I Decided Tommrow Is The Day Where Do I Start
 

I just recently got on a scale for the first time in over a year maybe two. I can't remember the last time since I had my now two year old daughter. I have weighed 200 pounds for about seven years now, but when I went to the gyn and the told me step on the scale I was shocked to see 230. I smoke and last may laid them down, I was told that was the reason for the weight gain of 30 pounds in just a few months. I ofcourse picked the smokes right back up and have now been smoking again for about one month. I am ready to lay them back down and take control of my life. I want more than anything to be sexy for my husband and for me. He is a great man and tells my all the time how he loves me and how he thanks I am sexy, I dont feel sexy at all and it is affecting the intamcy in our marriage. Don't get me wrong its there on a regular basis, but I know it could be so much better if I felt better about my self. I am a stay at home mom with three kids two of which are with me all day. I need help, Where do I start, how do I start, What do I do something has to change. Please help!!:?:

Welcome! this is a great great great forum for support, ideas, and motivation. Congratulations on quitting smoking the first time, and I'm sure you can do it a second time! What diet/exercise plan will you be following?

Good luck. I am new to this is myself. I am just starting back myself tomorrow. I started, then thought that I was preggo so I stopped...I know you can do & good luck to you...on the smoking thing too.:smug:

Welcome and Congrats!
 

I "started" a little over a month ago. For me, my starting place was my doctor, which lead me to choose from a variety of programs through my local medical center. Good luck!

Hi there! You're doing a great thing by taking charge of your health.

My advice: start with quitting smoking again. That is, IMO, the most important thing you can do right now. Once you have quit for some period of time (maybe a week, or two) then you can start by picking a plan. Do you want to count calories? Do portions? Weight Watchers? You can start by eating more fruits and veggies, less junk food, drinking more water and less sodas etc. Counting calories has worked for me. Also try talking a short walk or some other form of exercise to get you moving. Good luck!

I agree that the smoking would be the first thing to tackle, then after that maybe you could change just 1 thing, make it a healthy habit and keep that up until you have that down pat, then change another. After all we are in this for the long run.

Welcome and good luck!! You started when you decided to do something about your health . Quitting smoking and getting your weight under control is the greatest thing you can do for you and your family.

I have no Idea
 

I so wish I had a plan, I am looking all over for ideas that I think will work for me thats why I am trying this site. I have never really been accountable for sticking to my weightloss goals I am hoping this will help me with that, Plus I hope to make new friends and I hope at the end of my journey I can help others with theres.

I am "starting" this week as well. For me the plan is start small and livable. Basically start to exercise (walk 30 min) and cut the junk. Basic, simple and healthy even if I don't meet my goal weight.

Maybe picking someone else's plan won't work for you. Maybe just start by picking a few things about your eating you want to change -- drinking soda? Sweets late at night? Not enough veggies?

The plan that works for you is a plan you can STICK to. So my advice is to make a commitment to getting healthier and then explore ways it can work for you. You may have to experiment and try some different things to find one that works for you.

Welcome O2BSEXY! Glad you found us.

I've learned that there are many paths to success. Start anywhere! Get up early and talk a short walk? Eat a smaller portion of dinner tomorrow night?

I hear you on the difficulty with being accountable. Maybe you could make yourself a plan and post it up here? It doesn't have to be anything big. That way you can report back at the end of the day or week and let all of us know how you are doing. Looking forward to seeing your progress!

Welcome to the board. I'm gonna agree with Lyn.. get rid of those cigs NOW. I started smoking when I was 13, I quit 4 1/2 years ago. I did it cold turkey and yes I packed on the weight. Then I quit working within a few weeks of quiting smoking and had 2 babies back to back.. the weight added up super duper fast!!!

I often get upset with myself because I'm not what I was when hubby married me.. but look at what I have accomplished! I quit smoking.. something so many people try to do and fail at, I have 2 beautiful preschoolers who are 2 and 3, I have a very smart 9 year old, who I homeschool, and a hubby who has never complained once about the weight.

It took me this long (I took control of my weight a little over a month ago) to feel I had enough control over my life to add this all too it. Personally, I'm a calorie counter. I like it because it's free.. well other than the food.. I can eat what ever I want as long as it's with good portion control, and it's something I can do where ever I am. I have also added exercise into my daily schedule.

I just wanted to pop in and say hello! I live in Mint Hill which is only maybe 20 miles from Monroe, so it's nice to see someone that lives so close! ;) Good Luck on whatever plan you choose....I am on weight watchers and have been doing it since the beginning of April!

GL!!
Hey we are all or have been at one time big girls and are just wanting our thin person to shine through. GL on your weight loss, and remember if you fall off your horse, get back on :) and go again.

O2NotDie or O2BHealthy
 

I am not making fun of your user name but just making the point that we all start with a reason: those are mine above. I don't want to die and I want to be healthy. You want to be sexy. It sounds like DH already thinks you are. You just need to believe that!

You know, while I was waiting around to really start doing something about my weight, I realized that even small changes will add up. About two years ago I started eating whole wheat bread, then I switched to the right kind of non-trans fat margarines and cooking oils. I just kept making some simple and relatively easy changes in the food that I was bringing home from the grocery store. Then, I began figuring out a way to trim the calories. I decided that since I am such a "chicken-sh**" about feeling deprived I would figure out the calories that I would least miss and those would be the first to go.

The point that I am making is that change doesn't have to mean one day you wake up and voila you are a different person. For some people that works. For me, it doesn't. I hate to change. However, I have found that if I make it sort of a game where I trick myself into letting go of certain foods or the way I make them and give myself an alternative that I like and don't mind, then change sorts of sneaks up from behind.

I looked at exercise that way too. Instead, of feeling like you have to hit a gym 3x a week (not saying there is anything "wrong" with that) you can get up during the commercials when you are watching tv and put in a load of laundry. You can make a trip for every little item you want to carry from one room to another instead of having an armful. Since you have small kids make it a game. You help them to pick up their toys or have a time out where you all go and walk around the block together. You can build family quality time in while you are getting fit too! Pretty soon you are becoming more active and you don't even realize it. Moving, any moving, burns calories. Maybe, not as much as a marathon but it does burn something.

Every little bit helps and moves you closer to Being Sexy or Healthy or whatever. It really does.;)