Busy mom back to try to put myself first for my health!

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littleboopy
littleboopy Posts: 25 Member
in Introduce Yourself
So I'm back and hoping to get some support from other moms that seem to always let themselves go because they are putting everyone else's needs before there own! I'm guilty of this and I'm trying to not feel guilty about putting my own needs first even if only for an hour a day! I want to lose 50lbs and feel good in my own skin, I have 5 kids so my body has been through a lot and I'm not happy with my reflection. I have all the tools but just can't seem to stick to the plan of eating right and moving, so I'm hoping I can find someone that can relate and we can motivate each other!

Replies

  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
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    Hi - You can add me if you want. I'm a mother of two (10 and 8), a wife, I work full time and I have no trouble putting myself first :smile: I can tell you that over the past 3 years that I've made my health and well-being a priority, my home life has improved tremendously.
  • msanc095
    msanc095 Posts: 20 Member
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    Hey, I definitely feel you on this. For me too is a struggle to put myself first. I always find time for others but never for myself and that's something I have to work on too. Please feel free to add me if you like to support each other.
  • kelleylovesdogs
    kelleylovesdogs Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi there! I'm not a mom, but I am a full-time professional who tends to always put other peoples' needs before my own so I'm sure we have some common ground. :smile:
  • BABetter1
    BABetter1 Posts: 618 Member
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    Busy working mom here, 4 kids in my house, and I feel your pain. Usually, what happens with me is I start trying to get it together in Spring, and I do well through the Summer when the kids' schedules are more relaxed. I lose anywhere from 30 to 40 pounds. But every Fall (I've checked the pattern here on MFP), when school starts and schedules get crazy, my diet goes out the window. And forget about exercise. Then about January, I step back on the scale and find that I have lost all progress, usually regaining every single pound I lost, if not more. And, nothing is more frustrating than realizing you are starting all over, again, and pondering how far you would have gone if you hadn't quit.

    So, my goals this year are:
    1. Make more progress before Fall ever gets here in order to maximize that sweet Summer schedule.
    2. Build better habits for the long haul like meal prepping on the weekends along with healthy diet and exercise.
    3. Continue it all into the Fall and Winter.

    Now, that sounds like a simple common sense plan, right? Well, I wish it was that simple. It also takes commitment. That's my struggle. I recognized my yo-yo pattern last Summer, and told myself I couldn't just let it go in the Fall. And yet, I did it again in 2016. I think I am more committed now, and I have a more structured plan of attack this time. And as everyone likes to say, this is a lifestyle, not a diet. Just gotta' retrain myself to treat it as such. All that to say, add me if you want to! :smiley:
  • KelGen02
    KelGen02 Posts: 668 Member
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    I am a wife and a Mom of 3 boys, they are on the older side so it has definitely gotten easier but they all still live home. (22, 18, 13) I also work full time, desk job. I started my journey "over" 100 days ago today. I decided that it was not about losing weight, but more about health and being fit. Having this change of mindset about my goals was the key for me. 100 days later, 40lbs down, several inches loss, I made it through the holidays, went from being a lazy couch potato to working out 6 days a week and now this lifestyle change has made me a better person, not because I loss weight but because I have a new relationship with food and have some much more energy. I made myself an priority and in return, made everyone else in the house happy. You can't make others happy if you are not happy. YOU have to make you a priority. Feel free to add me if you would like. Good luck!
  • littleboopy
    littleboopy Posts: 25 Member
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    leajas1 wrote: »
    Hi - You can add me if you want. I'm a mother of two (10 and 8), a wife, I work full time and I have no trouble putting myself first :smile: I can tell you that over the past 3 years that I've made my health and well-being a priority, my home life has improved tremendously.

    You'll have to tell me your secrets! I'm a mom to five kids I've got a teen all the way down to a 3 yr old! There's just not enough hours in a day! Lol
  • littleboopy
    littleboopy Posts: 25 Member
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    KelGen02 wrote: »
    I am a wife and a Mom of 3 boys, they are on the older side so it has definitely gotten easier but they all still live home. (22, 18, 13) I also work full time, desk job. I started my journey "over" 100 days ago today. I decided that it was not about losing weight, but more about health and being fit. Having this change of mindset about my goals was the key for me. 100 days later, 40lbs down, several inches loss, I made it through the holidays, went from being a lazy couch potato to working out 6 days a week and now this lifestyle change has made me a better person, not because I loss weight but because I have a new relationship with food and have some much more energy. I made myself an priority and in return, made everyone else in the house happy. You can't make others happy if you are not happy. YOU have to make you a priority. Feel free to add me if you would like. Good luck!

