Ripanco

Hi Linda,

Been there! Since I have been through the weight gain with age and family and stuff and been able to come out the other side maybe I can give you a few ideas.

Although short, I am big boned and have always been muscular. My work kept me pretty strong, but, man, the pounds slowly crept up as I had kids and my metablolism slowed down and appetite did not!

It did take a big life change which included a long over due divorce to make me take stock of myself. I think the biggest change was putting myself at the top of my care list and starting to care about myself again. My biggest change was changing my eating habits to smaller portions and trying to eat healthier foods. I lost nearly 50 lbs in a year that way.

Then I met the guy that really changed my life and rocked my world! Believe it or not we met online. He was into fittness, something I really hadn't gotten into. When we met I was happy to be a pretty good looking size 10. However, within about 6 weeks of starting to run and work out with Jerry, I only lost about 10 more pounds but went to a size 4!! I still weigh 130 lbs, but it is all muscle, no fat. I have maintained 130+-, 11-15% body fat for over 3 years now. And eat like a horse, but extremely healthy. Jerry does most the cooking!

You may say you can't exercise that much. When I met Jerry, I couldn't run for more than 10 min without being completely out of breath. He brought me along in baby steps, adding 2-5 min a week so that I almost didn't notice the difference. He added in other fun crosstraining activities like rollerblading. He taught me to lift weights. I swear, I could see my body metamorph before my eyes. Just before my hips really gave out, I had raced a good 1/2 marathon and was in training for a full marathon. I could run at a good pace for about 3 hrs. (And all my doctors said it was not the running that ruined my hips, they were shot long before I started running)

BUT IT HAS TO BE DONE IN BABY STEPS!! My mantra when I was learning to run was "One telephone pole at a time"

When the arthritis curtailed my running I was so worried about my fittness and weight. But so far, I have not gained any weight and my fat is still only about 15-16%.

The one thing that helped me the most was finding cardio that I could do without hurting my joints. That is what you will need too. Swimming is good, but I found pool running to be way better! You need a special vest called an aqua jogger, or you can do it with a pool noodle to get started. You actually run in deep water. There are several variations to keep it a little interesting, but you get your heart rate up there good. I also do all my PT moves in the water since it adds resistance.

If you can get to a gym, use the eliptical machine and the recumbant bikes, they are real easy on your joints and give you a kick a** cardio workout. Learn to lift weights, they help maintain your bone strenght and build muscle that burns fat.

All exercise will help burn calories which is a biggie, but the only way to burn fat, is to do cardio type workouts where you get your heart rate up for at least 30 min. After about 30 min, you are burning mostly fat, before that you are burning glycogen. Start slow and work up. Find things you enjoy doing. Riding a bike outside is ok to do, crosscountry skiing, rowing, skating, even walking at a good fast pace can do it. Find a partner. Makes a huge difference if you have someone to enjoy the time with and makes you more accountable. Make it a regular part of your life, you deserve it.

Take a good look at your diet too. I do not believe in fad diets at all!! But if you cut your portion sizes, eliminate all trans fats and keep saturated fats to a minimum, eat whole grain carbs and eat several small meals a day, you WILL loose weight! And keep it off.

I know that being this fit has helped me recover from my surgery this fast. And it will help these new hips last longer. I have started to slowly up my exercise program. I still do all my hip PT, but also do it in the water. I am walking everyday up to 45 min. I am in the pool 2-3 days/week doing both PT and water running. I am going to start on the bike and eliptical next week. I have been doing my upper body weights.

I guess the main thing I have to say however is that if I could do it, anyone can. You just have to get your head in the right place and put yourself at the top of your list. You will be doing the best thing for you and all those who love you.