Trying to help my mom with weight loss..

My mom's been overweight ever since I was born. She used to be a healthy weight but she's not anymore. And she always talks about wanting to lose weight, but never really does. She tries to "diet" but ends up pigging out the next day and then just gives up on it.

I've told her all about MFP and encouraged her to do it but she says she doesn't want to do the whole counting calories thing. She says she doesn't think it would work for her and also that she's too busy to be logging stuff everyday. It's true, she doesn't really have time for it.

So what I'm wondering is, what is another way she could diet successfully without having to use MFP/count calories? I want to throw some ideas at her and see what she thinks of some of them. She really wants to lose weight. She's just kind of at a loss for what to do.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Bottom line is, in the time she is "pigging out the next day" she could be dedicating herself to getting healthier and counting the calories or at least trying to eat better. She has to be able to not make any excuse for not doing it and just put any bit of effort she can into making smarter choices.

Instead of chips, picking fruit. Instead of a meal at mcdonalds, maybe a quick tuna & spinach salad.
It comes down to being able to choose for herself, based on what nutrients are in what she eats.

Counting your food intake does take some time, and you'll probably have to buy a $20 food scale from walmart or amazon, and some measuring spoons and cups. It probably takes about 2/3/4 minutes out of my day, but I'm worth it. The calorie counter on MFP is excellent. Look at the before and after pics in my profile...The calorie counter on MFP is largely responsible for my fat loss.

HOWEVER...if your mom can't find the motivation inside of her to do the work, nothing you do or say will convince her otherwise.

She could go low carb or vegan. that'd help and she wouldn't have to count or measure or mix anything.

I honestly think that in order to truly be successful one has to be prepared to commit to a lifestyle change. My husband wants to lose weight too but is not prepared to put the time or effort into doing it. Weight just doesn't all of a sudden come on, it's years of bad habits that one has to learn to undo. I agree with the previous poster, it honestly does not sound like she is ready to make a change. Making a serious change requires time and dedication.

Bless her but it does not sound like she really wants it, there are no magic pills or fads that work. Short of surgery she will have to come to the point that she is ready to do the work required. You're a great daughter for trying to help her, lead by example, you have lost a considerable amount of weight and once you show that you can keep it off and hit your goal then she will come around.

She could try eating a little less of whatever she would normally eat. For example, say she would normally eat a burger and fries for lunch, she could eat all but a few bites of the burger and say half the fries. And if she does this for every meal/snack she eats, she should begin to create a calorie deficit without actually counting the calories. She could also cut out calories by only drinking water. It shouldn't take any extra time to make the switch and would help create a calorie deficit without the need for counting. Then if she also throws in some exercise, i would think she could begin to lose some weight.

Maybe you could start by asking her to write down what she eats and then you logging it into MFP for her. You could gently point out the high caloric items and give her insight or suggestions or other items that are less fattening for her. Good Luck

What a good daughter you are to be concerned about her. Both of my parents are obese and my husband is heavy. I don't want to walk down the road that my parents have.. My mom has type 2 diabetes and gout, she leads a very sedentary lifestyle and has tons of crappy snacks at her house. My dad just eats whatever the hell he wants whenever he wants. And my husband is an emotional eater. Like you, I have found my motivation and have been quite successful with losing weight. I'm afraid that the best we can do is to try to lead by example. For the first couple of months here I tried quite a lot to get my husband to log his food, and to make better choices, to join me at the gym, etc., and now I just don't bother. If he wants to lose the weight he is going to have to find his motivation within himself.. And I'm sure that's the case with your mom. I hope she finds the motivation soon. . Good luck.

Unfortunately, she has to want to do it! All you can do is keep encouraging her. My mum is exactly the same. She has seen the progress I have made but every time she says she is going to try counting calories, there is always an excuse not to.

Don't be too hard on her though. I know it took me several failed attempts at other 'fad' diets and non starter theories before I was ready to totally stick with this program (and as a scientist, I knew there was only one way to actually lose the weight, this way).

Hopefully she will see such a big difference in you that your mum, and mine, will get their 'light bulb' moments too! :glasses:

If you live with your mom do what I do for my husband - set up an account and log for him. He has to tell me what he has eaten and I log it. I do the cooking mostly so I know what that will be and just check what he had for lunch incase he had things I don't know about. Its given him a shock as he didn't realise what he was eating - it has spurred him on to start swimming and go to a personal trainer.

Would she be interested in MFP if things were pre-logged for her and she would only eat what was in her diary? Maybe you could set up an account for her and pre-log a few days worth of entries and she could eat from that and see how she does.

Just make sure to include a few good snacks in there so it doesn't get depressing and it would be much easier to stick with. One of the most important things to do during weight loss is portion control and honestly this is the easiest way to realize how much you are really eating.