Ladies with kids, how do you do it?

momma044
momma044 Posts: 2 Member
in Motivation and Support
I'm new to this, so I this is where I'll start.
I more than anything want to be back down to my prepregnancy weight which I'm nowhere near. I gained 90lbs.
I am very active, I ride my bike daily to and from work I walk 2-5 km daily with my baby. Work is very physical, and I eat fairly healthy 98% of the time. I just don't seem to be getting anywhere. I was smaller after I had my third child then I am now.
Where did you start? What do you find are some tips or tricks that have worked.
Sincerely
Lost

Replies

  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    It's not about healthy eating or exercise. It's about being in a calorie deficit!
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    HI momma. I think all my friends on here are in the same boat. We are all mothers struggling to lose weight. I started by ignoring exercise and focusing on my calorie intake. I've got myself set to lose 1.5 lbs a week. For the first couple of months that I did this I just ate the measly 1210 calories MFP alloted me and didn't exercise. After seeing that this site really works I started adding in exercise and eating back some of the calories I burned from the exercise.

    People on here will tell you that weight loss is 90% diet and 10% exercise, and I believe them. I have found that my love of exercise actually is near to equal my love of food. However, if I don't eat right, I can exercise every day and lose nothing. Feel free to add me if you like. I've been on here for about 16 months. I've lost 40lbs but recently had an injury that kept me from exercising...well, let's just say that if you eat like you run 20 miles a week but aren't able to run you are going to gain weight. I'm up 8lbs but I'm sticking with MFP. It really works.
  • Amay33
    Amay33 Posts: 66 Member
    I am a mother of 5 and am in the same boat, I am doing it enter danger's way this time around and watching my deficit . I am planing on bring a actual exercise routine back in once the kids are on summer holiday so I have some teens around when I can't haul three under 4 around with me . I just wanted to let you know you are not alone.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    healthygreek wrote: »
    It's not about healthy eating or exercise. It's about being in a calorie deficit!

    When "it" is weight loss, this ^^ is true.

    Exercise and eating right are wonderful and will likely help keep you healthy. But you will not lose weight if you overeat, no matter what you eat or how hard you exercise. Your body only burns stored fat when it runs out of food fuel.
  • danifo0811
    danifo0811 Posts: 544 Member
    For me it is eating. Both what and how much. My goal would be 80% healthy but the reality of that varies. My bigger problem is portions, healthy or not. I won't over eat carrots or anything but nuts, eggs, cheese, and seeds can easily add up if I'm not paying attention.

    I like exercising and I exercise regularly but it makes me super hungry. I can out eat in less than 10 minutes any exercise I'm capable of doing.

    I'm trying to lose weight from kid 3. For me, each kid has been harder and harder. Probably because sleep is less and less and demands are more and more! As a result, if I'm not focused, I eat more and more.
  • weebee05
    weebee05 Posts: 22 Member
    you are not alone. I have two littles, just turned 4 and 2, and I work full time. It's hard but I have lost 30 pounds and feel SO much better. I still have a little to go. You can do this. Meal planning is a must!! Sounds like you are already active, so now you need to count the calories.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    If you are not losing then you are eating more calories than you are burning. Exercise is awesome but if you eat more than you burn you don't lose weight. It is great to eat very nutritous foods but the type of food does not actually matter for weight loss- calories are what matters.
    So tell MFP your age, height, weight, activity level and how much you want to lose each week. If you have more than 50 lbs to lose you can probably do 2 lbs a week okay to start with. If you have less than 50 lbs you might find setting your goal to 1 lb a week more reasonable. Stick to the calorie goal you are given.
    Log everything as accurately as you can. Many people use digital food scales to measure out their portions.
    I like to pre-log my whole day the night before or in the morning. You might find planning meals and pre-logging helpful.
    If you are logging exercise then you may only want to eat a portion of the extra calories in case of overestimated calorie burns.
  • jvs125
    jvs125 Posts: 223 Member
    I've always ate a healthy diet and my weight would not fluctuate much. After having my babies though, I had a hard time with the last few pounds. Counting calories is the only thing that helped. Pregnancies and breastfeeding will play a number on your appetite and once you stop breastfeeding, there are still hormonal changes that makes you feel hungry. I ended up eating more than I needed. Logging my meals helps me keep my calorie intake in check and the pounds come off.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Eating healthy and exercising is great, but if your not eating less than you burn, you won't lose weight.

    My favorite tools:
    • MFP - I follow MFP's basic design. I have my profile set to lose 1 lb per week and I eat exercise calories/adjustment calories.
    • Digital Food Scale - I use this when I prepare my food at home. It helps me with the accuracy of my food log. It's really easy for me to underestimate my portions and end up eating more than I need when I'm not using the food scale. It also requires less clean up than measuring cups. Put plate/bowl/pot on scale, press tare and add ingredients one at a time (pressing tare between each).
    • Fitbit - This is how I track my activity and my TDEE (for me the calorie burn is pretty accurate). This is a tool that helps me maintain a deficit. It adjusts my calories on MFP lower or higher based on my activity for the day. I aim to be active enough that I always get a positive adjustment.

    Threads that I suggest you read:
    Logging Accurately Step By Step Guide
    A Guide to Get You Started on Your Path to Sexypants
    Links in MFP You Want to Read Again and Again
  • Pridgenization
    Pridgenization Posts: 65 Member
    If by "it," you mean "gain 130 pounds after you lost your pregnancy weight," I'm an expert. :) Just kidding. I don't know what the hell happened. For me, it started out with vertigo after my second child was born making exercise difficult. Then, it was eating fast food in the car because it felt like the only time that I had to actually eat was when my kids were strapped in car seats. My kids are 10 and 12 now and I have no idea what has happened to my body these last six years. I try to eat healthy foods, but I do not adequately control portion size. I also eat some junk food. The excess weight, arthritis and tendinitis now make exercise like torture. So, I'm back on MFP.

