Hi all,

First of all, as a new lifetsyle changer (I refuse to use the D word) I come to this forum ALOT and I am no where near maintaining. Is it okay to lurk here? I have to say, you ladies are INSPIRING. Congrats to all of you, and thanks for coming here and sharing. It's so great to come here, and see all that you've accomplished and think that I could be that someday too.

I have lost some weight, and I am not following any plan (WW or ...). I have three kids (all 20 months old) and the only exercise I can do on a daily basis is walking (and pushing a stroller which equals about 3 X 25lbs + weight of stroller, 10 lbs....so I am pushing roughly 85 lbs.) . I'm just too darn heavy for anything else, and I can't make it to the gym at all.

My question to all of you, is -- how the heck do "get back on it" once you've fallen off... Mentally, I have a tough time getting over that. I went away with hubby for the first time in 2.5 years this past weekend, and it's taken me all week (today) to start eating right again. I'm proud it didn't take 2 years to get back on it like the last time, so in some ways I feel good about that. Does it get easier? How do you mentaly manage it. I know it's all in my brain.

Thanks for listening,

Yikes Does this mean you have triplets!! My hat's off to you.

THough I'm a lapsed maintainer, I'll tell you that what helps me get back "on" is to visualize myself doing it, and planning to do it. No negative self-talk, and no whining. Now if I could just take my own advice....

Pat - yes triplets!

I gained 90 lbs to ensure my kids were delivered healthy and strong-- completely recommended by the world foremost expert on HOM (Higher Order Multiples) -sounds like a cult eh?

It was worth every pound. And I wasn't slim to begin with. My boys (all identical) were born 4.2 lbs, 4.3 lbs, and 5.3 lbs.

But, now --here I am. A HUGE hanging pile of skin (even at my weight now- I can't even imagine when I am thinner). And stretch marks that go beyond stretching...but I digress....

Ugh, now that I've re-read that --I really need to take photos of this belly of mine. I want to see the difference when I'm at maintenance stage. And speaking of the belly, has anyone wanted NOT to lose the weight because they knew they would have to face that monster...or face surgery? (inevitable for me). How did you mentally overcome that?

When I lose track of food and exercise and don't stick to my usual routines, I can loaf about for a while.. But after a period of time I start to long for the good feelings I get from good, healthy food and exercise and that's when I realise that that is my way of life now, the norm. Before, my way of living was an unhealthy one and the occasional periods of exercise and healthy eating was an exception and didn't feel like something I could sustain. But now reasonably healthy living (I'm no ascetic monk or angel, to be honest) is what I like and I sort of drift back to it after a while when I get sick of feeling constantly bloated and lethargic from crappy foods and no exercise. How long this takes varies, but I bounce back quicker and quicker now. So I think it gets easier as time goes by.

Unfortunately, I don't have any fabulous advice or inspirational ideas about how to get back on track when you've fallen off the wagon because I just do it. Whether my "screw up" is a meal, a day, or a week, I just say to myself "enough, Kate" and pick up where I left off.

I do plan in advance times when I'll being going off plan. I was in the UK over Christmas and gave myself relatively freedom to eat what I wanted. I didn't lose, but I didn't gain either. Tonight, I'm going out to dinner with friends and I've already decided to have something delicious (and off plan), but I've made up for it by eating pretty light meals today. Although, I see I'm no longer answering your original question...

Point is: how do I get back on track? I just do. Nike's motto "Just Do It" is no fluke -- it's some of the best advice I've heard yet .

The only times I've really fallen off track is when I've stopped paying attention. (Ignorance is definitely *not* bliss)

So for me, getting back on track (or staying on track) just means weighing myself at least weekly, counting calories & logging my workouts. I find it very hard to stay off track if I'm doing it consciously. I generally won't eat too much if I then have to write it down and/or see the results on the scale. This is also related to my rule of **No stretchy waist pants!**

KissingGinger- of course it’s ok for you to lurk – and even better, post - here! Congratulations on your three boys!

Of course I slip but never ever let it go on for more than, say 15 minutes or however long it takes for me to come to my senses -- certainly never a whole day (or longer). What gets me back on track when I mess up is the cold, hard reality that FAT lies at the end of that particular road. The only person who can make me fat again is ME and I will not – CANNOT – let that happen again. Honestly, I would rather die than go back to being that sad, miserable obese woman. There’s nothing there for me but pain and sadness and I absolutely refuse to do that to myself again. So, like Kate says, I pick myself up and 'just do it'.

I think a lot of people are concerned about the effect of weight loss on their skin. Since we get so many questions about skin here at 3FC, we put together a Weight Loss And Skin FAQs that might help answer some of yours. I can tell you that everyone here who’s lost a large amount of weight will assure you that excess skin (if you end up with it) is better than excess fat any day!

