Single Mother to 2 Year Old Son Struggling with Weight

Tiffany,
I'm sorry to hear that you are having such stressful issues with your son's father.
I will give my PERSONAL thoughts on weight loss and maybe...

Yes, decreasing calorie consumption will help you drop weight. However, eating a well-balanced diet is the most important thing in order to stay healthy (ie able to function on a daily basis). I'd suggest eating 3 small meals (healthy - covering all food groups) and 2 small snacks each day. Something that might help too is instead of cutting out the foods you like is make sure you are eating only 1 serving. Serving sizes are actually a lot smaller than most people think. A serving of cereal is 1 cup not a whole bowl, a serving of a casserole would be 2 tablespoons, not a ladel full, a serving of meat is only the size of your palm (lenght and thickness). There are many websites that offer healthy food plans like www.kraftfoods.com, www.fitnessquest.com; wowy.com; beachbody.com.
Also, a major contributor to losing weight is adding exercise to your day. Exercise could be going for a walk (put child in stroller and walk subdivision or a couple laps around the park or lake (I know Gold Dust park in Villa Rica has a walking track, there is a track at the Carrollton pool on Lakeshore Drive and at the lake in carrollton, a walking track at Hunter Park in Douglasville, and a walking track at Clinton Park on Post Road). I put my kids in a stroller do a couple laps and then let the kids play at the park - I get exercise and so do they :) Playing chase with your son (inside or out) can be good aerobic activity, put on some music and dance around with your son. Some things I do to help me - when I fold laundry I squat down (like sitting in a chair) when getting clothes out of the dryer. By getting out 1 item at a time and doing squats for each one I get about 50 squats per load. When I get milk out of the fridge for the kids I use it like a weight and do a couple bicep curls or tricep curls or arm raises before and after pouring it into their cups. Excercise can be anything that works your muscles and gets your heart and lungs pumping a little faster than normal. A website for exercise is deniseaustin.com you fill out a short survery and you get emailed a diet plan and exercise suggestions based on what your goals are - it's free.
Good luck :)

~A.

Hi Tiffany!

I'm going through the same thing. My daughter just turn 2 about two months ago and I'm still carrying the additional weight. However, I finally got tired of doing the low carb, no carb, slim fast, diet piets, and etc... What have worked for me is weight watchers. Believe it or not it does work. It's not a diet it's a life style change. I've also started to walk more. I'm not sure which area you live in but where I live we have the Suwanee Greenway. I put my daughter in the stroller and I walk 9.5 miles. It's great and I feel great. I tell myself lighter is better!

Good Luck

Just remember that low calorie is not always the best bet. You need to be healthy for your son that is #1. You can be a little bit heavy and still be healthy. Exercise. Not a lot just enough to keep yourself healthy. It will help with stress also. I know the money is probably important but do not stress over it. You are just going to harm yourself. Unfortunally you can not do anything about him having a new wife or child. Do not get yourself worked up about what you can not contol. You need to think about yourself and your son. The stress will not do either of you any good. Be the best mom you can be and your son will love you, you can not control how good a father someone does not want to be. Goodluck!

That is not a good way to lose the weight if it you are even able to stick with it, you would just end up gaining it back. The best advise that I can give you is now that the weather is getting nice take your son on a daily walk around your neighborhood or school or park he will enjoy the time with you and help you burn off that baby weight. God luck!!!!
D. T
36 year old mother of 4

The key to calories and losing weight is to have enough calories....if you starve your body you will only keep the weight-not loose it. You should check out the plan that Weight Watchers has-they teach you how to eat right so that your body looses the weight. If you would like you can email me at ____@____.com and ill tell you alittle about it. Im not by any means affiliated with them...I just know that it works for me and alot of my family and friends!

You clearly have a lot of stress in your life and I worry that you are responding to the stress with your eating habits. I hope you can consider seeing a therapist or getting a journal to write your feelings out on paper rather than turning to food for comfort. Also if you want to consider losing weight, why not reevalutate your eating habits and do a food diary and see when you are stressed/overeating and work on those stressors. This would be a good time to make some lifestyle changes of eating healthier, rather than a drastic move of eggwhites and sprite - you know you won't keep this up for the rest of your life and will only harm your metabolism in the process.

u shouldnt obsess so much about your wieght in the first place, but if u do wan to loose the weight do what my trainer has me doing, i have my 3 meals a day, healthy meals of course, lots of veggies,and 2 snacks in between, do a lot of strength training and some cardio. sounds crazy to tell you to eat, but all your body is doing is storing as much calories and fat that u give it in order to survive, for u to burn them out and loose it you need to learn to eat healthy and excercise, there is no magic pill or extreme diet that will do it for u

Hey Tiffany-
I feel your pain. I think most women have to struggle with their weight after they have children. My mom and I joined Curves together at the beginning of April. We just weighed in yesterday. I lost 3 inches and she lost 7! It's a really supportive environment. No greasy "gym guys" to worry about. It's really nice. You can go and try it out for a free week. You should give it a go. Egg whites & diet soda might help you lose weight initially, but it's not healthy and you can't live like that forever. Curves has a diet plan that allows you to only diet 2 to 3 days a month. With that and the 30-minute workout, it's a dream come true combination for busy Moms. I wish you the best of luck. Take care!
-Jen

Mummy magic weight loss tea can help you to shed your extra weight and belly fat without any side effects.

