Developing a Healthy Lifestyle

tmcleod22553

I'm not exactly new to My Fitness Pal, but I am new to the Message Boards. My goal isn't just to lose weight, but to develop a healthy lifestyle that will allow me to maintain a healthy weight and improve my general health. So my long term goals are:

1. Achieve a target weight where my BMI is in the healthy range (18.5 - 25)
2. Gain back the muscle mass that has been lost due to a sedentary lifestyle
3. Develop healthy eating habits that are sustainable and realistic
4. Improve my overall fitness and reduce the medications that I currently take

After pondering this for some time, I believe that these are reasonable goals. As a teacher, I encourage my students to set realistic goals for themselves and to figure out what they need to do in order to achieve those goals. My not having done this myself, made me a bit hypocritical. So here they are, my goals on the internet for perpetuity.

So how am I going to get there?

1. Develop healthy eating habits during weight loss by monitoring my caloric (1500 cal), sodium (2000 mg), and fat intake (15g fat) and maintaining a food diary (thanks MyFitnessPal!)
2. Implement an exercise program that will aid in weight loss, build muscle, and create exercise habits for the rest of my life
3. Eliminate the stressors that attribute to reverting back to bad habits that have gotten me to where I am today (actually where I was 2 months ago)

So, why am I posting this? I am looking for like minded people who are willing to support each other in this transition process, offer encouragement, be supportive, work together to achieve our goals. In particular, I would like to find individuals who enjoy food and cooking and are willing to make the effort to modify their favorite recipes to make them healthier, but maintain the culture and flavors that made them favorites. I am an amateur chef and consequently enjoy a wide range of cuisines. I am always looking for something new and would like to compile a database of healthy recipes that maintain their flavor while removing the fat, sodium, and excess sugar that our American diet has become so dependent on. having grown up in the south, the foods I grew up on where not necessarily the healthiest

So, if you would like to join me on this journey, climb aboard and lets see where this trip takes us.