Hi KissingGinger,

WOW, triplets!!! You surely have enough to do all day!!. About staying motivated: I second kate's motto: Just do it. The moment you think about it you will easily find a lot of reasons not to notice your food, not to go for the excercise. And that is not the way.
My second motto is: Action comes before motivation. You do not have to feel like excercise to just go and do it.
A third motivator for me is: I feeel so much better if I eat right and excercise. These holidays I noticed that I DO get foggy and cranky and tired from white flour & refined sugar. Sounds weird, but I cut them out and I feel much better now because they are not into my eating zone anymore.
Fourth: read motivational books. I liked "Body for life for woman" from pamela peeke a lot.
Last: Even though you have the triplets and connot go to a gym, maybe you can excercise at home. Use an excercise DVD, walk around lifting kids, go up and down the stairs... it does not really matter what you do IMO, as long as you do something for 30 day. And it does not need to be all in one chunk of time, a couple of 15 minute stints will also work better than not excercising. Even chasing the kids probabely delivers some form of cardio.

Lots of success, and keep posting, I'm curious to know how you go,
rabbit

Fitday. The only time I find myself slipping is if I stop entering the food I eat into fitday. It is usually very gradual - I might not enter the handful of cheetos ater lunch or the two chicken nuggets I eat off one of my kids's plates. The next thing I know I'm not putting in one mornings breakfast, the next day, two meals aren't entered. So, what gets me back on track is to start logging my food again - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Like someone else said, for me it really boils down to paying attention. I know how to lose weight and maintain it - but I have to be aware of what I'm eating to do either.

I do encourage you to take a picture of your tummy. I am the mother of three as well, including a set of twins. All of my babies were big. The twins were delivered when I was 8 months pregnant and they were over 7 pounds each. They are fraternal so there were two placentas which also added to my weight. I know I'm never going to have a flat stomach despite my weight loss or doing abdominal exercises religiously. Still, there is a HUGE difference between how my stomach looks now and how it looked then. I'd love to have a tummy tuck one day but if that never happens I can live with what I'm left with. And I bet you will be able to as well - especially if you take before and after pictures so that you can REALLY see your progress.

Wow, thanks for the warm welcome!

Meg - wow 15 minutes? Hopefully I can keep up with that...lol, I'm starting to feel ashamed of my week-long lapse. And I should, because I know better, and as you stated, only I can make myself fat. I like the idea Tani if you are consciously tracking what you eat, etc, then you won't feel compelled eat poorly.

As for 4rabbits comments...I SURE DO feel "foggy" and cranky when I eat poorly. It's amazing how that disapears with just a few good meals. I also found that while I can't go to the gym, I am certainly moving all day, but that is clearly not enough. Stairs, cleaning, bending, lifting all day, (never mind the playground--chasing). But I have discovered there is swimming 3 X a week at my local pool, with FREE childminding - yes, even for 3. My problem is getting enough energy to get the kids breakfast, dressed, and into the van before 830am. It can be done, it's not impossible. It's just damn hard. Unloading and loading three toddlers is enough to create major backproblems.
Plus I have to add the logitics of making sure they don't fall asleep on the way back (a 20 min drive) and get them lunch, before getting them into nap time. So I will just have to test drive going a few times and see how it goes.

Nap time is pretty much the only time I can get exercise done otherwise, and often someone ends up staying awake, so I can't rely on it. Anyhow, enough of my ramblings....and excuses.

Thanks for all the insights so far!

About the 15 minutes thing -- don't get the idea that I'm superwoman or an or something. I'm simply driven by guilt and fear -- two valuable emotions that I never want to lose! (seriously)

Good luck with deploying the troops for swimming! If you can pull it off, it sounds like an outstanding way to get some exercise and maybe even some 'me time'.

Check back and let us know how things are going.

Meg - I totally understand guilt and fear. My fear is developing total amnesia and forgetting everything I've learned this year and how far I've come.

KissingGinger- I only have one son, so I can't even imagine how I would handle 3, but I always remember that I'm also doing this for him. When I was at my highest weight, I could barely get down on the floor to play w/him. I didn't even realize what I was missing. Good luck, try to take it one day at a time!

Kissingginger,

Keep posting how you go with the weightloss and excercise. I can imaging getting the kids into the van to go swimming is a major operation, but who knows...they might like to go and play with some other kids there, and like Meg says, I can imaginge you don't have all that much me-time at the moment!

good luck,
rabbit

Ginger,

I am from Vancouver and have 3 kids too, however not triplets. With my last one I walked with stroller for about 2 hours/stretch, and I lost about 20 pounds just doing that. However I had to enroll into the gym with day care to loose more. Fitness World has day care for kids and it worked fine with two of mine. Going back to work helped - I lost another 10 pounds just doing regular meals (with little kids around I was just muching all the time). I personally joined Jenny Craig because I did not have time to cook, and I lost majority of the weight, and learned portion control as well as what are my "stay slim" foods.

Hope it helps,
Sandy.