Weight Loss with children

That's great for you. Personally, my children weren't an excuse, they were a REASON. I did lose weight, but I didn't get enough exercise. I couldn't, so I didn't like the way I looked when I lost the weight.

As soon as my youngest was in nursery one morning a week, I used that time to go running. Before that it wasn't a possibility. For a start I breastfed him until he was 3 and there was no way I was running with milk in my 32HHs.

Right now I am stuck with minimal exercise because my husband works the other end of the country and is never home, I am doing a Masters degree in another city I have to drive to, I am on various committees and councils and I also sing semi-professionally. I don't. have. time. Yes, I could sacrifice my work, but I'd get bad marks, making my degree pointless. I could sleep less, but I already only get 5 hours a night, and I think I might die if I tried to cut that down. At some point, something has to give, and it's either my sanity or a couple of runs a week. I get 12.5 hours in the entire week child free, and I have to fit lectures, tutorials and library time into that. Frankly, when my children are home, I want to be with them, because I get little enough time as it is. I'd rather be a good mother than a thin one.

Sometimes there is a reason you can't get as much exercise as you would like, and I don't think it helps anyone who is frustrated about that fact to criticise them for making excuses.

I agree-but I think age 5 is too late to wait. That lets bad habits form and they are much too hard to break. A child needs to be taught from a young age that they can't throw fits. Jenna (my 4th child) went through a stage when she was very tiny (under 2) where she would throw a bloody fit if I put her down and I broke her of it really fast. I don't tolerate that kind of behavior in my children, it needs to be corrected as early as possible-so that the child grows up knowing not to do it in the first place, rather than the parent having to correct that learned behavior in the child after they already get used to it. Children understand a lot more than people think, even as very young toddlers, and even if they can't communicate things very well themselves. If I had a 1 year old or a 3 year old that was "very clingy and won't let me [blank]" i'd be correcting it as soon as possible. I wouldn't condone it.

Sometimes there is a reason you can't get as much exercise as you would like, and I don't think it helps anyone who is frustrated about that fact to criticise them for making excuses.

I wasn't criticizing anyone, I was trying to post something encouraging. I have times when I can't find time for exercise as well. I guess negative people are going to find something negative in anything that is posted though.

I am not a negative person. I am a manically busy one who doesn't like being told they are making excuses, when I do about 4 times more stuff than anyone else I know, that's all.

I don't ever recall once telling anyone they are making excuses. What I did say was this:

"It seems like a lot of moms post on here (and other fitness forums i've been on as well) feeling discouraged because they are home with kids. I hope that you noticed I said "It's doable" and not, 'it worked for me, so make it work for you'. I know that everyone is different, with different home situations. I just wanted to put this out there, that I had a challenging situation, and was at home raising children, and I was able to make it work by being creative. "

If you feel that someone is attacking you or telling you that you are making excuses, I think you may be taking things a bit personally. Some people in the thread did say things about people making excuses, but I wasn't one of them.
It's really too bad that you have so many commitments. That must be difficult. I, personally, wouldn't do it. My family comes before committees and councils, career and hobbies. I make my home life a priority, but I know that a lot of people are more focused on their careers and other things. I've done the career thing and the things I thought I wanted to do for me, and I didn't feel fulfilled that way-it made me realize that for me, my family comes absolutely before everything else, and I have found that in order to care for my family properly, I have to be healthy myself. Too many people are focused on worldly successes and are stressed out and over extended nowadays, and it hurts their physical and emotional health as well as their family. I made that mistake and hope I never do again. I'll never be able to recapture the time I lost with my children while I was busy trying to climb the corporate ladder, so to speak. I'm content to barely make ends meet, as long as I have time to spend with my loved ones. You are trading one thing (exercise) for others that bring you pleasure, and you are happy. I traded the things that didn't give me pleasure (meetings and not being at home) for health and the ability to spend time with my family, which is what gives me pleasure. Who is right? Who is wrong? Neither of us. We both have our priorities and are ok with our choices, right? In the end though, nobody gets a reward in life for being the busiest. It sounds like you have a lot on your plate that could affect your health.

You posted "I'd rather be a good mother than a thin one." I just wanted to state that the whole point of this thread was to say that we can spend time WITH our children being healthy, not to neglect them so we can be thin. I never even mentioned being thin. I said it's important to be healthy. Either you are twisting my words or you misunderstood the message I was trying to convey.