I need advice !

bagaydina

Hi everyone, I really need advice. Let's start with that i have 3 little kids, i don't work but i find it extremely hard to track my food and what i am eating in general, it seems like whenever the kids asleep i am eating whatever just to keep myself satisfied. I need advice from people who is raising little kids and does the diet tracker every day how are you people doing it?

LaTerri

It is hard, but I am doing it and having success.

1. I plan out my meals ahead of time.
2. I eat every 2.5 hours, I eat a meal, drink a shake, eat a meal, drink a shake, eat a meal, drink a shake
3. I make my kid eat some variation of what I am eating, but with more carbs
4. I make some of my food ahead of time and freeze it or divide it into portions so I am not in the kitchen all day.
5. I cook when she[I have one] is sleeping or I do my bills

I would suggest getting a plan together and then work that plan. You can do this.

weaklink109

You may find it easier to post if you plan out your food for the next day the night before. Your kids have to be in bed before you are, (I hope:laugh: )--though I know sometimes that is easier said than done.:ohwell: So assuming you have some time to yourself late in the evening, you can plan out what you are going to eat and post it ahead of time.


I don't have kids, but I DO have 3 pesky little doggies--who would like nothing better than to have me sit and hold them on my lap all day and do nothing. I am not implying that they require as much care as your kids, but their demands DO consume my time, so I can relate. Have you ever tried to use a laptop pc when you already have THREE "laptops?":laugh: :laugh: )

Logging ahead of time will also have the added benefit of helping you see if you are going to be lopsided in terms of nutrition, or too much sodium, or whatever, BEFORE you eat, so you can "tweak" things if you need to. Good luck!

shellee9tj

I have 3 kids as well, I try to log after each meal so I don't get behind. I used to eat after I put the kids to bed and then I started doing my workouts at that time(I workout at home with the Wii Fit, treadmill and some DVDs) that way, I am occupied and not eating!! Not sure how practical it is for you to do that but it is what has worked wonders for me!!

bethinagain

Your kids are so cute! I have 5 kids and they're all little. My oldest just turned 6 on Friday, then I have a 4 yr old, a 3 yr old, and a set of 2 yr old twins. My twins are the only one's that take naps, but the other 3 are up all day. I log my food all day long. I make quick sprints to my den throughout the day to enter my food. I can't be gone long because they are much too little to be left unattended. I do most of my logging at night after I put all 5 kids down to bed.

As for eatting, I pick one night and prepare my food when they go to sleep. I steam veggies for the whole week and keep them in a plastic container in my fridge. It takes me about 20 min. to grill a 3 pound bag of chicken on my George Foreman, throw that in a plastic container for the rest of the week. It takes me about 1/2 hour to cut all my fruit and put that in a plastic container in the fridge. Time is everything for me. So if I'm hungry and I find 5 mins to eat, at least I can make healthy and low cal choices in a blink of an eye. Learn to be creative with condiments to flavor up your protien of choice, just don't abuse it. Hummus, Laughing Cow Cheese and Peach Mango Salsa are my favorites!

If I can do it between changing diapers, making bottles, and trying to please everyone in my household, along with keeping the house clean and laundry. I know you can do it. It just takes a little sacrifice of your night time to prepare for the whole week. Good Luck!:flowerforyou:

tiffaniball06

I have a two year old little boy so he's very busy and so am i I got a paper from my doctor that has alot of food choices on it with the calorie amount. I put breakfast in myfitness pal journal in the morning and then I keep up with the calories for the rest of the day on paper and then when I get some downtime I put it into myfitness and if I know what im having for dinner that night I go ahead and record it inahead of time.

peart47

I downloaded the MFP app for my phone and that's helped a lot!

I think planning is the key here. I always plan out and, if I can, pre-measure my meals ahead of time. If I'm not able to put a meal into a serving size tupperware, I figure out what the calorie count is going to be ahead of time, so that when I make it, I automatically know the count. Like, I'll say 'I'm going to make a mini bagel with a fried egg, a slice of ham, and cheese every day for breakfast this week'. Then I total up the calories so I know every day what breakfast is going to be. I also prepackage my snacks too. If I buy a box of crackers, I'll put the serving size into zip lock bags for easy 'grab n go'.

When I'm having a snack attack and just can't seem to fill up, I drink a bottle of water with some fizz in it when I'm snacking. That always fills me up. There are tons of 0 calorie flavored waters out there with a bit of fizz.

I know that planning with kids around can be tough but I promise it will save a lot of time and it'll be much easier and faster to log in your calories. Good luck!

KatieM7

I have 7 little ones...9, 7, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 8 months. :laugh: I eat my lunch around the same time as the kids that are home during the day. I then quickly log it so that I don't forget to do it and if I forget anything then I log it at night when the kids go to bed. It only takes me a few minutes after each meal to log what I eat.

cbullock115

I have 3 children (8, 5, 1) and I am a SAHM. I am currently homeschooling my oldest this year (due to zoning issues ) and I am going to night school as well. I find that it is very easy to lose track of what I am eating during the day if I don't log so I always log for the day first thing in the morning when I am eating my breakfast. I plan all of my meals as well as my snacks. If I don't eat something that I put down then I just take it off and replace it with what I ate instead. I even log when I take a couple of crackers that my kids are eating or if I take a bite of the mac and cheese to make sure it tastes ok. I am telling you, if I didn't log first thing in the morning then I would be a train wreck!! :laugh: I also log my workouts ahead of time because I know if I don't do them, then my friends will see it when I have to take it off of my log and I don't want to have that happen :blushing: So anyway, I hope this helps!! Good luck, it will take a bit, but you will get the hang of it! :drinker:

bagaydina

Thanks so much to everyone it really helps, i don't feel alone anymore