Trouble getting started.

One step at a time. What feels manageable and sustainable right now? If the gym is too much or just doesn't fit at the moment could you do a 30 minute walk every day? Same with food, think about small changes first. When I lost my weight i decided to stop snacking on the run. I would often grab a chocolate bar as we were heading out the door. I often wasn't hungry it was just habit. I put a piece of fruit in my bag instead and packed snacks for the kids i wouldn't eat!

You could make a simple soup with lots of veggies and pulses like lentils, peas or mixed beans in the day to have on it's own or with a bread roll just before you set off for work, and you could prep something for when you get home, like a ham & cheese or egg salad, or a sandwich with a piece of fruit, or a lower calorie ready meal that you can stick in the microwave with a frozen veg steam bag. It might be worth having a good drink of water when you get home, as you might be mistaking dehydration for hunger.

Try and get into a routine of prepping easy cook/no cook pre and post work meals. Having used MFP before it might be easier for you to get back into the swing of things and reestablish a more helpful eating routine. Take it slow and don't try to change everything yesterday. This is a gradual process so take your time and make small changes to your diet and lifestyle where you can.

Quick carrot and lentil soup is quite filling, and with the base of onions and stock/broth, you can use any vegetables, cooked beans, pulses and meats to make a variety of quick soups.

1 medium to large carrot
1/4 onion
1 clove finely chopped garlic or half-1 teaspoon garlic puree
400ml stock/low sodium broth
30g red lentils

Chop the carrot and onions. Fry with the garlic in a little cooking spray or 1 teaspoon oil. Add the lentils. Add the stock/broth. Add herbs, salt & pepper to taste. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Blend until smooth or leave as a chunky soup.
Most soups freeze well so you can make double quantities.

Well, you're here and asking for help. That's steps 1 & 2. So you're already making progress.

3. Food scales. Oh yeah, they are important. How are you supposed to know how much you're eating, if you don't know how much you're eating? Yes, you will make errors, that's okay. Everyone has, does and will make errors. They just get fewer with experience.
4. Don't overcomplicate things. Eat fewer calories than you use. You will lose weight. The rate will depend on how much of a deficit. If you need a specific plan/diet to kickstart yourself, do that. There isn't one perfect way that works for everyone
5. Exercise isn't required to lose weight. Calories for weight, exercise for health. A really neat exercise that I do when I watch my neighbors toddlers: Sesame Street workout. On YouTube, it's free, I get a little workout, the little ones are entertained. While everyone should do cardio for cardiovascular health and strength training for musculature, there's no need to join a gym. Your own body weight and items around the house work great (soup can curls, water bottle goblet squats, laundry basket deadlifts)
6. Patience. Weight loss takes time. A lot of time. Time will pass regardless of what you do, so time can pass and you can lose weight, or time will pass and you will not. I recommend the first part with losing weight.
7. There will be bad days. Bad days, bad weeks, even bad months happen. It's called being human, so when you have a bad day/week, congratulations on being human. Accept, learn, move forward.
8. Don't quit. I have seen so many people quit due to A. Slow progress or B. It's too hard. Slow progress is still progress, as long as you keep making progress you will get there. Too hard - see above about not overcomplicating things.

Make one small change at a time, over time small changes add up to great results. You got this

4legsRbetterthan2 wrote: »

One step at a time is good advice. Log, log, log, everything. Don't let yourself get upset if you have a bad day, just log it and move on. And if you struggle to reach your calorie goal at first try not to get frustrated, it can be a process. Make a new change each week and work your way into a new routine. You will get there!

You are a working mom. Life is crazy and trying to juggle too many things is stressful. With that in mind, just like we all had to do: start simple, don't beat yourself up, and take it one day at a time.

Start with logging. You don't necessarily have to change what or how much you're eating, but log it all. Get used to it and make it a habit. As part of that, learn not to judge your food or yourself with a negative lens. No food is inherently bad, some just gets you to your goals faster. You're not a bad person for "screwing up," you're a normal person. Last night I had 5 caramel rice cakes for dinner. Was it super nutritious it what I intended to easy? Was it delicious? Hell yeah! So, my next meal is a new meal and today is a new day and I get to start over.

Exercise can, and in my opinion, should be fun. Challenging but rewarding. If going to the Y and putting in half an hour on a machine sounds boring, don't do. Just like diet, and I use that word in the sense that whatever you eat is your diet, if you don't like it you won't stick with it. Maybe you stay your daughter in her car pack and take her for a hike. Or get a bike tow and take her for a bike ride. Or the Sesame Street workout the @VUA21 suggested. If you want to go to the gym, maybe look at the classes and see if one looks interesting.

Once you do find an activity, set a goal for yourself. Set a humongous goal. Set the big goals that will get you there. Set the small goals that will help you get to the big goals and then start knocking then if the list. This will help with making a healthy New lifestyle. It will also help you lose weight in that the focus on the weight becomes secondary. It gets super easy to get discouraged because the weight loss isn't linear. If you have things to get celebrate about like reaching a fitness goal or working out is getting easier or crap, I need new workout and regular clothes because these ones shoot too big and now I look from, the easier it is to not only stay dedicated but to also stick witha healthier eating style.

All the other posters have given you great advice about eating and great advice in general. There are two things I want to add though. Having easy snacks and meals really is the key, but also really listening to your body. Eventually you will be able to trust what it says, but it will still lie to you. Sometimes thirst mimics hunger. Try having a big glass of water and see if that helps. Also, sometimes it's bordem. Get up and do something or feel free to go to bed a little earlier. Sometimes it's that the food you ate may not have been satisfying. This is different for different people. For me it's protein fat and fiber. Some people find carbs plus protein really satisfying.

The other thing is that you don't have to cut things out. If you genuinely like spaghetti O's you can still work then in. If it's just something to eat, feel free to ditch then. The same goes for every food. My husband and I eat generally well now but we still manage to have Frozen yogurt bar many nights and we find ways to get in pizza and Mac and cheese every once in a while. Your mental health is super important.

As a final not, if you need someone to call you it in your excuses, let me know. 😁😁