W eight loss for homeschooling moms can be tough. We’re often busy from the time we roll out of bed in the morning until we crawl back in at night. Finding the time, energy, and motivation to workout can be challenging.
I know because I spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 years being obese…and all but the first six or so of those years I’ve also homeschooled. I know that many of you may have missed my weight-loss blog before I merged it with my homeschool blog, so I wanted to share some of my favorite weight loss tips and posts. I hope they will encourage and inspire you.
1. What Up? (First, to give you a little background, the theme of my weight-loss blog, at the time, was Twilight. It had all these photos from Twilight and a countdown to the Eclipse premiere, hence the Twilight references in the post.)
This is the very first post I ever put up on my weight-loss blog, Eclipsed. It’s kind of strange to go back and read the pure, raw emotion I was feeling the day I wrote that post. At that time, I really, seriously doubted my ability to succeed. It’s so nice to look back on it now and realize that I have succeeded. I think the support of the online community played a huge role in my success.
2. Handicapped – Looking back, it’s hard to comprehend how much I had let obesity handicap me. It’s hard to express how much freedom I feel now and how much I enjoy simple things that most people take for granted, such as standing up after sitting for awhile and not having to give my knees and ankles time to adjust before taking a step. Yeah, really.
3. The Dream – Here’s my last “raw emotion” post for the day. I hope that it helps someone who may be where I was to see what I was feeling and know that I made it out of that. I did successfully complete the impossible-looking journey that I started in November 2009.
4. Opportunity Cost – This post is for all those people who think that weight-loss is about dieting and deprivation. And, for the record, I was telling someone just yesterday that, once you retrain your mind and your taste buds, losing weight or maintaining your weight-loss really does get easier because you really don’t want a bunch of the junk you used to eat. Really.
5. 10 Easy Changes to Improve Your Health – Weight-loss doesn’t have to be one huge overhaul of every aspect of your life – well, not all at once anyway. This post offers ten relatively easy-to-implement tips that can combine to result in successful weight-loss.
6. Ten Tips for New Runners (From a New Runner) – This is one of my all-time favorite fitness posts. I never, ever, ever dreamed I’d learn to love running. These days, I’m a firm believer that just about anybody can become a runner. It may require losing some weight first because, goodness knows, I don’t think I could have run at my heaviest, but I do think that most non-runners can become runners.
7. Frugal Ways to Exercise Without Joining a Gym – One of the most common reasons people give for not working out is not being able to afford a gym. There are lots of ways to workout that don’t require a gym or expensive equipment. You already own one of the best pieces of equipment around – your body. Find out how to put it to work for you.
8. Eating Healthy and Feeding the Family Without Becoming a Short Order Cook – Another common excuse for not losing weight is having to continue to cook for a family who is not impressed with new healthy food choices. In this post, I share some simple tips that helped me to avoid this problem in my home.
9. Top Ten Tips for Losing Weight – This post shares some my best tips, based on my experience, for losing weight.
10. 10 Ways to Get Active with Your Family – Finally, if you want to get the whole family involved – something I’m still trying to accomplish with some consistency – this post offers some ideas on getting active as a family.
Bonus post: I just couldn’t bring myself to leave out my One Year Anniversary post. It contains so much truth and inspiration that I like to go back and read it to myself from time to time. I’ve got a quote from it that still takes front and center on my fridge.
If you’ve successfully lost weight, what are some of your best tips? If you’ve been around for the long-haul on my weight-loss, do you have any posts that were especially meaningful to you?
This post is linked to Top Ten Tuesday.
You have been awarded the Versatile Blogger Award, for details visit the link. http://featheronabreeze.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/versatile-blogger-award.html
Thanks, Amber!
