Hi, Amy! I'm Jennifer, been homeschooling since 2001 and getting in shape since 2006. We have seven kids ranging in age from 1 to 16... five of them school age, but we homeschool with a very relaxed unschooling/eclectic approach.

Right now my goal is to get back down to and below my first goal weight of 170 (I'm 6' tall). I love working out, hate dieting. I really think I must be addicted to sugar- was doing well for a long time but recently fell of the wagon, and gained about five pounds in two months. Darn! I run, lift weights, and do a variety of things...

Hi!

This will not be a lengthy introduction as I need to be out the door very soon but I wanted to at least jump in.

My real name is Donna.
I am 47
Current weight is 128
Lowest weight on mfp is 121
Highest weight is 183

Married 26 years.
5 children. Two have already graduated from college, one is in college, and currently homeschooling the other two, 9th grade and 7th grade.

I have always homeschooled and do it for high school as well. Best decision ever!

I was doing really well with maintaining until I decided that I wanted to go down another 5#'s . I am not sure how it has happened but instead of losing I have gained those 5 pounds. Blast!

So, I am back on track trying to lose 10 pounds! I hope I don't gain another 10 in the process!

Hubby just walked in the door which is my cue to leave.

Be back later!

D

Hello ladies!
I was so glad to see a group created for homeschooling moms!
I'm Denise, I have four kids from age 7-13. With the exception of one year, they've always been homeschooled. For me the decision was a spiritual one, but being a military family homeschooling has even more benefits! People around me always say "I don't know how you do it.", but I can't imagine life any other way!

I was a skinny teen, had my first child shortly after I turned 21. Baby #2 joined us 18months later, and I never got back to my pre-baby weight. After #3 I weighed over 180lbs. I determined to get back in shape and eventually did get to a healthy weight. Then came baby #4 and serious trials in my life and I found myself back up around 170. Since then (7 years ago now... yikes!) I've struggled to get my weight back down. I'd do good for a month or so, then hit a plateau and give up. After more re-starts than I can count, I'm trying once again.

I think part of my problem is I always take on this journey alone. My husband is so skinny, he's 5'11 and weighs 130lbs when dripping wet. All my kids are thin and eat more than me. So I'm hoping I can make some friends on here to encourage and be encouraged through this challenge.

Last week when I started I weighed in at 156. I would love to get down to 130, but I've been 135 before and was happy. I'm waiting to see what my reflection is. My ultimate goal is to come out from underneath all those winter sweaters slimmer and in better shape come summer!

I look forward to getting to know you guys!

Hello! My name is Amy, and I am a homeschooling mom to 4 boys - ages 7 down to infant. I have a difficult time eating healthy -- why is junk food always so much quicker and easier?? I also have had low energy and no desire/time to exercise since my little guy has been born. I am hoping it will get better! I was at my highest weight - 193 lbs. when I delivered him 10 months ago. I am down to 145 and would love to get down into the 120s (pre-babies weight range). I am not sure if I can do it. But I thought getting on here would help!

Hi! I'm Jennifer, a 41 year-old mom of 6 great kids ages 17, 8, 7, 5, and 1. We have been homeschooling for 10 years and love it. My oldest takes 2 dual credit classes at the community college and does some subjects for me. The others are doing a mixture of Sonlight, Abeka Math, 100 Easy Lessons, and whatever else looks interesting that I can throw in.

I started trying to lose weight this time at 171 pounds. I never lost much weight after my last baby was born. This last year has been very stressful with my husband losing his job due to uncontrolled epilepsy, my parents both having health issues and us remodeling and moving in to their house to help take care of them. With 10 of us in the house things are always crazy. My mom eats a steady diet of junk food and it was so easy just to eat what she had out instead of what I knew I needed to eat. I realized that I was miserable and the junk was only making me feel good for a few minutes, but the weight was bothering me all the time.

