Salutations!

SarahAlt

Hi! I'm a working mom. I have two beautiful babies (one is 2 yrs and the other is 4 mos). I work full time as a legal assistant for an attorney so I spend a lot of time sittin' on my booty every day. I've been happily married for 3 yrs and now, here I am, 30lbs over weight.

I've always struggled with my weight. Not that I have ever been this overweight, but my weight has usually been a bit on the heavy side. When I started college in '02 I was 15 lbs over weight. I proceeded to lose 20 lbs. I felt great about myself and my confidence was through the roof.

Then I met my husband. We both have gained a little bit of "happily ever after" weight over the last four years or so. Add that with not being in shape through 2 pregnancies and here I am.

Not only do I need to get in shape, but I'm an emotional eater. When I'm stressed or bored or having any negative feelings, I eat. It's something I picked up from my mother who is now obese and has Type 2 Diabetes. Since I have this in my family history, I'd like to do everything in my power to avoid it.

My husband told me about this site. We started our weight loss plan last sunday, the idea being that if we work at it together, it'll be less difficult. So far, so good. He's already lost 5lbs. I haven't done my weekly weigh in yet, as I have resolved to weigh myself on sunday mornings. He's been needling me about signing up here all week because it really holds you accountable and provides a lot of support. I finally gave in this afternoon and here I am. So far it is everything he made it out to be.

My biggest problems, other than the emotional eating is that I have very little time for exercise because of my schedule and until last week, my spouse was not being supportive or helpful about how we ate and exercised. I think my biggest challenge will be finding time to exercise and not giving in to the candy my co-workers purchase for the office.

After my first week of all this lifestyle change, I don't know if I've lost weight, I'll find out in the morning, but I feel better. I feel more energetic and am less exhausted by the end of the day. My boss bought lunch the other day and I had a veggie burger as that was the closest thing to healthy on the menu and he ordered a cake for Administrative Professional's Day... I didn't eat any of that cake. I'm so proud of myself for that. Also, I'm holding myself to a pretty strict "eat every three hours" rule and trying my best to eat lots of fruits and vegetables.

I am a little concerned that this site can't take the fact that I'm breastfeeding into account but I suppose that's probably asking too much. I know how many extra calories I need to keep my milk from drying up and as long as i keep that in mind, I'll be alright. Also, I've begun taking my prenatal vitamins and iron supplement again to ensure that my little one isn't draining me of all my nutrients.

hooah_mj

Welcome young mommy!

This is a great place to be...no worries about the nursing. I've seen several posts in reference to its demands. Check out the different topics and search back a bit...you're burning more cals than most of us, so you're way ahead!

Work with the hubs to get your menus aligned...it'll get a lot easier using the log feature on this site!

Good luck, (not that I really believe in such) stay focused & you'll have wonderfu success!

bjberry

Welcome, Sarah. You and your husband are in this together, so you each have your own support team--fabulous!
The 3-hour plan sounds good, your willpower this week sounds good--the veggie burger was a good choice at your boss's lunch. For exercising, can you use the stairs, instead of the elevator--climb a couple of flights and ride the elevator the rest of the way up? Possibly park a little farther from the office door? Hold your baby and do side steps or little dips (tiny bit of aerobic/muscle workout)? These exercise bits add up. You sound like you are committed to weight loss.
Remember that men lose faster than women (more muscles, higher metabolism, or something). The weight-loss goal on this site is 1 lb per week, so any loss, 1 lb or above, tomorrow is celebratory!
Have fun with your sweet babies, sharing this experience with your husband, and with life, in general.
Hugs, BJB (grandmother, retired, losing weight with husband--each in our totally different ways, and also happy with this site.)