Losing Weight as a SAHM

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Replies

  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,646 Member
    kristielove wrote: »
    @Chef_Barbell Thanks! I wish you well in your weight loss journey. As a side note, I'm a chef too, well, I completed training at Le Cordon Bleu. Maybe we should come up with good tasting and healthy recipes

    That's awesome! I went to CIA here in NY. I love trying new recipes!
  • LessCookiess
    LessCookiess Posts: 538 Member
    You can do it!!!
  • TheSavatron
    TheSavatron Posts: 18 Member
    Everyone above has great suggestions, but one more that I'll add.... do you have a step tracker? I recently bought the cheapest one I could find (misfit flash- like $16 on amazon, which I earned from ibotta rebates), and it has been so motivating, just to keep me moving! I'm currently pregnant with my 4th, and seeing the number and having a goal makes me do more housework, walk laps around the living room with the baby, etc etc. Could be worth a shot, if you're the type that likes external motivation!
  • MyLovesMyLife
    MyLovesMyLife Posts: 424 Member
    Sahm to 7 homeschoolers. (Well 4 soon to be 5 in school). I think the best tip is make yourself a priority. You have a great background to aid you. Thanks for your service btw!
  • kristamas
    kristamas Posts: 30 Member
    I don't have any advice but just want to say you're a rockstar and that having little babies is one of the hardest, loneliest, most frustrating things ever. You use up all your emotional / psychological reserves and it feels like you have nothing left. Having a nine year old I'm sure you have the perspective that it will get easier, but I'm impressed you're even thinking about your health at a time like this! Good on you! Hope you're not being too hard on yourself!
  • kristielove
    kristielove Posts: 25 Member
    @kristamas thanks for your kind words. I just don't want to become complacent in carrying around this extra weight. So far this week I have ramped up the walks to longer (and earlier due to the FL weather). I'm going to go about it in a practical way. I think by me being more conscious and monitoring what I'm eating it is helping
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    Whether you are a SAHM, a full time working mom (like myself), or not a parent - losing weight comes down to creating a calorie deficit. There are many ways to do this, and ultimately it comes down to finding the way that works well for each of us individually.

    You mentioned your exercise routine, and eating out on the weekends. You've said nothing about logging the foods you eat (both homemade and from restaurants). Did you set up a MFP profile with accurate stats, and a reasonable goal? What calorie target did MFP provide? Are you logging your foods, as accurately as possible, ideally using a food scale? For how long? What results have you had?

  • amyinthetardis1231
    amyinthetardis1231 Posts: 571 Member
    Are you nursing or FF? No judgment either way--I'm asking because if you are breastfeeding, it's usually not recommended to cut calories (or at least not by much) since you need more calories to maintain your supply. If you're FF, that's moot, but something to think about.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    Be more active. Join a gym with babysitting. Cook lower calorie meals. Keep lower calories/healthier snacks available. Log everything you eat.
  • kristielove
    kristielove Posts: 25 Member
    @WinoGelato I recently started back trying to log my consumption. Do I log everything or even every day? No. I'm well aware about calorie deficit to lose weight, however, as I mentioned above, I went from working and regularly doing high cardio exercise, to not getting out the house some days, and at best walking. MFP gave me a calorie limit of 1400 per day to meet my goal. I know you are trying to give tips and advice, but I'm not looking to measuring food, and log Everything that I eat. It can be daunting, and sometimes time consuming. 95%of what I cook is from scratch, and yes it is balanced with starch, protein, and plenty of veggies. I normally stray from eating healthy when I miss meals, or it's been a while since I last ate
  • kristielove
    kristielove Posts: 25 Member
    @amyinthetardis1231 I ff now. No need for extra calories here. But I understand what you were saying
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    kristielove wrote: »
    @WinoGelato I recently started back trying to log my consumption. Do I log everything or even every day? No. I'm well aware about calorie deficit to lose weight, however, as I mentioned above, I went from working and regularly doing high cardio exercise, to not getting out the house some days, and at best walking. MFP gave me a calorie limit of 1400 per day to meet my goal. I know you are trying to give tips and advice, but I'm not looking to measuring food, and log Everything that I eat. It can be daunting, and sometimes time consuming. 95%of what I cook is from scratch, and yes it is balanced with starch, protein, and plenty of veggies. I normally stray from eating healthy when I miss meals, or it's been a while since I last ate

    Logging is one of the best ways to assure that calorie deficit. You asked for advice, this is going to be the number one piece of advice you will get in these forums. Make it a habit, and it won't be daunting or time consuming. It takes minutes a day for most people, and I dare say that for most, it it were a choice between logging accurately and exercising, they would say that it was the logging that they would prioritize for weight loss success. Fortunately it doesn't have to be a choice, most of us do both.

