11 reasons stay-at-home parents can't lose weight

By DR. KAREN LATIMER

From an outsider's perspective, it should be easy for a stay-at-home mom or dad to lose weight and stay fit. Anyone who has never done the stay-at-home drill pictures hours of leisure time, which can easily be filled with exercise, organic food shopping and healthy meal preparation. Drop the kids at school, run to Whole Foods. Put the baby down for a nap, jump on the elliptical machine.

Those of us who have stayed home while raising children know it is nothing like this. It is hectic. The free hours are piecemeal. It is boring. It does not lend itself to a relaxation and recreation. It is more of a "muddle through the chaos and pour yourself a glass of wine at 9pm" kind of life.

It is easy for me to understand why weight loss is hard for moms and dads who aren't working outside the home.

Here are the main reasons why: