post-partum weight loss plan

I'm serious about losing weight. Actually, it takes up about 40% of my daily thinking. I'm thinking about it so much because I want to have a solid plan (that will be flexible of course with having two children, a husband, and a job) that will give me direction. I want this plan because to simply say "I will lose ___ pounds and eat better and work out." does not work for me. I actually don't know many people that it works for.

I'm also not jumping on some crazy band wagon either. I don't want a fad diet and I don't want a diet that will drive me insane (like South Beach, sorry husband that I grew two heads for a week). I am trying to gather all the information that I can and come up with something tailor made for me.

Here's what I know so far:

1. I need a support group. I don't do well when I'm trying to make a change and don't have people around to support me. I was thinking about getting this through Weight Watchers but decided that the 40 dollars a month isn't for me. That amount of money on top of the other things we want to do and our gym membership is just too much. So I have decided to seek out Over Eaters Anonymous. When I told my mother that she nearly died but that's because so many people are unaware that OAE is for people who are struggling with their weight. In fact, OAE seldom has the 500 pound person people think about when then hear the name of the organization. Instead, OAE is filled with people like me.

2. I have to formulate a work out plan that is realistic to my needs. This means I will need to utilize what's around me and I believe that walking several times a week is the best option paired with a Zumba class at the gym and work out DVDs via our Netflix subscription. I can't just say "I'm going to work out 5 days a week at the gym." That just isn't going to happen. What's more realistic is: I will take walks every Sunday morning with my children...stuff like that.

3. I can't deny myself food. One problem I had with the South Beach diet and others like it is the denial of food. That just doesn't work for me because I binge eat. If I deny myself a piece of pie at a picnic, I will just buy an entire pie and eat half of it a day or so later. Categorizing food as good and bad does not work for me. Instead I will focus more on my portion control. Instead of having 6 slices of bacon on my breakfast sandwich, I will have three.

4. No processed food. This is extremely easy for me. If I look in my cabinets right now (which I did) we have one bag of pop corn, one pre-packaged brownie, one brownie mix, and three mini bags of chips. I am extremely proud of how I have kicked processed food out of my life. A year ago our cabinets were full of this crap but not anymore. I will just take it to the next level to having 0% of processed foods in our home and not eating them when I go to other people's homes (more specifically, my mom).


So that's the beginning of my plan. I'm still developing strategies and ways to motivate myself. I feel like my weight loss plan needs to be multi-dimentional in order to work. It needs to include outside support, inner strength, food, exercise, motivation, and spirituality to work for me. I'm hoping that the more time and energy I put into my plan the better my outcome will be.

But please, any advice is wanted!

-M