F- 43 5'2 wt 229 in Kansas- work and kids seeking same

kansasbelle

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: I originally lost 40 pounds on MFP and made it to the under 200 mark. I looked and felt great. Ate healthy and worked out an hour a day. Finally free from an extremely emotionally abusive relationship I was able to flourish. And then it happened. I met an amazing man and his two precious little ones whom he had full custody of. Suddenly we were an instant family. But healthy eating and time to workout went out the window. Things have changed a lot for me the in the last year. I went from living alone to being part of a family of 4. I moved an hour and half away,gave away my precious kitties(DARN LANDLORD AND HOUSING SHORTAGE) and it took me over 6 months to find a job that I love. Plus gained the weight back.

My downfall eating like my family. I have to keep stuff in the house that are temptations to say the least. Plus I cook every night for the family. My family is thin too and can eat everything. Now I haven't found the time with a full time job and 2 preschoolers it seems impossible to find time to work out. Plus I work at a facility where people are always bringing thank you goodies. Not to mention we have a fabulous cook.

I've also tried atkins it worked in the past but failed this time. I had a cruise to get ready for, but that didn't even stop me from gaining weight. The family pictures of my arms encouraged me to finally gain control and go back to mfp

So friend me please:flowerforyou: :blushing: :bigsmile:

martinel2099

Hello Kansas,

Good luck on your weight loss journey. You can still achieve your weight loss goals and not change a thing on your families menu if you don't want to, but you do need to practice portion control and count the calories. Do you want to order a pizza for the kids tonight? That's not a problem, go ahead and order the pizza. But, instead of eating 4 slices how about eating only 2 and having a side salad with light salad dressing or vinegar, or a bowl of broccoli/assorted steamed mixed veggies. It'll fill you up better and essentially cut the calories in half while allowing you to spoil yourself with a slice of pizza.

Work is a dangerous place for people on a diet, but that's only dangerous for someone who isn't counting calories. I'll never pass up a free meal at work, but I'll make sure not to go crazy with the portions and maybe have a lean cuisine for dinner that night. I leave fitness pal up in the background on my computer so that there is no excuses, I record everything as I eat it.

One really important thing, you're not on a diet, you're on a life long weight loss journey that you want to continue for the rest of your life. That means that you can have a bad day once in a while, maybe even a few bad days once in a while. The idea is to get in the habit of recording everything you eat, and even if you only lose .5 lbs per week or less, that's still losing and will compound over time.

Working out. If I had a nickle for every time someone said they couldn't workout because of work, the kids, chores at home and etc I'd be a very rich man. You don't need a gym membership to lose weight and if you only got in 10,000 steps per day that would be amazing for burning calories. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/12/14/exercises-at-home_n_2287898.html is a great way to start.

To be a healthy adult for life you need to incorporate a healthy lifestyle that includes eating right and incorporating exercise. I wish you luck on your journey and want to congratulate you on coming back to MFP.