Diets & Weight Maintenance Support Group
Chat about how well your latest diet is -- or is not -- working. This group is a great place to find support and accountability as well as share success stories and valuable lessons with the community. From where to start to weekly weigh-ins, get help from others to reach your dieting and weight maintenance goals.
I think you are asking for help for yourself, in saying this you have to put your needs a little higher on the list of your daily to do list. Take yourself out of the slot #20, and maybe move yourself up to a single digit.
I know you are trying to make meals based around what your children like to eat, and this is great, but you also have to enjoy those meals also, make small changes at first, so its not a huge leap, just a few steps in the right direction. Life is a bit more than all or nothing....especially with diet, and lifestyle change.
What are their favorite foods? what are yours? if I have an idea, maybe I work them both in together for you.
I would personally start off by moving out of the inner isles of the grocery store and eating what you do now but with healtier substitutions. Lots of kids have sandwhiches and chips for lunch but love apple slices just as much as chips if they are put in front of them. Just as an example.
Wake up earlier in the morning to make more time if nothing can be cut from your schedule. Get the kids to help you so you can have more time to prepare meals. Cook things ahead on the weekend.
Drink more water, it raises metabolism.
You need to make time for you. If something doesn't change, then nothing changes.
On the food front, you might start by making some healthy substitutions. Any bread, rice, or pasta in your house should be whole wheat or whole grain. It would be best if you and your kids are getting five servings of vegetables and fruits per day, so think about how you can do that. Milk should be non fat - if your household currently is drinking full fat milk, move down to 2%, then to nonfat. If you do it gradually, your kids may not notice. Juice should be replaced by water and whole pieces of fruit, or half pieces for the kids. Packaged, heavily processed items like cookies, chips, or crackers should probably be eliminated and replaced by healthy, low calorie substitutes. Any type of soda should get eliminated and everybody should drink water instead. Swap out ground beef for ground turkey. And so on. These are changes that are easy and will not create more work for you. They are just a starting point, but if you can chip away at some of them over time, it might help. Best of luck with it.