Single Mom needs motivation and a plan

mmeli9
mmeli9 Posts: 3
edited September 23 in Introduce Yourself
It's hard to find time for myself these days. I need to loose around 30 pounds and can't seem to get with it. I dont eat bad but I dont eat what i need to in order to loose the weight. I know what I need to do and eat but the fire is not there. I think about my weight every day and tell myself to just do it already, but everyday passes and nothing. I work full time and by the time i get home my daughter is hungry to eat. After dinner its homework time and then some tv time before bed. Thats my day and I need to work something out that i can sqeeze into my busy day. Any other single moms out there in the same senario? Reach out and let me know what you did to get the groove back. I dont have that much to loose but I want it to become a life change not a diet.

Thanks for listening.

Michelle

Replies

  • knelson422
    knelson422 Posts: 308 Member
    I'm not a single mom, but I have 6 kids and a husband who works a TON. I realized this year that my weight loss is going to come from eating better. Exercise will speed it up, but this has to be a change for life and I won't be able to exercise all of the time. I also realized that if I am going to take care of everyone else, I have to take care of myself. You have 30 to lose. That is less than 3 pounds a month if you do it in a year and that would be awesome. You can do it!!!
  • mmeli9
    mmeli9 Posts: 3
    thank you for the response. I want to loose it before the summer. I know my situation is not going to change so I need to work with my situation ans just make it happen. :)
  • bhb301
    bhb301 Posts: 338 Member
    Don't know if this will help you, but it helped me. I took some before pic the other day of me in a bathing suit, believe me I am motivated now. Sometimes seeing where you are , gives you a little drive.
  • faythe
    faythe Posts: 245
    I'm not a single parent but I have two kids, a nearly 3y/o and a month-old baby, and I work full-time and attend four classes at university. My time is so consumed that by the time I realize I haven't eaten all day I'm so hungry that I'm tempted to just grab whatever and shovel it down so I can keep going. The best thing to do is have a plan in place and always eat at the same time. Becoming a creature of habit will ultimately make or break healthy diet decisions. Have a meal plan in place for every day of the week so you know what you're preparing for dinner, have healthy quick things around for lunches like tuna and whole wheat bread and use steam-in-the-bag veggies so you can just throw them in for a couple minutes without having to think a lot about it.

    It's always hard to start but if you can get that initial motivation you'll be fine. :)
  • tlschlp
    tlschlp Posts: 54
    I'm a single mom with 2 children still at home (teenagers in high school). I started my journey in January, 2010. Since then, I've lost 20 pounds and am hoping to rid myself of my last 25 this year.

    I had to make the decision that I was important, first off. Once I did that, I needed to work around my kids - and get their support. (You didn't indicate how old your daughter was ...).

    I wake up early most mornings and workout to a video program I have. Two mornings a week my boys need to be at school 45 minutes early. When the weather is good (now, it's cold, but I'm still trying to do this), I walk during lunch for 30-45 minutes. I also have the luxury of only living 1.25 miles from my house .... so from April to October I will be walking to work also.

    My boys get home from school before I get home from work, so it's their job to start dinner (whatever we've decided the day before or the morning of). Sometimes I eat some of their dinner, sometimes I eat my own.

    If this doesn't work for you (especially the getting up early), maybe you can get a treadmill, stair stepper, or stationary bike to use while watching tv with your daughter? There are also some videos that will appeal to children as well as adults, so you could have your own workout partner!

    The biggest thing is to not feel guilty about doing this ... and FINDING the time to get some exercise in. I can tell you from experience, that I enjoy Saturday walks with my boys (in spring and summer); we have the most interesting and diverse conversations! And, it gets them out, too! :)

    Good luck!
  • MrsMartin2
    MrsMartin2 Posts: 29 Member
    I am not a single mother but my husband works out of town or gets home late during the week. I work out after I put the kids to bed. I come home from work and put my "workout" clothes on and shoes. I do everything I need to do and when my boys (4 & 7) are in the bed, I work out. I don't even think about it, I just do it. I'm already dressed and ready and all I have to do is push play.

    I am doing Jullian's 30 day shred now. It is only 20 minutes and it is killer! Sometimes I do it twice a day, morning and then night. Oh, and I'm not a morning person at all but once you start to see the results from your hard work, it will make you want to work that much more. Do a search on here about it, there is a lot of good feed back.

    I will say you have to want it though! Good luck to you!
  • ✰Melissa✰
    ✰Melissa✰ Posts: 10
    Hey.....

    Getting motivated is really hard after a long day of work, dinner and school work... I'm not sure how old your kids are, mine are younger and I always play with them, run around use them as weights lift them up with my legs, they have fun and I get a workout in. If your kids are older, look into getting a wii and get some fun games you can play together, I find after I work out, I will sit and relax and watch a tv show and I sleep like a baby and feeel great....maybe make a family night out of it, and have a good time and dont think of it as working out :)
    I hope this helps.... and good luck... its hard to get motivated, I get out of grove and push myself back into it... I started my journey Jan 6 2011, I have so far lost 14lbs, so when you see the weight coming off and those inches getting smaller it gives you some motivation.
    I set some goals up for myself that has helped, I have friends getting married Sept of this year and I wanna wear something cute. :)
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