Weight Loss with children

ishallnotwant

I hope this post doesn't make me sound mean or rude. I just wanted to post it to be encouraging/motivating to other moms, and I hope it is taken as an encouraging post. I had it on my page, but felt it was better posted in the forum. I'm kind of scared of being flamed, but here goes...

I hope this doesn't sound intolerant, but I dislike it when people post that they can't exercise because "I'm home with a 2 year old all day!" or something to that effect. I had 3 babies under 3 when I first started losing weight after baby #5. I was a single mom with 5 kids under 10. I ended up losing about 40 pounds-it took a while, but I did it. Along the way my littles got older and I had 3 very young kids who were all walking (my youngest walked at 9 and a half months...and I had a 2 yr old and a 3 yr old as well.) I did what I had to do, which sometimes included strapping an infant to my chest in a carrier, popping two toddlers in a double stroller and taking a brisk uphill walk. Other times maybe it was doing a workout video with 2 or 3 toddlers "working out" with me in the living room. Yes, there were times I almost tripped over a squirt that was behind me when I didn't realize it. At times it was frustrating-but it was worth it. I even used to use my 8 year old as a weight spotter lol. (Hey, he was a really big kid. He could handle some decent weights-and now he is 16, a very athletic kid and he has excellent lifting form.) I still have a pic of my 1 yr old in her diaper trying to 'deadlift' my barbell. All 3 of my little ones were learning to do yoga poses literally before they could even walk. We did yoga together in my living room every morning. My kids all really love being active now and they still love working out with me. Sometimes we go to the park and play epic freeze tag (this means we get all the neighborhood kids together plus mine and play with about 20 to 25 people with 2 "taggers"), or ride our bikes together. I almost always play on the playground when I take my kids to the park, to get some extra activity-and you seriously haven't lived until you've played freeze tag on a playground. It's like having an obstacle course while playing tag-so fun, and a great workout too.

:0) My point is, I figure it's not good to use your kids as an excuse. It's not fair to them or yourself. Losing weight it totally doable with kids-and even enjoyable! Get up and play or dance with them. Work them into the healthy lifestyle and set a good example. They are not a reason to skip exercising, they are a reason to get up and get fit and have fun! Kids have tons of energy and love to get active with their parents. My 10 year old took her first kickboxing class today and she loved it! It was a great way to spend some time with her. Have fun being healthy with your children, peeps!

Blessedmommy_2x

The first part to getting this weight off and getting in shape is getting past the "excuses stage" and moving on to the "solutions stage". I went to the doctor for a check up shortly after having my second and I was working full-time with a newborn and 1 yr old.. I told her the excuse "I don't have enough time" to exercise and lose the weight and you know what she told me? You have as much time in your day as anyone else-24 hrs! I thought at the time it was a bit of a rude comment... but you know what she was exactly right! When you really want to do something, you MAKE time! Is it more difficult with kids? Sure! Impossible? NO! Good Luck to everyone!

This is my second time down this path... hoping this time I get to my goal and stay there OR EXCEED IT! ;-)

MrsDrake678

well not to be rude but I don't see how this is encouraging. To me it just seems like because it worked for you it should automatically work for everyone and if they struggle there's no excuse. I am a working stay at home mom. I have a required 8 hrs that I have to complete daily for my real job on top of my household work, kids needs etc. I have 2 kids. One in school and one who is 1 yr old and a complete mommas boy. He is attached to me ALL day. He hugs my leg while I do a workout video and cries....maybe that was ok for you but I can't let my kid cry or trip over him and feel ok. since I just recently posted about my struggles I can't help but take this a bit personally. My kids are my number one priority. Maybe it should be me and getting healthy but it's my kids....that's not to say yours was not I'm just saying if I have 20 minutes to myself and I'm going to work out and my 7 yr old asks if I want to play a game or if I can help with his homework or read him a story...I pick that. In a perfect world what you say should work but it's not everyone's world. Being encouraging would have been, I know we are all busy moms but we can make it happen....not blaming your kids is not ok. Hopefully when my baby gets a bit older he will want to join in but as of right now my little mommas boy can't stand when I work out. BUT I do the best I can.

