Hi there! I'm just wondering if there are any other young mothers out there like myself? I'm 28 and I have 2 daughters(11 & 9 years old.) So, that means I was 17 when I had my first daughter. After I had my first daughter, the weight came off fast, because I walked in the mornings. After the second I took off alot, but I wasn't as small as I was after the first. Anyhow, I was a comfortable weight for me then. Anyhow, in the past 4 years, I've gained up to 240pounds(heaviest.) I think it all had to do with job issues and eating instead of actually feeling the feelings I was avoiding at the time. Anyhow, that's my "BIG" story. I can honestly say that I always wanted to lose the weight, but never put forth any effort. Oh, I took a few of the "magic" pills that flashed across the late night t.v. screen, but never truly tried to lose the weight.

When I was young and was actually very skinny, everyone called me fatty. Now, I can get the sarcasm(sp?) of it, but then I just thought, "boy, I thought I was skinny, but if they say I'm fat, I must be!" It's so funny to me now! I have never been able to see an accurate picture of myself. When I look back on pictures now, I think "My goodness, what were you worried about?" I would kill to be that skinny(slightly chubby as opposed to the just fat that I am now.lol.) So, anyhow, that's always been a problem for me. I'm sort of thinking I need to keep a video tape of myself and tape each week so I can actually look at the screen and see myself.

I know this sound weird, but I'm really very nervous about losing weight. I mean, don't get me wrong, I want to be healthier, skinnier, more toned and all that jazz. But at least now I know what I look like and I'm worried about what I will look like then. This is going to sound funny, but MY GOODNESS, am I even going to have breasts after I lose the fat that's stored in my bra now? lol!!! Yep, I'm worried about that. I mean, 2 kids later, 100 pounds later, and I'm getting my own nifty little tattoos from my underwire! lol!!

Now, I'm trying to be brave enough to just move forward, be healthy, and actually look at myself everyday and see what's truly there. But, I'm wondering if there's anyone else out there like me to relate to? Young mom? Afraid of what's to come with this new me? Afraid to succeed, afraid to fail? I really want to do it this time. I started out with the firm and at 240 it was very fun, but hard to keep my balance at times. So, I took it slowly. I went from only doing 30 minutes and now today, for the first time, I actually made it through 45 minutes of aerobic and weight training.

So, please let me know if you can relate. It's nice to feel like someone knows what you're going through.

Oh yeah, my start weight was 240. Now I'm 238. Hey, It's 2 pounds smaller than I was! lol. My biggest struggle is late night eating. I'm a night owl and everyone is asleep, I'm alone...well you can finish that sentence huh? lol. So, I've got to cut that out. That's my first goal. No weight goal yet necessarily, just the goal of cutting out late night eating.

Sorry this was so long ya'll! And in case you can't tell, this was my first post! lol!

Welcome rubies, my name is melanie I'm 20 years old yet I'm not a mother. I do have joint custody of my nephew with ex-brother in law if that counts?! It does to me since I'm the only 'female' role model in his life. But I can't wait to have children of my own!

Im new to the site also. So far everyone's very nice and supportive! I've gotten some great ideas already on how I'm going to start not worrying about my weight and how fast I can get it off, but rather take it off slowly and be healthy about it. The funny thing is when I was 20lbs heavier I had a huge boobs that's how everyone knew me, now I have like and A cup it's funny how people look at me now since I've been outta school, "where's ur boobs" even my bf..gets this pouty face when i wear a low cut shirt lol! Oh well that seemed to be the first place all my weight took off..

Good job on the 2lbs..hey 2lbs is 2lbs that will push to even more! I guess the most important thing to do is be happy with yourself! If you can look in the mirror and smile then your doing something right! Geez I wish I could take my own advice sometimes.

Well it was nice meeting you, the rest of the ladies will introduce themselves and give you great support and advice...I'm going to get my hair colored and going to the mall! =) bye

YEAH!!! another woman from Texas! Welcome Rubies!

Good Luck on your weight loss journey. Don't be nervous or afraid. Losing weight has soo many benefits. You will began to really start feeling better about yourself , and you'll have more energy to keep up with your active kids. Think about your health!

Start off slowly, increase your time as you feel more comfortable with your current workout time. You'll be surprised how fast your body will adapt in just a few weeks!

What area of Texas are you from? Talk to you soon.

welcome Rubies!!!

I am a young mom as well! I just turned 22 this past Tuesday, and I have an almost 4 month old son. I was at my highest weight ever, when I went in for my last OB appointment four days before giving birth, and I was 285lbs. But now I am at 241lbs and I am still going down!

So welcome and don't hesitate to PM me to talk or to jump on in!

