Poor and single mom looking for motivation.

1eurobelle
1eurobelle Posts: 1
in Introduce Yourself
Hi Im in my 40's and a single mom of 3 school age kids, on a limited budget..

After my last pregnancy at age 39 I never lost the weight.
Now 9 years later i have managed to lose 18 lbs but am at a plateau. What is most annoying is that I used to be a stick at 5'8" and 125 lbs!!! and could eat whatever I wanted.

My problem is that I cook for my kids daily and have a hard time cooking healthy for them but being on a diet..
My childhood values of not letting anything go to waste is hurting me now. I tend to finish my youngest kids plate, to my detriment.
Also I do not have a lot of energy to excersize, not the money to join a health club. The best I have done so far in the last 10 months is walk to the beach and back in 40 minutes.

Looking for similar friends, who can not just buy expensive diet food or cater food to their kids. I eat organic whenever I can afford it, but organic meat is just out of the question.
i am also interested in vegetarian recipe's.

Gwendolyn

Replies

  • tinyplease123
    tinyplease123 Posts: 10
    Hi! I know how you feel. Im a writer and a cocktail waitress with more student loan debt than I know what to do with, and I def cant afford expensive "health" food either. I became a vegetarian about 11 months ago (for different reasons) and that really helped me cut my grocery bills! Meat, especially the good quality stuff, is so expensive. I buy all my produce at an outdoor market that has local stuff for really cheap. Its not organic, but I cant really afford the orgnanic fruits and veg right now. Also not buying drinks really helps me! I just drink water. Free and no calories :) sometimes I drink tea or coffee, but im trying to cut back. WEll good luck! Fell free to add me! Oh and about the eating youre kids left overs so it doesnt go to waste, why dont you just tell your kids if they dont finish youll put it in a tupper wear for them and they can have it as a snack tomorrow? Then youre teaching them not to waste without the extra calories
  • KipDrordy
    KipDrordy Posts: 169 Member
    You don't need a ton of exercise. Simply eat less. If you know your kids aren't going to finish their plates and that you'll be prone to finishing them for them, then make your plates much smaller. You also don't need to eat organic or buy expensive foods to diet. You just need to shop a little smarter. Walking is a perfectly acceptable exercise. Anything you do that's outside of what you'd normally do is better than staying dormant. If you have a dog, walk it. If you don't, find other reasons to walk. Even going to the mall is going to help.
  • Ladylinux92116
    Ladylinux92116 Posts: 4
    Hi :)
    This was my number one problem as well! I really had to force myself to change that view. Now every time I throw food out, I add the calories and every time I get up to 3500...thats a pound that I didnt add to my body. Be encouraged to change your view! it will get easier. One day/step at a time!
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
    Well, I am not a mom nor single so I can not relate to how difficult it would be and certainly could not say things like, feed them what you are eating.

    But I am a vegetarian and have found lots of good recipes on cleaneatingmag.com. You are welcome to check out my diary for ideas about veggie eating.

    Eat seasonally if you can. Buy bulk beans and brown rice. Measure your food and eat only your food. Serve the kids smaller portions, if they want more they can have more, if not, stuff stays in the pot for leftovers.

    Can you and your kids make time after dinner to take a 30 minute walk every night? I use xbox and dance, would your kids enjoy dancing with mom? Get them involved in your activities. Play tag?

    Good luck.
  • CarolinaMoon76
    CarolinaMoon76 Posts: 78
    Heya, we would be on a careful budget here - and eat a lot of vegetarian food with pasta, rice etc. Why not have a look through the recipes on here and find things that you are your children would like and that suits your budget.

    Also all you need for exercise is a good pair of running shoes. You are doing well with the weightloss and walking so maybe increase the exercise to C25K? I have just completed week one - and you don't NEED apps for that. I programmed my nokia phone countdown with interval alarms so each alarm tells me to when to walk/run. I feel safer not having something in my ear - I like to hear whats around me.
  • honduranian
    honduranian Posts: 4
    I know just how you feel. I am a single mom of a 19 year old and dont have much money as well. I try and exercise as much as I can in a week I get well over 60 minutes of brisk walking in a day . dont beat yourself up . I agree with everyone else whom replied to you take it day by day and you will do well.
  • ripemango
    ripemango Posts: 534 Member
    HI Gwen,

    We live frugally at my home and do not buy diet food. We feed our daughter what we eat.

    Instead of eating their leftovers, wrap them up and save for another meal.

    As far as cheap and healthy, we love lentils or black beans with brown rice. I make the black beans in the crock pot...they are much cheaper and tastier than anything out of the can.

