What did you do to lose 50lbs or more

I am currently trying to lose 60lbs by this year or next year. I have a 2 year old and a 9 month old so I am trying to lose the baby weight. I just need som advice?? Please Help

With small children to look after it's especially important that you keep your energy & nutrition levels up whilst eating slightly less than normal in order to lose weight.  My way of achieving that was to remove all the sugary, processed and starchy foods/drinks from my diet and replace them with more whole-foods, home-cooking... real food in other words.  I switched the whole family to the same food rather than trying to go it alone or cooking separate meals.  They all look pretty good on it!

Looking back, I wasn't counting calories then but I probably went for no more than a 500-700 calorie deficit between my food intake and energy output.  The weight-loss was the recommended 1 or 2lbs a week and I felt happy, healthy and not washed out.

Doing some light exercise helps a lot.  But again, don't thrash yourself to death.... Looking after small children is quite energetic enough so pace yourself appropriately.

I lost 50 lbs by not snacking, running/walking 300 calories/day and going for salads when eating socially.

I'm not a mother, but I've nannied a lot and have an ounce of maturity - I'm 30.  I've found that when I'm doing childcare, I feel healthier when I'm playing with the kids a lot; it certainly beats the sedentary sittin in the office that I've also done.  I once read that if we were to imitate kids' activities, we would burn a lot more calories, which makes a lot of sense.  One of my girlfriends lost and kept off a lot of weight just from playing with her kids a lot.  I'm sure you play with your kids, but that's my thought.  Someone also inspired me the other day on this web site (or from one of the About articles) to do weight-lifting with the freeweights while watching TV, so that I'm not just "sitting".  Good luck with your goals!

Do not eat the children's leftovers. The kids don't need the extra calories, and neither do I.

 I'm a mother of 3, and I know losing weight with 3 children with high energy is a blessing. I use to push them off, and not play with them.. Now! I'm up and running, and playing with my 10 year old son, and my 8 year old daughter, and helping my 13 year old in Cheering.. She's a Cheer Leader, and she is working hard. I have work hard with her too. I forgot how hard being a Cheer Leader can be.. So just remember your kids are at that perfect age for High Energy, and you can use that with your weight loss program..  And this is the perfect time to teach them good healthy eating habits as well.. "In a good way."

I've lost over 58 pounds with my children, and with the help of CC. Great Advice on here.. Had to toss that in....

 
So get out there, and play with them and have fun.. Enjoy every moment of the day, and let them have fun with you.. Take them to the park or the play Ground, and play with them.. They love that kind of stuff.. My kids love's it.. Not only that.. My son loves counting my reps, and telling me.. Give me a few more mom.. Showing me the new exercises they have learn at school is a joy too.. Not only that.. They love our after 1 hour after dinner workouts. We have fun...
Turbo Jam, and now I have Rocking Body.. They love to Dance, and you will see when you get started just how much fun it can be for all of you.. Just put on the tunes, and watch them party with you.

  I really love helping my children stay focus on keeping healthy eating habits, and play time. I can really say. I'm not one of those mom's who owns a game system in my home.. Never brought one, and is not about to. Seen what it doesn to most kids..  We have fun here doing things that are physical now, and I think I love it more than they do sometimes.. Just have fun, and the weight will come off.. Oh! One last thing.. Protein... It's also one of the great keys to losing weight, and keeping it off.. PROTEIN! Good Luck, Lynn

 

Original Post by lynnhaslost:

 I'm a mother of 3, and I know losing weight with 3 children with high energy is a blessing. I use to push them off, and not play with them.. Now! I'm up and running, and playing with my 10 year old son, and my 8 year old daughter, and helping my 13 year old in Cheering.. She's a Cheer Leader, and she is working hard. I have work hard with her too. I forgot how hard being a Cheer Leader can be.. So just remember your kids are at that perfect age for High Energy, and you can use that with your weight loss program..  And this is the perfect time to teach them good healthy eating habits as well.. "In a good way."

I've lost over 58 pounds with my children, and with the help of CC. Great Advice on here.. Had to toss that in....

 
So get out there, and play with them and have fun.. Enjoy every moment of the day, and let them have fun with you.. Take them to the park or the play Ground, and play with them.. They love that kind of stuff.. My kids love's it.. Not only that.. My son loves counting my reps, and telling me.. Give me a few more mom.. Showing me the new exercises they have learn at school is a joy too.. Not only that.. They love our after 1 hour after dinner workouts. We have fun...
Turbo Jam, and now I have Rocking Body.. They love to Dance, and you will see when you get started just how much fun it can be for all of you.. Just put on the tunes, and watch them party with you.

  I really love helping my children stay focus on keeping healthy eating habits, and play time. I can really say. I'm not one of those mom's who owns a game system in my home.. Never brought one, and is not about to. Seen what it doesn to most kids..  We have fun here doing things that are physical now, and I think I love it more than they do sometimes.. Just have fun, and the weight will come off.. Oh! One last thing.. Protein... It's also one of the great keys to losing weight, and keeping it off.. PROTEIN! Good Luck, Lynn

 

 Lynn, I'm not a mother (and don't plan on being one for a long time) but I want to say I think you are a great mom!! Way to go! Good for you for teaching your children good habits. I hope I can be a mom like that some day.

And congrats on the weight loss!

dandy_ll, Thanks... I know you are going to be a wonderful mom yourself one day.. Just don't be like me.. Use being a mother, and stress out be your excuse for not losing the baby pounds.. That was my biggest mistake.. I had one, and dropped a few pounds.. Had my son, and dropped a few pounds.. Had my daughter... LAST ONE, and signed up for the YO-YO Team 500. You are going to be a great mother..  I've read everything on how to lose weight. Running behind my kids now- has been the best thing.. I wear them out, and thet get better sleep than I do still. :) You would think after all these year I would be able to sleep like a baby ;) I don't think that will every happen..

This is the first post i have ever made so I hope that I do this right.  I have lost a total of 60 + pounds some of it with cc which helped a lot.  I am a mother of two small children and what works for me is biking.  I have a double bike stroller and a mountain bike and I haul them all over creation. They get lots of new experiences and get to see new things and have a lot of picnics and I get a lot of exercise that I otherwise wouln't be getting.  They also have a tendency to fall asleep in the stroller when we are cruising so it makes the times pass for them more easily.  I also have an elliptical at home that I ride after I have put them to bed.  Good luck and I hope this helps.

When I was 17 I weighed 298lbs.  I don't think I ever hit the 300 mark.  All I did was get my normal meals, cut everyting in half and throw it in the trash.  And then I played basketball everyday for like a 9 months straight.  I got down to 230 that year.  Then I joined the military.  Hopefully that helps a little bit.

Well, for me the first 60 pounds came off fairly easy. I cut out all fast food & resturants, only drank 0 calorie drinks like water (TONS) & crystal light (every so often I had a diet soda but it was rare) and started excercising on the weekends (my job is really physical so I didn't really need to excercise during the week). My main excercise is still walking..I take my dog (who is a really great motivator because I don't want to have him go nuts if he doesn't get walked)... and go walking on a local trail. Depending on how much time I have I walk 5-10 miles each Sat & Sun so that's 10-20 miles per weekend. I try to keep a pace of 3 miles per hour but sometimes family members come along & they walk slower & like to stop a lot (which annoys me but it's family what can I do?).

After the first 60 pounds it got harder..I maintained my weight for almost a year & have just now started losing more. I need to step up the excercising by jogging or running but I just can't find the motivation to do that. I'm thinking about buying a bike, but I'm worried about not being able to control my dog..or him not wanting to run. He'll walk forever but he's lazy when it comes to anything else. lol