New here & looking for support!
 

Hello to everyone out there! I saw this site mentioned in a magazine article and thought I'd check it out. I am 36 years old. I am currently a stay-at-home-mom of 5. I need to lose about 50 lbs and I am finding it very difficult at this time in my life! About 8-9 years ago, after having my last child, I lost a ton of weight and got down to a place where I was comfortable. But due to some health issues and major stress, I am back up to where I was before.

My biggest problem right now (besides the stress) is staying motivated. I find myself doing well for a few days, and then "starting over" almost every week. I am not on any specialized diet, although I did have some success with WW online, I just wasn't feeling it so I didn't want to keep paying the monthly fees. I know how to lose weight, it's seems so simple: eat less, exercise more! But actually putting that into practice in my life has been very difficult for me lately. :(

I have a dog who likes to get me up to go outside at all hours of the night (last night it was 3AM), and when she wakes me up, I find myself snacking on anything and everything. It's not even a conscious decision, more like a compulsion. I do fine during the day, but cannot seem to control this night-eating. The interruption in my sleep also makes me exhausted & not motivated to exercise during the day. I haven't got the slightest idea how I can fix this. Anyone else have issues with eating, not just late at night, but in the middle of the night? Any ideas or suggestions would be welcome and appreciated!

I am going to try to at least get a 30-minute walk in today even though I am very tired! :carrot: I hope I can find some good ideas and motivation here. I wish everyone a good day!

Hi Shannonde94,
Welcome from another stay at home mom with the same weight loss goal! (3 kids, no dog anymore)
So, is it that your snacking while your waiting for your dog to finish it's business outside?
Maybe you can check this website and 'check in' when your up and drink one glass of water? Or maybe you can kick DH out of bed to let the dog out? LOL

Hello & welcome! The boards here are full of great information and I'm sure they will help you!!

Nice to meet you! DH?? (I assume that's my husband, but not sure. Lol) He does get up and let the dog out sometimes, but the dog seems to know that he has to get up and go to work in the morning, so she comes to my side of the bed and bugs ME to let her out 99% of the time. When I'm up in the middle of the night, I don't know how to explain... it's like a compulsion, like OCD, I can't help it, I just start snacking. There's not even any kind of thought process going on so I can't seem to stop myself. :dizzy: The only way I know of to fix it is to not get up in the middle of the night. I think the dog needs to start sleeping outside. Lol

Yup, DH = Dear Husband
I think dogs must sense who is the lighter sleeper. My dog was the same, and it was always around 4-5 am, which drove me crazy. I hated knowing I only had a couple more hours to sleep!
Sorry, I can't help with the night eating....but, how was your walk? :)
We got a bunch of snow last night so I think it will be another day or two before I get out walking again.

Welcome and good luck on your journey!!!

Aside from the fact that I can't seem to find a pair of shoes that don't cause me blisters somewhere, the walk was good! Thanks for asking. I walked 2.3 miles yesterday & just finished 1.85 today! :carrot: The DH got up with the dog at 4 this morning, so I slept until 7. It's going to be a good day. Lol.
I'm in southern AZ, so I don't have to worry too much about snow. What do you do when you can't go walk? Do you have exercise equipment? Videos? Gym membership?? I used to be a swimmer & I wish I could start that again. Our local pool has lap swimming, but I'm not about to get myself into a bathing suit in public yet. Hopefully in a few months I can be down 20-25 pounds, then I'll consider it. :)
I hope you are having a good day!

Good job on the walking! I just bought some bright red new runners on the weekend because my feet were complaining. Ended up I needed to get men's because my feet have gotten so wide! (they didn't have any women's wide in stock)

What do I do when I can't walk? Well, there's part of my problem!
I don't like video's and I don't have much time to go out to the gym. I'm going to have to work with my DH on this. Either he's going to let me go out before he goes to work (which means he'll have to deal with the kids) or he's going to have to come home earlier! At least it's not dark at 4pm anymore. (I'm in Canada. Eastern Ontario)

I'm planning on starting the C25K as soon as the snow is melted. (it should be gone by Sunday) And once I've finished, I'm buying a new swimsuit. I have one picked out from Lands End. I wont be going to a pool, but a small swimming hole close by that the kids love. (frogs beware!)

