The Best Tips for Those Just Starting Out

Do you think there's something wrong with my scale, it says I weigh "0"?

Those of you who have been reading for a while may know that one of my interests is interior design. I write a design blog and love reading about the latest trends in home design. This week one of my favorite design bloggers, Lakeitha from Home to Three Duncan Boys, shared her desire to drop some weight. Lakeitha's children are like stair steps, one born right on the heels of the next. Since her pregnancies were so close together, she wasn't able to drop the baby weight like she would have liked.

When Lakeitha asked her blogging friends for advice, it made me stop and think about what tips a newbie might benefit from hearing, especially new moms who may never have had an issue with weight before. I came up with a list of the three best tried and true tips that helped me succeed in losing the 50 lbs I gained with my first pregnancy (and helped prevent me from gaining that much with my second pregnancy!)

Do not bring junk food into the house. I repeat, do not buy any junk food and bring it home. Once it's in the house it will be screaming your name like a banshee. This includes anything that comes packaged in a cardboard box or a bag that makes a crunchy sound when you take it off the grocery store shelf. Other good indications that a food might not be for you is if it has a list of a zillion ingredients with lots of syllables or is a color that does not appear in nature. For instance, have you ever seen the color of Cheez Whiz in nature? I've never seen that particular shade on a trip to the botanical gardens.

It's not just street drugs that you should say no to!

Get some physical activity every day. Your lifestyle will determine the type of activity that will work best for you. If you work full time it might mean getting up earlier than usual to fit in a workout. If you are a busy SAHM, include the children in your workouts. When my children were babies that meant twice-a-day walks with the kiddies in the stroller. As they grew, playing outside together or letting them share in the yard work did nicely. (Check out this post on working out with your children.)
Whatever you choose, make it something that you enjoy. If you dread it, you will quit before you see results.

Well, the kids have smiles on their faces. That's a start.

Include the occasional treat, but make it for special occasions only. Treats then become associated with good times instead of an everyday occurrence. Use treats as a way of making good memories.





Plan ahead. When it comes to your meals, always have a plan. Busy families like Lakeitha's can count on having lots of curve balls thrown their way. You never know when a child is going to get sick or the car is going to break down. Things like preparing and freezing healthy dishes that can be pulled out when a minor crisis occurs can be the difference between getting a decent meal on the table or resorting to fast food take out. For more tips, check out this post on my kind of fast food.

via fastfoodcenter.com

Now that I've shared my top three, how about helping Lakeitha out by sharing your best tip or stopping by to offer her a little support and encouragement. You can find her here.