annabellj

i used my children as weights. this sounds weird but they loved it. i understand the working and the kid wanting to be with you all the time. mine were like magnets also. i would lie on the floor and put my feet in the air and they would be on my feet and fly like superman, they loved it! also, we would dance around the room together with them on my hip and the music up. my exercise was never planned per se when they were that little but we would always put them in the stroller and walk when the weather permitted. just a thought if you are struggling. its a win win, play with the kid, get in some movement.we also had an elmo exercise dvd that the kids loved. that was 15 yrs ago but im sure there are kid videos out now.

thatgirl125

I definitely get where you are coming from. Right now I am a SAHM with my 1 year old, going full-time in college, and every other week have my 5 year old stepson and yet I still manage to workout. Lately I have been exercising in the mornings and my 1 year old will usually watch me and like you said pick up my weights (I do take them away from him in fear he will drop them on his little toes) or if I have to I will take my time in the morning studying/doing homework and when he goes down for his nap at 12 I workout. It is definitely possible. If there is a will, then there is a way. I always enjoy when I am on the ground doing crunches and my son comes up and screams and body slams me and sits on me while I try. It makes me work harder.
And as for the park, I also get out there and run around with my sons. It is a great way to be active and spend time with your kids more on their level.

MrsDrake678

sorry sensitive moment....tried to delete it but for some reason you can't? Anyway while I do understand what you are saying sometimes it's just not that easy....is really all I should have said there.

thatgirl125

i used my children as weights. this sounds weird but they loved it. i understand the working and the kid wanting to be with you all the time. mine were like magnets also. i would lie on the floor and put my feet in the air and they would be on my feet and fly like superman, they loved it! also, we would dance around the room together with them on my hip and the music up. my exercise was never planned per se when they were that little but we would always put them in the stroller and walk when the weather permitted. just a thought if you are struggling. its a win win, play with the kid, get in some movement.we also had an elmo exercise dvd that the kids loved. that was 15 yrs ago but im sure there are kid videos out now.

Definitely still videos out. We have an elmo exercise DVD for our 5 year old son.

rockerbabyy

i always used that excuse for not exercising during the day - (2 kids, 11 months apart).. but that had nothing to do with while they were sleeping. they both napped until they were two and i usually napped with them. when they went to bed at night, i played video games with hubby when i could have been exercising. we lived on the 2nd floor of an apartment building so i used that as an excuse to not do workout videos...never mind the fact that i had access to a workout room in our complex, or lived right in the courtyard that i could easily walk around multiple times. i just didnt have time! >.>

we moved into a house and i got really sick of being fat. i found ways to get my kids involved. its adorable watching them try to do 30ds with me lol we go on walks, and sometimes have races at the park. we walk around the lake and stuff like that. i started lifting weights in the garage after they go to sleep, and i go to the gym for cardio nights (theyre actually quite upset that they cant be involved in that lol). yes, its way harder to find the time when youre a working mom and lots to do..but at the end of the day the excuses you make are just that - if you want to workout, youll find a way!

ishallnotwant

well not to be rude but I don't see how this is encouraging. To me it just seems like because it worked for you it should automatically work for everyone and if they struggle there's no excuse. I am a working stay at home mom. I have a required 8 hrs that I have to complete daily for my real job on top of my household work, kids needs etc. I have 2 kids. One in school and one who is 1 yr old and a complete mommas boy. He is attached to me ALL day. He hugs my leg while I do a workout video and cries....maybe that was ok for you but I can't let my kid cry or trip over him and feel ok. since I just recently posted about my struggles I can't help but take this a bit personally. My kids are my number one priority. Maybe it should be me and getting healthy but it's my kids....that's not to say yours was not I'm just saying if I have 20 minutes to myself and I'm going to work out and my 7 yr old asks if I want to play a game or if I can help with his homework or read him a story...I pick that. In a perfect world what you say should work but it's not everyone's world. Being encouraging would have been, I know we are all busy moms but we can make it happen....not blaming your kids is not ok. Hopefully when my baby gets a bit older he will want to join in but as of right now my little mommas boy can't stand when I work out. BUT I do the best I can.

This wasn't aimed towards you in any way, i'm sorry that you felt it was. It seems like a lot of moms post on here (and other fitness forums i've been on as well) feeling discouraged because they are home with kids. I hope that you noticed I said "It's doable" and not, 'it worked for me, so make it work for you'. :flowerforyou: I know that everyone is different, with different home situations. I just wanted to put this out there, that I had a challenging situation, and was at home raising children, and I was able to make it work by being creative.

