Well I have been a member for who knows how long but never kept up with it.. I am now at 341lbs and it makes me sick... I have 6 kids with my youngest being almost 7 weeks old... I got up to 388lbs at delivery and about threw up when I saw that number.. I hate my body and feel horrible about myself.. I know they say you should love yourself no matter what but I just cant.. Its so hard to find time to eat right and exercise with 6 kids and working full time.. I also have a desk job so that dosent help... I am just so frustrated... I want so badly to join a gym but right now I just cant afford it... I also looked into curves but not sure what they charge... I just want this weight off without surgery lol... Maybe I am asking for too much??

One thing that made me wake up was my BP when I was pregnant and went to have my daughter.. It was running 165/119 and my heart rate was 135-166... I had to stay 4 days in the hospital and be put on 2 BP pills a day.. It still runs kinda high but not as bad... That really scared me and made me think that at 32 years old and a mommy to 6 I have a long life ahead of me and wont have if I keep this up...

Alot of my problem is I am such a picky eater... I hate salad!! I can not eat anything that crunches lol.. I have no idea why but I have always been like that... I LOVE meat and cheese , noodles and potatoes lol... They are my MAJOR downfalls...

How do you all do it and stick with it? I get so upset that I always give up

Sorry this is so long I just dont know anyone else that knows what I am going through.....

I had a similar wakeup call with my bp at my yearly and seeing my weight.....it took me 6 months to decide I had to do something to be a better mom and example. I had to join
medical weigh loss clinic because I just couldnt do it myself. I rarely like once a mont ate fruit or veg when they told me I had to eat 3fruits and 4veg a day it was almost a deal breaker but I looked at myself and my girls and just decides its now or going on meds which with are insurance would have been a ton of money.....this is my 8th week and tough because the weigh is coming off slower but I just cant give up...

Yeah thats my thing... I will not have insurance after Aug 1st so my meds are gonna cost alot and a Dr visit is out of the question... I could have got ins through my work BUT they messed it up so now I gotta wait till next year

It is a very scary thing... They also told me that I have had high BP for a long time and I didnt even know it.. I have heart damage from it So i know this is something I HAVE to do with no choice... Its either lose weight or die and leave 6 kids without a mommy!!

Oh what a journey I am about to start lol.....

Welcome, Misty and good luck ! You can do calorie counting and that won't cost you a cent except for food that you have to buy anyway. You can choose the foods you want to eat stay within your calorie range which might be something like 2500 calories a day that sounds like a lot to me but might be the right one for you.I am only estimating here, I am not a medical person. What kind of vegetables and fruit do you like ? I think Curves is pretty reasonable price wise and they offer a weight program at no extra charge or did when I went there a few years ago. Doesn't cost anything to ask. The other possiblity is the Y. Do you have a Y near you, if so you might want to check it out. Good luck.

Yeah we have a Y but its about a 45 min drive.. I may check into it however cuz I can take my kids there with me...

I like very few veggies, Mostly corn, potatoes and green beans... Fruit I like bananas, apples, oranges,plums and a bunch more...

I hate being a picky eater lol...

I have set my mind to this that Sunday is my starting day.... As far as calories I think 1800-2000 would be good and go down from there...

I know I can do this for me and my babies....

Welcome, Misty! You're in the right place. Many of us (myself included) have had an "ah-ha" moment when we realized that our weight was killing us and we would be leaving behind family and friends due to an unhealthy lifestyle. You have the power within you to begin and to maintain weight loss--know that you can do it! It sounds very cliche, but it's one step, one day, at a time. You can celebrate big weight loss numbers later, but right now, focus on what you can do today to improve your health.

Perhaps making a food list of foods you enjoy that are healthy would be a good plan. Corn and potatoes are high in carbs (I don't know about the green beans), as are many of the fruits you mentioned. This doesn't mean you need to kiss them goodbye forever--just eat them in moderation. If you don't like crunchy salad, how about putting your veggies in a soup? I'm also a picky eater, but I discovered that if I opened my mind a little to some new varieties of fruits and vegetables (and how to prepare them), I can successfully eat on plan and lose weight.

Good luck to you, and come back here often to post and let us know how you are doing!

Ive had the same moment recently because Ive allowed my weight to creep back up.

Because I have a long way to go Im starting in easy. Trying to do some portion control and eat less but also make the healthier choices. Also attempting to cut the snacking, but if I do going for a ryvita with some lean ham on for example. Fruit does nothing to fill me up even having an apple with peanut butter for example so personally I find its better to have something else lower calorie that I know will work.

Exercise wise, why not make yourself time for a little walk. Your youngest is so little it would be perfect to take the pram. Even 10-15 minutes is a good start if you cant manage more and you can build it up.

you are in the right place and we're here to support each other. Good luck I'll be thinkink about you on sunday!

Hi Misty!

I would suggest re-exploring the world of veggies. This is a bit easier for me because I really do love veggies: sugar snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, carrots, cucumbers, spinach. There are other interesting veggies out there, though that can make for healthful and filling snacks, like jicama. I recently discovered this Mexican spice mix called Tajin, which is chili peppers and dehydrated lime, which you can sprinkle on fruit or veg to spike up the flavor.

There are loads of things you can do to brighten up a salad; if you have a windowsill and can grow some herbs, like basil and chives, you can snip them directly into the salad. I always chop up some green onions for my salads, as they have a lot of flavor.

Sometimes I find that the food absolutes we have had since childhood become... less absolute in adulthood, and it would be really great to model veggie-love for your six kids, too!

But if you really cannot stand most (which I do understand: no amount of reimagining will EVER get me to like eggs, or anything remotely eggy).

As for a gym: you don't need to join one yet. You could just start walking, 10-15 minutes twice a day. You can do that at home without any worsening of your budget, except for the expense of a decent pair of walking shoes!

