Weight Loss for Moms: It’s Hard… and what I’m doing about it

January 2, 2017 Kristin, Exploring Domesticity

Weight loss is hard. Throw in being a stay-at-home-mom without the benefit of having time go to the gym whenever you want, the income to afford the membership, or the ability to meet up with girlfriends and having a fun time at a class, and it can be a very hard and lonely battle. Weight loss for moms can be very hard.

I’ve lost a significant amount of weight before and the common denominator was always comunity support which helped make it fun. I talked about support for weight loss not too long ago. In anything you do, for me I’m specifically focused on weight loss and healthy living, community is key.

Let me just preface this by saying, I’m sorry for the pictures! 🙂 My main computer is out of comission and I can’t take it in until the holidays. I pulled these from the archives and will likely update them all next week, but I just had to get this out there!

Weight Loss for Moms: Losing weight after kids is lonely and hard

It can be lonely as a SAHM… and it’s very hard to get excited about things and make things as fun as they used to be.

I’ve tried for years to figure out a way…

A little background…

After two kiddos in under two years, I was determined to lose the baby weight. I started a blog and found so much motivation. I was really on track and having so much fun with it. I lost 50lbs that year. (Check out my weight loss story for more detail)

Staying home with the kids and spending time with them is my dream.

However, my husband has a job that can be very unpredictable in the winter. When I saw a job listing for DietBet, I jumped at it. It was a complete godsend for our finances, but it took away from what I really wanted, which is to spend time with the kiddos while they’re young. I worked over 20 hours a week, I was constantly thinking about who would host a great game, and I was very stressed… I even had a trainer for 3 months, but found myself missing the comradery of friends in it together.

It was then I realized how lonely weight loss for moms can be. There are so many things that get in the way – you can’t always make the plans you want, you feel guilty for spending money on yourself, it’s hard enough to get together with girlfriends let alone find a great accountability partner…

I was letting all my personal goals slip away… I was losing sight of the real reason I wanted to stay home.

Even in the time since I left DietBet, I have been trying to get that passion back. I absolutely love blogging and sharing all the things we do as a family and hoping to help other mothers get ideas and inspiration. However, I have let one of my main priorities – setting a healthy example for my little ones – go by the wayside.

Weight Loss is so much bigger than “losing weight”

I have lost a lot of those healthy habits I had developed, I have gained a lot of weight, and I’m back to the point where I hate to be seen in public, I’m embarrassed, and I can’t magically get back to where I used to be fitness-wise because I have a lot of hard work to do.

The thing is… This time, my kiddos are older, and my actions and feelings about myself have a much bigger impact on them.

I feel like I’m failing my kids…

I never wanted them to grow up with the relationship with food that I have. I never wanted them to even think about body size, only ability and health. However, that’s not what I’m showing them…

I’m not as active with the kids as I used to be. I can’t move as well with the weight I’ve put on and I’m even having knee problems as a result. My enjoyment of life is going right down the tubes, because I am so afraid of people seeing me as my current weight.

It has got to stop.

Moms need fun and accountability too

When I was in grad school, I not only lost over 50lbs, but I was more toned and fit than I had ever been. I finally felt good in my own skin.

The biggest contributor to my success was a great support system and a lot of fun!

I have been trying to recapture that ever since…

…but it is so much harder now.

I’m a stay-at-home-mom with 2 kiddos who are just starting to go to school regularly. My closest friends are spread all over the state and the country. Even when I lost 50lbs after two pregnancies, I struggled quite a bit to recapture that community and fun with blogging.

It has been my dream, as those of you from BlogFest in 2014 know, to help other moms and women build that network of accountability, find the resources they need, and not have to go to a gym or pay a crazy monthly membership fee to get it.

I have been looking for ways to do this but, with finding ways to be home with the kids and make money, not having any training or nutrition credentials, and no idea how to get started, it has been a slow process and I’m not at all where I was hoping to be in helping other moms.

The thing is, I don’t think I can do it without this community and accountability!

So, I’m going to try something…

Building a Community

January 1 is the first day for me on this new venture. I am committed to setting a better example for my little ones, finding things I can do from home and have fun with, looking for community and support, and feeling better about myself so I can be a better Mom.