Mommie motivation/ 60 day challenge

I am a mom of three who is trying to go back to school and lose weight... because summer is a mere two months away!!

Hard enough to do, right? Well today my husband who is in the AirForce left for 3 weeks, and im going to need alot of support from other areas to make all my dreams of losing weight, succeeding at school and motherhood a reality.

I joined a few weight loss forums, but it seems as though the more people that sign up, the more that drop out. I think on one about 40 people really wanted to join, now just three weeks later there are only a handfull of people left posting stats.

I am looking for about 6 to 8 ladies that have full plates but need and want to give inspiration. Ones that want to check up on the site regularly (I know its hard to keep up with sometimes) and share triumphs, post vents, and give weekly stats, and really give this challenge a personal feel and get to know one another. Anyone up for a tough 60 day challenge?

Hi there! I have a handsome 7 month old son and I desperately need to lose weight too.  My name is Maureen and I live in Alaska. I hope we can be friends online and lose weight for summer! YAY FOR SUMMER!! =)

I'm a mom of 2 who works full-time and I am trying to lose weight, get fit overall, for life.  I love to exercise and for the most part, I enjoy watching what I eat.  I love the sense of self-control and accomplishment. 

I can't imagine having 3 kids, going to school, and your husband being gone.  I finished a college degree with one baby and that was almost not doable. (I had to watch my kids whenever I wasn't in class, which left no real study time, and I was too exhausted to stay up after putting the baby to bed, to study then.) I can really feel for you there, but I know it IS doable. 

I would like to be challenged to lose weight as well. I am only about 10 lbs away from my goal, but it's kind of stuck there, you know?  I'm not sure I'd say I've plateaued, because I've also increased the intensity of my exercise more and more almost every few days.  But I would like some encouragement to because now that I'm pushing myself a lot harder and the results are so slow to show, it can get to be a downer from time to time. 

I can tell you CC's website and all the different people in the forums have helped me a lot.  I've dieted and exercised before to lose baby weight, but usually after a couple of months I get sidetracked and fall into my old ways. I'm jumping in this time with a new attitude: I want to change my ways for life, not just to "fix a problem." I don't want to yo-yo the rest of my life. Plus this time I'm more interested in being toned and fit.  I want to be lean and mean :P

I would love to join you and whoever else!  I'll try to be as supportive as possible!

welcome alaskagirl!! I am so exited about summer too! Our family loves to camp and go to the beach and I cant wait to do those things again! My husband is stationed in the Mojave desert, about 90 minutes northeast of Los Angeles, California. Looking forward to chatting with you and hearing about your goals/ successes!!

welcome hcannon! Military life is stressful.. but thank goodness we are only about 5 hours away from family where we are currently stationed, so my mom is here to help for the beginning of my school semester. Thankfully I am taking two classes online and two on Mon/Wed, so my schedule isnt too bad! I understand your stagnant loss, about a year ago I stopped losing weight at 137, and couldn't lose anymore... then I started gaining because I got pregnant lol. This time when I start looking really toned and good I better watch out not to get pregnant again!! looking forward to hear about your progress also!!

I got up to about 170 pounds right before delivery three months ago. I started working out again three weeks ago when I was 153  pounds. So far I have lost 6 pounds (alot form my chest... kids suck the life right out of your boobs it seems like.. lol) and have a goal weight of about 125. I am 5'4" and 31 years old, and I want to look spactacular for family campouts and my birthday which is coming in July.

Hey Ladies!  Alana, I'm with you.  I've been on CC a year now and have lost 35lbs.  I was hoping to have lost more in a year, but I took the winter "off" and gained back 10 or so lbs.  Now I'm finally under 200lbs and feeling great. 

However I'm having a hard time finding a support group that is constant.  The group I found last summer was wonderful, but then when school started up again and everyone got back to their normal schedules everyone seemed to drop out.  I'm in need a of a few close friends to keep me on track this time! 

I'm a stay-at-home mom to 3 kids, a dog and a cat.  I used to work full time, but when daycare costs exceeded the take home pay I had to quit.  At my heaviest 2 years ago I was over 250lbs (I'm 5'4").  Now I'm bouncing around 197-199 with hopes to get motivated and plumet to 150 by Christmas. 