I think it's really hard to help someone we're angry or upset with - even when that person is ourself.

I think we're taught to attempt weight loss in ways that are self-defeating. In essence, we're taught to fail, because we're taught to focus on the failures, and to define many successes as failures.

Since I decided that I'm a pretty decent human being, worthy of wonderful things, I've had a whole lot more success in helping the wonderful person that is me.

Because I learned in getting my bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology that rewards work better than punishment, I decided that I would reward the behaviors that led to weight loss, not weight loss itself(because wieght loss isn't really a behavior - it's a result of a behavior).

I started looking at diet and exercise as ways to pamper my wonderful self, rather than ways to punish that "bad" me.

I decided that my primary goal (and the most important one) wasn't weight loss, and instead was "not gaining." And while I was at this business of "not gaining" I might as well try to lose "just one more pound" as well. But I really focused on stressing to myself that the "not gaining" was the most important element. The losses were just a side benefit of the real business of the day, which was not gaining.

This really has made all the difference... because we're largely taught that a gain isn't really that much worse than a stall. If we're not losing, we might as well be gaining (if we're going to fail anyway, at least we can get to eat what we want until the next appropriate starting over point).

By focusing on "not gaining" I get to celebrate more often (and I now LOVE the scale because it's bringing me good news, more often than bad).

If I eat something off plan, I get immediately on the scale, because it gives me a reality check - proving I can't gain more than the weight of a food. The only way 2 ounces of food can cause a 2 ounce gain is if it's pure fat and the calories are over and above my maintenance calories. Eating a 2 ounce candybar is not going to make me gain 2 lbs. Giving up for the day and deciding I can eat whatever I want until I can "start fresh" tomorrow or Monday... however can make me gain 2 lbs or more.

Focusing on my success and pampering the wonderful me with great healthy foods and fun ways to move my body (I try to focus on exercise that feels like play - that IS play, because I decide it is - my favorites being swimming and walking dogs for the humane society).

I know it's harder with kids, but you can incorporate the kids into the activities. Let them help you prepare healthy foods. Make healthy foods that are fun for you and the kids to eat.

Above all, I think it is important to learn to love and enjoy yourself. I know you say you can't, but you can. It's easy to be self-critical, because we're taught to be harsh with ourselves, because we see it as selfishness and conceit if we like ourselves even the littlest bit. But stress, including self-anger actually makes weight loss more difficult because of those stress-hormones like cortisol that reduce our metabolism.

If you can focus on eating healthier and moving more as ways to pamper yourself and your family, you can accomplish the same goal without the metabolism-crushing stress.

Try seeing weight loss activities as ways to pamper yourself and see if it helps. Tell yourself "I deserve to eat better," and select fruits and veggies as if they were gourmet candies. Choose the best of the best whenever you can (and it can be done on a very tight budget as well. You just have to see it as buying the best that you can afford, rather than as icky stuff you have to eat because you deserve to be punished for letting yourself gain weight).

Include the kids when you can, and let the kids help when they can.

You are going to have a tougher time than folks without the responsibilities you have. So cut yourself a little more slack as well.

I'd definitely recommend joining TOPS if you can (take off pounds sensibly, a non-profit weight loss group). The initial investment is $28 for the yearly national dues and monthly chapter dues (usually under $5 and often as little as $2 or $3). However, there are usually ways to earn/win back money to offset those expenses. Our group runs a monthly auction (voluntary to participate in) as well as other fund-raisers so there are a lot of ways to win money and prizes with weight loss. If you have any loss in one month, you get the next month's chapter dues free. The best loser for the month receives $5, and the best loser for the quarter, gets $10.

Most chapters don't do quite as many contests or fundraisers as ours does (in our club you can actually win more than you spend, so it's like the club paying you to lose weight).

At any rate, membership includes a really nice monthly magazine with great articles and motivating success stories. And the weekly fellowship and support is very motivating. You also get to see what normal weight loss really looks like. Most chapters list the total weight losses and gains for the group and the net loss/gain. Divide it by the number of members in the meeting and you see that truly average weight loss is usually about a half a pound or less per person.

In the case of TOPS, it can actually help to compare yourself to others, because you learn that even the most motivated of people, don't usually lose steadily. They don't lose every week. They don't lose consistently... it's a rough journey for most of us ... so when it isn't easy it doesn't mean we're failing or about to.

Above all, hang in there. It's the only "secret" to success. Just keeping at it, puts us in the lead, because most people get frustrated and give up. Just by not giving up, you become a great success story.

Kaplods....beautifully put xx

TY everyone for the encourging words... I have been watching what I eat and find that im only eating about 1000 calories or less a day.. Which I know for my size isnt good... Its hard to find time to eat lol... I work 9 hour days and with 6 kids I dont get much time for anything... HOWEVER with that said we did go on a 1 mile hike today... I LOVE to walk and can for hours lol.. And let me tell ya I worked up a sweat alot of it was up hill... Me and the hubby decided we are going to go every weekend to hike... Also going to start walking everyday for at least an hour (on my lunch break)... I have also been doing brisk walking in place while I watch tv lol... I'm gonna walk these buns off!!!!!!!!!!!

That is awesome!

That sounds like you're making fantastic progress! Walking at lunch at work is what I do as well as I also have children. (not 6!)

Don't worry about being a picky eater - I hate salad too and am an awful cook. I'm probably in the minority here but I mostly eat the prepared frozen "healthy choice" type meals. You can get some really great tasting low calorie stuff with those like pizza and pasta.

Granted, it's probably better for your body to go all natural and veggie, but if you don't like them, you won't stay on your plan. Eventually you might discover a taste for them - like now I always order broccoli instead of fries at restaurants and am perfectly happy with it.