    We seem to have a lot in common! I've got 5 kids ages 14,11,10,9 and 3 so they are very busy and it seems when one thing ends another picks up so I too do great in the summer since it is a lot slower but the fall and winter just get too busy for prep or exercise. I feel like I'm in a losing battle!
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    edited March 2017
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    leajas1 wrote: »
    Hi - You can add me if you want. I'm a mother of two (10 and 8), a wife, I work full time and I have no trouble putting myself first :smile: I can tell you that over the past 3 years that I've made my health and well-being a priority, my home life has improved tremendously.

    I love your profile picture! :D I hope I can get to the point you are at. :) I have 5 kids (2 steps and 3 bio kids, ages 22,21,14,9,7) and work at home (desk work) and have a hectic life, lol. I want to be able to put myself first more than I have been or else I won't be able to stick to any type of weight loss plan that I have in mind.
  • AEC50
    AEC50 Posts: 124 Member
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    BABetter1 wrote: »
    Busy working mom here, 4 kids in my house, and I feel your pain. Usually, what happens with me is I start trying to get it together in Spring, and I do well through the Summer when the kids' schedules are more relaxed. I lose anywhere from 30 to 40 pounds. But every Fall (I've checked the pattern here on MFP), when school starts and schedules get crazy, my diet goes out the window. And forget about exercise. Then about January, I step back on the scale and find that I have lost all progress, usually regaining every single pound I lost, if not more. And, nothing is more frustrating than realizing you are starting all over, again, and pondering how far you would have gone if you hadn't quit.

    So, my goals this year are:
    1. Make more progress before Fall ever gets here in order to maximize that sweet Summer schedule.
    2. Build better habits for the long haul like meal prepping on the weekends along with healthy diet and exercise.
    3. Continue it all into the Fall and Winter.

    Now, that sounds like a simple common sense plan, right? Well, I wish it was that simple. It also takes commitment. That's my struggle. I recognized my yo-yo pattern last Summer, and told myself I couldn't just let it go in the Fall. And yet, I did it again in 2016. I think I am more committed now, and I have a more structured plan of attack this time. And as everyone likes to say, this is a lifestyle, not a diet. Just gotta' retrain myself to treat it as such. All that to say, add me if you want to! :smiley:

    YES. Continuing it all into the colder months will be huge for me. I have a 3 and 1 year old and am ready to just stick with this.
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
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    littleboopy wrote: »
    leajas1 wrote: »
    Hi - You can add me if you want. I'm a mother of two (10 and 8), a wife, I work full time and I have no trouble putting myself first :smile: I can tell you that over the past 3 years that I've made my health and well-being a priority, my home life has improved tremendously.

    You'll have to tell me your secrets! I'm a mom to five kids I've got a teen all the way down to a 3 yr old! There's just not enough hours in a day! Lol

    The first thing I would do is take an inventory of all the things you do for your household. Are you doing more for others than you need to (ie, are they old enough/responsible enough to start taking over some of the things that you are doing for them). Often times with my kids I catch myself and have to say...what am I doing? They are totally capable of doing this and it's just habit that I do it. I call it teaching independent living skills :) I don't know if you have a partner in your household, but often times I feel my stress levels rising with all the doctor's appointments and activities that need to happen and I think...wait, my partner can pick this up. (I know all of this is easier with the two I have, as opposed to the five you have).
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
    Options
    BABetter1 wrote: »
    Busy working mom here, 4 kids in my house, and I feel your pain. Usually, what happens with me is I start trying to get it together in Spring, and I do well through the Summer when the kids' schedules are more relaxed. I lose anywhere from 30 to 40 pounds. But every Fall (I've checked the pattern here on MFP), when school starts and schedules get crazy, my diet goes out the window. And forget about exercise. Then about January, I step back on the scale and find that I have lost all progress, usually regaining every single pound I lost, if not more. And, nothing is more frustrating than realizing you are starting all over, again, and pondering how far you would have gone if you hadn't quit.

