Looking for a buddy or two

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jehepner
jehepner Posts: 1
in Introduce Yourself
Hi all: I am Jodi, and new to the whole "healthy lifestyle" attitude. I've been recongizing for over a year that I need to do something, and now my health suffers because I haven't acted earlier. I've been watching my eating and starting an exercise program for a week now. I have not made much progress on the scale, but have started to feel a deffernce in my stamina and bad knees. We even hired a personal trainer to help devleop a excersize program for me.

I love this website and the i-phone tool has been keeping me more aware of my eating habbits than if I did not use it.

Week one wasn't perfect, but it was a start. Any clues on how to stay motiviated until this becomes a habit?

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  • ruggie
    ruggie Posts: 26
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    Just take it one day at a time. Pick one or two small changes and work on those. Once they become more of a habit, pick another change or 2 to work on. If you try it all at once-you might quit. I really think taking small baby steps will help you stay motivated!!!
  • Sherry1979
    Sherry1979 Posts: 457
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    Welcome and congrats to you on taking that first step!!! What advice I would give anyone new to this lifestyle is remember you did not gain the weight overnight so give it time because it will not (and should not) come off overnight either. And the one other thing I will say is don't let a bad day or two derail you and turn into bad weeks and months. . I say this from experience. I have only been on MFP for a couple weeks but I am not new to the weight loss journey. . .it's been off & on, on & off for me for a long time because I have let bad days get me off track so I am working on NOT doing that this time around! Feel free to add me as a friend if you like. . .I can use all the motivation and support I can get :bigsmile:
  • karen1003
    karen1003 Posts: 22
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    You are definitely on the right path. I would love to build a network of support as well. I too am trying to make healthy my lifestyle and realizing that it is a choice to make every single day! Old habits are hard to break but if we keep motivating each other it can only help.
    Feel free to add me as a friend.
  • Sumatra
    Sumatra Posts: 181
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    There are some good ideas here already! For me, it seems I have to change my motivation over time and sometimes I have different motivation for different things throughout a day. I've been exercising for a while and trying to loose weight, but didn't really see results until I found this website and started tracking everything I eat. It's been wonderful for me and a big motivator has been seeing that scale move so much. However, this week, the scale hasn't moved very much, so I've had to focus on other things. One of the things I focus on is exercising just a little bit longer or at a higher intensity. I've actually discovered that now (unlike any other time in my life) I really enjoy running (or jogging). I love when I find that rhythm that just feels good and works for me.
    This week, I've focused more on my food and trying to play around to see what kinds of things I can eat and stay under my calorie goal. Seeing the calories I have to eat is a HUGE motivator to me, I am absolutely determined not to go over that goal even if that means I'm running or walking for another half hour at night. My determination of not going over my calorie goal has really helped me with late night snacking, I pretty much don't do it anymore. I may have a piece of fruit after dinner, then I complete my entry for the day so that I won't eat anything else. You know how after you complete your entry for the day and it tells you where you will be in 5 weeks if everyday were like that day. I am a serious nerd so I have a spreadsheet where I log my daily weight and body fat percentage and I also have that 5 week projection. I think I do so many of these things just to keep my weight loss goals in the front of my mind all the time. I also have to remind myself often of my ultimate goal. When I want to eat sweets or chips, etc. I ask myself if the temporary satisfaction of those chips is better than getting this weight off and being healthy and feeling good and setting a healthy example for my family. Right now, these thoughts are really helping me. I know that even though the scale is not moving as much as it was for my first 3 weeks here, I'm still doing good things for myself and I am making the right decisions that will lead me to that ultimate goal.

    Sorry, I'm apparently a bit chatty today!

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