Losing weight has been my biggest obstacle since the birth of my daughter....WHO'S THREE NOW! I gained a tremendous amount of weight during my pregnancy. Tremendous as in 50 lbs!!! Somehow, I lost 30 lbs in the beginning but the last 20 lbs are still here.
I've been looking for motivation to get me going and I think I'm a little closer after reading your post. So, thank you for putting it out there.
I'm a huge fan of weight watchers and they even have a "bring your toddler along" meeting (at least here in Greenlawn they do). These are some of the things I've learned from WW and have brought me success in the past:
1. PORTION CONTROL. Use a smaller dinner plate and half the plate should be a vegetable, 1/3 a carb and the remaining 1/3 a protein. Of course, if you're into measuring - that's even better.
2. WHOLE GRAIN/NATURAL FOODS. Always go for the multi-grain or while grain. Rule of thumb - eat less of the white stuff (pasta, rice, potatoes, bread). Are you feeling that THAT'S EVERYTHING? It's not. You can get all of these is a more natural state. My family loves the Barilla multi-grain pasta and we buy (Rice King) brown rice (I think hubby picks this up from a Japanese market). You get the idea.
3. WATER. Of all the diets out there, this is the ONE thing (exercise I guess being the other one thing, lol) that they ALL suggest. There are a LOT of wasted calories in soda and juice. Water is really the way to go.
4. MOVING. The hardest of them all, in my opinion. But, yo have to move. Get your body going. Take walks when you can. If the weather permits, take your daughter. Park far from your destination so you can sneak in some walking. I've never doen this but you could even walk around the inside of the mall!
Well, this is it for me. I'll be watching your post for other ideas that maybe I can incorporate too. Good luck.
~M.