benefit besides weight loss is my energy really rebounded, made all of life a lot easier. Good luck!

https://www.amazon.com/End-Your-Carb-Confusion-Customize/dp/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am confused. Why can’t you absolutely not exercise?

OP not sure when kids are up at 6 and go to sleep at 8 - I clean cook prep after they sleep and then work more and then …just sleep. I can’t go outside bc of wild animals like bears and the dark woods. I don’t have the money or space for a big workout item like treadmill (small 2 bedroom home). I don’t know any other exercise but walking running biking and not sure my yoga mat and some YouTube will make a difference…? I guess I should say I can’t just go to a gym or “take a walk” at lunch.

Um...your little house is literally right in the middle of the woods surrounded by bears? Are you Laura Ingalls Wilder?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am confused. Why can’t you absolutely not exercise?

OP not sure when kids are up at 6 and go to sleep at 8 - I clean cook prep after they sleep and then work more and then …just sleep. I can’t go outside bc of wild animals like bears and the dark woods. I don’t have the money or space for a big workout item like treadmill (small 2 bedroom home). I don’t know any other exercise but walking running biking and not sure my yoga mat and some YouTube will make a difference…? I guess I should say I can’t just go to a gym or “take a walk” at lunch.

Um...your little house is literally right in the middle of the woods surrounded by bears? Are you Laura Ingalls Wilder?

OP I don’t know who that is but we moved to a plus acre property in upstate New York / CT so yes, bears are an almost nightly occurrence, no sidewalks, surrounded by forests (I meant what I said, our Ring camera catches them passing or trying to eat our trash…wild turkeys and bobcats too…and it’s pitch black when it gets dark).

[Anonymous]

Do you have stairs in your house? Go up and down as much as you can. Push ups, planks.

[Anonymous]

You have to figure out how to get some exercise, whatever that is. This is mainly for cardiovascular health, not weightloss. Unfortunately the only way to really lose weight is to change your diet.

I've started running about 40 miles a week on top of my normal exercise about 4 months ago. I've lost a whopping zero pounds! I didn't change my eating habits and my body just adjusted to the new exercise. My goal wasn't weight-loss, so it's not a big deal for me. I am surprised as how my body just adjusted to the new activity.

Drastically cut calories and the weight will drop. I promise you that it will creep back if you don't stay on top of every morsel of food. I weigh my food to the gram and count calories, macro, and micro nutrients. Maybe you don't want to get that serious about it...

[Anonymous]

In fairness, being chased by a bear would be excellent cardio.