Military Spouses?

I was just wondering if there were any other military spouses out there trying to lose weight too. I know that we often have a unique lifestyle that not everybody else understands. It might be nice to offer support to one another throuh this site. If there are any other spouses, what branch of service are you with and where are you stationed? My husband is a Marine and we are stationed at Camp Pendleton in California.

Yup. Army wife here.  We are currently overseas. Can't wait to get back to the states where there are a whole range of healthier food choices!

You can't beat the free gyms, suanas and pools though (an advantage to being a military spouse!).

Air Force wife here.  Currently living on a tropical island.  I agree with slayer.  The hardest part for me, right now, is in having any food choices. 

Slayersyrena-The free gyms are definately a great perk, although I find it a little intimidating to work out with people who are all in such good shape. My brother is in the Army as well. He just graduated basic training and got his first duty station. I am so proud of him!

vstar_pilot- I'm not going to lie, living on a tropical island sounds awfully nice to me.  

Oh, don't find it intimidating! I used to be in the Army and whenever I saw a civilian spouse working out with the rest of us (in the gym or running on the roads) I always thought they were super hardcore, despite whatever shape they were in (since in the Army we had no choice- we HAD to work out).

I became injured, and then out of shape after that. I'm working to rectify those problems now!

Oh and  congratulations to your brother for making it! (Not everyone is able to make it through Army Basic Training... It's pretty intense stuff.)


vstar_pilot: A tropical island huh? Nice!!! And yeah, the lack of organic or healthy non-processed foods can be hard. At least there are a few choices (albiet small) that I can work with here. But the thought of going to a massive supermarket just chock full of healthy choices is a bit mind-boggling to me right now. I can't wait!!! :)

Army Wife here...... National Guard for over 14 years and hubby is deploying to Iraq in June....

Once we got the news he is deploying I started working out~ to keep up w/ the kids - one can really run ~ ... and also to keep any negative thoughts out and try to bring in the positive~

hi all my hubby is in British Army and we are all together for a change but we are still in a small village in  England away from his unit so we are outsiders on the camp and nobody talks to us or befriends us so it is very lonely for us and our children, my husband trys to be supportive about me losing weight but takes it too far by trying to get me on the scales everyday but also refuses to look after the children for me to go to the gym on camp.

Good luck everyone

I'm an air force wife.  Right now my husband is on a TDY and I'm doing really well with my diet and exercise.  I find that when he's gone I have no distractions and I can stick to my plan.  Of course I miss him, and prefer it when he's home.  But when he's home it's like we celebrate by going out to eat all the time, and I just want to spend all my free time with him instead of exercising.  He works long, strange hours, and there are many days a week, even when he's home, that I don't see him at all.  So it's the days when I see him that wreck havoc with my routine.

kathleen_i- I totally understand what you are saying. I lose 25 pounds when my husband was in Iraq last time, and then when he came home, I gained 10 of it back.  We did so much celebrating! Last time, though, I used a lot of lean cusine and healthy choice meals for food, and this time I am trying to actually cook the food and lose weight eating actual meals. He's leaving again this fall, and I am not looking forward to it.

hi jstone0415

This is the first time hubby is leaving - i have a 10 yr old and I dont know how to handle or be there .... im trying but I feel at a loss.....

Hey Mariyumm, so sorry your husband is going on deployment.  At first it is very daunting to think about, and you wonder how you'll make it through.  The first month or so is the hardest I think, while you adjust.  You've just got to dive in and try to fill up your time with other things.  Make friends with the other wives whose husbands are going with him.  Most bases have a military spouses club, which will have a daycare going during the meeting, it's a great way to meet people.  Once you get into a new schedule it gets easier, although it still sucks.  And then it's weird when they come home.  No one talks about that, the adjusting to them being back, but it's another challenge.

Ive heard about when they come home and readjusting to home life and the kids and work ..... I hope I can continue working out..... when he does go ~ .... hopefully the kids will be good for me ... right now I get up at 4:30am ... and at least at that time they are still sleeping.....

mariyumm- The thing that helped me the most was keeping busy. For me, when my husband left, I used working out to keep busy, and because I wanted to be able to write to him and be able to tell him that I was accomplishing something. It was nice to have him be proud of me. There are plenty of things you can do to stay busy, especially with a child. And, don't hesitate to remember that there are resources out there. I know for me, becuase we lived out in town, just going on base and being around people that understood what I was going through was comforting. I am not much of a talker, so I didn't join any of the clubs or anything, but I hear they can be great too. And if you need anything, you can contact me on here.

You'd think military spouses would be super fit with all of the free gyms and free aerobics classes.  It is a little cheaper to eat healthy because of the commissary and you never have to worry about working out outside if you live on base because it is so safe.

Original Post by danilk:

You'd think military spouses would be super fit with all of the free gyms and free aerobics classes.  It is a little cheaper to eat healthy because of the commissary and you never have to worry about working out outside if you live on base because it is so safe.

You would think that, but many of us work. (Enlisted paychecks are not as nice as officer paychecks ). Not to mention many military families have children to take care of, so between working, caring for children, caring for whatever miscellaneous soldier/salior/Marine needs to taking care of, taking care of everything that needs to get done around the home, and wondering day in and day out if the person that you love more than anything in the whole world is coming home alive, it doesn't leave a whole lot of time some days to get to the gym. So, yes, it is amazing that the gym and the classes are free, but there are still an incredible amount of factors that play in to our lives every day. 

Yeah, I kind of forgot about the kid part... sorry :/  My mom is an Air force wife of 21 years... she was a freaking baby making machine.

I'm with you all...Coast Guard wife here.....5 kids, dad stationed 6 hours away and comes home on the weekends for (36 hours).  The only thing is I have an 18, 15, 12, 4, and 2 year old....waiting for the senior to graduate so we can move with him.  It was a January 2nd rotation.  ???

I'm doing I guess "well" with the weight loss...20 lbs in 10 weeks...however, in the past 3 days..I gained 3 lbs back.....cheese and rice...

all the classes and gyms are only free for families that live near bases.....our commissary is more than 45 mins away......and there isn't anything free for us...we are remote...without even a unit to hang out with other spouses...

Original Post by jstone0415:

I was just wondering if there were any other military spouses out there trying to lose weight too. I know that we often have a unique lifestyle that not everybody else understands. It might be nice to offer support to one another throuh this site. If there are any other spouses, what branch of service are you with and where are you stationed? My husband is a Marine and we are stationed at Camp Pendleton in California.

Military wife here ... Hello, everyone.  My name is Molly, I am one of the volunteer moderators for this site, and I am a 43-year-old stay-at-home-wife and kitty mom.  *waves*  Since joining this site late last August, I've lost 91 pounds so far.

My wonderful DH is full-time, active duty in the California Air National Guard (a pilot), currently in his 25th year of service.  We are stationed in central California, and (for the time being), my wonderful DH is here and not "camping in the desert." (He returned last August, and we're waiting to here about his next camping adventure.)

=^..^= MOLLY

Original Post by danilk:

You'd think military spouses would be super fit with all of the free gyms and free aerobics classes.  It is a little cheaper to eat healthy because of the commissary and you never have to worry about working out outside if you live on base because it is so safe.

 We're nowhere near a base or a commissary and free gyms with aerobics classes, actually.  The closest real base to us is about an hour and a half away, and it's a naval air station.

=^..^= MOLLY

Hi Molly! 91 Pounds! That is incredible! I've been slow and steady with one pound a week lost since I started this site 8 weeks ago. That's funny that you call it "camping in the desert." The guys here all call it "playing in the sandbox."   They can be so funny sometimes.