Need Help Staying Motivated... long introduction...

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ScrambledMegz
ScrambledMegz Posts: 1
in Introduce Yourself
Hi everyone! So I'm new to MFP. My name is Megan. I'm 20 and I have a 21 month old son. I'm 5 ft. 10 in. and before I got pregnant I was a nice 155 lbs. I was an avid swimmer but that all stopped when I got pregnant. With work, school, impending motherhood, and general stress I ended up gaining a whopping 75 pounds during my pregnancy.

I was really proud that I was able to shed most of it off before my fall semester started but as the year progressed I gained back around 20 pounds (and trust me, none of that is muscle). I'm a big emotional eater and to cope with all the changes I've gone through this year (i.e. a bad breakup, moving back in with my parents and younger brothers) I began to binge on crappy comfort food pretty much everyday. Now I'm having a tough time getting out of this habit I've built up.

Anyways, the eating is a big part of the problem but since having my son I really have lost pretty much all motivation to stick to an exercise routine. Because I'm no longer on the swim team and my gym's pool hours are really inconvenient, swimming is no longer an option. Instead, I've tried running, Zumba, walking long distances, and spending hours at the gym in general just doing as many of the machines as I can but I haven't been able to stick with any of it for more than a couple of days.

I stumbled on Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred DVD on Amazon.com the other day and purchased it and am happy to say that I've actually been able to stick with it for 5 DAYS which for me is a *really* big deal. It's the first time I have actually looked forward to doing a workout in a long time and because it's so short (only 20 minutes), I haven't really had a problem making time for it during the day. Knock on wood this one lasts!

So, the reason I joined MFP is basically to do a few things:
1) Get support to help change my eating habits and stop my binges (because I'm definitely not getting that from my parents and brothers... they eat fast food 4 nights a week).
2) Stay motivated to continue with my exercise routine.
3) Feel good about how I look... or more generally, just comfortable in my own skin.

Sorry this is so long but if anyone has any ideas of good groups for me to join or any tips just let me know! Thanks for reading!
Meg

Replies

  • ThunderHellCat
    ThunderHellCat Posts: 3
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    U can add me
    <3 receny relised my weights down to bad food choices
    So im here to make a change before its too late
  • cwielk
    cwielk Posts: 36
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    you can add me! i am just starting the shred also! hope to see some great results.
  • wilkin777
    wilkin777 Posts: 73 Member
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    You can add me if you like : ) I am on day 18 of the 30 day shred so we can keep each other motivated. I am on relatively limited diet (pcos sufferer) but still have to cook for my boyfriend so I get how hard it can be to make healthy choices when others don't have to ( or choose not to). Anything is possible though :D
  • Mtalley1974
    Mtalley1974 Posts: 5
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    Hi Megan,

    You are welcome to add me to your friends list. We have a lot of similarities. I am a mother ( of a 18yr old), am a student (at a Jr College), I am fairly new to MFP (about 3- 4 weeks), I am a huge emotional eater ( for any and all reasons), and I easily get bored with exercise. I have tried walking, Zumba, gym memberships in the past, etc. I most recently tried a free week at Curves - actually on my 3rd day there. I seem to be enjoying it as I look forward to going. It's amazing to me that you actually get exercise there and a pretty good workout. They have 16 stations, various equipment and walking/jogging boards, and you use each for 30 seconds. The best part - the entire work out start to finish including your stretching is 30 minutes. I think its also pretty good because you can't get bored. As soon as you begin something, they announce that it's time to move to the next. They also have Zumba classes there as a group, but I haven't tried it. I have however tried Zumba on the wii. That is a lot of fun. Its hard to keep up with for me, I can only do about 15-20 minutes, but it is a lot of fun. How are you enjoying your Jillian Michaels DVD? Are you finding it hard to keep up with? What types of things do you do? Another thought comes to mind, Tai Chi. I did my very first Tai Chi class at Curves today. I hear they have DVDs for it, and often have exercises on YouTube and other online forums. It was super simple for me. i found it really hard to even think it was exercise. It was basically breathing and a few stretches. I was really surprised to learn that MFP said I burned like 325 calories just doing Tai Chi for 30 minutes. I will for sure be doing that at home.
  • newmari12
    newmari12 Posts: 29 Member
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    Hey! You can add me if you'd like. We don't have everything in common but we both do struggle with binge eating. I would consider myself a bit of a gym rat and outdoor enthusiast but when it comes to food all my hard work and sweat at the gym is completely wasted because I can't seem to control what, and how much food I put in my mouth. Hopefully we can help one another out and motivate ourselves to get out of the rut we currently find ourselves in. Cheers!
  • trainlikeacareer
    trainlikeacareer Posts: 5
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    Add me, please! I'm new, too. I'm Rachel, I'm 18 years old, and I'm looking to lose around 50lbs.
  • LizV32
    LizV32 Posts: 127 Member
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    you can add me, i completed the shred a couple of months ago! I lost 4 inches from it!

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