    You can eat the most nutritionally balanced, homemade, cooked from scratch meals that you want... if you eat too many calories in them, you won't lose the weight.
  • kristielove
    kristielove Posts: 25 Member
    @WinoGelato check and check. For me it takes more than a minute to log my meals. I don't typically eat the same thing everyday. And yes, with 2 babies, sometimes that is a choice I have to make. Also, I believe I mentioned before that my problem areas is having a sweet tooth or snacking, so those most nutritious meals I eat are very rarely over indulged in. But, I've received some great ideas and suggestions over all. Thanks for your added input.
  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
    If it were me I'd cut myself some slack and not worry about dieting until my kids were a bit older. I didn't start until my youngest turned 13 months.

    That being said 3 kids and a husband who is hardly around keeps me on my toes. I cut out snacks because I found my kids would not eat their meals if they were snacking/grazing through the day. So that helps. My older two are in school so I have time to go to the gym and workout.

    My problem is once my kids are in bed and I finally have some me-time I cave into mindless snacking in front of the tv. I'd be super skinny if it weren't for all the calories I inhale mindlessly.

    Sorry I don't have better advice, but I think new moms can be so hard on themselves to be back to pre-pregnancy weight so quickly. It's like a competition or something.
  • kristielove
    kristielove Posts: 25 Member
    @zdyb23456 yea, mine would be snacking in front of the computer, but with my newly walking 14 month old (she started a month and a half ago) and the newborn, they don't allow me time for that. It's the snacking while trying to prepare meals, or when the 14 month old eats a snack or at night when I'm trying to stay awake to write a paper or read. I understand what you mean about being hard on ourselves after having a baby. For me, I've practically been pregnant for the past 2 years ( I had 2 children last year. Jan and then late December), so I just want to feel somewhat normal again.
  • kristielove
    kristielove Posts: 25 Member
    @zdyb23456 so far, I've lost 30 lbs since having the little one Dec. 28th, so maybe I am trying to over do it a bit
  • laurabadams
    laurabadams Posts: 201 Member
    I'm a SAHM to a 3 year old & 16 mo old. I started my weight loss program last May when my baby was 6 mo old. I lost 48# in 16 weeks (I've since lost 12 more, bringing my postpartum total to 80). Best advice is to measure & track your food. Period. If it's important to you, you'll find a way (general 'you').
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    kristielove wrote: »
    @WinoGelato check and check. For me it takes more than a minute to log my meals. I don't typically eat the same thing everyday. And yes, with 2 babies, sometimes that is a choice I have to make. Also, I believe I mentioned before that my problem areas is having a sweet tooth or snacking, so those most nutritious meals I eat are very rarely over indulged in. But, I've received some great ideas and suggestions over all. Thanks for your added input.

    I also went from a very active job to being a SAHM and gained 60 lbs over about 7 years. I have lost that now, and kept it off for a couple of years, even though I still have another 30 to go, at least. I know I will have to count calories for the rest of my life just to keep from gaining weight. All these years later, I still don't fully appreciate how little I need to eat compared to what I used to be able to, and it is SO easy to be off by just the couple of hundred calories it takes to start putting the weight back on.

    I don't eat the same foods every day, but I'd say from month-to-month I tend to, and all that data is right there in my recent foods list. I make healthy, home-cooked meals, but eye-balling the portion sizes would easily get me into trouble. I have a sweet tooth & today was foolish enough to finish off the tail end of a bag of Doritos (just a couple of handfuls of harmless-looking broken pieces & crumbs) that easily put me at maintenance for the day (I'm on a 1400 calorie allowance too). I'm not a *you have to weigh & measure every single little thing* person, but I've been stuck at maintenance for the last year even though I've been *trying* to lose again, so there you go! ;) Oh, and a full Olive Garden meal once a week would definitely keep me at maintenance, assuming I hadn't banked for it, which I've never been able to do.

    All that being said, I get it. Not coincidentally, I wasn't able to tackle my weight loss until my kids were no longer toddlers, and I didn't have the added stress of full-time school like you have. And if your baby is only 3 months old, your body isn't even really done recovering. Maybe mindfulness is a good place to start for now. Wish you the best! :)

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