Alana, I don't know how you do it with hubby away, school and kids.  I feel like I'm at wits end most days and my hubby is at home and I graduated college too long ago for me to say...so kudos to you for even attempting to do something for yourself in the midst of all that!

Maureen, my cousin has a young son and also lives in Alaska.  Small world!

well, I gotta run and get the kids to bed! - Jodi

Hello Alana,

I'd love to join you on this 60 day (and hopefully longer) journey in motivation, inspiration and weight loss. While I can't imagine having 3 kids, I have one in her terrible twos, and her father who is supportive in an unsupportive way (eats/cooks things i can't eat constantly...)

I too would love a constant, loyal group of friends who I can talk to about everything surrounding my weight loss journey. I'll be honest, I'm pretty embarassed about it with my real life family/friends, but I can talk (type) my heart away online with my virtual friends.

My situation in brief is this. I'm a stay at home mom, full time student, part time daycare provider. I am 50/50 on my healthy eating habits, some days/weeks I can be amazing, and then that one day I have a craving and give in, I feel so bad/guilty/ashamed I cheat even more... I seriously lack on my exercise motivation, which based on my schedule is really only possible first thing in the morning before the baby wakes up... so i guess its part laziness me not wanting to get out of bed and get ont he treadmill or go for a walk - but hopefully thats where you ladies will come in.

I'm currently at 230lbs (which is the heaviest I've ever been and part of the reason why I said I really need to do this NOW...not tomorrow) and 5.7". My goal weight is around 160-170, but I'm trying to not put all my faith in what the scale says, but how I look and feel. Majority of my weight is in my mid-section. I have a rather large pannus (from PCOS) that I was actually saving up to go and get rid of with a tummy tuck - but the money was spent on some other necessities and I figured instead of saving up for another X amount of years why not try earnestly to lose it on my own. 

Right now I want to lose 10-15lbs by May 17th when we go to the zoo for my daughters 2nd birthday. Which leaves no room for cheating or bad habits.

Anyways, I'll stop chatting now... wait till we have a sound group of mommies before I blab my life to you all - lol.

Hope to chat with you all soon. Feel free to message me anytime.

welcome Jodi! I am going back to school because I cant get a job that covers daycare full time, so me and my hubby are scrimping so I can go to school two days a week to get a better job when I get out... so I totally understand why you would stay home!! It's not worth the hassle of bieng in the car/at work/picking kids up/ getting dinner together quickly to break even or lose money! I hope there are good playgroups around where you live however, because I go crazy when I am at home all day with just kids.. I need adult conversation!

Welcome sweetspice! I am glad you decided to start your weight loss/ healthy living again and to be a part of this forum!! I know it is hard to get to the gym.. I go at night after kids bathtime because that is the only time I can get away! I would rather work out in the morning but daycare at the gym is not an option yet and I cant take the kiddies to daycare everyday so I work with what I can! Hang in there and try to get a breif morning walk in if you can... you will be happy you did once its done!

I think we are starting a great group here! I just got back from the gym and need to fix dinner but I hope to chat again soon. Oh, and I guess I should have mentioned in the introduction that my name is Angela. I have been using my daughters screen name on all sorts of things from forums to ebay since she has been born.

Hi! I'm Jessica. I have been "trying" to loose weight for almost 2 years now. I'm a mom of 2, (3 1/2 yr old and an 18 month old). I'm working 2 jobs since my husband lost his. I am always go go go . I reward myself with food. I agree with what someone else said...I do really good for a day or 2, and then I cheat, and feel so guilty, that it goes down hill. Everytime I start to "watch what I eat" I get to the end of the day, and i say "what's some ice cream? I'll start my diet TOMORROW". I say that every night. I used to be 115 pounds, and a size 0. I'm 27 years old now, and i'm teetering on 152. I would really like to get down to 125-130. My kids won't stay in the gym's daycare, so it's really hard to get there. I try to walk everyday, or ride my bike. I just found the boxing on the Wii. I'm an emotional eater too. I eat when i'm happy, sad, mad, sleepy, bored, upset..etc. I started accupuncture today to see if it would help any. I was diagnosed with PMDD, and the food cravings sometimes are unreal. I have eaten so much before that i almost made myyself sick. I can't say no to food. If it's there i'm going to eat if I'm hungry or not.