High 5 on getting DH to let the dog out! LOL

25K? As in running?? Running is not my thing. I tend to fall. LOL. Yesterday I went on a little hike with the DH. It was not very far, but you know, hiking and hills and jumping over rocks... I called that my workout for the day. :)
I also bought a book (used- I didn't pay too much) on how to "think" yourself thin. I figure anything that will help strengthen my will is worth a shot right now!
How're things gong for you? Did you get rid of that snow yet??

Ya, running. Well, my running is pretty darn slow, like, you could probably speed walk past me. I did the program before and I was soooo proud of myself. I was never able to run. In high school I was horrible. But it's nice when you aren't trying to keep up with anyone else...just trying to get that cardio in. I'm not so scared of falling, I just hate that my face gets red and blotchy. Very unattractive! lol

That's awesome that you got out hiking! I love going on the nature trails too.
I've done 2 youtube video's lately. The Leslie Sansone Walk away the pounds ones. (1 mile and 2 miles) I feel so out of shape!

I ordered a couple books this week too. (Whoo hoo, giftcards!) One is the Beck Life Solution Workbook--since it seems motivating and the other is the Mayo Clinic's Diabetes book--I'm hoping that it will help me with meal planning. I don't have Diabetes but I'm insulin resistant. I can let you know what I think of them next week when they come.

((sigh)) The snow is still here. It's supposed to get above freezing tomorrow and get warmer from there... :) Yay!

Have a great day. Off to run some errands.

Hey! The Beck Diet Solution is the one I bought! :) I didn't get the workbook, although they had it in the store. They sort of looked like the same thing, only I have to use my own notebook to write stuff down instead of writing in the book. I'm familiar with cognitive behavioral therapy & since I think my eating habits are akin to a personality disorder, I thought I'd give it a try. :D
It seems very involved and since I have a crazy household, I may have to tweak some things just a little bit, but I'm going to give it a shot!
Have you heard of the website hasfit.com? They have free workout videos there. I did a standing ab workout I found there on Thursday. They have all different kinds, for all different levels of fitness. (I found it through fb.) And you don't need a bunch of equipment. I just have a few dumbells. Just an idea.
I walked 2.4 miles today at the park. I might find another video to do today as well, but I have to go to parent-teacher conferences and pick up the kids early from school so we'll see what happens. Hope you have a great day!

**Oops, I meant I did that ab video Tuesday, not Thursday. :P

That's funny that we both went for the BeckDiet Books!

I haven't heard of hasfit.com -- I'll have to check it out.

2+ miles, awesome! Is your park within walking distance to your home? And do you take any of your kids with you?

I took today off. ha! I'll try to go out tomorrow morning.
((may have to kick myself in the butt)) :)

There is a park or two within walking distance of my house, but we have a couple of parks in town that have better walking paths and & I prefer to drive to those. But sometimes I'll walk to the other parks, or just around my neighborhood. I use mapmywalk on my cellphone so I know how far I've gone & how quickly I'm walking. I shoot for over 3mph (doesn't sound like much), or a mile in less than 17 minutes. It's kind of funny since when I was in high school- and in much better shape- I had trouble running a mile in less than 14 minutes. :dizzy: I don't speed-walk or anything. I just play my music & try to keep up with the beats. :)

You'll have to tell me what you think of the Beck workbook when you get a chance to look at it.

Well, I have been up since 4am (the dog again), and I'm going to go rest! Have a good night!

Hope you had a good sleep last night!

I've haven't been to great with the working out the last 2 days. Well, I tried to march around the yard but my girls wouldn't just let me be! ha! Hard to have speed holding on to a 2 year olds hand.

