hi...

kelsully

My name is Kelly. I am a stay at home mom with 4 kids, ages 9, akmost 8, 5 and 3. I was a teacher and cross country coach before I had kids and someday will be again when all the kids are in school. I have always loved to workout , I love how I feel so strong when I do.

I have been using MFP for about 2-3 months now and it has been a wonderful tool. I had 15-20 lbs to lose. I had been working out and got stalled. A friend told me about the sight so I checked it out. I had already been trying to eat more appropriate portions etc but the site kept me accountable and if nothing else aware of what i was eating. I have been a vegetarian for nearly 12.5 years so I already made some healthier choices etc but with MFP I have adjusted portion size and made a few more healthy substitutions. I am running a lot as I am training for a marathon and the site helps me there too as there are days I have a hard time eating enough to meet my caloric needs and the site keeps me aware of what my needs actually are.

I don't know if the intro is the right place for my inquiry but here goes...as I have reached my goal weight I do not want to get any smaller. I can't afford any new clothes LOL and if I were to get smaller I would be getting into an uhealthy weight. I have gone down that path in high school so I am certain I don't ever want to be "too skinny" ever again. I also want my girls to see a healthy person. Problem is I have worked really hard to adjust my portion sizes to reasonable healthy portion sizes. I went through the adjustment period of feeling a bit hungry at times for a few weeks. I have adjusted some of my eating choices to healthy ones and I no longer care if I have french fries and actually feel sick to my stomach if I eat too much or the really greasy foods. With my marathon training and just working out I am burning a ton of calories (confirmed with a heart rate monitor) There are many days that I am more than 500 calories under my needs. I do not want to start eating giant portions again as I don't want to have to readjust to healthy portions when the marathon training is over. I don't want to introduce junk back into my diet as it is too easy to consist on french fries. HOW DO I BALANCE IT ALL???? I want to stay strong and healthy, eat the right stuff and not wither away. A friend just sent me a bunch of power bars to eat as snacks and that should help..but I am not much of a snacker...any suggestions would be great

Andre_Demers

Hello Kelly,

First of all. CONGRADULATIONS....

Second, I am jealous, still working on it.

Has for your question I went to read a few sites and all pretty much say the same thing. Increase your consumption (a bit) and reduce your exercice (a bit also). The problem is usually with athletes that train for competitions. You need to find the correct calory/exercice ratio. Maybe think of food supplements. They are easy to take.

Best of luck and hope to be in your shoes one day,

Andre

patriot201

Hi Kelly,

We seem to have a lot in common, though I am just at the beginning of losing the 10-15 pounds I need to lose. I too am a vegetarian teacher. I too have to be careful because I had an eating disorder too and I know that it would be easy to slip back into that lifestyle.

Welcome to MFP! I just joined a few days ago and I love it so far.

hellokatee

It is all about calories in, calories out. To maintain your weight you will have to hit a certain amount of calories. I would recommend snacking on LUNA bars. They have lots of protein. and they're delicious! I know you say you are not hungry, but maybe squeezing in a few snacks won't hurt. Maybe also a fruit smoothie? It's not quite so substantial. Good luck on your journey, and congratulations on hitting your goal!

kelsully

Thanks everyone. I am determined to do this marathon and thus the training will continue. I am trying to stay healthy and be smart. MFP is helping as it is reminding me to snack etc ...
I think I will have to dig into that box of power bars a friend just sent me...that should help.