    I agree about calorie deficit. At the end of the day, you have to put out more than you take in. Balanced, healthy diet with exercise is the healthiest way in my opinion. Are you logging all of your food? For some people, it is helpful to see all of their calories and find things to cut out. The calories in ketchup, chips, salad dressing, soda, coffee, gum, and a nibble here and there, add up quickly.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    It's all about calorie deficit. You're just eating too much for your activity.
  • momma044
    momma044 Posts: 2 Member
    Thank you and wow that was really fast for replies. I appreciate all your words. MFP is telling me to eat 2043 calories a day. I also follow diet from my Dr.
    I have only had this issue since I had my tubal last april. I gained 90 lbs and don't feel sexy or confident at all !
  • Toonz969
    Toonz969 Posts: 5 Member
    edited June 2015
    Kids will do anything that you do, they'll learn from you. Go exercise with them, plan your food with them. You don't have to be Martha, Julia or June Cleaver, just do what works right, not perfect.

    Bottom line is this IMO:
    You have a caloric limit... thing...

    Its based on what your age, height and weight, how much you need to burn to stay at your current constant weight.

    http://nutritiondata.self.com/tools/calories-burned


    Mine for example is 3479. That means if I laid in bed all day, I could eat 3479 calories and I wouldn't gain OR lose any amount of weight.
    Well, I do weigh 331 lbs... So Lets say I limit my caloric intake to 1800 calories a day AND I walk long and fast enough to burn 1500 net calories a day... That means I should lose 3179 calories a day or based that 3500 calories is one pound, 90.82/100 of a pound a day, or 6.35 pounds a week.

    All fine and good for a 331 pound guy but were talking about perhaps a 140lb female now weighing 230.
    ( I know I'm not close and have no intentions to be accurate or to be insulting, please do not take it as such....)
    If I assume you are say 5'7" then we have something to go by.
    2464 cal. is required to maintain 230. Or just do nothing.
    So its now a matter of how much you are burning and consuming.
    If you are walking about 3 miles a day with your stroller, at say about 2.75-3 mph then you are probably burning about 200-250 calories. If you feel like you are "getting nowhere, then that would mean you are consuming about 2750 calories.

    But lets also say that you are one of the, IMO, "blessed ones" and were 90 lbs. soaking wet before you were carrying and now weigh 180. And also assume that you are no more than 5'2" in height.
    Thats 2131 calories. So WITHOUT exercise, you'd have a 2131 calorie limit to stay at the same weight.

    You'd have to restrict yourself to 500 calories less a day (consume only 1780 calories a day adding in the calories burned by exercise) to lose 1 pound a week. At +90 lbs. Thats going to be about 3 months shy of 2 years. If you are burning/consuming less a total of 1,000 calories a day that's 2 pounds a week. Thats still shy of a year (45 weeks) to lose that 90 lbs. If consuming 1,280 a day is reasonable to you, then go for it. If not, then burn another 500 calories by walking 5 miles with stroller at night or early in morning. But as you can see, it starts consuming time. Luckily, treadmills with inclines make a 2-3 hour goal to burn 500 calories more reasonable at 12% incline for 70-100 mins. Just remember, the treadmill included the calories you burn just for existing, make sure you know what your NET calories are.

    Also remember this formula is NOT constant, every 5 lbs will create a new caloric goal, requiring you to work harder/longer and/or eat less in order to maintain your loss rate.

    GROSS CALORIES
    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/walking-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx
    NET CALORIES
    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/net-versus-gross-calorie-burn-conversion-calculator.aspx

    Probably too much scatter info. But this is what I have discovered based on personal research.

    Long story short, keep at it, it is working, its just going to take time and persistence.

  • bestmeicanbe1
    bestmeicanbe1 Posts: 160 Member
    When I started I thought I was eating pretty healthy but I soon discovered my serving size was way off. I started eating what mfp told me to which was 1200 calories. I measured my food at first with just measuring cups but I now use a food scale because it's more accurate. From the beginning i looked for exercises I'd enjoy because I knew if I didn't like it I wouldn't do it. It was a lot of trial and error but never gave up and finally found some I like. I exercise at home. I try to wake up before my kids every morning and do it so they aren't running around me or anything.
  • mom2pne
    mom2pne Posts: 215 Member
    I take my kids with me for some of my walks.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    As everyone has said...it's all about defecit.

    I have 4 kids ages 7- 9 months. What works for me?

    I have a list of 10 quick meals that my kids enjoy and allow me to stay in my calorie goals. Things like chicken soup, minute steaks, grilled chicken, etc... I always have the ingredients for them on hand so I'm not as tempted to just order pizza when I realize it's 5pm and I haven't thought about dinner yet.

    I always have fresh produce on hand for snacking. I pre wash so I can quickly grab something.

    I do active things with my kids....walks to nature preserves, bike rides, etc...

    I take my kids to the gym, where they play in the day care several days a week.
  • lauramblair
    lauramblair Posts: 74 Member
    It is ALL about calorie deficit for me too. I ate 1200 calories per day. I exercise before the kids wake up and tried not to eat back those exercise calories. My portions and serving sizes were way off, you don't realize until you're tracking everything!

    Hang in there, it is HARD! I lost 45 pounds in a year, and am now approaching 1 year of maintenance.

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