DH has to work today, bummer. So, I'll have all 3 kiddo's to myself. If he's home early I'll try to get out and walk. But, I definitely need to get up before everyone if I want to workout outside of the house. That's sooo hard for me. Still planning on starting the C25K tomorrow.

How are things with you? How far did you get into the Beck book?

I think I've been doing pretty good with eating right. Well, the right foods, probably will have to adjust the amount I eat. I feel like a human experiment!

Have a great weekend!

How old are your kids again? When mine were little, I used to put them in a wagon (or stroller when they were even littler) & take them to the park to walk. I know how hard it can be to fit in exercise time with kids & home & family! At one time, I was getting up at 5:30 (during the summer) just so I could go out and walk before anyone else was awake. There's always planting them in front of the tv with a couple of cartoons or a movie while I did crunches and whatnot. But that doesn't always work out so well. I hope you can figure out something that will work for you!

I finished week one in the Beck Diet book. I think it's going pretty good. I feel kind of silly putting post-its around my house, but I'm desperate. Whatever I have to do to make a change, I'm going to give it my best shot! The only thing I didn't do, that she wants you to do in that first week, is pick a "back-up" diet. I'm not really doing a specific diet- my goal is to just eat healthier and stop the afternoon/evening binges I tend to have. I don't have the extra $$ to join WW or anything like that so I don't really have a "back-up". :P

I did walk a total of 10 miles this week! Yay, me! LOL I feel like I need to get in some more toning exercises though- that'll be my goal next week. :)

Hope you have a great weekend!!

Hey there,
My kids at (d)2, (d)4 and (son)8. What about yours?

I used to be out with the stroller all the time but now, there isn't any sidewalks in front of my house and the speed limit is 70km/hr (43 miles/hr).
So, it's not really safe to take them in the stroller on the shoulder of the road, LOL.

I've been checking out Google maps to see where I could walk, with sidewalks, not too far away. Funny, having to drive to go for a walk!

OMG, 5:30am...aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! (can't do it)

How many post it notes are up around your house today? :) Can't wait to get my books!

10 miles--I'll do a happy dance for you! Are you going to try for 10 again this coming week?

I prefer to drive to the park to go for a walk, even though my neighborhood is suitable for walking. I don't know why. Maybe I'm just a weirdo. Or maybe I just like the change of scenery.

I only have a few post-its up... like I said, it feels kind of silly. Embarrassing even. :o But I have a notebook I go over at least once a day too. There are some really good things in the book, and some that apply to other things, or just life in general. I think it's pretty good so far. Just gotta stay motivated!

I think I'm going to make my goal at least 8 miles a week. If I do 10, great! But then if I don't quite hit ten, I won't feel bad about it. Know what I mean?? :)

You'll have to keep me updated on how that 25K goes next week, I'm interested to hear about it!

** Forget to answer your question- my kids are 16(d), 15(s), 13(d), 11(d), and 10(s). The little ones are fun but they sure do keep you busy!! Luckily, mine are all in school, so I get a little more time to myself!

Just to let you know, I completed my 1st day of the C25K. My right calf was cramping up a bit and my right foot was not too happy but I survived! It's surprising how far you go when you do the program.
I'm using this site http://runningintoshape.com/5k-train...s/week-1-c25k/ for the mp3. Rock music. I only wished she stated when we were half way done, but I turned around about the right time.

I had to pull out my fall jacket, which is red, and with my new red shoes, I'm a jogging tomato! LOL

I also got out yesterday afternoon for my 45min walk around the block.
Thanks for the motivation!!!
Take Care.

A ha! I wasn't really sure what you were talking about regarding the C25K, so I just looked it up. All this time, I thought you were planning on running a marathon or something. I'm such a dork.

Maybe I will give that a shot. I just get so nervous about running- I've broken & sprained my ankles so many times I can't even count any more. But then, usually I do that when I'm just walking! Lol...

