Please help me help my mom get in shape

I think once you make the changes you are making and you start losing she might start listening to you regarding her diet.

One thing to think about for exercsie - do you have a YMCA near you? We have a group called Silver Sneakers, they do group exercise class as well as lots of field trips with plenty of walking. She would be with people her age and maybe your Dad would even join in.

Yep, the YMCA would be wonderful to get her in - they offer aquajogs, I would suspect, which would benefit her immensely, too.

I hope you can work with getting her involved.  And don't take any excuses that she may throw out - be as positive and happy to maybe work with her the first few times to get her confidence up.

Fitness program

Some plans include SilverSneakers®, a fitness program offered to Medicare beneficiaries and designed especially for older adults. The program includes a fitness center membership at a participating location and activities that promote a healthy lifestyle.

It seems like you've got the fitness angle covered. In regards to her diet, I would recommend that you both write down everything that you eat. That way you can see what she's eating and once she adds in the exercise, if she's not losing weight, there's a record to point out some of her barriers to losing weight.

Then I would go see a nutritionist to help her understand what she needs to be eating and how she can make that happen so she can reach her goal.  This is also where the nutritional diary comes in so the nutritionist can see what she has been eating. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about.

I'm also a fan of a reward system so when you hit milestones like 10 pounds lost, but a new pair of headphones, a new workout shirt or something else she has been coveting. When she gets to her goal, she can buy herself something great or you could also give her something.

Good luck!

If she's overwhelmed, you might want to recommend to her that she focus on one thing at a time.

Rather than count and log calories, start new workouts, cut out all soda, etc. etc. focus on JUST working out for now. Once she is comfortable working out x amount of days, work on changing up the diet -- slowly. A lot of people get gung ho about Doing It All, but that can be exhuasting. Small changes really add up!

x2

Last fall, my Dad had a quadruple bypass -- and that really woke both of my 70+ parents up.  My Mom had walked in the past, but had lapsed.  My Dad was never one for exercise at all.  That said, neither of them have ever been terribly overweight -- mostly carrying 15-20 extra pounds at times.

After the heart scare, they got pretty good on diet, but still needed to add the exercise element.  I was lucky -- one of my best friends is a personal trainer.  And I have a gym set up in my basement.  VOILA!

My friend the trainer works them out twice a week and keeps tabs on their cardio workouts as well (walking, mostly, but also some elliptical, since an elliptical trainer was installed in a close by park district park (?!?!? ... I know!) a few weeks ago.

This works out great for them -- no gym to join or go to.  No skinny people to be intimidated by.  Someone to keep them accountable.  And someone to tailor workouts for them -- my Mom has had both knees partially replaced and my Dad has very few joints that haven't been savaged with rheumatoid arthritis.

If you could find a trainer that works out of their home, maybe?  Even just to start, that might make her feel more at ease doing strength training and find stuff that's applicable in her own home.

All I know is that my parents are loathe to admit it out loud, but they have grown to LOVE their trainer.  She makes it fun and interesting and challenging.  And they're seeing results and love that part too.  And they know she's interested in their overall well-being rather than just making $$ per hour.