Help Mom Lose Weight

I might be a little late, but there is a great book called "Beck Diet Solution" that can help make any diet plan a sucess.

Unhappily, there isn't a way we can make someone change. That person has to make the decision! (But you have a husband so you know this.)

However, since you're going to be so close to your mom geographically, maybe there are a couple of things you can do to be an influence in the right direction.

The first is to remember that she's your mother! Mothers don't like to be preached to (or feel they're being looked down upon) by their children. So treat her with love and respect. I'm sure you do that anyway. Let her know by word and action how precious she is to you.

Another way is to set the example yourself. If you feel health is that important for your mom, it must be because it's important to you as well. Let her see you walking every day, with your beautiful daughter in the stroller. Let her see you moving instead of couch-potato-ing (more often, anyhow). If you belong to a gym, let her see you go there on a regular basis. Let her see you choose the right food to eat, even for snacks. She may ask questions, and then you can tell her honestly how great it is to do these things and be healthy. The idea is for her to look at you and think, "Hey, if my daughter does this, maybe I'd like to do it, too."

Henry David Thoreau wrote, "If you would convince a man that he is wrong, do right. Men will believe what they see. Let them see."

I just recently finished the book Healthy for Life by Dr. Ray Strand. In a nut shell he explains why everyone should be on a low glycemic (diabetic) food plan. I just started last Monday and have lost 6 pounds. It gives you lists of low, moderate and high foods on the glycemic index chart. He takes the approach that it is not a diet, it is a way of living with the side affect of losing weight. There are 3 things he asks you to do. 1. Eat low glycemic 2. Exercise moderately and 3. Take nutritional supplements. He outlines them in detail and it is very simple, hence the 6 pounds.

I do not know the personality type of your mom, but know that my feelings have been hurt more than once by well meaning friends, family members and even strangers commenting on my weight/lack of exercise/should I be eating that ect. It has always been a battle for me, but I must choose to fit into my skinny jeans because unfortunately, no one can do it for me.

Good Luck, I am going through this with my sister with smoking.

I don't know what your Money situation is but my mom responded really well to Curves. They seem to have a good support system and it's only 30 min a day. They cater to your individual needs etc! If you could go with her that would be even better
If that is not in the budget then just going on a daily walk with you, your daughter, and mother. That way it gives you some social time and the exercise she needs.
You can also suggest cutting all meals in half (if over eating is the problem). Not really changing what you eat just how much of it per meal.

I like all of the advice that's been given, but I feel it is missing one ingredient. Your mom should see her doctor and discuss the issue. There may be other health reasons why it is difficult to loose and/or keep off the weight. Her doctor can help advise her on what is best for her condition. I did that, and I lost 30 lbs. in a six month period. I am also on some meds that help my hormones be more in balance and that helps me keep the weight off. I am 41 and a mother of four (11, 8.5, 6.5, 4). Good luck to you and your mom.

Go watch past "Biggest Loser" shows with her. Or check out their website or the book all are motivating and life changing to say the least.

I don't watch TV but that is the one show I do watch faithfully. Granted it is extreme but they all start out very much over weight and with simple diet and exercise changes they all lose weight. It is hard but worth it.

Also, invest in a treadmill and just start walking. Ten minutes a day is better than nothing and just build from there. When it comes to the eating habits i have found it most helpful to not "eliminate" something with out "replacing" something. For example: take out soda add water, take out chips add air popped popcorn (no butter/salt), take out ice cream add frozen yogurt - literally. I put my favorite yogurt cups in the freezer and eat it frozen like an ice cream treat. those are just a few examples.

Your mom is lucky to have someone who cares enough for her to be so concerned. Good luck to you both.

If your mom has to lose 100-150 pounds, and she has tried things in the past, she is already aware she should lose weight. I would invite her to walk with you and the baby. Don't say it's to help her lose weight through exercise, but because it would be more fun for you if she would walk with you. Then you could chat as you walked. Even if you could get her to do it 2-3 times a week it would help. It would be good exercise for the both of you and a nice way to enjoy a walk with "the girls."

I think this is a tough thing to do, but since you're living close it would be really easy to help her exercise, just ask her to go on walks with you and your little one. Any bit of exercise helps. After a while of taking short walks, start going longer and longer. Let her know how much you appreciate the time you have together walking. You could also make a fun mother/daughter time out of cooking new recipes, find healthy recipes to try together. Good luck!

You can not motivate someone else to lose weight, they have to want to lose the weight for their own self. One thing that you could do is to take really great care of your own body and set a good example for your mother and your daughter. But really, until your mom really WANTS to lose weight all the talk in the world will not help. When she feels ready for it, Weight Watchers is an excellent program that really works so she may want to give that a try.