Good job on getting out there and walking/running!! Keep up the good work! :)

Hi Shannon,
I picked up my books this afternoon :)
Lots to think about!

Did you end up picking out a 'diet' plan or 2?
I think I need to start planning my meals/snacks for next week already! I'm so scared to be hungry! LOL The diet I'm following just gives you amounts of veggies, fruits, etc. But you get to pick what you like.

And did you start posting on the Beck Diet boards at all?

Hope you are having a good day with good weather for walking!
(I'll be doing day 2 off C25K tomorrow morning)

I have done nothing this week. I've been so sick since Monday morning. :( Fever, body aches, sore throat, just BLAH. I took a look at Day 8 in the book on Sunday, but I haven't even touched it since then. I think my fever is finally done but I still feel like I'm at about 30%. My throat is killing me. My house is a disaster.

On the up-side (I guess), I haven't been eating much, a lot of water, a little juice & tea, some soup, a little rice & gravy last night... that's about it. So I hope I'm not totally sabotaging myself due to this flu or whatever it is! :p

How's the running going? I'm going to try to get through week 2 in the book before I try to start that. I have glanced at the Beck diet boards, but I don't think I've posted there yet.

Well, I am going to try to get a little more rest. I'm shooting for being at least 50% tomorrow! You have to tell me what you think about week one of the book. For instance, the post-its... That's so awkward for me. I only have a few up around the house.

Hope all's going well for you!!

Ladies, here is something that might be of interest to you. Under Diet Central you will find a forum you might like .
Beck Diet For life/ Solution

Thanks Bargoo :)

Sorry you're sick, Shannon.
I saw a friend on the weekend who must have the same illness. She said it was like the flu we all got during Christmas break.
I just watched the documentary Foodmatters. Have you seen that? They are basically anti-medication and pro vitamins and raw food. Anyhooo, one doctor has a website that says for colds and flu to take tons of Vitamin C--until you are running to the washroom! Wanna try it? LOL
I actually pick up some Vit. C on Monday for our family because it seems like everyone is fighting something.

I did my second run this morning. It went well. I used my walking route this time, which is more pavement then I like, but flatter. My right calf was really cramped again by my 4th one minute run, but my breathing seems to be ok.

I haven't gotten to the Post it notes yet! I did send the Beck book to work with DH, so he could photocopy a couple pages to put up on the fridge.
The book did mention the post-it's so it must be coming soon!

I'm scared to say this but, (((whispering))) "I think the scale moved!" Shhhhh! I'll check again on Sunday to see if I wasn't imagining it...LOL

Well, you are 2 posts from getting private messages! Whoo hoo!

Take care and get healthy!

Sorry I haven't been here the last few days. I thought I was getting over my cold/flu, but it turned out I've got strep (or tonsilitis) so I had to start some antibiotics. Needless to say, I've haven't had my mind on dieting or working out this week. Hoping I feel up to starting fresh on Monday!

Congrats on keeping up the C25K! I really want to try it. I get embarrassed about running in public... have to wear 3 bras too, so I'm not bouncing all over the place! :o Lol I'm sure the scale is moving if you're keeping up on the workouts! That's really great!!

We have to do a little road trip this weekend, so I will check in again Monday. Have a great weekend & a good Easter! :)

Good morning! How was your Easter?
Are you feeling any better? I hope those antibiotics are kicking in!

Our Easter was pretty simple. The kids had a big egg hunt in the yard.
I went out jogging after the hunt and saw the wild turkeys mating by the side of the road. I'm glad they took off when they saw me coming. :)
I was dead tired by the end of the jogging.

I was good this weekend. No chocolate or candies eaten--that was hard!

And the Beck rule of sitting at the table every time you eat is a real challenge for me! Funny, something so simple could be tough.

DH is working today so I went grocery shopping this morning at 7:30am. LOL Not for a full load, but boy it's nice and quiet at that time! Cashier was waiting for me, no line. I'm going to have to do that again.


