Motivating my mom

campjodie · July 2012

My family is an overweight one. However, I lost around 90 pounds since my heaviest and I would love to motivate my mom to try to get healthier as well. She has a desk job, does not exercise, and sits in front of the television at night. I was wondering if anyone had some advice, maybe from actual mothers or women over 50, about getting motivated to work out. What worked for you and what didn't? Thanks!

gogophers · July 2012

I don't think you can motivate her. Motivation has to come from herself. You can do things like telling her you want a walking buddy. Or you want to lose weight with her (assuming you still want to lose more) so you can both keep each other honest on the diet. Do not lie about your reasons though. The truth always comes out and when that happens, she will likely be upset and push back by eating more again.

If she says no or otherwise declines, I think you have to let it go and do so nicely. Otherwise, she'll cheat on her diet because she'll see it as punishing you.

However, everyone has different dynamics in their family and friendships so it's hard to know for sure what the right way to go about this is.

ghiagirl893 · July 2012

You could try talking to her about all the problems being overweight can cause, and that you want her to be around to for a long time, for her grandchildren, or something else that is important to her.

DLKeeble · July 2012

I am 52 year old mom. I have tried several times and had a small success 2 years ago with sparkpeople. I lost my motivation and gained all 17 pounds back. I have friends that used looseit and have had great success. My son actually turned me onto MFP. I compared loiseit,sparkpeople and mfp for 2 weeks...a lot of entering, but ultimately chose mfp. I needed to see it, touch it so to speak. Do you think you could get her to explore it on the computer first and get use to the whole concept?
I will say she has to want to try. I was ready and my son wasready to help and encourage. Matter of fact, I am helping my husband track his food and we walk together. My son has lost about 25 lbs in 60 days so far. His girlfriend does not needto loose weight but she is on board for the exercise. It has become a family affair. Good luck.

iamers · July 2012

I have the same problem. I want to motivate my mum into exercising and losing weight because I know it will benefit her so much. She has said herself that she needs to lose some weight and start exercising yet she hasn't done anything about it. I don't want to lose my mum at a young age because of her weight.

JupiterJune · July 2012

As some other people said, motivation has to come from herself. That doesn't mean you can't help her realize the importance of making healthy decisions.

My mom is also a bit overweight and that is bad for her self esteem. I started doing a running program (C25K) and losing some weight, and she got interested in doing something too after she saw the results I was getting.

I told her I'd do an exercise DVD with her if she was willing to do it a few nights a week (I posted this thread here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/676826-exercise-dvds-for-me-and-my-mom where people gave great advice).

We're going to try those out soon! Good luck motivating your mama

housegirl2 · July 2012

I'm 66 and am working on my last 50lb (was 100lb at the beginning of my weight loss journey)- Lost 50lb had an interruption in my weight loss journey along the way with some weight gained back and now lost again.

When I was 56 I had a health scare that had a connection to my being 100 lb overweight. That motivated me more than fitting into a smaller size. For me work out DVD/ tapes were a great way to start. Now I also go to the local YMCA. Your mom is at the age where health issues related to weight can come up suddenly- diabetes, uterine cancer, heart disease to name a few. Studies have shown people are more likely to stick to a weight loss program if it is connected to health issues.

Going from overweight to fit when it hasn't been a part of your life is tough and has to be something SHE WANTS. However there are some things your mom could do to start that would be easy to fit into her current life. Two 10 minute walks during her work day, using commercial time during her night time TV watching as a time to do squats, running in place weights etc are all things easy to do and good for her health.

If you still live at home would she take an exercise class with you? My daughter and I took a kick boxing class together- was great fun. She might like a zumba gold class if taught where you live. Its geared to people who aren't as used to the high energy dance type classes.

hjmatthew · July 2012

I have the same issue. My mom is overweight and it really effects her quality of life. I've tried to talk to her about getting in shape and she acts like she can't hear me. I've offered to sign up for WW with her and she says "that will be fun" but when I bring it up for real, she isn't interested.

We live in different towns and I feel that if I lived closer I could help motivate her, but speaking from my own experience it has to come from within.

I've also tried to talk to her about her health and how I care and am concerned and a few weeks later she, again, acts like she doesn't hear me.

Motivating my mom

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