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Hello I am on a journey to become healthier. Just started counting calories for the first time. Its been 3 days since I began a 1340 calorie intake daily. I am impressed with how well its going. I am morbidly obese and a type II Diabetic. My goal is to lose at least 80 pounds. Presently I weigh 293. All things are possible with God.

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  • bonnieevans6060
    bonnieevans6060 Posts: 104 Member
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    Hi. I'm on a new pathway in life too. My goal is to be healthy and fit because I don't want to have a heart attack or die early. Plus, like you, I knocking at the door of 300 pounds. That is not acceptable to me anymore. I weigh in at 295. My goal to start out is walk the treadmill for 30 minutes 3 times a week while maintaining a 1200 calorie diet. My target start date is August 1. Currently I am tracking all my food so I can see where my problem areas are because I know I have horrible eating habits. I've joined a group for a 30 day challenge starting August 1. Hopefully by the end of the month I'll be ready to increase my time on the treadmill and weigh in somewhere in the mid to low 280's. Time will tell. That's my story. Good luck to you on your new journey.
  • bonnieevans6060
    bonnieevans6060 Posts: 104 Member
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    Tracked my food last week in preparation for starting my first challenge 8/1. I have made 3 discoveries as a result of tracking.

    1. Snacks were caloric suicide. If I am going to snack I need to be wise about it and not just grab something.
    2. Sugar is my enemy. I'm consuming too much sugar. I need to realize certain foods have hidden sugar in them and I need to avoid those foods.
    3. Dinner is devastating. I'm eating the majority of my calories at the evening meal and I'm eating that meal far too late in the day because I do not exercise at night.

    Now, in addition to staying within my caloric allotment and working out on a regular basis, I have three additional areas to focus on.

    Weigh in day is Tuesday 8/1, day after tomorrow. I'm anxious to see if tracking alone has had any effect on my weight.
  • buffalolita
    buffalolita Posts: 2 Member
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    Good luck both of you!
  • dejavuohlala
    dejavuohlala Posts: 1,821 Member
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    OP I'm sure you can do this, you sound determined, recruit the help of a few supportive MFP friends, log all your food and drink and stick with us. Good luck
  • SimplyDe1967
    SimplyDe1967 Posts: 25 Member
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    Excellent work in tracking food so you can evaluate what can be improved. Knowledge is Power!
  • bonnieevans6060
    bonnieevans6060 Posts: 104 Member
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    Today is day 1 of my August 30 day challenge. One of my goals this month is to workout 3 days a week, Monday, Wednesday, & Friday. Today is Monday. I walked 1.01 miles on the treadmill at 2 mph in 30 minutes today. My workout objective for the rest of the week is to repeat today's success on Wednesday and Friday. Working out Friday is going to be challenging because I am going out of town Friday morning and need to workout before I go.
  • bonnieevans6060
    bonnieevans6060 Posts: 104 Member
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    Ok I weighed in yesterday at 285.6. I started out the month at 288.? so I'm moving in the right direction.

    I'm walking 1.07 miles at 2.2 mph on the treadmill now. I started out the month at 1.01 miles and 2 mph. Making some slow but steady progress.

  • artbyrachelh
    artbyrachelh Posts: 338 Member
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    How's it going Bonnie?
  • bonnieevans6060
    bonnieevans6060 Posts: 104 Member
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    How's it going Bonnie?

    Slow but steady. I increased my time on the treadmill by 15 minutes Friday, still at 2.2 mph though.

    So far this week I have managed to stay within my calorie allotment even though we ate Mexican Friday night. If I stay on track today and tomorrow it will be my first full week of not going over at all.

    Snacks: I'm doing much better with my snacks. We don't really have any junk food left in the house so that really helps! And I'm making an effort to to eat a better lunch in an attempt to cut out afternoon snacking. It's not that I'm hungry that I usually snack but just that I'm bored.

    Sugar: still struggling with cutting back on that one but I have quit using it in my coffee, I'm using Equal instead. Mini steps but eventually I'll get there.

    Dinner: still working on timing and calorie overload but I'm doing much better, especially with the calories.

    I'll continue to work on snacks, sugar, and dinner this month. Hopefully by the end of the month I'll have all three under control.

    Overall I'm doing much better than I was at the first of the month. Changes have been slow and small but that's ok because I feel good overall about them.

    How are things going with you? What have you been working on this month?

  • bonnieevans6060
    bonnieevans6060 Posts: 104 Member
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    Today is day 20 of my August 30 day challenge. I started out at 1.01 miles, 2.0 mph and 30 minutes on the treadmill. Now I'm walking 1.61 miles, 2.2 mph and 45 minutes!! Progress is being made. Working out 3 days a week has been a cinch. I'm pondering about increasing my days to 4 or 5.

    Tuesday is my weigh in day. I've done pretty good this week. I'm anxious to see what the scale is going to say.

    Have a great week!!
  • artbyrachelh
    artbyrachelh Posts: 338 Member
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    Wow that all sounds fantastic! I really like the way you reflect on different catagories in your life. It's really interesting and fun to follow your success. Especially I like how your making big changes gradually.

    I'm doing well. I definitely would benefit from organizing target areas purposefully. I have 6 kids (youngest is infant), so I often feel like life is a cyclone! But I'm teaching this fall, so I MUST get organized!

    Adding protein shake to my diet before and after a work out has been shockily beneficial. I was never a belieber, but now I am. Now I make myself a very small serving, because I look at it as a "snack". 1/2 scoop in 6oz of water, rather than two scoops. But the way it's been helpful for me, is that my appetite always spikes when I exercise more, and the protein shake seems to give my body what it's craving and then I am able to eat normally while exercising more.

    What I hope to work on? Fall sports schedule for my kids is looming big on horizon and it cuts directly into my workout time. I need to be disciplined and commit to an early morning workout if I am to have ANY workout. This is scary to me because less sleep makes me mean! What to do?!
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    Meanwhile, OP hasn't been back since July 28.

    Sad.