I am working on eating healthy and getting back to running. I have started running 3 mornings a week. We also ride our bikes any time we can - to soccer, church, the store, etc. My next goal is to add aerobics in on the mornings I don't run. For some reason I have not been able to convince myself to get up those days. My goal is 140 pounds.

My husband is as supportive as someone who doesn't need to work to maintain their weight can be. I am really looking forward to the support of a group of people who understand what it is like to lose weight while schooling and maintaining a house.

I'm Heather, new to MFP, but not new to weight loss, exercise or homeschooling.

I'm almost 37 (so is my husband ), my son is almost 8 and my daughter is 9. We are in our 3rd year of homeschooling and tend to be quite eclectic in our approach - it seems to change about every 3 weeks! We enjoyed our time in public school, but the school was not able (and became unwilling in 3rd grade) to challenge my daughter - and my son seemed to be headed down the same path of utter boredom - so we brought them home. I was reluctant and rather terrified when we made the decision (partly since it meant I would continue to stay at home!) but it has been the best decision for us as a family! We are all so much more relaxed and satisfied since we can live life at our own pace.

I am challenged by PCOS, some form of Crohn's (I refuse to agree that's what my gut issues are because my gut issues are highly influenced by my dietary choices!), controlled high blood pressure, and an ever-changing motivation level. Some days I'm Pollyanna, others more like Eeyore. It's on my Eeyore days I need the most support and am the worst at asking for it I am hoping that MFP will help make me more accountable toward my food journaling and exercise journaling.

Weight loss right now is more about being healthy and fit - and the smaller numbers on the tape measure, scale and in my closet are bonuses! I am 209 and striving to simply get back below 200 at the moment - that is such a wall for me, mentally and physically. I want to lose "only" about 50 pounds at the moment. While that is still technically "overweight" (I'm only 5'3") I am a very solid person - large bones, lots of muscle mass. It's a weight I have been before, and I was very happy and felt attractive and healthy at that weight. So it's what I'm aiming for!

I like to run and I LOVE yoga. I am also enjoying spending time at the gym strength training - which is a surprise to me. Then again, being able to say I like running after spending 30 years saying I hate running is also a surprise!

I struggle with keeping the kids active. We live in our heads a lot, so we prefer to read or play computer games - yet when we make the effort to get out and get moving, we really enjoy it! I strive to "remember" to get up and moving with them. We do enjoy long walks in the neighborhood, as well as playing at the park (well, they play - I sit!) and will sometimes kick a soccer ball around, but it does not come naturally to us. Thankfully, we have always talked about nutrition, and the kids often make much better choices about food than I do - so I am learning to eat the way they eat!

I am excited to see a homeschooling group on here because it is often a little different trying to find the time to exercise and eat healthy when your kids are "always" with you!

Hi everyone. Just joined this group and think its awesome to have a homeschool group on here, we moms that homeschool know that support helps us keep going. Im looking forward to being a part of this group. If anyone would like to be friends, just send me a request. Id love to have other homschool moms as friends on MFP. God Bless!!! Marcia

Hi Everyone,

My name is Dawn, My husband and I have been home schooling our girls ages 11 and 8 since the beginning. We really enjoy the flexibility and individualization that homeschooling gives us. My girls love it!

I've been overweight since I was a teen and have tried just about everything. I lost 40 lbs on my own 4 years ago and kept it off. I found MFP this spring and have lost another 18 lbs...so 58 lbs lost total. I have another 42 lbs to go.

I'm so glad to find a homeschool group. If anyone would like to friend me, please do.

Thank you for inviting me, Dawn! I am Sharon. I'm 5'2" and 48 years old. Joining MFP in May has been my first weight loss experience, but I am not at all new to homeschooling. I homeschooled my three children from K-12. They are now 28, 25 and 24. Four and a half years ago I adopted a 2.5 year old as a now-single mom, and am homeschooling her. She is in first grade. I expect I'll probably homeschool her all the way through, too.

I've lost 25 pounds with MFP and have another 15-20 pounds to go.

