In Need Of Advice/motivation

eberent

Hi Elizabeth here.
A little about me:My husband and I have 7 children, 3 are my step-children. In the past 6 yrs. I have been pregnant or nursing and put on more pounds than I'd like. I have tried to lose the weight, but each time have been unsuccessful. I would like to fit in a slimmer size again, but more than that I need more energy to keep up with my growing family. I find it quite a chore now to "play" with my children because of my lack of energy.
One of my struggles is that I snack frequently (whenever I'm fixing a meal AND snack for one of the little ones). I also have a VERY difficult time with my portion sizes. It seems once I start eating, I don't stop until everything including my children's plates are empty. I also find every excuse out there why I can't exercise (even though I have work out videos, a treadmill and stationary bike).
I'm hoping to change my lifestyle for my family and for me.
My biggest concern is lack of motivation. I've been doing pretty well these first 6 days, but I always start out with motivation and then crash...end up gaining all, if not more, weight. I'm already feeling discouraged not seeing results and having a hard time keeping my calories low. How do you keep yourself motivated from day to day?
Feeling Discouraged,
Elizabeth

pagett1969

HI, I know what you are going though. Today I weighed I gained 3 pounds this week I am very discouraged myself. So I have made a plan for next week so I don't have this happen again. I have 5 kids still at home so I know how it is to see them eat the good stuff. Hang in there every little bit counts. I started out at 232 on 1 -13-06 on this site it has helped I am now 216. If you have a bad day just have a better tomorrow. Julie

eberent

Thank you for your input Julie. Today I really needed to here "If you have a bad day just have a better tomorrow" as I went over my calories, carbs, fat and protein. While I was eating, I was even thinking, "I'm not hungry, why am I eating?", but continued eating. Now I feel a bit guilty and discouraged. Like you said, Tomorrow's another day. You've done great down to 216 from 232 in less than 3 months! I recently read that a lot of our energy is lost from our body trying to digest all the food we consume. I try to remember that before I eat because, as you know, we need all the energy we can get!
Elizabeth

tlt0811

Elizabeth-
I'm glad you have found it helpful to portion out your snacks. Just because you are counting calories doesn't mean all you can eat is carrot sticks . personally i don't find carrot sticks very filling, but if they are working for you than keep it up! I recently became addicted to Cheez-it crisps. 36 crackers is one serving, i've actually been counting them out and putting them in small snack bags, I think its about 130 cals for one serving, you can even do 1/2 a serving if you think it will fill a craving, the original graham crackers are a pretty good snack too!! something I've found is that drinking a glass of water after each snack helps me to feel full.

Good Luck!
Tara
PS I've posted a really great recipe on the recipe message board, try it out it's pretty tasty (and easy to make!)

kathyvdh

Elizabeth,

Don't be so hard on yourself when you have a bad day. Everyone does. Just get back on track as soon as possible. I know you can do it. Just keep trying. I had a bad day yesterday too, so I won't weigh myself for at least a week because I know the extra pounds will come back off if I just work at it. I don't want to see the numbers and get more discouraged.

Have a great day.