Emotional/Lonely Eating SAHM

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3/9/13 4:20 P

I am a SAHM also but I am not not sad or depressed. My olderst son moved out last october. Me and hubbie are finding more time for each other. i have two remaining sons. One soon to be gone. I started working on me 5 years ago. My last younger son will remain with us he will never be able to live on his own. Special needs. We do not have any groups in my neck of the woods for SAHM if there are here they are hiding or they want certain groups of peoples. I am a lone wolf by nature. I do find time to get out most of the days.

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3/8/13 2:34 P

Staying at home with kids. Can you form a play group with other Moms? Exchanging babysitting in a babysitting co-op may free up some time for you to workout or go shopping without the kids.

Can you invite a mom to go shopping with you? Can you chat live with friends online?

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3/8/13 2:19 P

I too am a sahm of a two year old and four year old. My husband doesn't get home till 7:30 and he is in school so when he is home he is busy with homework. On top of that I have no family near or help and was recently hospitalized for a crohns flare. Its all a lot sometimes but I find a few things that help me with my weight goals. I don't keep bad food in the house that I might be tempted to eat like chips and cookies. I plan out my meals and snacks for the week. I grill extra meat for salad or sandwiches. I listen to music while cleaning to motivate me to move more and not think about eating. I bought a nice insulated cup that I drink water out of throughout the day. Drinking enough water keeps me from craving soda. I set daily cleaning goals to keep me busy instead of sitting on the couch watching TV. If you need anymore ideas. I can give you more details.

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3/8/13 8:15 A

Can't relate too much except for like a 3-month period but my daughter was in school by then so I just took that as me time and mostly gardened, slept, cooked dinner and picked her up from school. Not sure how old the kids are but do you have a hobby that keeps you busy?

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3/7/13 10:47 P

You did he right thing, the world can be impersonal. Sure you ca bored and lonely, but doing these kind of things are satisfying.

When your SAHM it's surprising how you crave adult friendship.

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3/7/13 6:32 P

Also a SAHM. Yup, it makes you a little crazy. I found myself enjoying a long conversation with a complete stranger at the grocery store just a little too much today. Ha ha. I know everyone says to try to connect with other moms, but my least lonely years were when we lived next door to an older lady that needed a friend even more than me. She was thrilled when I dragged my toddlers over to visit, but I got just as much from it as she did. Try a visiting a nursing home (also a great way to get rid of some of those hundreds of pieces of artwork your kiddos have created) or volunteering for Meals on Wheels or some other program. And friend me!!!

Good luck! : )

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3/7/13 5:59 P

It really took me quite awhile to figure out what a SAHM was
why can't you just say Stay At Home Mom
and what is MOPS Moms of Precious Sons
oh went and goggled it Moms of Preschoolers
Guess am to old for this topic
One day at a time

Edited by: MAYBER at: 3/7/2013 (22:44)

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3/7/13 5:04 P

Yeah, Crispini!!!!

That's a tremendously valuable, insightful book... it really helped me, too. Congratulations!!

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3/7/13 3:04 P

You are not alone I have been a SAHM for 16 years I can remember when I craved the company of another adult and I still find myself feeling a bit "closed in" at times but the folks here at spark are great!! they help a lot try and find a group that you can relate to and just reach out the folks on here will be there if you want to add me as a friend !! I can def. relate!

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3/7/13 10:50 A

I have looked in my area for groups. I found MOPS, getting more ideas there. We meet twice a month. We go to story time at the library once a week. We go to the park when weather permits. Other than that, there is not much in my little community. I cannot afford to drive or pay for some of the stuff around here.

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3/7/13 10:06 A

Emotional Eating... that's always hard... allow me to recommend "The Beck Diet Solution" which has some REALLY good resources to approach exactly that. It's a cognitive-behavioral therapy approach to getting our heads on straight about food. I lost 40 pounds and kept it off with the ways of thinking found in there. Good luck! ((( HUG )))

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3/7/13 9:40 A

Oh, my gosh...there is so many ways to get out and meet people as a stay at home mom! I will admit it was not the most adult exciting 7 year period in my life but, we sure weren't bored.