I also will say that I do feel it is not ok to use our children as an excuse-they hear what we say, and hearing that mommy "can't get healthy because of junior" or something to that effect just doesn't seem fair to me for a little kid to hear. I hope you can understand where I am coming from with that.

Steph_Marie29

My son works out with me. Hes almost 4 years old.

thatgirl125

sorry sensitive moment....tried to delete it but for some reason you can't? Anyway while I do understand what you are saying sometimes it's just not that easy....is really all I should have said there.

Of course its not that easy, who wouldn't rather play with the kids than work out (I would much rather do it). Keep up with what you are doing and getting in the exercise where you can, just from your following post you show you are a loving and caring mom. But also do not forget setting that example for your children now may influence them for the future. : )

ishallnotwant

i used my children as weights. this sounds weird but they loved it. i understand the working and the kid wanting to be with you all the time. mine were like magnets also. i would lie on the floor and put my feet in the air and they would be on my feet and fly like superman, they loved it! also, we would dance around the room together with them on my hip and the music up. my exercise was never planned per se when they were that little but we would always put them in the stroller and walk when the weather permitted. just a thought if you are struggling. its a win win, play with the kid, get in some movement.we also had an elmo exercise dvd that the kids loved. that was 15 yrs ago but im sure there are kid videos out now.

haha!! We had Elmocize too!! My kids loved it! How funny, I had forgotten all about that, it was so fun!

MB_Positif

We all have our excuses...mine was that I worked full time with an hour commute each way and when I got home I didn't want to lose time with my young son, and since I only got to bed by 11 at night after getting things done for the day I thought I could never get up any earlier than 6 which is when I had to get up in order to get ready and get to work on time. That said, when I decided that I had to do this so I could set a good example for my son and be here for my son I also realized that the times I was not with him so I could exercise he got to spend quality time with my husband. I know there are people who are single mom's who don't have that luxury, but if you have little ones and older children, it's good experience to have your older kids help out with the younger ones for a half hour so you can get a workout in. If they're all little, find ways to involve them. I found the VTech toddler video game console at Goodwill for $5 so I would let my son play that while I was on the treadmill if my husband wasn't home or the little guy wanted to be where I was. Sure it's a pain to manage around everything, but here are some of the benefits I have seen from showing him how important health is to me, to our family. My son at 5 chooses things like Kashi cereal over things like Count Chocula, he does sit ups and push ups and has even done a 1 mile kids run and finished under 14 minutes! This is the kind of stuff I wish my parents had done for me when I was a kid! So whatever it is, the excuse that you use, toss it! We all are only given 24 hours in a day, though there are many important things in our lives pulling us in many directions, we have the choice to determine what is necessary!!!

Generalle

I completly agree with what you've said. My only problem right now is that I have a male teenager now who is on the 'see-food' diet - sees food, must eat it!!!! Which means I have to have readily available to eat food in the house that tends to not be very healthy. Trying to persuade a teenage boy to make something or to even wait for food is like asking a 2 year old to go to bed - a battle!!!!

MB_Positif

I completly agree with what you've said. My only problem right now is that I have a male teenager now who is on the 'see-food' diet - sees food, must eat it!!!! Which means I have to have readily available to eat food in the house that tends to not be very healthy. Trying to persuade a teenage boy to make something or to even wait for food is like asking a 2 year old to go to bed - a battle!!!!

Oh wow, that sounds rough! Good luck with that...hopefully 10 years from now when my son is 15 he'll be all over some healthy snacks! Haha

ishallnotwant

I completly agree with what you've said. My only problem right now is that I have a male teenager now who is on the 'see-food' diet - sees food, must eat it!!!! Which means I have to have readily available to eat food in the house that tends to not be very healthy. Trying to persuade a teenage boy to make something or to even wait for food is like asking a 2 year old to go to bed - a battle!!!!

