Hello to all, my name is Melissa. I am Mum to 3 girls (9-14yrs) and wife to a wonderful man. I am a stay at home Mum so you would think I would be able to have all the time in the world to prepare healthy and filling meals but once I am done all my running around, household chores the last thing I want to do is prepare healthy WW food, I would rather grab a couple of cookies or some other crappy thing and a coffee and go watch one of my shows. Just no mojo at all...

I have joined WW at least 12 times in the 15 years and here I am back again (online version) but can't seem to get my act together. I am completely unmotivated, lazy, tired and eating too much of everything seems to be more important than getting healthy. I like weight watchers because I do not want to be restricted to what foods I eat. My husband is going to join this week as well so hopefully that will get me going.

Any advice on how to get "into it"? Thanks in advance ladies!

Hmm-have you ever thought that maybe WW just isn't for you? I know this is probably bad to say on a WW forum but if you keep going back to it and you don't like it then why do it? Perhaps calorie counting could be something you can try-it's not necessarily restricting what you can eat (as far as low carb, low fat, etc) just how much.

With all that said, WW has really worked for me and if it's something you want to try again the best advice I can give is to get organized and have a plan. I plan my meals ahead of time (I shop every Sunday for the food for that week) and I don't deviate or buy things that are not on that meal plan. I know how difficult it can be when you have children in your home but it does get easier and your body gets used to not eating junk.

Just take things slow and don't beat yourself up if you mess up or aren't completely motivated everyday. It's not easy but you CAN do this!!

A couple of thoughts.

First - I really like WW and it has worked for me in the past. I'm a regained lifetime member. And, I think I regained for reasons dealing with me not the program. However, not every program works for every person. So if WW hasn't worked for you in the past it is important to look at what about it didn't work and to examine if you can do things differently or if you even need to do something else.

I do have 3 suggestions two of which may help no matter what program you are on.

1. Not everyone does well on the online WW program. I was just like you when I tried doing the online version (and I was already a lifetime member so I knew a lot about WW!). I need the accountability of the weekly weigh in and meeting. I need focus on weight loss and eating healthy and strategies for success. And, the meeting helps with that.

There are plenty of people who do fine with the online version and that is great. But, if someone struggles with it, I would always suggest to get a monthly pass and go to in person meetings (and still keep track online).

2. One thing I have really only started doing the past few months and has helped so much is to not have certain foods in the house. Yes, it is nice that I can have a cookie sometimes on WW. That doesn't mean, however, that it is a good idea to have cookies in the house. If I want cookies, it is far better for me to buy a single cookie when I am out and about rather than have a package in the house. There are other foods like that as well. Yes, I'm a married mom and understand that there are certain foods that other people may want. But, on the other hand, no one really needs to have cookies either. So, I think it is perfectly OK to just not buy them for the house or buy them in flavors you don't like (I am never tempted by my son asking for oatmeal raisin cookies because I don't like them).

The big thing is to stress that if you don't have trigger foods in the house, life is much, much easier even if you do choose to sometimes eat them away from home or in a single serving size.

3. I don't like to spend a lot of time cooking. I know how to cook and I can enjoy it, but it is also not how I want to spend a lot of my time. I have found that thinking of food that is easy to make in advance in multiple quantities makes life easier.

So, I make tuna salad (with reduced fat olive oil mayo) with enough servings to last a couple of days. Or, I make salmon patties and cook extras and freeze them. I buy my salad greens in the prewashed bags. I even measure how half cup servings on berries so I can just open the refrigerator and get one as a snack. I look for freezer recipes to I can cook more than meal and then thaw it later.

Anyway, I'm sure you get the idea...

Welcome Mel. I think that WW is the best thing there is for losing the weight and then having the tools for keeping it off.

I have lost and regained weight more times than I want to remember. But I know why I regained the weight. I use food as "support" as an alcoholic would use alcohol. I wasn't ready to give up my compulsions of eating large amounts of ice-cream, cakes, cookies to deal with life's stresses.

Now I am ready. I know I can lose the weight, because I have done so in the past. I am now ready to keep it off. A few months ago, I was not ready. I saw the scale, saw my reflection in the mirror, but I was not ready to let go of the compulsion.

Maybe you need to step back and think why you are starting the diet now. If it is somebody else's idea, it won't stick. You have to want to do it for you.

We can do it together.

If you don't want to restrict your portions, have you considered trying a low carb approach? I started there, got my appetite under control, switched to WW (while sticking with a low carb, gluten-free diet), and started losing weight at a good clip - 53 lbs in a year. My consistent weight loss motivated me, plus reading books (like Shift by Tory Johnson, Grain Brain by Dr. Perlmutter, and Wheat Belly by Dr. Davis) and following forums like this one and the WW forum (not great, but okay). It's definitely a mindset, but getting hunger under control is a must in my opinion.

PS I agree with the poster above - don't keep trigger foods in the house - I can't have potato chips or cookies in my realm, but other things don't bother me (my husband keeps a stash of ice cream and chocolates out of sight in a corner of the garage freezer and in a basket - I'm never bothered by them - but what tempts me might not bother you). I found substitutions I enjoyed for higher point / higher carb options - Shirataki noodles for pasta, mashed cauliflower for mashed potatoes, gluten free, additive free deli meats, sugar snap peas and guacamole (100 calorie packs), etc. I have a whole list I draw from. I go for volume in my meals, plumping up with lots of point free veggies. It's worked - - and I'm a big eater!

Mel welcome and congrats on coming to 3fc! I attribute the successes I have seen to this community and to my meetings at WW. I started off going to meetings and loved it. Life got crazy, I got comfortable, and thought I knew WW well enough to do it myself with the online etools. And just like Koshka I learned that I need the meeting for accountability and also comradery.

The best advice I think is to set short term goals, work on being attentive to your hunger, always having a snack ready that is healthy and keeps you on track, and not being too hard on your self! You mess up, tomorrow is a new day. TRACK EVERYTHING.

Welcome to the club!

This forum is a good way to keep you accountable. Don't be afraid to post successes and even failures. Lifestyle changes are trial and error. Just keep going and you will get into routine.

I think cooking is the problem after reading your post. I can definitely relate. Although, I love cooking...I have a 14 month old and I work 40 hours per week and commute 2 hours per day. It's a lot of time and the last thing I want to do is come home and be a slave in my kitchen. However, if I don't cook I fail miserably.

I cook 2 meals that last 2 days. I make a casserole or some sort and a crockpot meal. Skinnytaste has a recipe for a pasta casserole where you do not even have to boil the pasta. That's a win in my book. Crockpot recipes are really a huge hit in my house. You can prep a few ahead of time and freeze them. Then just pop them in when you are ready to cook them.

My lunches are always my issue so I will make a big batch of Jackie veggie mash up. I'm italian so I LOVE tomato sauce. I take spaghetti squash, zucchini, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, spinach, lean ground turkey breast. Cook it in a pan toss on some oil free tomato sauce and then I do measure out parm cheese to sprinkle when I eat it. It's yummy and it will last 2-3 days.

In the summer I buy tons of lean meats and make my husband grill all our meat for the week on Saturday or Sunday. Then I can toss them on a salad or heat a veggie side.

I guess what I am saying is make bigger batches of food a couple days a week. It makes it easier to manage eating healthy.

Sometimes writing down your goals, e.g., why you want to lose weight: fit into x size clothes, lower BP, etc etc., can help get focused. When you're in the eating cookies mode, it can be daunting to get started on any weight loss program. Taking care of a family & home does not mean you have it easy, just a different set of challenges than work-outside-the-home folks.
Best wishes!

Maybe you might actually need to go to the meetings rather than online. I always felt that going to a meeting and weighing in gave me the incentive to make sure I had a loss each week. It's always easier to come home and grab the first available thing and sit in front of the TV (I know, I do it myself), but it does nothing for our health or our weight loss.

I don't post here a lot, but I'm an old hand at WW.

I think you need to go to meetings.

When you say you'd rather, grab cookies and coffee and watch shows, as in multiple shows. How long do you watch shows? 30 minutes, an hour, 2 or 3 hours?

You've lost control of your space and your time.

Meetings are so helpful, because they address, not only food, but how to address and manage, time, spaces, thoughts.

The support and suggestions from other members and leaders are helpful, and also gives us a sense of hope!

You say your children, are 9 and 14. So they should be in school most of the day. I get the errand thing. I do that too, and I work 50 hours a week. But if the hub is gone all day to work, and your children are at school, you've got the time, you need. What you really need are the tools, to help you re frame how you are thinking about the whole thing.

This is where meetings and the support from other people is so important!

Maybe you could approach weight loss and meal prep with help from your girls. Ask them to select a few recipes from the WW site, or other healthy eating site, take them shopping and coach them in the kitchen. I did this with my son and daughter when they were young, and now they are the ONLY young adults who actually know their way around a grocery store and kitchen (DD is 22, DS is 26). My WW meetings are at the gym so its extra motivation. Yes, its easy to be lazy because I am too. It will take lots of little changes/effort to create a big change/effect. Good luck!

Mel, I joined WW last year and am just now getting my act together. By far I have found it to be the most sensible way of eating (woe) out there. It's a great tool to guide one on the road to proper eating.

That said, I too felt the way you do for a long time. I work at home and there are many days I just don't feel like cooking after a long day. Sometimes this feeling isn't about food or weightloss. For me it was other things that messed with my emotional state. You may just need to give yourself time to figure out why you aren't motivated. One thing I did was switch to the Simple Start program for a while. Do something though that starts you on the right track even if you can't at this moment move on with the program - do parts of it. At least you will be doing something. By all means though do not touch those cookies! lol

I am motivated now, but what the others said I wish I had heard months ago - you may need the support of others at a meeting. To be away from the house and family for 'you' time doing something for yourself.

I will tell you what really helps me and that is meal planning and weekly grocery shopping. This way you have everything you need for every meal on hand all week. You then can plan ahead for more hectic weeks. You can even prepare meals to freeze or store in the fridge (if you will be eating them soon) so that you don't have to cook some days. Also, prepare all your meals for the whole family if you aren't doing that now. WW recipes are healthy recipes that anyone can enjoy! In this way you don't feel isolated from the family if this is the case for you. Besides, preparing 2 meals is more daunting a task than one.

At any rate, . Keep at it, keep coming here. At some point your switch will flick to 'on'.

I have recently restarted, but prior to that I was in the same frame of mind as you describe. I just didn't WANT to do. I absolutely hated the way I looked in a mirror but didn't have the mojo to do anything about it. An upcoming cruise was my motivating factor in starting again. It still pissed me off that I had to start. I was very comfortable in my own slovenness. (Is that a word??) What got me over the hump was telling myself that I only had to do it for three days. I gave myself three days to follow the plan as perfectly as possible. Then I was allowing myself to re-evaluate the entire situation. If I was still miserable, completely starving, or still pissed off, then I could quit. But I didn't quit. I am on Day 11 now, and I've been OP every day. Do I always eat as many fruits & veggies as I should? No. Do I still struggle to get any dairy in my diet at all? Yes. Some days are still difficult. On the difficult days, I tell myself to just give it one more day and then decide whether or not to continue. Deep down, I know it's all mind games...but my mind (negative self talk, negative thoughts, etc) is the thing that most prevents me from doing what I really want.