OK, ladies, I'm ready to face the music. Please help!

[egoldber]

Alright, I am ready to do this. I need to lose at least 20 pounds. I am 5'1" and 139 pounds (as of the scale this morning). I would love to be below 120 again! (Haven't been there in 12 years..) I can't even blame my weight on my pregnancy, since I gained a ton of weight at my job before becoming a SAHM. I was behind a desk, in meetings all day, eating catered lunches during meetings, etc. I was at 150 before I had Sarah, so I guess I'm happy I'm even below my pre-pregnancy weight.

I am so scared of becoming like my mother and sisters, who are all near my height, and weigh 200 pounds. I need to get this weight off in a healthy way! I know I need to exercise more. Since putting DD in pre-school, I promised myself I would start going to the gym at least on those days (she HATES the child care area in my gym :( ) and try to find time to work out at least once more a week. Also, we are actively trying to TTC again, and I want something that I can continue to do when I become pregnant. Not lose weight (of course) when pregnant, but to keep eating healthily and an exercise program I can keep doing then too.

I write all this down and none of it sounds hard, but why do I find it so hard to do!

I would appreciate any thoughts and suggestions you ladies might have!

Thanks!

[COElizabeth]

Beth, I sympathize with you on the difficulty getting motivated to exercise! My weight is fine, fortunately, but my doctor told me I really need to exercise regularly to try to get back in shape and (I hope) get rid of the back pain that's been bothering me for months. I know I also need to do it for my heart, lungs, bones, etc. And when we went on a short hike a couple of weeks ago, I was so dismayed to realize how out of shape I am compared to my gung-ho cross-country skiing/snowshoeing/hiking/backpacking days when I first moved to Colorado.

I haven't even tried to take James to my gym's childcare. Part of it is that I have yet to leave him with a stranger, and partly I am just LAZY! I will say that the few (read, about 3) times I have managed to make myself go to the gym since James was born, I have been amazed at how different I felt. I felt like I was closer to my pre-baby self in a way. Not that I want to go back to being that way all the time, but being forced to concentrate on myself and how I felt and doing something for my body and mind really contrasted with how much I am focused on my child the rest of the time. I mean, look at us - I know I spend James' naptimes surfing these boards, and you look at dollhouses for Sarah when she is at school! LOL! Not that there is anything wrong with that, but a complete break to focus on yourself is a good thing, I think, and recharges you in a different way.

Of course there is still the problem of when to do it, what to do with the baby, etc., but I am feeling a bit more motivated now!

HTH!

Elizabeth, Mom to James, 9-20-02

[cchavez]

Beth, you can do it! I am trying to get motivated to lose the last of the baby weight too! I am currently at 123 and I would love to get down to 115 which was my prepregnancy post Hawaii vacation weight. But before our vacation, where we conceived ,I was down to 110-111. I don't know if I can ever get there again. What has always helped me is watching my carbs. I truly am a carb addict.

I am have done strict Atkins but for some reason this time it has been alot harder to stay on track. I attribute it to the post baby hormones and the Halloween candy we have in our house! Anyway, I am trying to eat lower carb but not too strict Atkins. This way, I don't feel deprived of some of my carbs.

I wish I could motivate myself to exercise...I used to exercise 4-5 times a week prebaby. Now we go go for walks in the stroller but that is not quite the same as going to the gym.

I have been back to lower carb for about 6 weeks (w/ several cheats along the way)and I am down 5 pounds. I keep on telling myself I need to stay focused so that I won't be killed by the additional pounds one usually adds during the holiday and b/c we are proably start TTC #2 in 6 months or so??

Regardless, of what you decide to do. Good luck and I hope you can find the support you need through these boards.

[peanut4us]

I don't know about you, but I HATE the gym. I would much rather be outside walking or rollerblading. But there is one "gym-esque" thing that I love, that is SO perfect for when you get prego again... deep-water aerobics. Now, if you don't love being in the water, forget it. But it is great. These are the kind where your feet don't touch the bottom of the pool. You are given a floatation thing, usually a ski belt, so you don't kill yourself staying afloat. The exercises use the water as resistance and it is so fun. I have never sweated before in a pool until this, and I was on a swimteam in my youth!

The tricky part is that these classes are hard to find. Our community center just barely startd them here, but they are at 5 am or 6 pm and about 20 minutes away from my house. Not good with my work schedule and being with Sara. But as soon as I can fit it in, I'm on it.

You might feel weird being in a bathing suit to work out, but when I did it a few years ago where we used to live... without changing my diet, going 3 times a week, I lost 10 pounds in a month. Seriously good workout!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

See if there is a Curves For Women near you. It is a 30 minute work out, three times a week. It's fun and easy and you can do it through pregnancy. I did, and I am sure that is part of the reason my delivery and recovery were so easy.

http://www.curvesinternational.com/

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[McQ]

I have a treadmill that is down in my basement in front of a tv. I figured if I was exercising I could at least enjoy the time. Then I found that the shows couldn't keep up with me (and I was walking, not running). So I would put on one of the music channels. Nothing like some good 80s music to keep you going.