I've settled into a rather eclectic homeschooling lifestyle. I LOVE the ability to meet the individual child, capitalize on the strengths and spend all the time we need on weaknesses. My approach to reading and math are rather classical, but the rest of the subjects I am much more relaxed with. Literature based is my personal favorite, but right now my daughter loves worksheets, so I give her lots of worksheets. Snuggling on the couch to read about the mysteries of science is just good. Putting things to music (or finding what has already been put to music) is incredibly helpful, and makes school so much fun!

Hi! I'm Christina. Homeschooling mom of 2 girls, 8 and10.

Our family loves homeschooling. Interesting considering when my oldest was 2 and I first mentioned it my husband said, "my children will never be homeschooled." Now he's our biggest support and gets in on the learning whenever he can. We use My Father's World for our core with Abeka math.

I'm new to MFP (it's my first week), but I feel like I've been on a diet my whole life. I've gained and lost the same 20 pounds over and over again. I'm hoping that the ease, flexibility, and support of MFP will help me lose and maintain this time.

Hi! I have just joined the group. I'm fairly new to MFP, but it is working out very well for me. We homeschool our 13 yo learning disabled son, he has never been in public school. I work full time and hubby is a SAHD. He is also LD (although DS is adopted), so I school the basics in the evenings, and they do extracurricular and outside classes during the day.

I just hit my healthy BMI last week, after being somewhat overweight at least since we got married. My high weight was about 175 (didn't have a scale until after I started to lose) some years ago, and I've been sitting at 150-155 since then. I am now down to 140.

I have had a number of health challenges, but now I am running and working out in the early morning before everyone else is up, and started counting calories for the first time with MFP just over a month ago.

Excited to meet you all.

Pam

Hey everyone! I'm a newbie here at MFP and brand new to this group. I am really excited to hear your stories and share mine with you.
I have been homeschooling for over ten years, and I thank God every day that I am able to something that I love every day. We have 4 children: two daughters who have finished college, and a 14 year old daughter and 9.5 year old son. Yep, I'm old! lol

9 years ago after I had my son, I did the weigh down workshop and lost 38 pounds with no exercising! I kept it off for 6 years, until I moved out to the country and I put on 20 pounds. Now I'm 43 and my metabolism has slowed to a crawl. I see so much complacency, depression and a general "I give up" attitude out here in this little town, and it scares the bejeezes out of me! It would be so easy to slip into a happily married, happily homeschooling, happily overeating lifestyle out on the prairie, but I just refuse to do it!

I hope that logging calories and exercise daily as well as being inspired by all of your successes will be just the thing to keep me motivated.

I am rooting for all of you!

Hi,

I am so very, very happy to find this group! I am Lisa, age 49, and have homeschooled since 1996. Hard to believe I am finishing up my 15th year!!! My older two are on their own and are 21 and almost 20 (next month). My daughter is married with one son (18 months) and works as a nursery school teacher. My son is a single dad with sole custody of his two children (2 1/2 and 5 months) he is an assistant manager at a farm and a volunteer fireman!
I am a full-time college student at the University of Arkansas and am still homeschooling! My youngest son is 13 and the only one left at home I started gaining weight 3 years ago when I remarried and went back to school. I drive 100 miles round trip to U of A and do a lot of sitting in class and at home studying.
Homeschooling is my passion! I am an education major at U of A with a concentration in special ed. I have no desire to be a public school teacher. I would like to start my own home school co-op or a nursery school/kindergarten.
I look forward to meeting everyone! Lisa

Hi Renee,
Welcome to the group! I really admire your decision to home school your little ones. Home schooling is such a challenge in and of itself, but when you've got two with special needs, it can be that much more challenging! you must be one strong, determined gal! (: Best of luck on the weight loss.
Blessings,
Rhonda

Hi Renee! I brought my son home three years ago from public school because of his auditory processing disorder. He is doing so much better. He would be totally lost now that he is middle school age. I'm so glad we made the decision to bring him home. Wish I would have done it sooner though. I applaud you for bringing your boys home to give them the best education possible!

Kendra