Hopefully someone can help me and hold my hand through this. This is harder than anything I've had to do, including 2 c-sections, and quitting smoking. I just want my clothes to fit again!!

Hi.  I'm Jamie.  Here's my story.... I tried dieting in 2007 then my husband joined the army and we moved then almost right after the move, I got pregnant.  My son is 7 months old now and I need to lose weight bad.  I lost my pregnancy weight but I have a lot more to go.  I'm currently 192 (5' 8 or 9 and 23 years old) and i'd like to be 165 maximum so that's my first goal.  I started dieting again in the end of January at 211 and i've lost 19 lbs so far to get myself to 192 so I feel like I've gotten a good start.  I watch workout dvds, walk with my son 3-4 miles or workout on my gazelle in our house.  It's really hard at times bc we live so far away from everyone and I don't relaly know anyone here so I don't have much help but my husband is supportive so I think it'll happen this time.  (Except for times like now when hes sent away for 2 week missions...Im so tired from doing it all on my own that I just don't even want to get off of the computer)

Wow this seems like a great start to a wonderful buddy system. All of us can relate in it seems at least 2 or 3 different ways.

Alana, and everyone else ... do you think we should create a private little group for our support system, so as to not end up with the 40 something people starting with us and then leaving mid way through? Just an idea, since with a group we could head right there to report/check in with everyone...

Alana: I joined a gym prior to starting the school year last year, and was going in the evenings and while I really enjoyed it, I'd find myself rushing to get home to bathe the baby and get her in bed. Now joining a gym again just isn;t in the finances, but i do have a treadmill at home, exercise ball, step machine, weights and tons of exercise DVD's I can follow. It really just about staying motivated enough and dilligent enough to do it on a consistent basis.

Jamie: I know exactly how you feel by not wanting to do anything but sit in front of the computer after an exhausting day. I even moved my step machine to be in front of the tv so IF I was watching tv I could do it at the same time... but guess what? I just watched less TV - LOL! It's really hard sometimes, having the energy and motivation to do all we know we should be doing for ourselves, when we put so much into our kids/family/household, but we have to remember we are important too, and this is something that is making us that much better for our kids/hubby/household.

Jessica: It's sooo funny. I've never before really thought of myself as having a food addiction, and lately I am questioning this. My problem has been for years more the binge style eating. I'll eat one really big, usually not the healthiest meal a day, so my body builds up fat knowing its not getting fed again for another 24+ hours. I know I know, really bad habit. I've been changing that within the past year or so, but i still find myself craving all kinds of foods that are absolutely horrible for myself at times. Tonight for instance I wasn't hungry, but I still bought fast food on the way home just in case I'd be hungry later...awful i know.

Tomorrow is a new day. The first of the month. and I'm holding all you lovely mommies accountable for helping keep me in check, listen to my rants, hold my hand in my rough times/craving periods, motivate me every day.

I'll try my best to do the same. 

hello jessica, thanks for joining the forum! It is hard to decide when your eating habits officially change.. thinking "wow i want this bag of chips, my birthday is coming and I will want cake, the holidays are near and that would ruin everything." You could make up excuses forever! I hope our words and stories can help you start your transition, and you can realize that everyday wont be perfect, but no day should be bad enough to say "I will officially start later!" By the way, what is PMDD, I haven't heard anything about it.

Hello Jamie! It seems we are in the same boat that our military spouses come and go by no control of their own, and it gets very frustrationg! I find sometimes there is a thin line between being proud that he is happy to serve and being angry that his commitment takes him away from me! I know hoe isolated you feel because we wewre stationed in the boonies of Idaho for a few years! Ask if you ever need any extra encouragement from me, because I completely understand where you are coming from! I hope to hear about your progress!!

hey sweetspice..