Oh man, I hear ya! My only son is 16...i'm super lucky because he loves salads, veggies and all things healthy! I totally understand the not waiting for food thing though-if it's not already made, he usually won't eat it lol-maybe with the exception of a sandwich or something simple. He knows how to cook and stuff he just doesn't feel like going out of his own way to do it!

laurenrenee1025

well not to be rude but I don't see how this is encouraging. To me it just seems like because it worked for you it should automatically work for everyone and if they struggle there's no excuse. I am a working stay at home mom. I have a required 8 hrs that I have to complete daily for my real job on top of my household work, kids needs etc. I have 2 kids. One in school and one who is 1 yr old and a complete mommas boy. He is attached to me ALL day. He hugs my leg while I do a workout video and cries....maybe that was ok for you but I can't let my kid cry or trip over him and feel ok. since I just recently posted about my struggles I can't help but take this a bit personally. My kids are my number one priority. Maybe it should be me and getting healthy but it's my kids....that's not to say yours was not I'm just saying if I have 20 minutes to myself and I'm going to work out and my 7 yr old asks if I want to play a game or if I can help with his homework or read him a story...I pick that. In a perfect world what you say should work but it's not everyone's world. Being encouraging would have been, I know we are all busy moms but we can make it happen....not blaming your kids is not ok. Hopefully when my baby gets a bit older he will want to join in but as of right now my little mommas boy can't stand when I work out. BUT I do the best I can.

hey girl i hear you...I work, go to school, and am a single mom of a one year old(also on my leg all day). I honestly have found that I have to wake up very early, or wait til she is in bed to work out. Sounds impossible to fit all that in, but I get rid of tv time and other social things. But, yes I only have one child, so you are probably exhausted!! Hopefully you can try to give yourself 30 min when kids are sleeping, good luck.

ImHoRnY69

Personally, I find it quite successful when I chain my children Ophelia, Milferd, Deforrest and Ian to the treadmill. If the refuse, I beat them.

908-894-920....you guess.

Ceebee37

I agree and thats why prams and work out dvd's have been invented!! Walking to the park, shops or doing 20 min work out dvd is just great!! It's what I have done, lost 53 pounds and still losing!!

mjhart2011

I understand what you are trying to say. You do what you have to do and I think when there is a will there is a way. I used to always think that it was impossible for me to work out because my daughter would cry, or she would be in the way, or I would be too tired to take care of her later. It came to a point where I knew there would always be something and I needed to stop making excuses. Now she is 3 years old and we work out together. We dance, we do Wii Fit, we do the jogging stroller, and take long walks (I have to carry her for some of it, but hey, it just adds to the work out!). Weight Loss after children is NOT easy, but it's still achievable.

ishallnotwant

well not to be rude but I don't see how this is encouraging. To me it just seems like because it worked for you it should automatically work for everyone and if they struggle there's no excuse. I am a working stay at home mom. I have a required 8 hrs that I have to complete daily for my real job on top of my household work, kids needs etc. I have 2 kids. One in school and one who is 1 yr old and a complete mommas boy. He is attached to me ALL day. He hugs my leg while I do a workout video and cries....maybe that was ok for you but I can't let my kid cry or trip over him and feel ok. since I just recently posted about my struggles I can't help but take this a bit personally. My kids are my number one priority. Maybe it should be me and getting healthy but it's my kids....that's not to say yours was not I'm just saying if I have 20 minutes to myself and I'm going to work out and my 7 yr old asks if I want to play a game or if I can help with his homework or read him a story...I pick that. In a perfect world what you say should work but it's not everyone's world. Being encouraging would have been, I know we are all busy moms but we can make it happen....not blaming your kids is not ok. Hopefully when my baby gets a bit older he will want to join in but as of right now my little mommas boy can't stand when I work out. BUT I do the best I can.

hey girl i hear you...I work, go to school, and am a single mom of a one year old(also on my leg all day). I honestly have found that I have to wake up very early, or wait til she is in bed to work out. Sounds impossible to fit all that in, but I get rid of tv time and other social things. But, yes I only have one child, so you are probably exhausted!! Hopefully you can try to give yourself 30 min when kids are sleeping, good luck.

I just wanted to post to you what I posted earlier in the thread to the poster you are replying to. :0)

I hope that you noticed I said "It's doable" and not, 'it worked for me, so make it work for you'. :flowerforyou: I know that everyone is different, with different home situations. I just wanted to put this out there, that I had a challenging situation, and was at home raising children, and I was able to make it work by being creative.