Mother of 4, brand new to MFP and looking for support!

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Eetrinidad
Eetrinidad Posts: 8 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi all! I'm new to MFP and would love to meet people to hold myself accountable for my new healthy lifestyle change. I just started working out consistently this month after having baby #4 two years ago. I am finally getting over this bought of postpartum depression and I am ready to find ME again. I love food and am a junk food junkie so my goal is to continue working out consistently and start incorporating a clean eating, pale, whole30 type diet to the mix. I am not sure yet which one but I do know that anyone of them would be better than my current diet of processed foods and sweets.

A little background information about me, I am a 33 year old married to my high school sweetheart mother of four. I have dealt with postpartum depression for two years after each child. I work a 12 hour night shift and don't have babysitters which makes very little time for sleep let alone any ME time. Losing weight is very difficult because of my work schedule and my emotional eating and junk food binges don't help.

After my youngest child turned 2 years old in July and I finally started feeling like myself again I decided enough is enough. It's time for me to find ME again. Luckily I actually love working out and just lack the time to spend on it with other things that I could be doing instead. But I have made it a personal goal to make that time for myself because I tiny piece of me finally believes that I deserve it.

I have been working out at home with my amazing Beachbody DVDs as well as using the gym for @ least 30 minutes at night during my break at work. I am also starting to use the Bodyblade and will eventually start visiting 24 Hour Fitness which my husband gifted me for my birthday (at my request). I am so excited to start working my butt of to get my sexy back. :-)

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  • cryptogirl
    cryptogirl Posts: 35 Member
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    I am a busy mom of 2 and work out at home as well. I feel for you as I too had trouble with post parting after my children. I find it hard to motivate myself but once I exercise I like the way I feel more in control of my life. Feel free to friend me!
  • c1wolfgang
    c1wolfgang Posts: 9 Member
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    I am new here and you are a wonderful inspiration !! I only have two children and know how challenging it can be to work the night shift! I too have made a commitment to myself and to take action towards a healthy lifestyle! feel free to friend me!
  • IamDIVAlicious
    IamDIVAlicious Posts: 19
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    Hey honey! You know I'll totally support you! I've been on MFP for about eight months now and I'll tell you two things:

    1) Working out is great, but eating is MUCH more important (at least for me).
    2) If you are CONSISTENT with logging in and logging your food, you will consisstently lose/maintain weight.

    I've been maintaining or losing for the past three months, when I committed to logging in every day. Even if I don't log everything that I eat, I'm conscious of what I've taken in. I can attest to the fact that MFP has helped me to change my lifestyle. I'm not 100% compliant by way of processed foods, alcohol, etc., but I do everything in moderation now. I eat what I want for the most part, but because of small changes I've implemented, it works.

    I still have a few pounds to go, just because I want that wiggle room, but I've definitely made it to where I want to be physically. I've seen your weight loss commitments over the years and prior to your last daughter, and being a mom myself, I KNOW you can do it!! Let's get it!

    *If you open your food diary for others to view, I found that it makes your more accountable as well.

    <3
  • Eetrinidad
    Eetrinidad Posts: 8 Member
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    Thanks IamDIVAlicious! Love the username by the way. lol. :wink:

    Yes I agree to that the eating part is more important. I can attest to that. I just started working out again a couple of weeks ago and have been really good about what I eat on the nights that I work but on my off days off the rest of the week my kids and husband are home with me and I enjoy eating out with them...a little too much I'm afraid. I think that with school starting up again I will be able to avoid my junk food binges a lot better and will hopefully eat healthier and eventually teach my family to eat healthy. I am so proud of my CaliGirls as they started working out and are becoming more aware of what they eat so it is a step in the right direction.

    I have definitely noticed my legs toning since I started working out but those are usually the first that things that shed the weight when I start. It's the upper body for the baby belly and up that I am very eager to slim and tone. My goal is to look close to SoCal Sexy by the end of the year. The scale is definitely one of my enemies because when it is around I tend to get on it at least once a day, which is probably why I "misplaced" it a while ago.

    Thanks for the advice about making my food journal open for others to view. I think I may do that. So far I am loving MFP already and can't wait to see my results come the end of the year.
  • IamDIVAlicious
    IamDIVAlicious Posts: 19
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    UGH!!! Stop weighing every day. Weigh once a week, same time, same day. Also, the eating will change as you continue to workout because you're not going to want to put in EXTRA work to quell the bad eating that you've done. It's definitely a process, but you're headed in the right direction.

    Thanks re: name. ;-)

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