I was thinking about making a group but it was a pain in the butt to set up so I haven't done it. I was just going to write "closed" when we reached about ten people, and usually when that is done people know that the forum isnt looking for new members. I am sure a few more wouldn't hurt though, but I think by stating about being mommies needing extra motivation and wanting serious posters, that's pretty much what we should get :) (we will see i guess ...lol)

I cant get motivated at home. It is easy for me to start, but then I make up stuff to do, or think "I need to do the laundry NOW!" At the gym I am much more focoused and I figure since I hauled my butt all the way there I better get a good workout in!! I know it can be expensive, but I have a costco membership so I got 2 years of 24hour fitness dues for only 297... thats about 12 a month, and if I bought equipment for home seeing as I have no vidoes/weights/ect, it isnt that much more!! I hope your routine works out for you, and stop eating such huge meals.. you can do it!!

I created a private group called mommy motivation for weight loss. I'll invite everyone who posts here. Even if it has more then 10 members the regulars will still become close fairly quickly i think... I've been a moderator on so many other forums that the idea of a private group just makes it easier for us all to stay caught up with each other...plus, i try and make the group fun, and I'm online for many hours every day so I can be quite active in it....

Here's the link everyone

http://caloriecount.about.com/mommy-motivatio n-weight-loss-g1165

Hello Mamma's (Alana, Maureen, Jodi, Jessica, Jamie, et all.)

My name is Cari. I'm 35, married and a first time Mom to a beautiful little girl named Abigail. She was born November 24, 2007. :-) I am going to copy & paste some info from my bio so that I don't have to type it all out again. :-) Sorry for the long post.

Here are my current stats: Height - 5' 8" current weight - 173

Here's my crazy story:

I got married at age 19 (in hind sight - stupid move on my part,) moved from Florida to California with my husband who was in the military back in 1993. I gained about 15 lbs over a period of 3 years or so, just eating with my husband. Over time, I think I had started to eat the same portions he was eating and that was the problem. I had no business eating that much food. In about 1995, I learned about a revolutionary medical weight loss plan called "Phen - Fen." I lived in California then and it was all the rage! I went to one of the weight loss centers, paid exorbitant amounts of money each month for about a year and lost a ton of weight. It was so easy (it was just 2 pills to take each day) and I was thrilled to be back to a little tiny size 4 or 6 again. The problem was, once you stopped taking the medication, you were hungry again and you gained the weight back, so I kept going in and renewing my prescription every time I would gain some weight. Eventually, Phen-Fen was banned and I could no longer get it. I gained all the weight I had lost back within another couple years. :-( After 7 years, my marriage ended. That's a very long story. While going through a divorce, I lost all the weight again. In fact, I was down to a very unhealthy weight and could fit into a size 2! At 5 ' 8 with a medium build, a size 2 just shouldn't be happening. I was so devastated by the divorce that all I felt like doing was smoking and drinking diet coke. I was eating practically nothing. It was a sad time, but I was happy to be shedding the pounds. I left California after my divorce in 1999-2000 and moved clear across the country to Boston. I just wanted a fresh new start in a place that nobody knew me or knew about my divorce. I managed to keep the "divorce weight" off for several years. I met a wonderful man at the end of 2001 and by 2003, I  moved from Boston to Virginia to be near him. Once again, I started eating with him and putting on some weight, but it was manageable. I guess when I'm in a happy time in my life (especially with a man) I seem to eat more. "Fat & happy" I guess! I would take over-the-counter diet pills here and there to try and help me shed some lbs. Dexatrim, Hydroxy cut, you name it... I probably tried it. Anyhow, I married this man, now my hubby (And the TRUE love of my life,) Toney in 2005. When we married, I was a little heavier than I wanted, but still not out of control. I was about 140ish and in a size 8. Since 2005 when we married, I had started gaining a little more weight and by early 2007, I was up to about 155 lbs and in a size 10 or 12. Again, I was still taking various diet pills on and off again that I ordered form online pharmacies - heaven knows what I was taking! I would try to starve myself for several days at a time in a vain attempt to shed some weight. Then... in March of 2007 I got pregnant and all my diet schemes went out the window!!! Of course I stopped trying to diet and I ate and ate and ate during my pregnancy.  For once in my life, I felt like I didn't have to worry about gaining weight and I didn't have to continuously pop diet pills or starve myself. It was so liberating to have a big dish of ice cream when I wanted it or have a big helping of pasta. Needless to say, I gained 54 lbs in my pregnancy. Not an unhealthy amount to gain, but I could have gained just 30 or 35 and been fine. I was up to 209 lbs at my last weigh in before I delivered Abigail. (Holy COW!) I over ate for 10 months and I knew it. I had this grand idea that I would drop the weight easily after I had the baby because I was going to breastfeed. Well, baby Abigail came, breastfeeding was excruciating and didn't work out well for me at all. :-( My master breast feeding weight loss plan failed, miserably. So, I found myself about 6 months after Abby came still overweight and pretty unhappy about it. I was about 185 at that time and in a size 14 or 16. I was (and still am) miserable with my weight. I decided to give Nutri System a try near the end of last year (08). I really only gave it a good few weeks worth of effort and I did lose about 8 lbs. I still have a cupboard full of NS foods. Darn me for not sticking to any weight loss plan! I found their program a little bit hard to follow b/c being a Mom of a little one, I have precious little time to cut up and prepare salads and such. They require you to add in your own fruits and veggies to their prepared meals and I was just struggling to make the time to do that in the evenings after work.  I might mention that the care of our daughter rests mostly with me, so, while I have a full time day job, I also have a second, full time job at home. Unfortunately, my husband is not very helpful when it comes to daily baby care. It's frustrating.  I'm sure there are plently of other Mamma's who can relate to this too. Right now, Abigail is 16 months old and I am down to 173 lbs and in a size 12 (some 14's still, depending on the designer.) My goal is to get down to 150. I need some motivation and support - Big time!

I'd love to join your Mom's weight loss group becuase I figure there are least a couple other ladies who share my same struggles and we could support one another and hold each other accountable. Nobody knows how busy Mom's are besides other Moms!

It is nice to meet everyone. Again, sorry for the LONNNNGGG post! I hope to make some friends and become weight loss buddies with some of you. :-) - Cari

If there is any room I would like to join your support team. My name is Amber, I am 26. I have two sweet babes my oldest is two and my youngest is 7 months. I am a full time student at DeVry, I have two partime jobs out of my home. I have a house full of animals. My boyfriend is a truck driver and is gone alot. My only support is over the phone with my family most the time because they are so far a way. I joined CC I believe 26 weeks ago, I have lost 12 pounds, I weigh 177. I should be down more but I think I am a person that see a weight change around that time of the month. So We will see.......

Alana, you hit the nail on the head.  I go BONKERS without any adults to talk to.  I used to have a great playgroup when my oldest was little, but now we've all grown apart because our kids go to different schools.  I try taking my little one to classes and the library but I just haven't found as good of a group.  Consequently I often seek companionship on CC.  It definitely helps.  I've also gotten active in the PTA so that i'm meeting other mom's in town that are in the same school.  I've made quite a few good aquantainces, but not anyone I can comiserate food issues with.

Cari, I took Herbalife when it had phenfen in it.  It worked wonders but just like you as soon as I stopped taking it I gained weight.  Then I lost it with Weight Watchers for my wedding.  Then I gained it back about 30 with my 1st kid, another 30 with my 2nd kid and by the time I was 9 months pregnant with my 3rd I was tipping the scales over 250lbs! 

Well, I gotta start getting my kids ready for bed.  Talk all you mamas tomorrow :) Jodi

Hi, my name is Danielle. I am 19 years old and I have a ten month old son. I think starting a group is totally awesome. Since I pretty much dropped out of school because of my pregnancy my highschool friends also disapperared. I am relying on my mom and sister for support but the more the better. I gained almost 70 pounds with my son and I couldn't believe it. My mom told me that the nine months that I gained all that weight that's how long it would take me to lose it. Fat chance right. I am about 20 pounds ligther now but I still feel huge. Before I got pregnant I was around 140 give or take a few pounds. I was 209.8 a day before I delivered my son. I was breast feeding him for two weeks and then all of a sudden I stopped producing it. I weighed 175ish and then bamn with out breast feeding I gained all but 5 pounds back. I was horrified. I have only been on this website for about a week and in a week I've lost 6 pounds. I changed my diet and I excersize everyday. I walk two miles around the local marina and so far I've been seeing improvements. I would love to make new friends, and just be able to talk to other mothers.