    Don't think you have to workout or go to a gym. Walking is very effective and I love going on walks with my daughter. She notices things along the way I never would. You ANDyour kids will benefit from a more healthy lifestyle :)
  • casey882
    casey882 Posts: 291 Member
    i no how hard it can be comming from a single parent home i no how hard it was for my mum so ill do my best to offer you as much surport as i can add me
  • ripemango
    ripemango Posts: 534 Member
    Oh, i love this idea!! i'm doing C25k...i wonder if my LG phone has this feature? hhmmmmm
    the exercise to C25K? I have just completed week one - and you don't NEED apps for that. I programmed my nokia phone countdown with interval alarms so each alarm tells me to when to walk/run. I feel safer not having something in my ear - I like to hear whats around me.
  • MrsGSR
    MrsGSR Posts: 88
    See if you can get an exercise bike cheap or even free and do 10 minutes as hard as you can after the kids go to be each night. Involve them in activities, go for walks or take them swimming. Save the left overs and have for your lunch the next day.
    As for motivation, you'll be setting a great example for your kids!
  • Cyndieann
    Cyndieann Posts: 152 Member
    Hi! I'm 46, single, 2 kids, and used to have a modest income now I have none. My company layed off 700 people a couple of weeks ago. I joined MFP in the spring of this year and have had great success with it. Lost 18 lbs, 1 lb a week, every week! I took the summer off from my diet and gained 3 lbs. Not bad considering all the vacation time, barbques, and beer! Since I was layed off I've gained 8lbs (in less than a month). Time to get serious again! I find logging my food a great way to learn more about what I put in my body. It helps me to regulate or eliminate high calorie foods from my diet...makes the whole process super easy! Serve your kids salad first, and tell them they don't get the chicken & potatoes (or whatever you make) until the salad is done, then give them much smaller portions. of the meat etc. This works for me. My kids have gotten so used to this, they ask "can we put this in the salad mom?" when we go through the produce section of the grocery store! Add me if you like...good luck on your journey! :)
  • MrsGSR
    MrsGSR Posts: 88
    the exercise to C25K? I have just completed week one - and you don't NEED apps for that. I programmed my nokia phone countdown with interval alarms so each alarm tells me to when to walk/run. I feel safer not having something in my ear - I like to hear whats around me.

    You can get free podcasts here: www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/couch-5K-running-plan.aspx where a woman tells you when to run/walk. The music is interesting!
  • supermumincanada
    supermumincanada Posts: 59 Member
    Hi, single mum to four here on a budget. Had the same frame of mind as you about not wasting food,etc. Don't give the kids as much, leave some in the pot and if they want some more they can ask, if they don't then you can save for left overs another day, just try and fight that feeling of waste not want not, it will get easier. Check all the labels of the foods you buy, there are a lot of store own brand foods that are surprisingly lower in calories/fat then you would realise. For excercising I do walking, quite often I will take the kids to the park, do a half hour walk with them and also give them time to play at the swings. etc. I have an access plus card for swimming which lets me in for swims at less than half the normal price, and i also have an excercise dvd which I dust off occaisionally,lol. Anyway my point is that it's definately doable you just have to think outside the box.
  • krazyhicchic
    krazyhicchic Posts: 1
    Hi. I am a single mom also. I'm 46 I have 3 kids 27, 20 and 16. The 16 year old is the only one left at home. I had at one time lost 130 lbs. I was so happy. then Gained it back plus some over about 8 years. I got laid off in May 2012 and have done nothing but gain weight. Its my fault. I have a tread mill and I live in town and everyone walk in this town.

    But my son is my son is 6'5 240 plays football and eats like a horse, & drinks protein shakes. He is very muscular lifts weights, takes off with his friends all the time, and I am just stuck here doing nothing. Its hard to afford 2 different types of meal plans, his is everything, he even gets up in the middle of the night and finishes off leftovers or makes a couple sandwiches, and he is still growing. I try to cook a lot of healthy stuff, but he loves his beef roast, burgers, steak, ugghhhh,

    I am trying to get my motivation back to do what I done before. I can do it. I have gained 20 lbs since May, talk about making your life miserable, but when the football games were over on Friday and my son would be starving either I would cook at home or mostly it was run to Wendy's or Burger King, and yeah I had to have a burger and fries too, none of the subways would be open, well any way I read your story and figured I would let you know your not alone. I hope that we could maybe help motivate each other, as I started this site and app on my phone over a year ago and haven't done to well, but it all me, just being lazy and loving food, and I seriously love to cook and eat. But I am going to try and do better, and hopefully make some motivation connections on here.

    Wish me luck :-)
  • JULES1801
    JULES1801 Posts: 12 Member
    I get a lot of great recipes from eatcleandiet.com. It is the cleaning eating way of life (A lifestyle of fruits, vegis, protiens, whole grains spices & herbs. No whites like flour, sugar, salt, mayo, processed or fried foods). I try to do it most of the time. I've lost almost 100 pounds in the last 2 years trying to eat this way. However, I have to admit, I don't do it 100%, I still like my sweets (chocolate) and salt. I just try to minimize it. It is a free and healthy website. I enjoy this way of life because it is natural foods and I get my vitamins and minerals from this way of eating. I know the there are some cookbooks that are labeled cleaning eating for kids but I'm not sure about any free websites. You may have to dig a little for that but I know there is a feature recipe today that is vegetarian chili and it looks pretty good for a family dinner. Good luck!

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