Eating right to get back to my pre-kids size 12

[treesawa]

Hi everyone, I'm Theresa - new to mumsnet. I'm a mum to two lovely kids Tim and Lola who are 3 and 6 months.

I've been a stay at home mum since we had Tim, but was a teaching assistant before so was used to being quite active.

I love being home with my family, but to be honest, it's got to a point where I feel like I need to maybe start watching my weight, not just for me but for my kids and hubby. I used to be a size 12 now I'm, well, a tad more than that (my fella has also put on a few stones too). So to get us back into shape, I started by getting rid of the frozen junk foods in the freezer and now I'm cooking meals using fresh ingredients, but I'm finding it's taking a lot of time to prepare anything. Did I do the right thing here? Are fresh meats and veg healthier than frozen meals or even frozen ingredients?

You'l, find that the best threads for this sort of support are in the Big/Slim/Whatever Weight Loss Club topic. For example, I am on the Wanneb Winter Waifs thread.

My ds is a bit older that your kids (he's 10) but there aree others with youngsters on that thread.

I used to be a regular size 12 (even after ds) but put on 3 stone when I was made reudnandt last year and sicne then have started working from home, so am less active than I used to be :(

Thanks prettybird, I'm not going to get told off if I copy my message to another topic will I?

Can I ask, what do you do to keep healthy at home?

Of course not - I'd meant to suggest that. :)

You can come acorss to the thread I linked to and join us - or have a look through the topic and see if you can find one that suits your situation.

I'm calorie counting using FoodFocus (which was recommended on that thread) and I'm also doing the 30 Day Shred DVD (I've just done the first 30 days, which took me about a month and hald, with the odd day off and am about to re-start from the beginnin). I'm conscioulsy trying to eat more fruit and not nibble/at least nibble healthily and eat more protein.

I've also realsied I generally need to move faster: that shouldn't be an issue for you with a 3 year old :) - but I'm a bit older than you and I had an epiphany and noticed that I wasn't running around the way I used to - even little things like walking slowly upstairs rather than running up them.

Re the frozen ingredients/meals - the freezer is a good way of preserving the nutritional value of foods without having to add salt, sugar or fat so even though fresh is always the best, frozen veggies and frozen meats are absolutely fine (as long as good quality)!

You may find that it's easier to make massive batches of things like soups, stews, and pasta sauces/bolognaise to freeze half and use half, then you've got a homemade ready meal waiting when you need it.

Bought ready meals are probably not the best when you're trying to eat well as they are often very processed or low in nutrition, and not very filling either. If you use the odd one, look for the ones that contain as few ingredients as possible and are pretty close to what you'd make at home, such as fish pies etc.

Pasta is a great filling meal but if you want to cut some of the calories for yourself, you could use half pasta and half french beans/courgettes/cabbage mixed with the sauce, just as filling and full of vitamins.

Oily fish is good as even though the fish itself is fairly high in energy it is exactly the right sort and it tastes so lovely that it's satisfying just with a big portion of cooked veg and a couple of new potatoes.

Chickpeas, beans, and lentils can all be bought ready cooked in tins so are ideal for just adding to a sauce or curry - they're filling and packed with protein and fibre.

Wholegrains such as rice, quinoa, bulgar wheat can all be just boiled up in 30 mins and then served with grilled chicken/fish/meat/veggies.
HTH!