Time for change Topic

U3901935 12/27/12
Hi everyone, I have finally made the committment to regain my fitness and health and am beginning my journey today. Is there anyone else out there doing sort of thing who would like to share their progress?

Jetty45 01/06/13
Hi everyone! I'm so ready to shed this weight, I can barely stand it! I've tried several diets in my adult lifetime, have had success and failure and at the end of the journey realize this is a battle of an addiction to food that I hope to bring under control and manage using the MyNetDiary tool. Any tips on how not to constantly think about eating or cooking? I could use some new tricks! Thanks!

Nurseonthehill2013 01/09/13
Hi, newbie here! I've never joined an online motivation group before- this should be fun! I'm 42 y/o, married w/ 2 children. Two years ago I went back to school to become an RN and I graduate in May 2013. I have become sedentary ( physically, not mentally). It's come to the point where I can't bend and touch toes without holding my breath- ugh! I need to lose 55 lbs. I know WHAT to do. I know HOW to do it. What I can't do is say NO to yummy ( and often unhealthy) food/drink and YES to exercise! I want to be healthy and fit for myself, my family and my patients! I need your help! Lets make this year the year of change!

FibretesMom 01/10/13
Hey all, this is my first time in an online motivational group too. My beginning on the path for a time to change was kick started by a diagnosis of diabetes. I have known for years I need to make a change to get my health back, but was never motivated enough to actually do it. I did weight watchers for a while and had some success, but when they didn't renew the onsite program at my old job, I didn't seek out another site and quickly stopped following their plan and regained what I had lost. At one time, I tried Atkins, but got tired of all the protein and totally couldn't handle not having carbs. I love bread and sweets both so I didn't last long on it all. This time, I don't want to follow any diet program no matter how successful they claim to be. I am not dieting this time, I am making lifestyle changes that include healthier food choices and regular exercise... changes that I mean to make for a lifetime rather than until I lose the weight I need to lose. Also, I am not shooting for quick weight loss... When I signed up for MyNetDiary on December 19 I weighed 250 lbs and my goal weight is 130 (I am only 5'3.5") and I set a goal to lose 1 lb a week and MyNetDiary calculated that it would take me until April 7, 2015 to reach my goal. Amazingly, I was surprised that it would be that soon... I expected it to take me much longer than that given that I need to lose almost half my current body weight. I think using this program to track all my food and exercise (I bought the iPhone app so I can track everything as it happens) will help me develop the habits I need to form to make my the right food choices, not just for now, but forever. I am reclaiming my power over food rather than giving it power over me. Yes eating healthy is a bit harder because non-processed food is better for you and fresh fruits and veggies have rather short shelf lives, it is so worth it. I have learned that chopping my veggies so that they are ready to go in the fridge with a quick grab makes it really easy to include them in every meal. I learned that cooking a bunch of chicken breasts and keeping them in the fridge, again so they are ready to go with a quick grab helps as well. I am trying to make my healthy food choices as easy to access as are pre-packaged, processed food choices I used to make. And seeing the impact of my food choices as soon as I make them on my net calorie intake and nutrient break down is fantastic.. makes it so easy to decide not to eat something if it puts me over my limits or even accounts for too much of my limits if I don't want to really spend it on that item.
Good luck everyone!

FibretesMom 01/10/13 replied to Nurseonthehill2013
In order to say NO to yummy but unhealthy foods and drinks you have to have a plan. Last June I made the choice to give up aspartame because it has been proven to worsen fibromyalgia symptoms. At the time I was drinking between 4 and 8 cans of diet soda a day and I quite cold turkey. I thought it would be hard for me because I was also really not drinking any water at that time. To facilitate the switch, I immediately went out and bought a variety of sugar-free drinks sweetened with sucralose and/or AceK, sugar-free powdered drink pouches to add to water sweetened again with sucralose and/or AceK, and a thermos brank thermal 32 oz cup to keep filled with ice water all day (I like my water ice cold so I needed something that would keep it cold so it would be at a temperature I like to drink continually). Initially almost all the water I drank included a flavor pouch and when I discovered Cascade Ice and Sparkling Ice lightly carbonated drinks, I allowed myself one a day to provide that soda feel. Now, 7 months later, I have not had any diet soda, almost all the water I drink is flavor free, and I don't even drink my lightly carbonated drinks once a week. From June to November making only that change to my diet, I lost 10 lbs. The key to me making the change was providing myself with alternatives and having them easily accessible so that I didn't fall back into my old habit. I am now applying that same tactic to actually changing the foods I eat. Again, I have to make sure I have the good food choices on hand and easily accessible so that I don't pick the old, back choices. And, probably very key, is I track everything I put into my mouth checking and make informed decisions. Because I have diabetes, carbs are my ultimate enemy, but I can keep them at bay when I have a plan. On New Year's Eve, my husband and I ate out at a Brazilian buffet, and I went in with a plan before we got there. The only carbs I was going to eat were going to come from their Pao de Quiejos (cheese balls)and I was going to weigh every piece of meat I took. Because I had looked up the carb count of the cheese balls ahead of time, I knew they were carb heavy and if I wanted to enjoy more than one (I used to eat 10 or 12 in a visit) I would have to not allow myself to pick up carbs elsewhere. I was amazed and how easy I found it to stick to my plan once I was at the restaurant, but I know it was only easy because I had a plan. So in short, make sure you have good choices readily available and have a plan in place so that you can replace the old bad choices with new ones.
Good luck in succeeding in making this a year of change.

Time for change