Have u let yourself "go"?

[Mommyfaithe]

re: what to eat: As a pp stated I think that varies for everyone. My first priority is real, unprocessed food. We are also a gf family and I am low carb/grain/sugar/dairy/soy free. I am strict about gluten free but I have my moments when I'm not 100% on the rest. I do feel best when I'm as strict as possible however.

 

 

Focus on REAL. Real food. Lots of veggies, some fruit, grassed/free range meat, good fats ( olive oil, coconut oil, avocado) and sometimes nuts. If it comes with a cellophane wrapper or more tan 3 or 4 recognizable ingredients....don't eat it. If you have to ask yourself what the heck it is....don't eat it. Walk every day. Move your body. Enjoy your body. Enjoy your life.

[MissKNG]

I posted this quote on the exercise thread, "Exercise is like spare change; it all adds up."

 

5 min here and there, 10 min, 2 min, etc. It all adds up. You don't need to carve out 30-60 min at a time in a day for exercise.

 

 

Additionally, just MOVING helps! I don't formally exercise but when we are at the playground, for example, I'm not sitting on the bench. I'm walking laps around the playground structure. I park far away from the store, we take the stairs, I jog down the street trying to keep up with the girls on their bikes. I clean and work on housework all day long - not only is my house clean, but I'm burning calories. We dance and play, etc. There are all sorts of ways to keep moving and burning calories without carving time out to formally exercise. I used to pull the girls around in a wagon, they will be too big this year though :sad: .

 

My days are long and yes, I'm exhausted but I do it anyways. I like moving! :thumbup:

[boscopup]

So yes, I've let myself go. And I don't see myself coming back too soon. I keep looking to the time when dd will be old enough for me to leave her at home with the kids for 30 minutes while I go for a run. What age will that be?

 

 

I'm doing Couch to 5K right now. My kids are older than yours, so I'm able to go run in my back pasture while they're in the house, but in the past... I have gotten up *really* early and gone for a run, timing it such that I'd get back right before my DH has to leave for work. Kids are still asleep at that time, and I got my run in. I took one of my German Shepherds with me, so I felt safe running even when the sun wasn't quite up (not that my neighborhood is unsafe, exactly... we're in the country).

 

I look forward to one day being able to go run on the greenway in town, but my kids will need to be old enough to leave home alone for a couple hours. Not there yet. Not sure when that will be. I mean, I *could* leave them in front of a movie, and they'd be fine. But legally, not there yet. :lol:

 

I also do exercise videos some mornings before the kids get up. I have a rule that they can't come downstairs until 7am, and I happen to wake up around 5:15 or 5:30 (or whenever my Maine Coon cat starts eating my hair so she can steal my warm spot :rolleyes: ).

 

Another good time to exercise is during nap time, if you have younger kids. I don't have napping kids anymore, but sometimes I'll do a "quiet time" and exercise.

[fourisenough]

Haven't had time to read other responses to this post, but OOOOO, BOY! had I let myself go. I've been homeschooling 7 years and ages of my four kids are below. I've done extended breastfeeding and mostly co-slept with each child. So, I've either been pregnant, nursing, or co-sleeping with a toddler/preschooler + homeschooling for a very long time. My husband, all the while, made plenty of time for his interests and was supportive of me doing the same, but I just didn't. Finally, I realized I was tired all the time, frequently grouchy, 10 pounds overweight (could have been worse, I know), and terribly un-fit. About 6 months ago, I began exercising regularly (walking 3 miles daily or using elliptical machine) and 3 months ago I changed my diet (already vegetarian, I eliminated most carbs/sugar). Guess what? I feel better. I've lost the 10 pounds. I'm happier. Yes, I'd let myself go and it was so much easier to 'right the ship' than I thought. Do it. You'll never regret the time and effort you spend on yourself. My kids and husband are all so proud of me and they like the healthy/fit version of me much better! Oh, and I kicked the almost 4 year old out of bed and into her room with her sister. They're having a blast and she never looked back. More s*x with my husband, too. Everyone wins!

[nerd]

Exercise is easier than people think. Don't bother with the 20 minute workouts. Just do 5 minutes a day, alternating with different muscle groups. Like bodyweight squats one day, pull ups the next, push ups next, etc. Increased muscle mass will burn more fat.

 

The time it takes to post on this website, you can do a few minutes exercise, enough for a day. You will see results in a couple of months. Increase to doing 5 minutes a few times a day for fast results.

 

Also avoid MSG, aspartame, both used in animal studies to cause obesity. Hypothalamus damage.

[Aubrey]

No. I mean, if you're talking about my pre-kid figure, the amount of time I put into hair & make-up in high school or college, then yes. But now I spend that time reading history, cooking, chasing kids. The beauty doesn't show on my hips or face (well, I guess kind-of it does, lol), but I think if you knew me 15-20 years ago & compared that to now, I'd be a better friend, a more interesting companion.

 

Plus...don't you just feel a little more relaxed around people who look *real*? I've got real like nobody's business. :D

[ItoLina]

I totally did. Between my 2 kids I spent over 4 years pregnant and/or nursing and eating whatever I wanted and not exercising at all. Finally, a year after weaning my dd, she was about to turn 3 and I realized that I couldn't really call that extra 20 lbs baby weight Anymore....It was really just weight now :-(

 

So, I decided to really make a change. I went on weight watchers with a friend of mine and I cannot say enought great things about it. I loved that I could eat whatever I wanted as long as I tracked it. Also, it inadvertently encourages you to be healthy through the points system. For example, fruits and veggies cost you no points at all, so you can eat those all day long if you want. And when you run out of points for the day that is what you eat. Also, you earn extra points that can accumulate and be used for treats anytime during the week for exercising, so I was always motivated to work out so I could go out to that birthday party on the weekend and have cake, or whatever little treat I wanted.

 

Weight watchers combined with training my kids to play on their own for an hour on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays so I could do a work out video at home has made a huge difference. I had to realize that I needed to find a way to work out without relying on dh for child care...his schedule is just too unpredictable.

 

Anyway, since January I have lost over 20 pounds and made my goal weight ( which is the weight I was my first pregnancy). Now I just have to stay committed to keeping it off, which seems more daunting than it was to loose it...I am motivated though.

 

As for hair and makeup and clothes...um...I am the queen of frumpy. I guess that will have to be next year's New Year's resolution.

[Mom-2-7]

3 months ago I changed my diet (already vegetarian, I eliminated most carbs/sugar).

 

What does this look like? I keep trying to go vegetarian but want to do LC at the same time and not having success with either! Thanks

[CatholicMom]

Yeah, I have in some ways. I am about 15-20 lbs heavier than I'd like to be. I don't watch what I eat anymore except when I have to for health reasons. I almost NEVER get a professional hair cut. I often wear sweats. But there are other reasons than homeschooling that have to do with it, for me. One is I've been pregnant 8 times in the last 10 yrs (I have 5 kids, 2 miscarriages and 1 on the way). Another is, we had very little money prior to a few years ago, so getting my hair cut at a salon was not really an option, nor was buying nice clothes or shoes that I really liked. I still have the same sneakers I wore in high school :huh: (yeah, seriously), as well as the same winter coat I wore in college (yep, ferreal). I'm going to be like the old lady you see around nowadays who is clearly wearing slacks and sweaters from the 70's. LOL

 

I am gradually getting used to spending more money on myself and buying some clothes or shoes when I feel like it, but it's hard not to feel guilty for some reason. I used to have to be so careful with money it feels like I'm being irresponsible or something. Doesn't help that I'm also picky about clothes being uncomfortable. hehe

 

I'm trying to dress a little more decently, though, which is my main plan of attack right now. Can't worry too much about my weight since I'm pregnant, so that will have to wait.

[journey00]

I totally did. Between my 2 kids I spent over 4 years pregnant and/or nursing and eating whatever I wanted and not exercising at all. Finally, a year after weaning my dd, she was about to turn 3 and I realized that I couldn't really call that extra 20 lbs baby weight Anymore....It was really just weight now :-(

 

So, I decided to really make a change. I went on weight watchers with a friend of mine and I cannot say enought great things about it. I loved that I could eat whatever I wanted as long as I tracked it. Also, it inadvertently encourages you to be healthy through the points system. For example, fruits and veggies cost you no points at all, so you can eat those all day long if you want. And when you run out of points for the day that is what you eat. Also, you earn extra points that can accumulate and be used for treats anytime during the week for exercising, so I was always motivated to work out so I could go out to that birthday party on the weekend and have cake, or whatever little treat I wanted.

 

Weight watchers combined with training my kids to play on their own for an hour on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays so I could do a work out video at home has made a huge difference. I had to realize that I needed to find a way to work out without relying on dh for child care...his schedule is just too unpredictable.

 

Anyway, since January I have lost over 20 pounds and made my goal weight ( which is the weight I was my first pregnancy). Now I just have to stay committed to keeping it off, which seems more daunting than it was to loose it...I am motivated though.

 

As for hair and makeup and clothes...um...I am the queen of frumpy. I guess that will have to be next year's New Year's resolution.

 

 

Do you do WW online or do you go to the meetings? What work out video do you use? Yeah...I can't rely on my hubby for child care either, I hear ya!

[fourisenough]

What does this look like? I keep trying to go vegetarian but want to do LC at the same time and not having success with either! Thanks

 

 

Began a lengthly reply to this question yesterday, but got interrupted before posting, so I'll begin again, but a little more briefly. In January I decided I wanted to dig-out of the common vegetarian pitfall to which I had fallen prey: substituting carbs for the bulk in my diet missing because I don't eat meat. I had been veg for 20 years, but I guess it finally caught up to me; I was 10 pounds overweight and tired all the time because of the high carb diet I was eating. I do eat dairy and eggs, but no animal flesh. So, I eliminated all white carbs (bread, rice, potatoes, and pasta), most oil/fats, and most sugar. I added to my diet more protein and fresh fruits and vegetables.

 

Specifically:

I eat the same breakfast every day (boring, I know). It is my biggest and favorite meal of the day! Here's what I have: 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats cooked with 1 cup skim milk, sweetened with 1 tsp of real maple syrup. I add 1/2 cup of fresh or 1/4 cup of dried fruit and 1/4 cup of walnuts or slivered almonds. I also drink 2 cups of coffee with fat-free half & half.

 

For lunch and dinner I eat some combination of: brown rice, quinoa, beans, tofu, or eggs with lots of vegetables.

 

For snacks, I eat only fresh fruit or a small handful of nuts. Other than my coffee with breakfast, I only drink water or skim milk (12 oz per day maximum).

 

After dinner, I usually treat myself with a couple of dark-chocolate covered almonds.

 

That's it. It was super easy. I'm a pretty boring eater anyway, so I don't mind having more or less the same thing everyday. People vary greatly on this - my husband would DIE if he had to eat veg/LC. I still cook meat for my family, but they eat the vegetables, salads, and brown carbs I make for myself, plus the occasional white carbs I don't eat. It has been three months and I feel much better, have shed the extra weight, and feel motivated to exercise since I'm taking care of myself by eating a healthier diet. Please ask if you have any more specific questions.

[cdrumm4448]

Um, yes. Whenever I put on anything other than sweats and t-shirts, my kids ask me,"Where are you going? What's going on? Can we go?"