And granted I haven't been on it since Declan was born, but I plan to get back on it soon :)

When I was pregnant I went to a prenatal yoga class at one of the Fairfax rec centers. It was not strenuous by any means. It was relaxing and I really think all the stretching helped. We're TTC too so I hope it happens for both of us and that I'll see you in class :)

Allison
~ mommy to Declan 3.24.03

[emmasmama]

I second giving low-carb a shot, if you are the kind of person who eats alot of them. You don't even have to do a diet like Atkins/South Beach or whatever to reap results of just being more aware of how much you're eating. I realized after I really started to look at it that my entire diet was pretty much made up of straight carbohydrates, some good (the complex kind), but alot of bad ones too (biscotti anyone?). I would normally have toast/bagel/cereal for breakfast, some sort of sandwich for lunch, crackers or pretzels as a snack, and frequently some type of pasta for dinner. With all of the weird hours of having a new baby, I was up a lot in the middle of the night, so I would also have a big bowl of cereal or some toast sometime around 3am, because I was hungry then. All of these things were lowfat and I only ate whole grain, including the pasta, which was whole wheat, but I just couldn't seem to shake the weight, despite being on a walking regimen, which has always worked well for me. I have to add that I "treated myself" to some stuff like a couple of biscotti in the afternoon with my coffee, but we're not talking about major pigouts here - I was for the most part, being pretty good, but I think my metabolism is just changing as I'm getting older.

Anyway, I dropped down my carbs dramatically by eating eggs/egg beaters for breakfast, usually some type of salad for lunch that I chock full of all kinds of good stuff, whatever I'm in the mood for (peppers, blue cheese, mushrooms, feta, tuna salad, tomatoes, etc), and then I have some sort of fish and lots of veggies and a salad with dinner. I snack on part-skim mozzarella cheese sticks and almonds or pistachios (but I count them out so I can't have too many). I let myself have a little bit of bread product each day, but try to limit it to something like several crackers (whole grain) and I eat a little bit of fruit, usually berries (partly because I love them and partly because they're lower in sugar). I've researched some low-sugar desserts and have dessert every night so I don't feel deprived.

Let me tell you that I have never felt better! I have lost 12 lbs in the first month and I eat as much quantity of the above type food as I want. I never let myself be hungry. I am not a gym person, but I try to stay pretty active. This has just proven to me that what was keeping me down was that I was really overdoing it on carbs and I'm positive it's what was keeping me from losing weight. My next goal is to step it up from the little bit of walking/yoga that I do, to something more aggressive, like the Firm videos and maybe some running. I think that walking and yoga are a great way to start because they don't seem so much like work to me. Yoga seems just like fun and walking I like because I can get outside for a while and I'll just check out people's landscaping or stuff they've done with their houses to get ideas for my own house. I try to go a different route every time and really explore the neighborhoods. Getting a yoga tape and putting on some sneakers and walking around require very little start-up money and get you motivated to do more.

Best of luck with everything! Just remember that every little effort you make counts, so even if you start out slow, it is making a difference!

[Annette_C]

Welcome back, Beth!
I hope you had a great time at Disney and that Sarah enjoyed it even better than last time!
I wanted to wait until you got back to respond here so here it goes:
You're right, it is hard to start on a diet and exercise regiment... but I guarantee you that once you start, it will become easier!
What has worked for me in the past is to prep myself for it. Start thinking about the diet plan you'll feel more confortable doing. Then, think about starting a daily exercise program. Don't set your goals too high or you may be tempted to give up too soon.
I would suggest starting with a 30 min workout. I would alternate aerobics and toning for better results. In my opinion, yoga is fine for flexibility but for weight loss you'll need to sweat!:) There's a site where you can see detailed descriptions (and ratings) about every workout program ever released! It's www.collagevideo.com and it has helped a lot in making my decisions on what video to purchase.
You can also record exercise programs from tv, if you have cable. My favorite is Bodies in Motion with Gilad (taped in Hawaii!). I used to record his shows all the time before I had his videos. Denise Austin is another good one to tape since her moves are low impact (beginners). Remember that energy creates energy and, once you start exercising, you'll feel like doing more.
About the diet, try keeping a food diary for a week just to have a better idea of what you're eating. Then, try to eliminate all the "junk" (assuming you're eating any) and replace it with ealthier options. If you decide that a particular diet appeals to you or maybe find that it's easier to follow a specific diet with menu plans, etc., go for it!
I've been on the South Beach diet for a week now (see my complaining post) and, although it has been a little hard for me (read: I'm a carb addict!) and have felt really tired for the first few days, I've started to see results! That is giving me the incentive to go on.
I hope this helps a bit. Just know that I completely understand how you feel since I've done the same thing (gain the weight AFTER the pregnancy). As you can see here, you're not alone. It's hard to commit to a diet and exercise plan when you have a baby/toddler to take care of! As you said, though, you now have a little freedom while Sarah is in preschool. I look at exercise as something I'm doing for myself! We're so fast at doing for others that we often forget ourselves.
You can do it!! We're here for you if you need us!!
Annette
SAHM to Sabrina 6/24/02

[mamicka]

I'm in a similar situatuation & here's my recent *find*. Through my chiropractor I found out about the 'Body By God' book. Its basically about eating foods by God instead of foods by man (organic/natural = good), a little food combining & what time of day to eat what. I've been adding these principals to my diet slowly & have had really good results so far.

Note: I am normally the farthest thing from a 'granola' person... this just made so much sense when I read it.

Mamicka
Mom to Lawrence (6/17/03)