Have a great day!

I agree, early morning is the best time to go grocery shopping! I don't like crowds, or waiting in line. Lol

We had a good Easter, but I have to say, I have not been sticking to the diet the way I should. We drove ten hours on Sunday in order to spend a few hours with family that we don't see very often, and it was pretty exhausting. I get weak about food when I'm tired! I'm hoping to get a good night's sleep tonight & start fresh tomorrow. I am finally feeling better, not so sick anymore, so that should make it easier too!

Glad to hear you are doing so well & keeping up with the workouts! :)

LOL, I still can't private message you!

10 hours driving...ick! I'm glad you are feeling a bit better!:)

So any goals for the week? Still reading the Beck book?

I did my jog of the day, so that's over and done with. I like getting it out of the way, or I start to get anxious about it....did I eat or drink too much? Am I too tired now? Will I have to go to the bathroom part way through?!!? LOL
And my calf did much better today.

I have my food planned for the day too.. Basically, I have 4 serving of veggies, 3 fruit, 3 whole grains and 1 protein. The whole grains are only like, 1/2 a bagel or 1/2 a pita so that's a dramatic portion drop for me. I kinda worry about the only one serving of protein, but it's only for 2 weeks and then I can add a bit more. At least, I'm seeing the scale move so I'm sticking with it.

Yesterday, I went to the library and they had the book "Wheat Belly" so I'm starting to flip through that.

Well, have a wonderful day and I hope the sun is shining there too!

I am not going to lie, I have been totally off-kilter this week. I really haven't done much to speak of... feeling pretty dumpy. I haven't even looked at the book. :P I am determined to get back with the program on Monday!

I'm glad to hear you are doing so well & I hope you won't stop talking to me because I've been... well, feeling sick, lazy, and unmotivated for the last 2 weeks!

If I may ask, what diet are you following? And why only one serving of protein? Several years ago I went on a protein diet- much like Atkins, but not quite as strict. I lost about 60 pounds on it and was feeling really good, but then things happened, life got messy, and I got lazy. My goal is to limit the carbs (like bread, potatoes, and sweets) and try to stick to mainly protein, fruits, and veggies. I have never heard of the book "Wheat Belly". What is it??

Hope to hear from you & have a good weekend!! :)

She lives!!!!! LOL
I'm glad to see you are back! I'm sure that strep totally through you for a loop! Be good to yourself!

I'm doing the Lose it section of the Mayo Clinic Diabetes Diet. So, it's only that strict for 2 weeks and then you move on...add a bit more protein, can have room for treats occasionally...blah, blah, blah. :)

Wheat Belly is a book that advocates taking wheat out of you diet completely. So, definitely low carb! It has a ton of reviews on amazon and some people on the boards are having success with it.

I'm done week 2 of the C25K as of this morning. (and we woke up to snow on the ground! Grrr! It's gone now..) And I saw 11 turkeys today.

In the Beck book, I'm supposed to be monitoring my hunger hourly. I'm finding my stomach isn't telling me it's hungry but my brain is by being spacey and irritable. Then, once I eat my stomach feels hungry. I'm messed up! ha!

Have a great weekend!

BTW...when to you weigh yourself? Daily, weekly?

You're making me really want to try the C25K thing... I may just start tomorrow! It's starting to get really warm here, so I'm going to have to get myself up and start walking/running in the mornings. Otherwise, I know I won't feel like doing it when it's 85-90 degrees out- or more.

I guess I'm messed up too. I can go all day without eating & not even think about it if I'm busy. But the minute I put a little food in my mouth, I feel like I'm starving and want to eat everything!

As far as weighing, I say weekly, but I can get a little OCD about it and weigh every day. But sometimes that backfires. So, I think the best way is to pick a day each week & weigh yourself only that day. And it should be around the same time of day each time too. There's my thoughts on that.

Well, getting ready to start fresh tomorrow & get back to the book, too!! Wish me luck! :)