hello from the otter slide

Good Morning, Helen. Congrats on your new journey of slimming down... me, too! Since you mentioned children, I just wanted to mention something in the event it helps. My sister has a son (he's now 13). Way back when, she had a stubborn 11-lbs after childbirth that just wouldn't leave (keep in mind she's barely 5' & normally 99-lbs... so 11-lbs on her frame is more significant than for others... not sure of your height, but I'm 5'7"), so, she began walking with him in a knapsack-type contraption thing that's worn across the chest rather than housing the baby in the back... she began at 1-mi & built up to 4. She & her husband also hiked & she carried baby for the extra workout. She felt stronger, but lost no weight... when she gave up sweets (nightly dessert) she began v e r y slowly losing weight. It still wasn't fast enough for her, as she only lost a few lbs in 6-mos.

What she found that kicked it into high gear was working out with her son. They began swimming together (yep, he was an infant swimmer), then a baby yoga class, then running when he was 7 or so... tossing a baseball, football, park frisbee, whatever he wanted to do everyday after school, as he aged. Cut to 13-yrs later & she & her son run regular 5K marathons... they do a 2/wk yoga class, a 1/wk dance class, he skateboards while she runs & they both rollerblade together.

Not saying everyone needs to be an Olympian... but, she found her mood was better when she exercises (she's a bit tightly wound otherwise) & has built a lovely bond with her teenaged son... at 13 he doesn't complain that mom is tagging alongside him... I have pics of them crossing every finish line of every marathon together... they always hold hands crossing the line & don't run to win but to just accomplish a task together. The bonus is he's very athletic, has an interest in many sports & has overcome his shyness to join after school clubs & teams.

She lost that stubborn 11-lbs & even though most of the women in my family have an incredible sweet tooth, if she gains a few, she just walks a few more miles with her son beside her. What she found is that kids want to be engaged. They want to do everything & anything with their parents, if there's a fun element to it. Not sure of the age of your kids, but perhaps having a built-in familial workout partner would be grand, just as it was for my sister.

I wish you lots of luck, my friend. You can do this... so can I.