I am on this website at least 10 times a day. I add my meals and my avtivities like clock work. I think this website has actually inspired me to do more. I just started doing crunchs and such yesterday to tone my mid section. Hopefully that will help as well.

If anyone is looking to talk to a fellow mother, please, feel free to chat with me.

Hi, Danielle!

I'm new to this group too but I wanted to say I think it is awesome that you are making these changes!  I have 2 kids and I want to set a good example for them and show them that it's fun to be active. 

You will feel better all the time for the new lifestyle choices you are making, and you should be proud of yourself, so stick with it!

Good luck!

Hi Everyone!! I hope its not too late to join!!

Here is my story:

I am 23 years old, 5'4 currently about 185lbs. I have a 2 year old daughter named Rhiannon and a 9 month old son named Gordie. Before I got pregnant with my daughter I weighed about 190lbs. (I started gaining weight practically the same day that I got my period at age 11... from 11 to 18 i gained 70lbs despite being active)... I gained 45lbs during that pregnancy... reaching about 235lbs. I got down to between 205-210 when my daughter was 6 months old... then I got pregnant with my son and gained 25lbs and ended back up at 235lbs.

After having my son and attempting to breast feed for 3 months...(i gained 15lbs and my son gained ONE pound!!) I was diagnosed with Postpardom Depression... I had to decide whether to take anti-depressants and continue to breastfeed or switch him to formula. I knew I needed to take the anti-d's because I was just not myself and I hated the way I was acting and treating the people I loved. I hated the person I had become. I had no patience at all!! I dreaded having to breastfeed my son, as I was nursing him ever hour for at least a half hour.. I felt like I had no time to do anything else. I felt guilty for not being able to play and spend time with my daughter because I was always feeding my son.

So the decision was easy for me to make. My son was not gaining as he should be.. he wouldn't sleep for more than 20 minutes at any time... I switched him to formula in September of 2008. Now six months later he has gone from 9.5 lbs to 19.5 lbs. He is a much happier and healthier baby! He is sleeping excellent! Through the night from 7:30 p.m. til 7 am, very smiley, laughs all the time, is hitting all his milestones and took his first steps yesterday (while in the tub of all places LOL).

And I am feeling great! I have more patience than ever, the little things never bother me.. I don't get miserable over a messy house.. (it will still be there after I get home from the gym) or a burned dinner.. (scrape it off! LOL) I don't let one bad thing ruin an entire day! When I stopped breastfeeding 6 months ago I weighed about 220lbs. I am now down to 185lbs, so I am down 35lbs. I feel pretty amazing.

I'm still on the anti-depressents, because I have tried to come off, but my hormonal balance is still off a bit. I recently went off them for a week to see how I would be without them and I within a couple days I was miserable, became very annoyed with every little thing, I even lost my patience so much that out of anger I spanked my 2 year old daugher... instantly I felt so guilty, and I sat hugging her and crying and appologizing.. The worst part was she thought it was her fault, she hugged my neck tight, looked at me and said "Horsie, Mommy, Horsie" (that's how she says sorry) like she thought she had done something wrong to make me cry. Needless to say that was regretably the first and the LAST time I ever spanked her.

I have never told anyone that before and I am quite embarassed to be telling strangers about it, but for the last month I have felt so guilty and needed to get it off my chest. I know it doesn't make what I did any better.

What I can say is that I am now back on my medication and working on making myself happy. A happy mommy means a happy family, right?!!

As I said, my highest weight was 235lbs, my current weight is 185lbs. I am 23 years old, 5'4.

The healthy weight range for my height is 115-140lbs. I am taking my weight loss 5lbs. at a time. I would like to get down to about 135 lbs, but when I feel comfortable with my body (whatever the scale may say) then I will begin to maintain my weight.

OMG OMG...i fell off the wagon today sooo badly! At work I ate a lot of chocolate. I made chocolate chip muffins for the kids for desert and ate almost all of them. I had to make cookies for my son's class tomorrow, and i ate a few of thoes too. I feel so awful and guilty. I'm never going to get this weight off :(