Hi! I just registered here, and so far I am loving it! I am a young mother, 25 years old. I have a 7 month old baby. I know exactly how you feel. Sometimes, I worry about how I will look after I lose these 20 lbs. Will my arms be flabby? Will I lose my breast? Will I look weird??

But, obviously, I don't like how I look right now, so what does it matter, I guess?

Good luck!

Hi all - I'm young-ish - I guess! I'm 24 (and a half) and DD just turned four - you do the math. I was very slender and toned before DD came along - 120 on a 5'2" frame and now I'm 212 and I feel like a COW some days - mostly on those days when I know my picture is going to be taken - lol! In my head I still see a fit, toned person so the mirror or photos catches me off guard quite often.

I've been a 3FC member for not quite two weeks and already I feel like I've found a home and family to share my weight loss journey with. I signed up with LA Weight Loss (similar to Weight Watchers) so I'm mostly active on the LAWL thread in the General Diets forum. (If you have any questions about the LAWL program, I'd be glad to answer them. I looked into a lot of weight loss plans and programs and LAWL is definitely a great fit for me - I'd recommend it to anybody.)

I'm not at all afraid to lose this weight! Yes, I'm kind of freaked about how I'll look when it's all said and done - I know it won't be exactly the way I looked five years ago, but I figure I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Tommys: WAY TO GO!!! 40+ pounds in four months is an AWESOME accomplishment! You inspire me!

Have a great evening everyone!

Fiona

Fiona~ First off welcome to the site!! You will love it hear! And secondly, a lot of it was water from being pregnant, but hey I will take it any way I can! My hubby's cousin is getting married on September 11th, and I want to be closer to 200lbs by then, and since AF is almost out of the building, I am sure that it won't be too much of a problem as long as I get myself back on my exercise bike.

Hiya,

I'm 23, mom of two boys.. older one is four years old and younger one is one. I was over-weight all my teen-years.. and gained even more weight with my first pregnancy ( I reached around 200). Nine months after the birth of my first child I joined WW coz I was getting nearly desperate. I wanted to lose weight so bad but I didn't know HOW.. I tried limiting food intake, exercise etc.. but that was the wrong way - as one needs both a BALANCED diet and some comfortable, enjoyable exercise.

But WW helped me to shed 77 pounds... and that was a relief. Now I am concentrating on the exercise part to become fit and to get rid off the flab!

About late night snacking.. you need to develop something to replace the snacking. This is the advice I got from WW. Do something that you enjoy.. do something to take away your thoughts from food. Some people brush their teeth, some take shower. Some write emails. Some organize their photos. Whatever works for you. Naturally you can't change a habit over-night but this is just something to think about.

Welcome to the forum!

*Riitta

Riitta~ You are right about putting something else in the snacking spot. I usually get online about that time, and check my email, do some wedding stuff for our friend. All the while I am drinking just water...nothing else!

Ahh thanks, ladies, for answering my post. Well, good news is that I have gotten into crafting late night and that has curbed the late night snacking. Even better is that even if I do snack, I've removed all the junk. My favorite find is the Nabisco 100 calorie snacks. Yes, fruit would be better, but hey, it's better than junk. I have managed to meet my first goal-lose 3 lbs! Yep, it's small, but it's 3 pounds less than I was. I'm hoping it's more because I've also got that dreaded once monthly "water retension." lol. Oh yeah, I went on to the recipe section and have cooked alot of those this past week. My husband doesn't even like chicken, but he did like the recipe that I cooked. Yeah!! lol. So, that helped for sure. Anyhow, thanks for the words of encouragement ladies. This is such a great site!

rubies~ you have just put me on a mission for in the morning. I am going to go to the recipe section and find some good things to make!

awesome job on the weight loss!! keep it up...I know you can do it!

I'm a 21 year old mother of 2 boys Trent (2) and Craig (6 months)

Hi all -
I am new to the site, but I am a young mother as well. I had my son when I was 20. I must have looked younger though, because twice during the course of my pregnancy I had women I didn't know come up to me and ask if I was considering giving my son up for adoption! I just told them "No thank you. I am going to keep my baby, I think my husband would be upset if I gave him away."
When I got pregnant I was a very fit 135 lbs. When I delivered him I was miserable 210 pounds. Since Sean was born I was able to get down to about 150, but the past 4 and a half years haven't been the easiest I have gone back up to 194 pounds. At 25, this is my highest non-pregnancy weight.
I am totally miserable. I am hopeing that this sight will be an aide to me in my weight loss. It is so nice to be in a community of women going through the same thing.
Good luck to all of us!!

welcome ladies!!! I know that you two will be able to make your goals and be able to maintain them!!!