I have a friend who has always had weight issues and is finally showing tons of progress with Weight Watchers. I really love the support www.flylady.net has to offer and their book Body Clutter has helped lots of people, though it's not technically a diet book.
Whatever you do make sure you eat and drink lots and lots of water (no calories there!). Your little boy is learning life skills from you - that means he's watching what mom eats to see what he should eat. Teach him early while you learn too & you two will grow up healthy together.

drop the carbs hun a "Calorie" is a heat measurement, it doesn't burn unless your doing a cadrio workout.

Eating just egg whites and drinking only Sprite zero is not the way to lose the weight. Besides being unhealthy, you will probably not lose much weight at all. When you cut your diet that drastically, your body goes into starvation mode, and what you do eat will be stored as much as possible. Try eating more healthy foods, especially salads, and eat grilled meat. You absoluteley need to be sure you are getting a fairly balanced diet because you need all of the nutrients to keep your body functioning correcty. But if you cut calories to some extent, not completely, and begin doing things like walking, even if you just take the stairs somewhere instead of the elevator, you will begin to lose the weight, you will remain healthy, and you will feel better about yourself.

Dear Tiffany,Please come to the MOMS Support Group at First Baptist Church in Cumming, GA where single mothers meet on Wednesday nights at 6:30. Child care is provided. You will find other single mothers with the same issues you have who will be able to help. Call me at ###-###-#### for more information or reply to my e-mail.

M.

Tiffany, if you drop below 1200 calories a day, your body is going to go into starvation mode. This means that while you may initially lose weight, you won't be able to keep it up for long, and when you finally eat a few extra calories, your body will hold on to them for dear life (i.e. converting them to fat for needed energy). Please think about a more healthy way of going about this.

I've struggled with my weight since my daughter was born, but when I finally learned how to do it the right way (without starving, fad diets, or magic pills) I finally started shedding the pounds. I'm only about 10 lbs from my goal now, and I owe it all to regular exercise and proper nutrition.

I'm also on a free website that helps you track calories, from everyday grocery items to restaurants and fast food. It's a lifesaver. There are also forums for support. If you'd like to take a look, there is some very educational information on there. www.calorie-count.com I'm not affliliated with it, but I really don't think I could have kept this up for so long without it. I hope you find something that works for you. If you'd like to chat further, feel free to email me at ____@____.com.

I weighed 150 before babies and 200 when I had them and stayed in the 180's for about 4 months. It's neat to see someone along the same lines. I have always heard Weight Watchers is wonderful, but I thought I knew what was bad & good to eat so I figured it wasn't necessary. Well, I started it two weeks ago and have lost 10 lbs! It is easy to loose in the first few weeks I'm sure, but I plan on getting smaller than before babies. I didn't think it was possible to ever be smaller than I have been in the past but this system is REALLY good. I'm sure you've heard how it works, adding points. But if you want to try it out and want someone to talk to about it, just email me. It is so much easier when you have people that you can talk to. It's nice to share what is low in points, but yummy. And which recipes are the best. I do it all online, no meetings, and love it! I've never really been on a "diet" before until now and this is one I can see myself doing for the rest of my life. Just let me know if you decide to join.
I have an 18 month old son so we could also get the kids together! (-:

Tiffany,

I can understand some of your struggles with your weight after having your son. I went through the same thing. You definitely don't want to go to the whole egg white and sprite zero thing. First of all the sprite may not have calories, but you have to take into consideration that it is super high with artificial sweetners that your body doesn't need. I only saw a difference with my weight when I stopped being so sedentary. I had no physical activity in my life. My son is also 2 and I found that I didn't have time to go to the gym. So instead, I purchased the Yoga Booty Ballet workout series (only cost me what 1 month at the gym would cost me) and started doing that. It is the only system that I found works for me. I work now so I do it after he goes to bed at night, but before I would do it when he took a nap during the day. I too have a lot of stress coming from my son's father about money issues and him not seeing his son like he should and the yoga parts of this system has helped me to release my stress through the exercises and I don't stay as stressed as I used to. I also started drinking a lot of water. Since I don't like the taste of water, I got the sugar-free Walmart Brand indivdual drink mix sticks (like the crystal light kind). They don't even taste sugar free and they have no calories. I went from drinking absolutely no water to drink the recommended 8 cups a day! I cut out 98% of my soft drinks (I only have one on occasion) and I have found that this small change helped tremendously. Also, instead of dieting, I simply cut back on my portions. The first week was tough, but after that I actually found myself getting full on a smaller amount of food. I know everyone is different, but maybe these suggestions will help. I wish you luck and hope you acheive your goals!! (FYI: doing these things I listed has taken me from a size 13 down to a size 9 and I have lost 8 inches of fat in my belly!)

B.

I'm sure you've heard this before but as a counselor to stressed out moms and children, I can't tell you how important daily moving your body is... like brisk walking, jazzercize, swimming, riding a stationary bike... anything that gets your heart rate up, your breath pumping for 20 - 30 minutes. It's so important for your chemistry and hormonal balance which effects mood, stress levels and ability to have the energy you need to do all that a mom of a 2 year old needs to do. Consider Curves if you haven't... they'll let you try it free for a week.... And someone to talk to would help. I have helped lots of moms get the stress under control and get in optimum shape. If you look on your insurance list you might find some names of therapists and start calling around and find someone you feel good about over the phone and get some counseling support. Email me directly if I can be of further support. Best of luck to you! - L.