Hi I'm a new Mom with a 8 month old son. Going to the gym is not an option for me now. Are there other moms out there at home with their kids all day who would like to get together here for support and encouragement to exercise.

Hi there. You and I are already buddies, but we could make this into a challenge. We could set a goal of walking or any type of cardio for atleast 20 min. 3x per wk. Diet wise we could set a goal for what our net calorie balance should be each day. It would help keep us accountable. I know that I don't really want to get into something that is extremely strict for exercise requirements. With little ones somedays it is hard to find the time. Let me know what you think.

the challenge sounds great. I have no excuse not to get in a least a 20 min walk almost everyday. The hard part for me right now is the food. I don't know how much I need, Especially since I'm still breastfeeding I don't want my son to suffer. No reason why he should be on a diet. So far I've been eating a reasonable breakfast and for lunch and supper either a lean cuisine or weight watchers frozen meal. I don't know if that's enough calories.

I breastfed too and I was always told to add about 500 calories to your daily goal for the baby. I wouldn't be too strict with it, but just try to eat more fruits and veggies and cut down on the bad stuff like sugar, white bread,etc., and pop. For now we could just do the workout goal and then set goals for nutrition in general unrelated to calories. So here goes.

My goals for the rest of this week...
1. Cardio 4x this wk.
2. Atleast 8 glasses of water daily
3. 5 or more servings of fruits and veggies daily.

well that will get me started. good luck to you.

welcome you two! there are lots of moms here and some of them stay at home, too, like me! keep up the good start you have and my tips for this site are to reach out, support others, write blogs, and join (or form) a team like you did for extra support!

i should say, too, that i lost 17 or 18 pounds here in about 3 mos - now, i am pregnant so i'm on the upswing, but it's a great community!

Congrats on the pregnancy and thanks for the welcome. So far I really enjoy the site and everyone I've exchanged with has been extremely supportive. Thanks!

I lost 2 lbs this week. I did cario 5x and got in all my water. I faltered with the fruits and veggies a few days. Not too bad though.

hola! I'm a stay at home mom/student as well. I would love to meet others like yourselves who struggle with the same issues that children bring to staying fit. My son is now 15 months and I'm just NOW starting to take losing weight seriously. My biggest hurdle as a mother is realizing that it is NOT selfish of me to leave my baby for ONE hour so I can work out. Recently I've tried jogging with him in the jogging stroller (in an effort to include him in my workout) but he gets cranky. So me and my husband created a course where we run/walk two miles to get to his favorite park then let him play and run back home. He already looks forward to the destination once we head out so that's good, and when he gets cranky on the way home it's motivation for me to keep on running so I can get home as soon as possible. I just want to find a way to include him on my swimming workouts which is what I do most often.

Another thing I struggle with is the diet part. I don't have a diet right now. I usually eat pretty healthy. (Very little red meat, ground turkey, chicken or fish usually...) It's just hard because I have a sweet tooth. I HAVE to have my sweets and THAT is what kills me. I also like to bake, so I often end up eating what I make...which isn't good.
What's with the drinking lots of water? Is that a good way to lose weight? I've seen it a lot on this site. Anyway- hope to hear from ya'll!

Lots of water is good for weight loss. Studies show that sometime when you think you are hungry you are actually just thirsty. Water is also somewhat filling so it helps take the edge off. As for the sugar, I find that I just can't keep it in the house. I too am addicted to sugar. If it is there I will eat it.
Kudos on the park route. I'm not sure how to include the little guy in the water. Good luck.

Hi Ladies! This is great. I am a SAHM of a 14 month old boy.

Gabby- RE: breatfeeding, I had always heard that it is only about 300 additional calories you expend (I breastfed for 7 months). At any rate what i do know is that your body will take care of the baby first, so as long as you eat when you're hungry and keep it nutritious you won't do a single bit of harm to your child. (i always tried to remember that millions and billions of women have done this and are doing this in a variety of cultures and diets and restrictions and their babies are -and stay- just fine)

I actually ballooned after i stopped breastfeeding, that's why I am here. I have currently set myself up to work out 5 days per week (mostly cardio and core right now) mostly before my munchkin wakes up (we don't have close parks, or even sidewalks, where I live)

Natalie- re: water-- staying hydrated is ESSENTIAL to lose weight... often you feel hungry when you are just thirsty. plus drinking water fills your tummy so its harder to fill up on junk and you are less tempted to do so. plus its really good for your skin and makes you actually *feel* better (at least most people find thats true) which often helps you not want to eat "emotionally"

Hope to see you all around the blogs