How can I get my mom motivated?

iambrandice

My mom is very overweight; she talks about losing weight all the time, but she is a very bad snacker and she keeps putting off any sort of plan to get healthy. She has been trying to get pregnant for a while, and she told me that if she wasn't pregnant by January 1st, we would start dieting and exercising together. Now it's almost April! To learn a little about her, she is 37 years old and just got married 2.5 years ago. I ask her at least once a week "Hey Mom, when are we gonna start exercising and dieting together?", but she just says "I don't know." How can I talk to her and help her get started, because she doesn't seem to be very motivated, even though I know she is very unconfident about herself because of her weight.

iambrandice

My mom is very overweight; she talks about losing weight all the time, but she is a very bad snacker and she keeps putting off any sort of plan to get healthy. She has been trying to get pregnant for a while, and she told me that if she wasn't pregnant by January 1st, we would start dieting and exercising together. Now it's almost April! To learn a little about her, she is 37 years old and just got married 2.5 years ago. I ask her at least once a week "Hey Mom, when are we gonna start exercising and dieting together?", but she just says "I don't know." How can I talk to her and help her get started, because she doesn't seem to be very motivated, even though I know she is very unconfident about herself because of her weight.

kel9680

i don't know if this would help, but me and my mom are both on this site doing this together, and we are actually having our own "biggest loser" type contest, at the end of each month whoever loses the biggest percentage of weight loss wins, like on the show, (you can find how to calculate it online), and at the end of each month the loser for that month has to pay the winner $30. you could use whatever incentive you want we just decided to go with the $30. we are doing this anyway, but the money just gives us that little extra push! good luck in whatever you do!

iambrandice

Thanks! That's a really good idea. I did tell my Mom about the site, and I think I'm going to continue talking about it casually, and when I see results, I will show how excited I am, and just maybe she will be like "Hmm... maybe I should check out this website. Maybe doing this will help ME, too..." Thanks for the suggestion, though!

Zara11

Explain, nicely, that you are aware she is uncomfortable with herself, show her the progress you've been making, and ask her if in one month, in which she could lose X pounds, if she will be glad she made the choice TODAY to delay it another week. That's the greatest motivation for me, and what finally tipped me over - I realized that if, 2 years ago, if I had stuck with what I SHOULD HAVE DONE, I would not be as miserable as I am today. Thus, I break it up into each week, and live by what I want to see on the scale every Saturday, on my body, and in empty space in my pant legs.

kel9680

you're welcome, maybe once she sees how easy the site really is to use she will change her mind. it really only took one day of logging my food for me to realize i needed this site. it wasnt what i was eating so much, it was the portion sizes, and even though i have only been on here for about a month i can already tell a difference in how much i eat, it is possible to eat less and not be starving, i can eat normal portions now and be satisfied, instead of eating til i was so stuffed i was sick. good luck again!

iambrandice

The same with me. Well, I'm a vegetarian, so I end up eating a lot of carbs. And that is my problem mainly, the sugar. I get cravings for sugar. Now and Laters are my weakness, they are so delicious! :smooched: I have tried to eat slower and make sure that I get all my food groups, and it's easier to balance everything. So what kind of exercising do you to with your diet control?

mfpme

sign her up to mfp and then, both of you join the same group/challenges and then challenge each other. Good luck!!

kel9680

I mainly use my treadmill, the wii, or exericise videos, i get them on demand (through my cable) or on netflix, depending on my mood determines the video, i like most of the jillian michaels ones though.

i use the treadmill more then anything, i try to get at least 40 minutes in on it. and i try to get at least 4 days a week of exercise in. finding the time is challenging for me, i work full time, and have an 8 year old son, so i either have to get my husband to start dinner while i work out or i do it later at night after my food settles.

but between work, family things, running my son around it gets kinda hectic! but i'm learing to make the time for me!

July

As a vegetarian, carbs are my problem, too.

I hated exercise to start. I had to do something that wasn't really exercise, like walking. Ask if she'll join you for a walk, then it can be social.

diannholland1965

Fun, and power. My mother is involved in two dance classes a week, and a karate class.
One of the things that you might need to do instead of nagging her is to say something more like. Come with me to this line dancing class, It is SO much FUN! get some of her friends to do it as well.
I would BET that she KNOWS that she needs to get healthy, but she does not want to do something that is too hard to do. which is where you have to prove to her that it is fun and not as much hard work as she thought. Take her walking as well. The local zoo is a great place to walk around.
A cooking class with a health professional can also be fun, but you might have to do a little research to find something, But I bet that there are classes like that around you.
Good luck and keep us posted.
--Diann...
BTW, remember all those things that you used to LOVE to do as kids?? Rolling down hills playing on the play ground,Tag. Bike riding? GUES WHAT??? That is EXERCISE!!!!!!! And guess what else... You CAN STILL DO THOSE THINGS NO MATTER WHAT YOU AGE!!!!!!!!