Need help!

ShawnaHill88
ShawnaHill88 Posts: 1 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I am 27 years old and have 4 small children. I am a stress eater...I eat when I am stressed. With having children all under the age of 7 I am stressed A LOT! How would I overcome this? I am in a MOTIVATION challenge here in my town and I am trying to lose 40 pounds on 12 weeks "started out at 181 pounds" we are 4 weeks in and I have only lost 1 pound! I eat a lot because of stress...I would take my kids out to play but I live in MN and it is COLD! Help please!!!! I go to the gym once a day for 1 1/2 hours and burn 500 calories each time...

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    40 pounds in 12 weeks is very optimistic and that goal is going to give you even more stress.

    I'm sure you know how to wrap up and be outside safely even in MN, sounds like a motivation problem ? It'll be spring soon ;-)

    http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss/art-20047342 talks about stress and other forms of emotional eating. Can you reduce the availability of food in your immediate vicinity ?
  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
    Setting such an aggressive goal is definitely not gonna help you. You need to take baby steps. Taking it slowly one lb at a time is what's gonna motivate you in the long run. 1 lb in 4 weeks is not a disaster at all.

    You need to get the stress eating sorted out first, though. I used to be an emotional eater, too.
  • bellabonbons
    bellabonbons Posts: 705 Member
    40 pounds in 12 weeks is not healthy for your body. I would be stressed just thinking about losing that much that fast. Children can be so much fun and so comforting. Find ways to learn to deal with stress effectively. Do some serious research online that are reputable sources. I was once a stress eater then realized the damages it was doing to my body and myself. There are so many things you can do to deal with and manage stress. Find time to do things you love and don't add additional stress by trying to lose that much wait that fast. And seek professional help if you feel you need it. Good luck.
  • blueboxgeek
    blueboxgeek Posts: 574 Member
    I find setting goals like that and challenges to be stressful. I need to take things at my own pace and if that is slow.....then it doesn't matter. In a years time I will definitely weigh less than today :)

    Try and be as organised as you can with the kids. I find batch cooking and freezing things good because then I have a couple of nights where I can just throw something in to the microwave or oven, add some veggies and it's done. That then frees me up half an hour / an hour to either pre log foods on MFP or do some cleaning / tidying (which burns calories if you rush and work hard)

    Try and involve your kids in your exercise where possible. Do you have anywhere with some outdoor steps where any snow or ice would be cleared? Like a park or something? My boys love stair runs. We head to the park and there is a set of 99 steps and we run up and down them and count how many times we can do it in an hour. They will soon warm up doing that!

    I struggle with stress and eating and I found the best thing for me was being organised and feeling like things were in order and my meals were planned. I don't have the whole week planned out but I like to plan food and weekend family time and my cleaning a day or so in advance. I find this helps me greatly. Hope you can find something to help cope too x
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
    Try adaptogens, like Holy Basil, or Rhodiloa.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories