Hello! Well, here is the deal. I am heavier than I have ever been in my life! I am 5'7" and currently weigh 200 lbs. I had a baby just under 15 months ago, and I weigh as much as I did while 9 months pregnant!!! I breastfed exclusively for 6 months, but that did not help keep off the weight. My husband recently joined the US Army, and he left for boot camp on January 10th. I will not see him until after all his initial training - so not until May or June at the earliest. He is going to be coming out all fit and trim and I do not want to be the stereo-typical fat, stay-at-home Army Wife!! So, my goal is to drop as much of the extra 50 lbs as possible before he sees me again. I am currently at home with my little one, but am still finding very little time to work out. I can't even sit on the floor without becoming a jungle gym! I have an exercise bike, and I am going to try very hard to start waking up an hour earlier to use it first thing... or use it for an hour after my toddler has gone to sleep.... or an hour while she naps. Those are my options, and I know I just have to do it!! Other than that, I try and do a few sets of crunches and push-ups. I am feeling so hopeless right now... I hope talking to others will help!!! I am also trying to be very careful of what I eat. Luckily I am not a sweets addict or anything. Portion control is what I need, and to stop skipping meals, and to eat only the right foods. Blah! Wish me luck!!!

Welcome and good luck ! Have you thought about calorie counting ? I find that works best for me and I have tried many other diets. Most important, though is to have a plan. It is OK to experiment a little until you find what works best for you.

Welcome Sarah! I was a Marine wife for 7 years so I have BTDT. Boot camp is tough on the family because you don't usually have support from others in the same boat, like you would once you are on a base. Write lots of letters, it will help both of you! Don't put anything cute on the outside of the envelopes though, hubby won't want that kind of attention at mail call

Your workout plan sounds great! I see you are in Maine so I guess playing outside is out for now, but is there anywhere you can walk inside, like a mall?

I also agree that calorie counting would be great for you. That is what I do and I find that it's really flexible and it works. I use My Fitness Pal app on my phone, and they also have a website.

Hang in there, you are going to wow him when he gets home!

Sarah, welcome, glad to have you join us. My dad was Army and Hubby was Navy, so I know things can be tough. I suggest you look for a Challenge or Support group to join; small check-in groups make it easier to connect, get involved, and be accountable. We have groups centering around specific diet plans, themes, or age groups, so find one that inspires you and just post to join!

Hi again, thanks for the greetings and advice! Yes, I am going to try calorie counting for sure, combined with 30 minutes to one hour of Cardio ...I HOPE it will make a difference. I am going to try and keep it to 1050-1200 calories per day... that's what I seem to be reading about. It's a real eye opener when you add everything up! It's going to be tough, but I am feeling determined. On top of hubby being gone and trying to lose weight, I have this HORRIBLE nerve issue going on in my leg for the past couple months, from my bum cheek down to my knee...but I can handle exercise once IBP and Tylenol kick in for at least an hour. PT tomorrow.. I hope they can figure something out!

You can do it!!! I have the best success while my husband is deployed (which is pretty much all the time.) It's a lot easier when you're only cooking meals for yourself!! Get yourself a plan, any plan, and do it! The food is going to be the most important piece of this puzzle. Workout when you can (I know that's rough with a toddler) but getting your eating under control will get you results. When it warms up can you put her in a jogging stroller and walk? When my oldest was little we were stationed in Hawaii and I would just take him and walk for hours! It was good for us to both get some fresh air, he loved it, and it made me feel a ton better!

Best of luck!

Welcome, Sarah!

I am also a military wife (Navy) and a SAHM. I have a 2.5 year old and a 12 month old. The life of military families definitely comes with unique chellenges, like having your husband gone for long periods of time! My husband deployed a week after our daughter was born last January, and came home in mid-July. The upside: The thought of surprising him after 6 months away was a huge motivator for me. I really wanted to 'wow' him. It was also easier for me to eat healthier when I only had to worry about feeding my son and I (my husband is very thin, so I always feel guilty about depriving him of the deliciously bad snacks and meals, which of course I can't resist if they're in the house). It also gave me something positive to focus on while he was gone.

Do you have a Y in your area? I know that they give free family memberships when your spouse is away on deployment... I'm assuming it would be the same in your situation. It's nice to have that "me" time everyday, where you can drop the baby off at the gym's childcare and de-stress in a Zumba class or on the treadmill.

I lost a little over 30 lbs while Brian was away (going from 165 to 132) and it was so awesome to surprise him on his homecoming day. Of course since he's been home, I've been so content and threw my healthy eating out the window, which is why I'm now back here, almost 10 lbs heavier.

You can do this!!

Phew! Well, it has been 5 days and I've lost 4.6 lbs so far! One of the hardest things I am noticing is not taking all those extra bites from my daughters uneaten baby foods! lol! It makes a difference, I am sure! But so far so good. I've been biking during nap time every day and doing pushups and crunches. I've been averaging about 1100 calories a day. I'm also taking multivitamin, garlic, cinnamon and part of my calories is coming from whey protein. I've never tried it before, but I am hoping it will make some fat burning muscles faster!

We do have a local YMCA, but I need to wait until next month to see what finances will be like, since I'm not working at the moment. I'll have to check out the free membership thing, tho! Sounds good to me!!! I am anxious for my daughter to have a little more socialization.. an hour a day would probably be good for her!

Meal prep is relatively easy because it is not just my litlte one and me, I also have a 16 year old daughter and a 10 year old son! So I am still cooking meals every night!!! I am being super careful with my portions.. breaking out the measuring cups and food scale... haha! But it seems to be working!!!

I am just going to keep setting 5 lb losses as my little mini goals!

Thanks so much for the support and advice!!!