i just cant get myself motivated...i am a stat ay home mom of a 2 yr old and 3 yr old, so i run around with them....but they rise at 5 and go to bed at 7ish...by that time im spent! what do i do..i TRY to do some home aerobics like 2x a week, but its so hard for me to find time....plus, b.c i am home all the time i just eat when not hungry...plus i am a bit confused aout my restriction...there is a lot that i cant eat, just apinful to go down, like chicken grilled or something,...but i can eat endless amount of salad with chicken or anything else in it...way more than 1/2 cup,,,i always make sure i use a low fat dressing...i was banded in late march and habe lost 30ish pounds..ok butnot great....but im not exercising either...im not sure if i should get a fill next week....i am not losing how i should be, what do i do about all this guys?:help:

The answer is a tough one. First I would start with your restriction. Good restriction is when you can only consume 1/4 go 1/2 cup of food. It sounds like you are at the 1/2 cup mark which is good. If you are not losing, however I would go in for a minor adjustment. Exercise is a tough thing. You really need to make it a priority. The only motivation I have is that I have a personal trainer. That gets me to the gym 2x a week. I am not losing as fast as I could if I walked more during the week. You really need to make it a priority. How about a double stroller to hold both of your kids? That way you could get out ane take a walk during the day. Good luck.

You know, when I first started out with a band I realized I never seriously exercised. I'd start, hate it with a passion, and stop.

While it's not my favorite thing in the world to do I have to say that it makes a HUGE difference in weight loss. The difference for most is night and day. You feel like a big chocolate bar melting in the desert sun. When those pounds start melting away all the sudden you have motivation you didn't know you had.

I find myself doing stupid things. Such as... yesterday I did 2 hours and 20 minutes of HARD cardio. It was dumb, now I have blisters on top of my blisters (bottom of feet) and today I did a grand total of 15 minutes. My blisters hurt.

So use your head, think about what you are doing, start slow, if walking is hard for you because you are tired then start out with 10 minutes a day. If you don't have a treadmill start out easy and do one block a day. Every three days increase by one block. It will be sooo much easier when you see the difference on the scale and you have to go buy new clothes every three weeks.

I think it's a matter of just making yourself do it. We ALL have to do things we don't like in life and this is one of them but you just kinda have to suck it up and do it. It becomes easier and easier over time.

Buy yourself a double jogger, load it up with Water, Snacks for the kids and get outside and walk!

These years are sooo hard and its exactly at this time that I gained most of my weight. I exercised when I had one, but with a newborn and a toddler, I became very sedentary. Running round with the kids all day does not count.

I'd also highly recommend wearing a pedometer and making sure you get your 10,000 steps - but 10,000 a day is a pretty meagre goal for weight loss, you should get that just in incidental activity and then exercise on top of it.

Seven is early, sorry to say. I know that feeling when you're spent and you dont want to exercise but there's PLENTY of time to head out for a walk or a run at that time of the evening, especially while its summer over there in your part of the world. Just get out the door. Within weeks I promise, you'll cope so much better with the exhausting challenge of raising children.

I have to exercise at home - gym just does not work for me with 3 kids. I have a treadmill and some weights, and I do what I need to at home, at night, in front of the telly with my kids and my DH right there. A 2 year old, whooo, that's challenging though, treadmills and stuff can be dangerous with little kids around that dont know not to touch.

I also spent long periods of time going to the gym and just putting my kids in the creche there while I was there. Is there a gym around with childcare?

You also have two entire days on the weekend when your partner is around to do something for yourself, then if you get out for a good hour long walk 2 to 3 times a week you've made a great start. Pushing a pram is fantastic exercise!

I hope I dont sound unsympathetic but really where there's a will there's a way. There is absolutely no reason to not take that time for yourself , you just have to make it family friendly. I really did look at it at first as I had time to sit on the comptuer for about forty minutes every morning, then I could give up that time and exercise instead. I'm sure you'd find there IS time during the day or you CAN get out and do it after they've gone to bed.