Struggling and need some help
 

I'm 26 y/o and for the past 2 years I have been really struggling with my weight. I had my Daughter in Oct. 2008 and by Christmas I was back into my skinny jeans and almost had all the baby weight off but then I started working in the mall and ate so much junk food and before I realized it I was bigger than I was when I was pregnant :( I quit my job to be a sahm 1.5 years ago and I have been trying so hard to lose and it seems as if I can't...

Some thing I should mention is that my whole life I ate junk food and was always slim and athletic, when I needed to lose a pound or 2 all I would do is work out, continue eating the same junk and I would lose the weight.
My DH is the one who didn't like me eating junk food since he eats very healthy and I have struggled for years to change my eating habits for a more healthier life style, for the past 2 months I have been eating so healthy and it's been so hard for me to lose weight! I'm so frustrated :mad: I work out and try not to over push my self and I did lose 2.5 pounds but I was getting some pain so I talked to my doctor and he prescribed me some medicine that will help so I won't have pain when I work out, so till I got my medicine I let my body rest and in those 2 days I didn't exercise I gained those 2.5 pound back! I feel like crying!
Some days I just feel like going back to eating junk food, starving myself or what not I really want to fit back into my old clothes but most of all i want to be healthy and lead a healthy life style.
I weigh 117lb and my goal weight is 94lb, I know it might seem like too much but I'm short, 4'11 and I used to weigh 90lb before getting pregnant and I was not under weight.

I really can't afford all those weight loss programs (and don't believe in most of them) and can't really go for walks or joggs because as of right now i don't live in the safest neighborhood so I normally just try my best to work out in my home, mostly while watching a tv show I'll run (in place), dance and such but it's like I'll lose a pound and then gain it back...

How can I lose the weight and keep it off?

Losing weight is 80% diet IMO. Are you tracking what you are eating? Writing down calories? Are your measuring your portions?

Also I'd stop buying junk and start snacking on things like fruit and veggies instead. That should also save you some money.

Not sure what your weight is but that might help you get an idea of how many calories you should consume in a day :)

Thanks for replying! :)
I don't snack on junk food anymore, when I do snack it's something healthy like fruits or veggies.
I do track what I eat and try measuring my portions, but I feel like when I count my calories I almost become obsess over my weight when I don't lose any weight

You mind posting how you much you weigh, how many calories you are eating, and what a typical daily menu is for you? That might help figure out what you could tweak :)

Its in her post

You are in the perfect BMI for your height and weight. You said you are 4'11" and weigh 117 pounds that puts you at a 23.63 BMI ideal is between 18.6 & 24.9 going all the way down to 94 pounds would put you right on the boarder of under weight. You wouldn't be there just on the boarder. Sounds like eating healthy and toneing is what you need to do. To lose weight you would need to eat about 1300 calories a day. If you go too low your body could think you a starving and it will become REALLY hard to lose weight. You body will hold onto it. You body will also eat into your muscle and that lowers your metabolism which also makes it harder to lose weight.
You also have to think if you are small and exercising well and eating well Your body might be gaining muscle try measureing yourself you may be losing inches and you don't even know it. I had a similar issue I was not losing pounds and I was getting so upset about it until I found out that you can lose inches before any weight comes off.
So I started writing articles about it. It is called Trials and tribulations of a fat girl....who use to be thin. I am 5'4" and never went above 125 pounds until I had my daughter in november of '08 then I never lost the weight I now weigh 176 (and that is down from 189) pounds and I struggle because I can not eat anything I use to be able to. I have found alternatives for my sweet tooth and lots of recipes that I like it is just slow going right now. Keep up with your good work and it will pay off! :)

Thank you! I would love yo read your article, where can I find it?

A few days ago I found that my BMI is o.k for my weight and height BUT I can put on a shirt size medium-large and my stomach is still sticking out and it bothers me so much, my arms are flabby and so are my thighs. 94lb might put me on the boarder of being under weight but at least I won't be under weight and I know my body has been 94lb and I looked no where near under weight since I'm short.

I'd say you should stick to 1200 calories a day and try to limit your carbs, since it's summer I'd have a large salad with protein at least once a day, load it with veggies and don't use too much dressing (not more than 2 tbsp).

Thank you beerab :) I have started eating a lot of salads only thing I'm not eliminating from it are those crunchy tortilla strips...sad to let them go cause they really helped encourage me to eat more salad but they're fattening.
I'm a vegetarian leaning towards being a vegan so my protein comes from soy milk, lentils and such.

The only junk food I allow myself to eat now once in a while is popcorn (one of my faves!) and I make it myself the old fashion way but putting a little bit of grape seed oil into a pot and pouring about 1/4 cup of popcorn seeds, I used to eat it with a lot of melted butter and seasoning but I'm trying to just eat it as it is...hopefully just eating it plain isn't too many calories?

I guess you could look up the name in a search engine or go to yahoo contributor network and look it up by my screen name (lily love) or title name (trials and tribulations of a fat girl...who use to be thin)
One thing you have to remember is that once you have a kid (not matter how much we don't want to except it) our bodys chang even just a little bit is still a change. we have extra parts inside our bodys that men dont have that makes it much harder to obtain a perfectly flat tummy. If you push yourself to try and be too perfect you can end up discourageing yourself and giving up over and over end up with an eating disorder. you also have to remember that stress makes it MUCH harder to lose weight in your tummy and having a child adds stresses we never knew exsisted so losing weight takes more time and patience then it use to when we were younger.
Yoga works great for toneing the tummy muscles and you child is around the same age as mine and I have my daughter do some of the poses and stretches with me. It keeps her from climbing all over me while I am trying to exercise.
I truely hope I am not discouraging you or making you feel like I am telling you, you can't in any way. I just wanted to remind you that having a child makes a huge difference in your body structure and motabolism. Some are super lucky and don't have to worry about a change and then there are those of us who have to work for it some harder then others. I do understand exactly how you feel I hate going out in public I feel so gross with my stomach still poking out like I am 5 months pregnant but I also know I just have to deal until I work it off and even then mine always poked out just a little even when it was washboard flat...boo for me lol