Stay at home moms of young ones. How do you do loose?

We go to the park a lot. It's exercise for them and me. If you don't have a park within walking distance and you don't live somewhere that's safe to bike, you could drive to the park and walk around while there. Depending on the park (and the 5 year old) your 5 year old might be able to stay at the playground while you walk around with the baby and check in after each loop.

I haven't had great experiences with the Y's child care-my kids always got colds each time we went, so we were never able to go frequently enough for them to get used to it. It's possible that my kids are just particularly talented at picking up germs, lol.

At 1 I used to put my little in the stroller for a walking nap. The trick is to go early enough that they don't wake up as soon as you're home and tired, but not so early that they're awake and grumbling for the whole walk.

I live in Northern California, and we're able to get outside most days-even when it's cold and rainy it's usually above 40F, so we just put on rain pants and rain coats and save worms or clear storm drains. But on days that it's too miserable to go outside for long we dance together, and play tag in the house, or go to an indoor playplace that allows parents to climb/run too.

I'm a sahm of three older kids (8, 10 and 12), but they do their schooling at home, so they're with me all.the.time.

I have a different eating schedule than the rest of my family because I do IF. My calorie window is between 11am-7pm, so no food intake before 11am, and then I set aside time to make my biggest meal of the day between 11am-noon (my favorite hour of the day lol). Kids eat after I'm done. Then I eat a smaller meal after my family has supper, close to 6pm. I may or may not have an afternoon snack, just depends if I want one or not. And then after 7pm I'm done eating for the day.

Having a schedule like this helps me with my calorie adherence and also keeps things running smoothly over here

Incorporate workouts with your kids. Push ups, situps, planks, jumping jacks, burpees, any sort of calisthenics. Setup a workout chart and do this with your kids to see how you improve from week to week.

My wife and I have done this with our 3 kids (3, 6, & 9) with great results.

For me it's setting a pretty strict routine. I only feed my kids 3 meals a day. I'm not a proponent of constant snacking like I see a lot of parents do. It just doesn't work for us. They do eat snacks at school.

When they were younger, we'd exercise and run errands in the morning, then nap and play in the afternoon. I still follow that schedule with my youngest when she's not at preschool. My older ones are in school everyday, but we pretty much do the same on the weekends.

owlcake wrote: »

Feeling little tired of trying. I had 75 day streak but stopped cause I was loosing and gaining the same lbs. as stay home moms we take care of everyone and house and cooking. I have a one year old and 5 year old. They are always eating. It's hard not to eat with them. They eat healthy too. But I over eat. Also I can't find time just to excercise for me. I just feeling very frustrated. I need some
Help and motivation. How have you ladies gotten a hold of weight loss and put yourself first? Thanks

It all comes down to the way you are eating. You do not need to exercise to lose weight. Exercise is primarily for your health and to stay in shape. Now, what's the point of logging for 75 days straight if you're not logging everything? If you were, you'd see what the issue is. You're overeating. Whether you're overeating healthy foods or bad foods, you are still eating more than you are burning. Try something different. Why do you need to eat with them? Or if you do, just eat less? I've been eating 5 to 6 smaller meals a day. It's the same amount of calories if I were to eat 3 big meals but it helps me because I'm a snacker. Also, try to pre-plan your days ahead of time. If you are taking care of all the meals, you should know what's in them. So, make recipes ahead of time and input that information into MFP. I've logged in for months without losing a pound because I wasn't eating under my TDEE. Be honest with yourself. Find out what's causing the over-eating.

When my youngest was 1, I joined a gym with daycare. She's 6 now and has a group of friends of varying ages that she's known for years. Honestly, the gym was good for my sanity and helped socialize my kid. Her transition to school was very smooth too.

deputy_randolph wrote: »

When my youngest was 1, I joined a gym with daycare. She's 6 now and has a group of friends of varying ages that she's known for years. Honestly, the gym was good for my sanity and helped socialize my kid. Her transition to school was very smooth too.

Yep! I definitely wasn't trying to knock gym daycares in general. It just didn't work for me at the time. Now my "little" is in his last year of preschool and I do most of my exercise during his class. I do still take them both to the park, hiking trail, and bike trail as much as I can get them interested because I was a really lazy kid and want them to enjoy activity more than I did!

Homeschooling SAHM to 4 boys 7& under here.

I get up before the kids and do some yoga, fold clothes, pray, sometimes get in a short session on the mini elliptical. Important: train them not to bother you/come in your room

Joining a gym is great if you can--mine has great child care/kids fitness classes, so we go often. Otherwise, I run on weekends when hubs is home, sometimes i will work out in the garage at night. Point is, it's a priority and I make time for it, even if it's inconvenient.

Food wise...I log it all--that usually keeps me under control. If I feel myself slipping there, I make sure if it goes in my mouth I log it. Makes me not want the hassle of getting out the scale for a few bites of cheese, a handful of chocolate chips, etc.

I have a 9 month old and 4 year old at home and no gym membership.
I'm strict with my calorie intake, and don't depend on exercise alone for weight loss (there are some days where it just doesn't happen).
I eat a small breakfast (a protein like hard boiled egg and a small fruit), small lunch (egg salad or chicken salad sandwich), minimal snacking, and decent sized dinner (heavy on protein and vegetables, minimal to no grains). I don't cook extra special meals for myself or have a separate eating schedule from my family because I'm on a diet.
I've lost 70 pounds with 6-ish left to go.

I work and do most all of the stay at home activities (cooking, cleaning, homework, activities). Good news is to lose weight you just need a calorie deficit. Exercise and activity increase NEAT so you could eat more but isn't necessary. Exercise is for physical, cardiovascular and psychological fitness. Get it in when you can but don't stress it if you dont. It took me several years to find me time (5am) to get in my workouts.
Weigh your food. Log everything you eat ans drink. Find a reasonable goal and stick to it (0.5-1 pound a week is good for most people). Have patience.

I had almost 3 year old twins, a 6 year old & 8 year old when I first decided to lose weight. Back then I walked a lot with my twins in their pram, and I put a cheap exercise bike in my living room where I had to walk past it constantly, which basically meant I used it in order not to feel guilty.

I organised for my husband to watch the kids in the evening too, so that I could get an extra walk in with my mother. I had to do it because she was coming. It was hard to leave the house! I was not a big fan of exercise at all, but I worked it in. My twins liked to copy what I was doing, so I found workouts on YouTube and did those, and let them do it too.

As for food - I started telling myself that I'm not a garbage can. If my kids don't finish it, it's rubbish. And the proper place for it is in the bin, not in me. It doesn't do me any good to eat of their plates, because I've had my own food. I think when this really sank in was a few years later though when I must have been slipping back into old habits. My son was maybe 5? And he said to me that he wasn't going to eat all his dinner because he was saving some for me to eat after. That's it. Cold turkey, and not the kind that I could mindlessly eat.

My husband and I both cook for the family, and we generally make healthy food that we can all enjoy. Sometimes they'll have something that I just don't want, and my go-to is chicken with a nice big salad and some sort of carb. Pre-logging and knowing what I'm going to eat in the day is key for me. I like to know when I'm going to eat and have something in my day to look forward to. This always works the best when I'm at home, although I can tweak and alter what I'm eating to make it fit.

Fast forward a few years... I'm maintaining at roughly 140 lbs lighter than I was back in 2011. I'm a qualified personal trainer. I do regular training sessions with my kids (now 8, 12 and 13) and my kids know about portion sizes, can use a food scale (although they don't often, despite thinking its fun), and know about eating all foods in moderation. I don't force them to exercise, they love it! They all play basketball, and I've been involved with coaching my son's team as well. Something that 300 lb + me never thought would happen!

It's been an evolution though. I had to remember and force myself to put ME first, and that meant relying on other people to look after my kids sometimes so that I had the time I needed. So I incorporated the kids when I could, and planned around them when I had to. I went a whole 18 months where I got the kids to kinder/school and immediately went to the gym. I worked from home for a long time (up to 60 hours/wk), but when I went back to regular employment I set my alarm for 4.50am and got up before the kids did so that I could get in my exercise. People thought I was nuts. Sometimes I thought I was nuts. But I got the results.

The time is there, you just have to find it.

I make time to exercise at home (even if it's late at night after I finally get my 3 year old and 9 month old in bed), and I eat what fits in my calorie goal. A lot of it is just being determined enough to say "no", and tossing leftover food in the trash instead of eating it myself. I drink a lot of water during the day too, so I'm not really hungry between meals.

First of all, never quit. M FP can help you be accountable if you're being honest and you're logging. Even if you are just gaining and losing the same amount, you can at least start to see a pattern and recognize some areas that you struggle with. Never give up on the process at all. Your health is worth it. Your little ones need you to stick around, and it helps if you are healthy and active with them.

I am a stay at home mom. My son is six, and he just started school in August. I started losing weight this summer before he went to school. It was tough, but I came up with a process that worked. We walked a lot. We went to the playground. We were active. I did very easy workouts that he could do with me. It's good for him to see me exercise and to learn healthy habits. The same can be said for food. I know sometimes it is tempting to eat with the little ones eat, or when they are eating, but we have to practice self-control. I didn't go on a fancy food diet, I just ate the right amount of the food that we normally eat. I have lost 60 pounds this way.

I'm going to request you to be a friend on here. I think you need the extra motivation and support, which I am willing to give. If anyone else would like to add me, feel free. We can all support each other.