    So, my goals this year are:
    1. Make more progress before Fall ever gets here in order to maximize that sweet Summer schedule.
    2. Build better habits for the long haul like meal prepping on the weekends along with healthy diet and exercise.
    3. Continue it all into the Fall and Winter.

    Now, that sounds like a simple common sense plan, right? Well, I wish it was that simple. It also takes commitment. That's my struggle. I recognized my yo-yo pattern last Summer, and told myself I couldn't just let it go in the Fall. And yet, I did it again in 2016. I think I am more committed now, and I have a more structured plan of attack this time. And as everyone likes to say, this is a lifestyle, not a diet. Just gotta' retrain myself to treat it as such. All that to say, add me if you want to! :smiley:

    Don't forget about the holidays in there! That's always a struggle. I've seen that a lot of people go up to maintenance during the holiday season for a little more wiggle room and motivation to stay on track with those healthy habits.
  • mnormandin0605
    mnormandin0605 Posts: 3 Member
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    Mom to a toddler, thinking about having another but need to get in better health first! Feel free to add me, looking for motivational friends
  • BABetter1
    BABetter1 Posts: 618 Member
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    Don't forget about the holidays in there! That's always a struggle. I've seen that a lot of people go up to maintenance during the holiday season for a little more wiggle room and motivation to stay on track with those healthy habits.[/quote]

    Yes, absolutely! And once I've gone off the diet by September/October, it's all too easy to just go off the deep end and totally pig out around the holidays. So, yes, cold weather comfort food and holidays are definitely part of the equation. And, coincidentally, I've been reading up on diet breaks today. Not the kind of diet break where I throw my hands up and say forget it, I'm not logging or tracking or anything for a week or two (yeah, I've done that and it turns into 6 months instead of 2 weeks). Instead, it's the type of diet break you are talking about, eating at maintenance, still tracking and logging, still adhering to my chosen healthy way of eating, still exercising. I am definitely planning on incorporating a little of that in for the holidays, and the occasional birthdays and plain old episodes of diet fatigue.
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
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    BABetter1 wrote: »

    Don't forget about the holidays in there! That's always a struggle. I've seen that a lot of people go up to maintenance during the holiday season for a little more wiggle room and motivation to stay on track with those healthy habits.

    Yes, absolutely! And once I've gone off the diet by September/October, it's all too easy to just go off the deep end and totally pig out around the holidays. So, yes, cold weather comfort food and holidays are definitely part of the equation. And, coincidentally, I've been reading up on diet breaks today. Not the kind of diet break where I throw my hands up and say forget it, I'm not logging or tracking or anything for a week or two (yeah, I've done that and it turns into 6 months instead of 2 weeks). Instead, it's the type of diet break you are talking about, eating at maintenance, still tracking and logging, still adhering to my chosen healthy way of eating, still exercising. I am definitely planning on incorporating a little of that in for the holidays, and the occasional birthdays and plain old episodes of diet fatigue.[/quote]

    Such a good idea. In fact, I give myself a diet break once/week. One day a week (it's usually a Saturday) I eat at maintenance and eat ALL my estimated exercise calories back. It's awesome. If it's a busy week and there is an event or two, I eat at maintenance two days that week. It's amazing what we can accomplish when we don't look at things as black or white, good or bad, on or off.
  • littleboopy
    littleboopy Posts: 25 Member
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    The first thing I would do is take an inventory of all the things you do for your household. Are you doing more for others than you need to (ie, are they old enough/responsible enough to start taking over some of the things that you are doing for them). Often times with my kids I catch myself and have to say...what am I doing? They are totally capable of doing this and it's just habit that I do it. I call it teaching independent living skills :) I don't know if you have a partner in your household, but often times I feel my stress levels rising with all the doctor's appointments and activities that need to happen and I think...wait, my partner can pick this up. (I know all of this is easier with the two I have, as opposed to the five you have). [/quote]

    I guess I should write it all down out of my 5 there is that one child that just cant seem to do anything without help! Which is very frustrating at times! But I've been pushing him to do things on his own! Baby steps I guess., lol yes I do have there father here to help out but he works a lot so at times I can feel like a single mom., tough but I just do what I can and when he is here he does help so can't complain. Some days I'm so busy with the taxi service of bringing them all to there activities and back that when I finally do get home I don't feel like exercise I feel like just sitting to have a moment! Ugh



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