Question by sweet_lil_cowgirl: What can I do to lose weight and get in shape?
I am female, almost 20. Over the last 2 years, I have gained quite a bit of weight. I can barely fit into some of my clothes, and I have a lot that I just cannot wear anymore. For instance, I used to wear size 7 Wranglers jeans (women’s), and I can’t even get into 9’s anymore. Not sure about 11’s. I got a pair of size 12 Carhartt work pants (women’s) which fit well, slightly baggy.
Physically, I feel pretty healthy. I get adjusted by a chiropractor every other week, and I have rarely been sick. But I feel (and look) fat. I have a favorite pic that was taken March ’07 and I am much chunkier. I can’t even get those pants over my thighs…
Since May, I have been trying to eat less/more healthy and exercise more. My downfall is sweets. I am a chocolate addict, although admittedly, I do not eat too many sweets anymore. I will have a few chocolate chips or chocolate milk or a jr. Frosty at Wendy’s, etc. I’ve been really trying to cut back on junk in the past week. I try to eat salads with a small piece of breaded chicken…and try not to put too much dressing on it. I do eat a bit of fast food in a week, although BF and I are doing a lot more cooking at home, so it’s been only 2x a week. We eat a lot of meat (BF likes to grill) and not many vegetables. I don’t eat breakfast, but I am trying to eat an egg or whatnot. I sometimes have poptarts (healthy, I know, lol).
Right now, I am walking/biking 5-ish blocks to school and back M-Th. I also have horses and clean the paddock (scoop about 40lbs of manure and haul away) and wrestle a hay bale daily. Some days I bike a couple miles to the grocery store and back.
Despite trying to get more active and be better about eating, I feel like I’m just gaining more and more weight. What can I do? I have a little book of pilates and yoga which I want to start doing, but haven’t been motivated to try yet. I could also get a membership at Curves in the fall (Sep). Anyone have advice?
BTW, I do not have excess amounts of money to spend for gym membership or healthy granola bar things (sadly).
Best answer:
Answer by jbmich
If you are looking for inexpensive ways to help lose weight, here are a couple of links that may be helpful.
First, this site is an absolutely free online weight loss program where you will get example meal plans, exercise plans, etc.
http://www.sparkpeople.com
Also, I would recommend investing in resistance bands and/or an exercise ball. These are fairly inexpensive exercise tools that really help build lean muscles, which will increase your metabolism.
It sounds like everything you are doing is the right approach. Try tracking your calorie intake as you may be surprised by how many calories the occasional chocolate bar or wendy’s frosty has.
Here’s a site with lots of weight loss tools including a free calorie intake chart you can download to your computer.
http://www.exercise4weightloss.com/weight-loss-tools.html
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