fattie bum bum

[rusmum]

hi girlies, advice neede please. I am 5 '7 '' and 12 stone 8 ( over 2 stone too heavy). I feel really miserable about it and am dreading the arrival of the sunshine when i can't hide under big jumpers anymore. Prob is I have a recurring back problem so limits what i can do (almost crippled myself trying to join the shred thread!).

How can i lose 2 stone? where do i start? and what exercise is effective but not too harsh on my back? Has to be something i can do at home as am on own with kiddies.

hi, you have my sympathy as I have a back that occasionally "goes" and I'm out of action!
My first thought is pilates which will help to strengthen your core which will help to protect your back. I would say go along to a couple of classes to begin with if you can so you can practise the techniques properly- you can then always use a dvd at home. Once you start to strengthen you can then you can begin to try other forms of gentle exercise (Swimming is good although difficult with little ones)
how about looking at a one of the home exercise dvd's ,Davina's is meant to be good. I'm sure there will be someone who can recommend as I've not used them myself!

DH has just lost 2 stones doing the Ducan diet, he also goes to the gym 4 times a week for a run, but the book says that a 30 min walk a day is enough. He went from 13st 8oz to 11st 5 oz. He has gone back to the wieght he was when we first met! He started the diet in jan and now is doing the maintenance phase. It is a high protein diet, so if you do not like meat, fish and eggs is not probably the thing for you, but it does really work! The good thing is also that once you have reached your goal wieght you can start reintroducing all food groups.

Hi - I also have a dodgy back (scoliosis), and would say the shred is definitely too challenging for anyone with a weakness in that area.
Saying that, i've done loads of physio and physical therapy exercise sessions so am quite good at knowing what I can and can't do and exercising within my own limits (on the rare occasions I do exercise!).
I'm not sure about pilates myself - some of the exercises I feel have really not helped me, even when I've done them one-to-one.

I've just re-started the Shred but am basically doing it at half-cock until I feel strong enough to go full-tilt (!)

But I also bought a couple of DVDs recently, one called the Beach Bum Workout (can't link as it shows my DH's name). It's 10 minutes of warm-up and gentle cardio, then a further 10 mins on either legs, tummy or bottom . I think this is great as an introduction to regular exercise - not as challenging as the shred but it still makes me ache in the right places the next day (although not so much that I can't face it again). And I find the presenter very watchable and non-irritating.

The other one I got was Target Toning - there are loads in the series but mine was just the general all-round one. Haven't tried it yet but it's cheap and gets good reviews so might be worth a try.

1. Drink Water - 8 glasses per day. I find a glass of water before my meals helps fill me up.

1. Diet overhaul - I am not a fan of faddy diets that can restrict food groups. Three healthy meals per day (watch portion size) and 2 healthy snacks.

When I am being good, I have hot water and lemon and a bowl of porridge for breakfast, apple mid morning, chicken and salad pitta for lunch or hummous with bread sticks, carrot sticks and celery sticks, rice cakes or an orange mid afternoon and then a healthy evening meal.

1. Exercise - I do 30 lengths in the pool 3x weekly and also go for a run on a Sunday - but a brisk walk would be fine.

thanks for all help, am going to - drink water (and stop drinking wine!), watch my intake generally, and start yogalates dvd at home. lets see how we get on?

How long should it take to lose a stone in a healthy way?

I think 1 -2lbs per week is a healthy rate to lose weight at.

rusmum I'm with you hun - I am finding that wine really seems to make me bloat up & store fat. So (grrr!) I'm really restricting it.

It's dull but working.