Hi everyone. I am so tired of being obese. I am 33 and have two kids who are old enough now that I can no longer blame my size on pregnancy. I am 167 lbs, but short, so it looks much worse then it sounds. I have happily been living in a home with NO full length mirrors and am always SHOCKED when I see a photo of myself or a reflection in a mirror. I am so much smaller in my own mind. I don't feel that big, but the reality is I am obese. My BMI says Obese. I have had my body fat measured and I am obese. I can't find clothes that fit and my own children have innocently made comments like "we don't want to get fat like Mommy" So I am here for help. I have tried so many things and failed. Maybe someone here can help me figure out what I am doing wrong.
So here is the situation. I work long hours. I have a mostly sedentary job. I am in the beauty industry, so looks MATTER. I don't eat nonstop and I don't snack. I usually skip breakfast (I know it's bad), have whatever is easy for lunch, then eat dinner (portions are too big), and have a snack of pretzels after the kids go to bed. Then I go to sleep about 2 hours later. I try to limit fat and carbs, but inevitably end up having large portions of either, or both, at least once a week. I have tried South Beach and liked the low carb style better then low fat as I find it is easier for me to get food I like this way, but my downfall is always the amount of time I needed to spend in the kitchen to make this work. I don't have time to spend all day in the kitchen having small meals. Any diet that requires six small "meals" a day will not work for me.
I used to go to the gym, but gas prices and daycare costs made that too expensive, plus after a year of religiously working out average of 8-10 hours per week, I saw no results. Granted, I was stronger and building muscle, but my clothes still didn't fit, my cellulite was still prominent, muscle definition was non-existent. Now I have to get exercise at home. I have an abundance of workout tapes and equipment (don't we all?), but finding the time and the space to actually use them is a challenge.
I am tired all the time, have high stress levels, and I have to deal with depression on top of all this. I have a wonderful supportive (high metabolism, skinny) husband. But I have judgemental parents, always second guessing what I am eating. They lost a lot of weight a few years ago and ever since then I am the fat one in the family and everyone watches me with disapproving looks when they think I don't see or when we are out to eat together. Really ticks me off since they are the ones who raised me to associate happiness with a big meal at a good restaurant
My goal is to lose 45 pounds... by tomorrow This is 10 pounds more then I was before I had kids, so I don't think it is unreasonable to think I could get there again. I would appreciate any help you can offer.
Chubby Bunnykins