mommy's out there? advice please?

First thing tomorrow get up, do some crunches, push ups, body weight squats and lunges. I find if I work out first thing it just puts me in the right frame of mind for the rest of the day. Take the 2 year old and lift him up over your head as many times as you can, rest a minute, then do it again.

Don't go 1200, that's too hard. I aim for 2000 but I'm also tall. Maybe start with 1800 or so.

Don't worry too much about exercise at first. Just do what you can to increase your NEAT (non exercise activity). Dance while you clean, take your kid to the park and play on the equipment with them. Do you have a double stroller? Go for walks. Maybe watch the garage sales and Craigslist adds for some dumbbells that you can stick in the corner of your living room.

No one can motivate you but you. You've just got to make the decision to change. You know that beating yourself up doesn't work, that just makes you feel worse. Focus on positive things. The excess fat and skin you have in your stomach will go away with time.

Hey there! I feel like there are parts of your post that I could have written myself. . . I am 24, with 3 girls ages 8, 5, and 3. I started out at 103 pounds when I got pregnant with my first, and my highest weight was when I was pregnant with my youngest, I hit 197.6 . I am currently at 157.4, I lose weight slowly apparently. The lowest I have ever been since having my oldest was 145, and I am working to get back ito approximately 125ish. I am a person who also likes to drink Mt. Dew, but seriously I have almost cut that out completely at this point. I figured out I was drinking it for the caffeine and switched to crystal light energy - less calories and no sugar. To answer your question, eventually, if you are willing to work at it and put in the effort, your body will start to improve. Even though I am only half way to where I would like my weight to be, I have seen many improvements because of working out and mainly eating properly, my mommy pouch has definitely shrank, and I know that as long as I keep up with the routine, it'll disappear completely.

I agree with BusyLady406, make yourself more active - it doesn't necessarily have to be first thing in the morning, but make time for it. When I first started out (2006), I started with walking, and then added Turbo Jam, and have since done other videos. I know you say you don't have the resources to purchase stuff and I can completely relate. Just start with exercises that require the use of your body. Maybe look for some free fitness videos online that you can do - I haven't personally used them but I am sure you should be able to find some as I have heard others suggest them to others.

Anyway my advice is, take it one day at a time, if you have a bad day, forget about it and move on to the next. If you like, feel free to friend me.

I have three kids, all 22 months a part from the next one. They're now 8, 6 and my youngest's 5 year old b-day is today After he came along I really lacked the motivation to do anything about my weight and I coasted along, slowly gaining over a period of several years. It wasn't until I had a diabetes scare last fall, that I really got the kick in the butt I needed to get serious about my weight and health. Thankfully my fasting glucose test came back in the normal range, but I knew it was only a matter of time before it came back as positive for diabetes, (big family history of type 2 and I lost one of my grandfathers to it).

Last October I weighed my highest at 171and had just started wearing a size 14 jean (actually used birthday money to buy my first pair in that size-most depressing shopping trip of my life). After hours and hours of reading nutrition books, watching documentaries and lectures online etc etc. I decided to go with an unconventional approach, called alternate day intermittent fasting, also known as adf or JUDDD. I got the information for the plan in Dr. James Johnson's book, The Alternate Day Diet.

Since then I've lost all my extra weight and then some, broke bad habits like nighttime mindless eating, and I now control food-it no longer controls me. I also now know what real hunger is vs. habitual eating. These are things that I've carried over with me into maintenance and they'll give me a much better chance of long term success.

In March I hit my goal weight of 135lbs, which I weighed on my wedding day, over 10 years ago Started transitioning into maintenance and went with a more laid back intermittent fasting approach, as laid out in Dr. Michael Mosley's book, The Fast Diet (he also has a BBC documentary and a PBS special out-good stuff!). I also started walking and doing Mark Lauren's strength training program around this time (his book for women is called Body By You and was $16 at Barnes and Noble-LOVE this program!)

Then in April I really felt led to go in a new direction and started transitioning to primal eating, with intermittent fasting still thrown in once or twice a week. Since then I've eliminated almost all grains, sugars, processed foods etc. I'm not super strict about it, but I'm feeling really good about the direction I'm heading in now. Making these changes caused more weight loss and as of today I'm at 124lbs and wear a size 2 jeans. It's been an exciting and surreal journey, and I'm really looking forward to getting established in primal eating and continuing with the strength training/taking that to the next level.

I highly recommend Dr. Johnson's and Dr. Mosley's books-they really have been life changing reads for me
And if you're interested in primal eating, Mark Sisson's book, The Primal Blueprint, is awesome!

Also, there's mfp groups for all three plans-the alternate day intermittent fasting one is called JUDDD, Dr. Mosley's group is called 5:2 Fasting, and then there's a few primal groups here.

I’m sure you are exhausted caring for your young children.
I completely understand the daunting feeling of having to lose the baby weight, so why bother. But you can do this.
First thing …put down the Dew and walk away! LOL

You will feel better if you start back exercising. I agree with the suggestions like taking the kids for a walk around the neighborhood or at the park if you can, and doing exercises that you don’t need any equipment. Make small changes every week in your diet and exercise plan.
Using MFP is a great way to stay motivated. Check-in to MFP every day and communicate with a couple of people daily. You can encourage each other and check-in.

Also, what I found helpful is having workout buddies. Is there another mom near you that you can workout together? Or you take turns watching the kids so the other one can workout.
I belong to a fitness group that I meet with several days a week at the same gym for group classes or we’ll meet to do a walk/run. Trust me, if I’m not there, I get a call or text from one of them. LOL

Good luck!

Becky

I have 2 kids, ages 2 & 4. I gained 50 lbs when I was pregnant with my youngest son. I breastfeed about 40 lbs of it off and lost an additional 20 or so lbs after that. I lost 15 pounds with a diet book: ''The 17 day diet.'' Easiest diet to follow. Honestly if you have not starting losing any weight, I would recommend this book. I lost 12 pounds in 2 weeks. After the diet, I incorporated working out/eating really well, and have been doing so for over a year now. I now weigh less than I did in high school and have way more muscle. You can invest in some at home DVD workouts to do when the kids are napping from Target or wherever. But you have to find the motivation to do it. Mine came from Pinterest, the fitness section. I am sure lurking around this site will also help. Good luck!

Walking is cheap, it does not cost any money - except a good pair of sneakers. I bought a decent pair of Nike sneakers from DSW reduced from $85.00 to $32.00, they were last year's fashion, but so what they do the job. I walk over 4 miles every day - he best sleep medicine that is available for free.

I have a one & a two year old, only 11 months apart. I gained tons after my second baby was born. I got up to 183. I started eating 1400 cals a day & I do the workout calendars from http://www.blogilates.com

They're free & super effective. Most of it's Pilates so it's not super noisey. There are a few HIIT videos that can be loud since there's jumping involved but other than that it's all pretty quiet.

There's a group here that someone started for this months workout calendar with links to playlists for all the videos for the day too. Here's the link if you want to check it out.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/13946-blogilates-maymuscles