[LadyBug00]

Hello Everyone~

My name is Rebecca, I am 23 and I live in Oklahoma. I am new to the whole diet scene, I had my little girl Allison in November '03, and I am just now starting to think about losing weight.

I would Love to lose 70lbs before next Summer, so if anyone has any suggestions on how to get started and what to do, or if you want to be buddies that would be great!

[jenicra]

Welcome, Rebecca! Congratulations on your decision (oh, and the new baby too!)! It really depends on what kinds of limitations you want to set for yourself. I think your best bet is to start exercising, even if that just means a 20 min. walk as many days a week as you can fit it in. Start recording what you eat on a normal day, so that you can begin to see where your food problems stem from. Cut back your portions - pay attention to how much 1 serving of pasta really is. Read labels and understand what you are putting into your body. I think that those little steps really help to orientate a person to what their behavior actually is and can help you to be able to diagnose and fix the situation! Just my $0.02! We'd love to have another on board, peruse the threads to see the things we normally do (weekly weigh-in's, exercise logs, longer challenges, non-scale victory threads) all to help motivate one another.

[jdoggmartin]

Welcome, Rebecca! Jenicra has some great advice! My addition: You can only get so far by eating healthy. If you want to be toned and trim, you've got to exercise. Like Jen said, start small, no matter if it's for 10 minutes. You can work your way up to longer periods and more intense exercise. Another piece of advice: Start slowly. Don't go so gung-ho at first that you tire of it really quickly. Maybe you just want to start making small changes to your eating habits. Then, keep adding on that foundation. Also, maybe you can start with changing your eating habits OR exercising, and then add the other one in. Sometimes it's easier to get on track in one area and then add in the other.

Jump in anywhere! Everyone here is sweet, helpful and a source of inspiration. I look forward to getting to know you. Good luck on your journey!

Take care,
Jina