I have to say you have been such a motivation :) I guess my biggest ‘tip’ is that it’s not all about the scale. It’s about getting fit and healthy. My scale doesn’t move a bunch, but my cholesterol and blood pressure have shown significant improvements since I began exercising and changing my eating habits. I’ve also lost inches and gained muscle…..which is great. I try not to let the scale be the whole story of my fitness journey…it’s only a small part of my healthier lifestyle. Thanks again for the motivation and the great anniversary post highlights :)
Great tip! You’re absolutely right — sometimes we let the scale be the be all, end all of the changes we’re making toward a healthier lifestyle when really that’s only one small piece of the puzzle. Great job on getting healthier!
It’s so exciting to hear other women talking about the weight-loss success story. Mine started 5.years ago. I lost 120 pounds that first year, and have kept it off, with some seasonal fluctuations, for 4 years.
For me, as a Christian, I had to see my body and the way I was treating it as a stewardship issue. I was not taken care of God’s temple. I was not glorifying God with my body. That shift was HUGE!
It’s also important to look at your healthy food choices not as deprivation, but as ensuring that your body is getting quality fuel. Yeah, the cookie tastes good, but it’s not giving your body what you need to run well.
Nowadays, my biggest struggle is the way I feel about the leftover flappy skin I have in certain areas. I’m in the best physical shape of my life, but sometimes I feel like I don’t look like it. I have to remember that I’ve grown strong and healthy and more disciplined over the last several years, and let go of the focus on looks…it’s tough, but I have the Lord on my side every step of the way!
Wow, that is awesome, Jaime! Way to go on your weight-loss and maintenance. Sometimes I struggle with disappointment that my body still doesn’t look like I’d hoped it would, but then I remind myself to focus on how much healthier I am, how much better I feel, and how improved my body is from where it was.
Wow! I wish I could read your whole blog through. I am you… from the past. I am 5 ft 1 in and am 70lbs overweight. I feel the need inside to change myself but I’ve yet to find the willpower to push through and start it. I’m always going to start it tomorrow.
Briana recently posted..Jump Start
You can do it. I know because I did and I never thought it was possible. I need to find an easy way for people to read back through my story from the beginning. It’s a little trickier now that I’ve merged blogs.
I’ve been joining your linky party for a few weeks now. What an inspirational story and journey for you to share. I’ve been blessed that I’m only a few pounds overweight but I just hit the big 5-0 and it’s getting tougher. I’m setting some simple rules, no eating after 8:30 pm (I love to eat late at night) and some kind of exercise every day. Thank you for sharing your tips.
Marty recently posted..Scrapbook Room: Paper Storage
Kris,
I’ve been following your blog for some years now, and I have to say, I am so inspired by your weight loss story. Not just because you lost weight, but because you did something hard and had the courage to blog about it, and I’m sure your experience is helping others. This post is helping me to find some things to help my husband. I’m not overweight, but he struggles with his weight, and sometimes I just don’t know how to help him. If there is anything that your family or friends did to help you on your journey, especially your husband, I’d sure like to hear about that sometime too.
I think the biggest thing my husband did was support me. He wasn’t the food police, which would have just annoyed me. He never complained about the time I spent working out. He helped with the kids so that I could find time to workout. He didn’t complain about the new, healthier foods I prepared and was willing to try them. He let me know he was proud of what I was doing. He didn’t suggest unhealthy snacks (you know, like, “Hey, you want to go get some ice cream.”). He didn’t complain about the higher grocery bill. He was just, in general, very supportive and encouraging.
Thank you so much for these links. Losing weight period can be very challenging for some individuals myself included.
Sherri recently posted..What is my niche?
Hi Kris! Excellent Article.. Really i love the way you have narrated. Dedication is more important in what ever task we do. Motivation is also a must factor. You got them both . Thanks for your wonderful post. Your post will be a great inspiration for most people. Thanks once again.
Watching your journey has been so inspiring to my own. I think you have pretty much covered all the tips you need to lose weight.
One thing that has kept me going is goals. Write down your goals and remember them. This will help you on those tough days.
Paula recently posted..Meet My Daughter, Abigail
Yes, definitely goals! I had a post about goals that I almost included, but I had to narrow it down and I already had one bonus post that I couldn’t convince myself to cut. lol
Thanks for the inspiration! I really need to get motivated to lose weight. I want so much to set a healthy example for my kids!
