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Hi, My name is Megan. I have 4 children. Im 5'9 and weight 240 pounds. Up until my 4th child I wasnt considered overweight. I only weighed 170. My question is wether or not I am doing right. I work out 6 days a week to tae- bo for 45 min and then following that I do a dvd called "hips theighs and buns of steel" and I do that for 20 min. (squats, lunges, ect). I also watch what I eat, I only drink water and a glass of milk before bedtime. I cut out the pop and deserts. I havent cut out grains (which contain carbs) I love ceral and eat it everyday after my workout. My cal. intake is no more then 1600-1700 daily. My question is is this a good fat loss system for me? The dvd I do for my butt and legs make my lower area very sore, does this mean I buliding muscle because I know buliding muscle boost your metabolism. I started 1 week ago and I have already lost 4-5 pounds. Is this normal since Im not really dieting? Any info would be greatly appr.


One last thing..I have cheated a couple of times in the last week with little things but I have still lost a good amount of weight..whats up with that? I thought you had to make yourself unhappy with gross food choices and exercise to lose that much weight in 1 week.



Thank you, Megan from Ohio

fisrt of all, congrats!!!!!! you are on the right track. the road ahead might be tough, but sounds to me, ya pretty much got the hang of it. Now, STOP beeting yourself up!!!! You will never be of healthy body and mind if you think that treats aren't good. Everything in moderation I say!!!! if ya want ice cream, they be careful of what you eat for your next few meals. you need balance to succeed. For intance, my daughter is a girl scout, and yup, that means cookies!!!! I take 2 of my favorites out of the box 2 times a week, and enjoy every baby bite!!! I'm getting sweet flavor, and emotional satisfaction. and i won't beet myself up for it. Eating well can be a wonderful, delicious experience. try to see if theirs a cooking class for healthy eating at your community center, or even go online. you will soon see that good food can help you loose weight.

As for sore muscles, are you doing the abs, butt, theighs workout every day???? If so, do every other day, your muscles need time to heal. we tear muscles, to make them stronger. therefore you need to let then recoup for a day inbetween. this will make you stronger, be patient!!! You don't need to risk injury!!!! It's taken me 2 kids, and 7 years to make me fit and healthy, just find the right support, and stay motivated, and you can accomplish anything!!!!!

Your calories are *too low*. You're risking falling into starvation mode and killing your metabolism. For now you should maintain at least 2000-2200 a day. I'm sure you're losing weight doing it the way that you are, but some of it, possibly a lot of it will be lean muscle if you don't bump the calories up some. It may slow your weight loss to increase calories, but it will keep you out of starvation mode and you can make sure that the weight that you do lose is fat. Just be careful. :) Congrats on success so far and good luck.

You're doing a great job! Keep up the good work....according to what you are doing....if you keep it up....you can lose over 16 pounds in a month and that is really, really good! Make sure you always do cardio! That is the key to losing weight besides putting on a little muscle. Get your heart rate up and keep it going fast no matter what exercise...Tae Bo, running, stationary cycle, jumping rope, etc. for at least a half an hour to an hour. You do 45 minutes of Tae Bo and that is perfect! The hips, thighs, and buns of steel is also good. Another thing you can do to end the workout is some light stretching for 10 minutes for a cool down. After that you'll feel like a million bucks.

If you have kids that means stress is common place in the house. You might want to look into a yoga or meditation class for relaxation for that one day a week you don't exercise. It helps a lot!