Hi L.,
I discovered something over the 4th. My cousins came to visit and they started selling Herbalife. I had no idea what it was. They both are overweight and not very active. Since they started Herbalife (shakes)my cousin has lost 15 lbs and his wife has lost 11 lbs. Then my aunt started drinking the shakes and shes lost some wieght. I wasnt interested because I thought it would be hard and boring drinking shakes. I love food and normally my diet of choice is the adkins diet. So they were making different flavors of shakes (strawberry, choc, pina colada, peanut butter)and passing them around and they are so delicious! After tasting them i started to ask questions. Basically you drink one shake in the the morning, one shake for lunch and then you eat whatever you want for dinner. ("A colorful dinner"). The shakes make 16 oz, which i was thrilled because 8oz is not enough for me, and you can add fruit, oj,yogurt, protein whatever you like to it(they have tons of different recipies so you will never be bored), blend it up and it is awesome. I add protein to mine because that helps the hunger feeling stay away. The first night for dinner i made myself a hamburger (and bun!)w/ all the fixings, a small handful of chips and water. The 2nd day i weighed myself "just to see" and I had already lost 1 pound! I am at the end of my first week and I have lost 5 lbs. I have been excersizing too to help it along. Maybe visit the website and see what you think. These shakes are full of vitamins and minerals that you already need. Not once have i felt like I just couldnt do it (and i am easily distracted with food). Anyway, there a suggestion. www.gethealthyinlife.com If you wanted to speak to my cousins you could call them at 1-###-###-####.

In addition to all the wonderful advice, be sure to help her look after her mental health. Having a great support system can help as well as getting things like hormones and omega 3's in check. Possibly visit an herbal shop, get some fish oil and if she really wants to go all out, see an acupuncturist too. Cutting out sugar and processed foods will help her mental status - avoid things that say diet, aspartame and HFCS. The sky's the limit if you have enough money, but even on a small income there is a lot that can be done. Recently I read some articles about goal-setting on MSN and they said that people who jump in with both feet and start a whole bunch of projects tend to get more done. You don't want to drown your mother or overwhelm her, but the change should be noticeable so she can say "wow, look at all I am doing!"

One last thing, try eating raw nuts for extra protein, if she can. They are great for skin, and helping you feel full. Just be sure to stop if you get a tickle in your throat. Raw nuts are more potent for detoxing than roasted.

Only your mom can make this decision since she is the one that has to do it. Many times making suggestions just pushes people toward the destructive behavior (at least for me, when some one tells me about diet/exercise I head straight for the chocolate cake) I used weight watchers and water aerobics I think they were successful because they focus on little goals instead of what seems like an overwhealming one. Maybe be a workout partner for her and keep trying different things until she finds something fun that she will enjoy doing on a regular basis other than that she has to do it. Love her for who she is and let her doctor and her worry about her health. Ask her how she wants to be supported don't just step in and think your helping. She is an adult and you "telling" her what to do will not help just hurt her feelings and make her feel inadequate.

Will you be in a position to provide food for her? If so, you can start making subtle changes that won't be dramatic or unpleasant.

I would start by serving smaller meals more often. Make sure there are lots of fresh foods, and start lowering the fat content. Do carbs and proteins at every meal (just not a lot of either and make sure they're low fat) so she'll have plenty of energy, and her body will start to not hold on to the fat.

For ideas, check out my blog: http://saygoodbyefatty.blogspot.com/ :)

I would try exercising with her if you can. A lot of people don't exercise because they don't like to do it alone. Water aerobics burns lots of calories and fat-you're using all of your muscles! The Wii Fit is fun to use, but is also costly (it was a Christmas gift so I'm not sure how much it cost). I've heard that using a Hula Hoop burns calories. Perhaps she could join a support group.

Seems sort of hopeless to me. If you think about all the people we know who are obese, smokers, drinkers, shopaholics, angry, and with other obsessions and addictions, how many of them ever change? It's sort of rare. I would just pray for her. I literally think talking to her is completely useless.

Your daughter needs a grandma! Remind her of that, buy an empty scrapbook & tell her you want to fill every page with her in them for your daughter.
You're got her perfect workout solution-your daughter. Throw in a stroller, water bottle & a bottle for the lil miss & you've got a workout. Even better if you've got some gentle hills to walk up. Wean her off her tiny walking partner before you move by helping her find a girlfriend to walk with-my mom & her best friends walk the halls at Mom's school after the kids go home. They have an amount of time they walk & when that's done they go their separate ways. They walk 2-3 times a week depending on their schedules.