Hi Ladies,

I'd like to introduce myself here. I'm a grad student with 9 month old twins. I gained about 70-80lbs during my pregnancy. I started out at around 155 lbs(which was already about 15 lbs more than my ideal weight). I ate too much and barely moved. It was a hard pregnancy with the heavy belly. My twins were 6.5lbs each, so you can imagine how big my stomach was. Well, I only lost about 35-40 lbs of the (80), and now I am 193 lbs. Ideally I would like to get to the 150lbs, but my ultimate goal would be 145.

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and have just started taking synthroid. I hope it helps. I am now feeling pain in my knees from the weight I carry around. The gym is about 20min drive away. I don't like going after work because I lack the energy to put in any effort to my workout. I could take the kiddies to daycare earlier and go before work, but I don't. I want to lose weight, but have yet to find that drive in me. I don't know why I can't put down food, or make the decision and effort to go to the gym. I'm not depressed, and I'm quite happy with my life, so I don't know what's the deal. It's almost like I don't care...yet I know I look pretty terrible at this weight, and it really hits me when I see photos of myself or try on clothes. I used to look pretty good, now I look awful. I wear a size 14-16, because much of the weight is in my stomach, which has nearly no muscle tone.

I guess i need inspiration to get up and move. Maybe some encouraging words? I'd like to have a support system. Also, when I do go to the gym...for some reason I can't put in 100% effort. It's like when it gets tough, my body shuts down and doesn't want to continue with the workout

So, my obstacles are "hypothyroidism", "being a new mom to twins", "the gym is far from my home", "I'd rather be at home with my kids", "I can't stop eating" "no muscle tone in stomach"

Any advice?

I would say don't feel like you have to start doing everything at once. If the gym is too far away, try doing a workout DVD or program you can do at home. There's a lot you can do with some simple, inexpensive equipment like a mat, hand weights, pilates ball, stretch bands, etc. Pilates is great for strengthening your core muscles. That stuff isn't really required to work out at home, but I like the versatility, almost as good as having a real home gym. A lot of moms enjoy doing "mommy-and-me" workouts that incorporate their babies using them as weights, like this. Pushing a stroller is a good workout. Don't discount the good, calorie-burning exercise you can do without going to the gym.

As for the hypothyroid, there's not much to do but get your labs checked as recommended by your doc and working him/her to manage the lab values and symptoms. I gained a lot of weight before I was diagnosed, but I had been that heavy before and attributed the gain to the stress, poor eating, and sedentary lifestyle I slid back into once I became a student again. I'm feeling well enough to have another go at weight loss now, but it definitely seems harder and slower than when I started losing weight the first time around 7 years ago.

I know how hard it is to put down snack food that I should not be eating, so I generally don't have it in the house when I'm trying to lose weight. I also like to cook big batches of food when I have time so I can eat the leftovers when there's no time to cook.

Good luck! What graduate degree are you working toward?

Remember this; Those twins deserve a healthy Mom.