Tara-Lol, I don't like the podium, but here is more info. I go to a women-only gym that allows you to ask questions of a floor trainer (someone who is assigned to answer anyone's questions but usually doesn't know you specifically) anytime and also have a personal trainer assigned to you. I meet with her every 6 weeks to get weighed, measured, get BF count and test flexibility. We go over my eating ( a little) and talk about goals for the next 6 weeks.
Currently I workout for at least an hour 6 days a week. On M-W-F I do weight training with emphasis on strengthening & toning my leg muscles, ab work with crunches, roman chair, weighted balls and crunches on my ab roller at home. My arms are my focus as well with lots of concentration on upper arms with summer coming!

I do more reps as the weight gets easier to lift. My weight stuff takes me 40-45 mins, then I do some cardio to finish up my hour. I get to them gym at 5:25 (when they open) and have to leave by 6:40 to get home in time for DH to leave for work-can't leave DS home alone. Plus my daycare opens at 7:30 and I am alone with a couple of kids till 8 when the assistants come in.
Cardio intense is T-TH-Sat and I do the cross-trainer (like an ellipical but can add resistance and incline), elliptical, something called a body trek (another elliptical with an up & down motion), stair climbers (both the stationary stairs and the kind with the moving stairs-think escalator!), the treadmill and the new thing called Jacob's Ladder which I can only do for 10 mins and I am whipped:
http://www.jacobsladderexercise.com/
I generally do 30 min segments on machines with a 10 minute cool down at the end. On the weekends if I don't feel like fighting for a machine at the gym I also have a gym quality treadmill at home and I do an hour plus cool down, usually walking fast 4-4.2 mph with 2.0 incline for a .25 mile, then walking a little slower 3.5-3.8 mph with a 9-12 incline to work my quads, etc...
I do crunches at home when I get a chance, usually do segments of 50 then take a rest, but I do use an Ab Roller to help my keep my neck in the right alignment. I've been striving to do 500/day-usually takes about 1/2 hour to do them all so I haven't been really good about it.
Food--hmm that is hard. I am not following any type of low-carb eating plan because of my food allergies and kidney problems. I tried Atkins and it caused me to have some kidney problems, ended up on dialysis and lost some kidney function permanently. It is a good plan but for some people it affects them in radical ways. Anyway--my nutritionist actually had me start out on meal replacement shakes-mostly because of time. I didn't want to spend a ton of time thinking about food, planning lots of meals and spending time in the grocery store hunting down items. She made it easy to get me kick-started by doing B & L shakes and a decent dinner. I've been eating lots of chicken, fish (all kinds) and some beef--but we are not big beef eaters so that doesn't really bother us.
I've switched over to having a shake for breakfast only when I am really swamped and need to have something versus nothing. I've started eating lower calorie whole wheat english muffins and breads, baking fresh bread and buying wheat pasts--it really isn't that hard to make the change, but luckily I've got a great husband and son who are willing to make the changes along with me. Neither needs to lose weight (they are skinny!) but they know we are eating more wholesome and healthy foods now. I eat tons of veggies but do allow myself to enjoy dinners out and snacks. We've found some great ice cream sandwiches from Schwan's (the home delivered food company) that are 100 calories & 2g fat--or the skinny cow brand fudge bars are good too. I've found ways to keep a little ice cream in the house and have it when I really want it. Eating less and less processed food is so much better for you anyway.
I also have noticed that I need to just give in sometimes and enjoy something I am really craving. It physically usually tastes good, it mentally makes me feel like I am not deprived & keep me from going overboard if I don't give in now. I usually can only eat 1/2 portion of something I enjoyed before I start to feel full and I can walk away from 1/2 a plate of lasagna or mashed potatoes & gravy. Bread is a toughie for me, but I usually write down everything first in my journal, instead of afterward. Makes it harder to take another piece or portion.
ANYWAY-sorry for the book, but the old-fashioned tried & true "eat less, move more" is what is really working for me. I know that eventually I will get to a plateau but no matter what I am healthier and feel better than I have since my DS was born (1996). I can't/won't go back to the old me--and I start to slip I listen to a Christian song entitled " I Will Never be the Same Again" here's the first verse:
I will never be the same again.
I can never return,
I've closed the door;
I will walk the path,
I'll run the race,
And I will never be the same again.
http://www.myredeemerlives.com/neverthesame.html
I hope you all will never be the same again either!
