Help?

[Kay-VW]

I need some help. I want to lose weight (i will lose it!), But I'm not sure where to start. I have started walking more, I walk to and from school everyday(except during the winter), I walk the dogs every now and then, and I do a lot of walking when doing chores around my family's "Hobby farm", such as cleaning out the chicken pen, and hauling hay to the cows. So, i do quite a bit more walking than I used to, but i think i need to find more to do besides walking, but i don't want to over do it with the exercising because i have a bad knee, any ideas?

Also, I over eat sometimes at meal times. My worst food weaknesses: Chocolate, Ice cream, and pop. Any ideas for healthier food choices? ive cut down on how much pop I drink, I started drinking flavored water, such as Aquafina FlavorSplash. But i always eat too much chocolate, or ice cream.
I also tend to not eat very healthy sometimes. My family eats alot of meat like steaks, hamburgers,pork chops, and stuff like that; So what should i do?

And during the summer, I tend to drink way too much pop, any ideas on how to help with that?  

[Kiwi Girl]

Are you drinking diet soda? If not, switch to diet and only have that. Otherwise, tell yourself you have to drink __ cups of water everyday before you can have that soda.

As for the chocolate and ice cream... Try pre-sorting them into serving sizes. Cut the chocolate up and put them into bags and then when you want your dessert you can *only* have what's in the one bag. For ice cream maybe you could go with popsicles or something, or just scoop a few ounces out of the carton and into some tupperware containers. Or, better yet, trade the ice cream for fat-free frozen yogurt and find a new snack instead of chocolate.  

[LadyImpish]

Walking is a good start. It's the slow, rythmic motion are bodies were designed to do and is considered by many effortless. Thiry minutes a day should suffice.

Continue drinking water. Hydration is essentail to permanent weight loss.

Try lean meants such as skinless chicken, or fish if you aquire the taste. Cut portions of fattier or more processed meats like pork and beef. I personally, am pescovegetarian. (Vegetarian that still eats fish.)

If you like sweets, try fruit.  

[Groovy Spleen]

Swimming is always an excellent way to get in shape for people who have bad knees. It's very non concussive, but still awesome exercise!

I tend to get dehydrated when I drink pop or juices, so I've switched almost strictly to water (and some soy milk). Just remind yourself that the pop is not quenching your thirst, or doing anything good for you. Or like Kiwi said, drink a glass of water right before you reach for the pop, chances are you won;t feel like you need it anymore.

Cutting out pop will make a HUGE impact on weight loss. I lost my first 20lbs in a very short time just by cutting out pop and juice from my diet.  

[Lady Schist]

Tea and lemonaid!  

[Madame de Sousa]

instead of ice cream try frozen yogart smile  

[Iconised Ghost]

maggitty88

instead of ice cream try frozen yogart smile

omg yes redface thats my favourite part of my diet, i actually like the frozen yoghurt more than ice cream blaugh

If you have a bad knee working on a cross trainer might help, isnt that supposed to work the joint without having pressure on it?  

[Lady Schist]

Bike is my favourite mode of transport. ._.  

[Kay-VW]

Thanks for the ideas everyone. I cant wait till summer so I can get started exercising more. I really want to lose weight. lol, I shall have to drag my chubby dog around with me so she can lose weight with me.  

[Kay-VW]

>.<, darn it, my cd player quit working. Thats going to drive me crazy, I always have my cd player with me where ever I go; such as when I walk the dogs, or when I'm doing chores, or on my way to and from school. Its funny, but I've noticed I always walk faster for some odd reason when I'm listening to music.

And the stupid snow wont go away, it's finally almost all completely gone, and now its supposed to rain and snow at the same time on Thursday, >.<  

[Divash]

The walking you're doing is great, as are the farm chores. If you want even more exercise, ask to help unload the groceries from the car on grocery day. Then, take each can or box, lift it twice with your arms extended out to the sides, THEN put it away in the cabinet. (Works best if you do it with both arms instead of just one.)

Switch from regular soda pop to diet soda pop, Crystal Lite, or other low-cal and no-cal drinks.

Switch from ice cream to low-fat or non-fat frozen yogurt -- it's not perfect, but it's a sweet cold treat, and you'll get half (or fewer) calories and fat grams in the same size portion. By the way, "one serving" is usually a half-cup of ice cream, not an entire huge bowl. Those little Ben & Jerry's pints? That's four servings, not one.

Chocolate: Instead of an entire chocolate bar, try three Hershey's Kisses. Or, hey, join Weight Watchers, because they've got some lovely chocolate flavored bars that are nicely low in calories and fat. You're not obligated to eat WW foods if you join, but they do help, when you're craving treats.

You might ask your parents to prepare more vegetables with their meats, or ask them to buy salad fixings and let you make your own. Eat your salad, THEN have a half-sized burger, pork chop, or steak. Most people tend to eat two to three times the amount of protein they need at dinnertime, and about half the protein they need at lunch and breakfast. A reasonable protein portion is two to four ounces. One chicken breast is five to six ounces.