Dad's - gained weight w/ kids and got back into shape?

cdahl383 · September 2013

How many dad's are out there on MFP that gained some "sympathy" weight along with their wife when they had kids and then got back into shape? I know there was a time when my own personal health was on the back burner after having kids and I let myself go and put on about 30-35 lbs. I've lost and gained it a couple times since having kids a few years ago. Now this time I'm determined to lose it for good and keep it off and get into the best shape of my life.

It seems so easy to just let yourself go, you're married, you have kids to take care of, you're busy with work and home obligations, who has time for proper nutrition and exercise right? That was my attitude for a while, until one day I stepped out of the shower and saw my flabby self in the mirror and thought, wow what happened to that young guy that was once in good shape? I decided I had two roads to go down, one was let myself go and who cares, the other was put up a fight and make time to get back in shape.

Who else decided they had enough of being an overweight dad and decided to get back into shape? What's your story?

allieandlanie · September 2013

My husband gained the same exact weight that I did when I was pregnant with my first daughter (26lbs)..... With my second pregnancy I only gained 6lbs and he gained 3lbs. It is funny how that works. He had morning sickness and killer heartburn both time I was pregnant while I had neither.

MelMoly · September 2013

my husband gained about 15lbs with our last one.. he lost it doing T25

he looks amazing!

cdahl383 · September 2013

I think I gained due to stress, I turned to food to feel better, snacking at night, fast food for lunch, skipping the gym, etc. I dont want my daughters to grow up remembering me as an overweight dad who couldn't run around much or whatever. I'd like to be in good shape and set a good example for them, as well as look/feel better about myself.

fretless1965 · September 2013

I had been overweight ever since college. My wife and I married after we finished school but didn't have kids for another five years. I remember telling my kids on one occasion that I couldn't play outside with them one day because I didn't have the energy, my back hurt, etc.

The problem was not so much a lack of desire, but a lack of knowledge of how to lose weight. It wasn't until July of 2011 when I was hiking in the Grand Tetons that I decided I needed to change things. That hike was very difficult and it seemed like I was facing an ultimatum: I either needed to fix this or remain unhealthy and fat. At the time, I was 220 pounds and 5 ft 10 in.

I started counting calories and walking. I dropped 30 pounds in the first five months. I started p90x, then started running in June 2012. At that point I had never run a mile in my life (I was 45).

Since then, I have run a 5k, a 15k and a half marathon. I'm starting to train for my first full marathon which will be next April. I have lost a total of 55 pounds and have been at maintenance for four months. I have never been in the military, but I can easily pass the army pt test. I am easily in the best shape of my life.

I have dropped my cholesterol from 236 to 160.

I have dropped my resting heart rate from 95 to 58.

My original ultimate goal weight was 175. I now weigh 165.

My kids don't stand a chance against me now. They can't keep up with the old man.

One humbling moment: one of my sons said to me one day, "I'm glad you lost weight Dad. I'm not embarrassed to be seen with you anymore." Ouch.

cdahl383 · September 2013

That's an awesome story man! That's impressive too losing 55 lbs! Kids don't have a filter on them do they? They just say what they feel, whether it hurts your feelings or not haha! But that's cool that your kids basically acknowledged that you lost the weight and are in better shape now.

That's how I feel as well, either I remain unhealthy and overweight or I take action and get healthier. The days of being able to eat anything and skip the gym now and then and maintain my weight are long gone. Now I have to work harder. I'm sure it only gets harder as you get older too.

Congrats and the weight loss and thanks for sharing your story!

stumblinthrulife · September 2013

When my daughter was born I gave up Tae Kwon Do to spend more time at home. Packed on the pounds and before I knew it I was 220 pounds and seeing someone I didn't recognize in the mirror. Now I'm down to 155 after a year of dieting, running and weight lifting. Considering getting back into the dojang, but also considering taking up triathlon running instead.

cdahl383 · September 2013

That's what happened to me as well, giving up gym time to spend more time at home with my wife and kids, help around the house. I focused so much on that that I put my own health on the back burner and packed on the pounds. It's easy to do if you don't watch it!

That's really cool you lost that much weight in a year, very impressive!

beckerkra · September 2013

I wouldn't say by any means I'm back in shape yet, but I have a 4 year old daughter that I had gained weight along with the wife from myself already being obese to morbidly obese. Finally got fed up with being morbidly obese June 1st of this year, and am down 59lbs from 291 down to 231 so far (haven't seen this weight since I was probably 13 or 14 years old lol). Still definitely in the middle of losing the weight and trying to get "into shape" yet heh...

cdahl383 · September 2013

That's awesome losing 60 lbs! Not much further until you break under the 200 lb mark! I'm sure your family is proud of you as well. I'd say 60 lbs lost is well on your way to getting into shape. Glad to see so many other dads out here who aren't going to accept being fat and overweight simply because they have more obligations in their lives now.

PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot · September 2013

I wouldn't call it sympathy weight - more like lazy-getting-older-and-sitting-on-my-*kitten*-eating-like-garbage weight. But yeah, the whole domestic thing doesn't help.

Both of my parents are morbidly obese, and I was headed in that direction. My wake up call was seeing myself in some pics and realizing that my physique was looking more like my dad's than not.

Started running a few years back, found this site/app in Jan 2012 and started not eating like a rhinoceros. Down 45+/-, still around 10 to go, but am running a lot and just entering taper period for my first 26.2 on 10/12.

cdahl383 · September 2013

Haha good way of putting it! Seems like once you have kids you just end up spending more time at home, and since you're home more you tend to eat more and get lazier, at least that's what happened to me for a while. There's definitely an adjustment period going from no kids to kids and that includes your eating habits and fitness habits as well.

That's good you turned things around rather than letting things get out of hand. My parents don't have very good habits either, they're not morbidly obese, but they're definitely overweight and could lose 20-30 lbs or more. My mom always gets worried about me when I lose weight, she'll end up bringing over snack foods and junk food so I just end up throwing it out usually. As a kid we always ate around the TV and snacked a lot and ate more unhealthy foods than healthy ones. But at some point I realized I couldn't just blame them for my bad habits, after all I am an adult. So its still a battle at times with the old bad habits, but I've been doing good lately so I plan to keep that up.

Thanks for sharing your story!

brendansmithptatc · September 2013

I was in good shape when I met my wife, playing hockey 3 times a week and lots of time in the gym. Time is one of the advantages of being single. Then graduate school, marriage, kids, work, etc pounds came back on. I then developed really bad arthritis in both knees and was unable to do much in the gym. Last May had both knees replaced and am back in the gym doing 30-45 minutes cardio (elliptical, bike, swimming) and lifting heavier than I ever have. I now need to work on my eating, which is in two words "poor nutrition". I am setting a goal of completing an Olympic length aqua/bike duathlon next summer (1 mile swim and 25 mile bike ride). Anyone in?

cdahl383 · September 2013

Yep, its amazing how much time I used to have when I was single, and I used to think I was busy haha!

That's cool, if you improve your diet you'll probably see even better results! Sounds like fun, don't think I could quite handle that just yet though haha! Maybe with some arm floaties like when I was a kid haha!

m4mefit · September 2013

I can totally relate to this. I think this is why I like this site. People can share their struggles and pain and more importantly their success. Watch this space. What I've learned with the kids and time shortage etc is to plan for the long term and make changes gradually. I was about 70kgs when I got married , (sorry we use kgs here) then I pushed it to 105 my highest ever. Today I'm 99 and at 42 I think I can only do as you said. Watch what I eat exercise and just watch the fat roll off. Hopefully not back in!

cdahl383 · September 2013

Yeah its easy to just let the weight pack on and then just blame the usual excuses:

1.) I'm getting older, it's normal
2.) I don't have time for the gym anymore with kids
3.) It's just my genetics, my parents are a little overweight too
4.) I'm married w/ kids now, my appearance isn't that important anymore
5.) It's too hard to plan out my meals and count calories, I"m too busy

Those were some of my excuses for a while. It's easy to justify getting fat using these. I don't have time, it's too hard, I'm too busy, it's just part of getting older, etc. But the reality is, the ball is always in your court, it's up to you to make an effort and lose the weight and stay healthy. Sure it's harder than before, but that's life. You can either give up and let your responsibilities get the best of you, or you can make an effort and get in great shape and stay healthy.

simonkurth · October 2013

Oh Yes lol I gained a ton of weight when my first son was born and it continued to spiral out of control up until a year ago. Thank goodness I finally came to my senses lol. No magic solution --

Have a Why (my family)
Make a plan (stick to it)
and forgive yourself for messing up along the way

Keep charging you can do it!!

cdahl383 · October 2013

Yeah it's easy to do isn't it? Glad you got back on track. I know it took me a while of gaining and losing until I finally decided to take it seriously and just get in good shape rather than just lose weight temporarily.

Dad's - gained weight w/ kids and got back into shape?

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