CC Jen recently posted..Changes
Thanks for posting these, Kris (And thanks for being an inspiration)! I had one of those “who is that fat woman in the window – oh crap that’s me” moments while on vacation in July and I can really use looking through your posts to encourage me. :)
Eddie recently posted..Hard As A Rock unit study
Yeah, those moments aren’t fun. I know you can be successful at losing though. It just takes making up your mind to do it. Good luck!
I’m going to have to go through all those links over the next few days. I wrote this before I had my baby: http://unorthadoxmomma.wordpress.com/2012/02/04/trying-my-hand-at-weightless-advice/, but in the last 20 months, I’ve lost 45 lbs, and that’s with having a baby 3 1/2 months ago.
When I talked to my dr last year about all the changes we’d made, he made the comment that I had a very restrictive diet. Let me tell you, eating real food, real fats, natural sugars, meat, and all the fruits and veggies I wanted didn’t feel restricted to me! Yes, no hydrogenated fats and processed foods and restricting sugars, but I was eating butter and cream and meat!
It’s about mindset. I have struggled my whole life with my weight, with deprivation and fads. Eating real food and not worrying about calories was freedom. And it was so much easier to be active losing weight. I did my first walk/run a month after my son was born and I’m looking out for my first 5k (I didn’t want to do more than a mile that close postpartum)! My running buddy wants me to do a half-marathon with her next!
Yes, mindset plays a huge role. It’s funny that your doctor thought your diet was restrictive. Makes you wonder. Good luck on doing a half marathon. I did my first last fall and it was an incredible feeling of accomplishment.
I lost around 45 pounds recently. I began losing just over a year ago. I am a homeschool mom and don’t have the time or money to join a gym. I bought a $100 exercise bike from Academy Sports and found TONS of exercises videos on youtube. I can almost always find time to jump on the exercise bike or do a couple of videos each day. I need to work on toning and maybe losing 5 more pounds. I am trying not to fall back into my old eating habits – I have a problem with snacking. I hope I can maintain my weight lose and keep eating healthy and exercising.
Way to go on your weight-loss! I need to work on toning, too. I love to snack, so I try to plan healthy snack choices into my calorie budget each day.
What an inspiring post. I’m so happy for you and so thrilled you are sharing the inspiration with others. Health and fitness are critical for busy homeschooling moms!
Melanie Wilson recently posted..How to Help Your Child Memorize
Thanks, Melanie! I do really want to inspire others as much as I can because I know what a life-changing effect weight-loss has had on me.
Thank you for these reminders, Kris! Nothing new or earth-shattering, of course, but even those of us who have been on this journey for years need periodic reminders. For me, I especially needed to hear and think about how to work these healthy habits into my busy life as a working, homeschooling mom. You reminded me that I CAN do it and that I have to start with little steps each day.
Love your blog and appreciate all your encouragement and ideas.
I agree, homeschooling makes weightloss very difficult. I lost forty pounds from May to September. I have twenty pounds until I hit my goal weight and I am STUCK. I have not lost a pound since September and I am exercising almost every day. It is because I am home all day and focused on the kids, impulsively making bad food choices! HELP! I seriously need to pray and make daily commitments! Congratulations and thanks for your inspiration
Your articles on health and homeschooling are wonderful — I will be sharing them with our homeschooling group. I had found verse in your website related to health and weight loss as it relates to homeschooling. Could you please let me know what it is? I cannot find it and was really encouraged by it and I know it would encourage so many from our group. Thank you.
Thanks, Alicia. I’m glad to learn that I’ve been able to encourage you and that you, in turn, will be able to encourage your homeschool group. I’m not sure which verse you’re referring to. I’ve shared a lot of verses over the 3+ years of my weight-loss journey. Was it a Bible verse? One that has encouraged me for many years is Galatians 6:9. I’m not sure if that’s the one you’re thinking of or not. If not, if you could give me a little more detail, I can see if I remember which one you’re talking about. Thanks!