Look for daytime activities held at libraries, civic centers, local theaters, local museums, and community parks in your surrounding area. There are free activities all around but it does take a bit of research to find them all. Not a week went by that one town or another had fun and intertesting activities going on. Other moms and care providers gathered with their children so we met new people and repeat visitors all the time. Packing good snacks for the kids kinda forced me to pack them for myself as well. Too bad I didn't keep doing that when I went back to work, eh? Live & learn.

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3/7/13 9:14 A

RUNFREEBEHAPPY (I love the name too!!), I totally understand how you feel, it is very hard emotionally to be a SAHM. The best move I every made was to join a group for SAHM mom's in my area (I have since moved from there, and still those are my best friends!). I encourage you to look for local groups, the one I joined is national and may have one in your area, MOMS Club (Moms Offering Moms Support). Goggle it, I am sure it will come up. Another way to met other moms with your same goal is group exercise class at your local gym! They will help motivate you to go too!! I thought I was to uncoordinated to do them, but found a, nobody cared but me, and b, l could do it!!

I wish you the best, this is a great site to help you!!

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3/7/13 7:34 A

I am also a SAHM, and recently rejoined SparkPeople. Though I love being home with my 3 yr old. I miss adult conversation, as my husband works long hours. SP does help keep me in check. I like to look through the recipes, but it makes me hungry, so I move on to another topic. But it helps me to see what I should and should not be eating or doing. Good luck on your goals. This whole site is very motivational.

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3/6/13 9:12 P

You're welcome, and please feel free to give me a holler if there's anything in particular I can help you with :) Nancy's right, too: If you take a look through the SparkTeams, I bet you'll find plenty of other moms who are in that same boat. All the bestest!

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3/6/13 8:54 P

Thank you so much! I appreciate all the info on getting started. It is a big site and at first it seems you won't find a way to make it work...
Thanks again!

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3/6/13 8:37 P

Hey there, RUNFREEBEHAPPY (love your name, BTW!) !

I think that feeling you described so well of isolation is one that's more common than we even realize these days. People connect so much by social media instead of in-person; it can make for a sense of isolation or separation, can't it?

Spark's a huge site, and it takes a while to familiarize oneself with it. If you need a general list of FAQs, you can find that here: www.sparkpeople.com/community/help_all_faq
s.asp

If you'd like to take a look at the How to Use SparkPeople's Nutrition Tracker Video, it can be found right here: www.sparkpeople.com/resource/videos-detail
.asp?video=17

And if you want to learn how to the use the fitness tracker, here's that video: www.sparkpeople.com/resource/videos-detail
.asp?video=73

Those are some basic tools for getting started. You'll be up, running, and best of all, connected, before you know it! All the best to you.

current weight: 120.0

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3/6/13 8:37 P

Thank you Nancy! I will check the groups out and hopefully find the right fit.

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3/6/13 8:35 P

Thank you Nancy! I will check the groups out and hopefully find the right fit.

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3/6/13 8:28 P

Hi RUNFREEBEHAPPY,

Welcome to the SparkPeople Family. Aww, I do remember the days of being a SAHM and having little social interaction since many of my friends worked, but let's see what we can do to help you out.

Have you checked into some of the SparkTeams we have? You may want to see if you have a local team (see link to SparkTeams below). You may also want to check into some of the SAHM teams we have. I bet you can find others who relate to your situation.

www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/groups.asp

I hope this helps! And remember it takes time to swap poor choices with healthy ones, but you can and you will do this. Just know that you do not have to have a PERFECT DIET/EXERCISE plan to have a healthy life.

I wish you well!

Coach Nancy

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3/6/13 7:47 P

I'm new to this site, so I haven't quite figured out where to join yet. I'm just so frustrated because everyday I feel it's the day I'm going to make healthier choices in eating. I'm exercising, but I just can't get control. I'm a stay at home mom and I don't have any good social connections built up so I think I just eat out of loneliness or stress relief! I just need some support and need to find a way to connect here for accountability! Thanks for any help!