Newbie, Older Mom

tesskatie117
tesskatie117 Posts: 3
in Introduce Yourself
Hi. I've never been part of a weight loss community before but could use the help. I've been slowly gaining over the past few years and find I have 20 pounds to lose. I'm in my mid-forties with an elementary age daughter and wonderful husband. I've been tracking my calories for the past two weeks and it's helped me to see how much the serving size matters:) But my calorie goal is just 1200 on mfp and I find it hard to meet it without going over by 2-300 calories. Also I know I need to exercise but just have not been able to get myself to do so consistantly. How have you overcome your unwillingness to get out that door and walk, jog, bike or swim? Thanks for any support.

Replies

  • scottyltb
    scottyltb Posts: 2 Member
    My wife was my motivation at first. Then I started to notice that the grocery stores were full of overweight people ... and I was one of them. I also play in a band and had some photos taken of me that really showed how big I had gotten. I regularly look at that photo to help motivate me to go work out every morning.
  • tesskatie117
    tesskatie117 Posts: 3
    That's a good idea! I have the photos that should do it too:) thx
  • eatspopcorn
    eatspopcorn Posts: 63 Member
    I got a fitbit, that really motivates me to get out the door and get more steps in for the day!!
  • claucher
    claucher Posts: 2 Member
    My motivation to exercise...is to be able to eat more. 1200 calories is hard for me to stick too also, so I make sure I exercise so I can eat a little more. I either walk on the treadmill, use an elliptical or I have a few Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds DVD's that I enjoy doing. I am 41, also with an elementary school aged child. I want to stay active with her for as long as I can, that's my other motivation. Good luck. You can do it!
  • RJ74
    RJ74 Posts: 37 Member
    Hi! Welcome to MFP. :) I am also an "older mom". I am 39 and have two boys (13 and 10) and an awesome hubby. I totally understand the not wanting to work out thing. Currently, I work as a paralegal and am in school for nursing (midlife career change). My kids are both in sports and that is a giant time-suck (but fun!). Anyways, all that to say, Girl, I'm TIRED! But I do get up at 5:00 to exercise for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. My husband gets up at that time to exercise also, which is a huge motivator for me. So, one suggestion would be to grab a family member, neighbor, friend, even the dog and make a plan to go for a walk every day, every-other day, whatever works. Just knowing somebody else is counting on you helps, plus it's more fun that way. My other suggestion would be to find something you enjoy (walking, running, tennis, roller-derby, whatever makes you forget that you are exercising). This will eliminate the "Do I have to???" mentality. I love lifting weights and hiking. Since I live in Colorado, I take a break from hiking in the winter and just do weights and some cardio via P90X, but in the summer, we go camping/hiking ALOT. Fun, burns calories and doesn't feel like "exercise". Oh, also I have a Fitbit, which is helpful.

    About the calories- I couldn't stick to 1200, so I eat more. I shoot for 1500-1600 but don't freak out if I go over. It's still a deficit. Plus, I'm not hungry and grumpy all the time (bonus for the family!). If/when you exercise, you should add more calories anyways. There's a ton of threads about this, so maybe just search "1200 calories" and start reading. Helpful information in alot of them! :) Anyways, best of luck and feel free to add me as a friend.
  • MamaRiss
    MamaRiss Posts: 481 Member
    My goal right now is to lose 1 pound per week, nice a slow. I can meet my calorie (1400), with a little effort, but I've gotta have something sweet every day. So that is helping to motivate me to get some extra activity in. I went a little over on my sugars today, so I got up and forced myself to do jumping jacks for 2 minutes ( that sucked). I've got a 5 year old daughter, and I realized that I do NOT want her growing up with the same mom I had, and I was well on my way to becoming my mom. So she has become my other big motivation. And my third big motivator is my husband. He is a Marine, and I want to look good next to him again
  • Bounce4
    Bounce4 Posts: 288 Member
    Hi. I'm new to the boards but have been doing MFP for a little longer. I'm also mid forties and have kids in elementary and middle school. I do 20-30 minutes of exercise a day. I have to get up earlier and do it in the morning or it just doesn't happen. I'm not sure what keeps me motivated. I just decided I was gonna do it and 30 minutes is reasonable so I just need to suck it up. It is a DVD I do at home. I hate cold weather so don't go out in it to walk etc. The exercise and mfp diet logging are really the main things I do for myself so I try and look at it that way and it keeps me motivated because I am doing it for me. I've lost 29lbs and have 31 to go to be at the bottom of my 10lb target range.

    I can not do 1200 calories. I tried and could do it for a week or two but it is not something I can maintain. My goal is 1400 calorie and often eat more than that as well. I don't know - I'm still losing just more slowly and I'm gonna be OK with that because it is still the right direction.

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