[Kdalim]

Hi everyone! I'm Kristen and I'm new to this site, but I've lurked around for a bit checking out advice from others and great recipes. I want to introduce myself and hopefully find some buddies on here so we can motivate each other. I'm a teacher and I find it so hard to be good. Between holidays and birthday parties in the classroom, treats in the faculty room and office, and the very typical possibility of having only minutes to scarf down lunch, I feel as though it's so hard to make healthy choices. Not to mention the glass of wine or three I feel like I need so often!

I notice that I tend to gain weight while in a relationship. I think lost of us do though. You get comfortable and start eating out more and cheating on diets together. And before you know it, a small popcorn at the movie theater becomes a large popcorn, Butterfingers and Sour Patch Watermelons.

I'm trying Weight Watchers for the third time (because I can't ever stick with things) and I just got a FitBit Zip. I hope to lose some weight before a wedding in August as well as a vacation in California around the same time. I don't expect a miracle before then and I know I need to work at it, but I'd love to confidently pose for pictures in a few months.

[TriciaF]

Hi Kdalim, I'm new here too. If you would like some help and healthy food choice ideas, let me know. Would like to help.

[Kscott]

Originally Posted by Kdalim

Hi everyone! I'm Kristen and I'm new to this site, but I've lurked around for a bit checking out advice from others and great recipes. I want to introduce myself and hopefully find some buddies on here so we can motivate each other. I'm a teacher and I find it so hard to be good. Between holidays and birthday parties in the classroom, treats in the faculty room and office, and the very typical possibility of having only minutes to scarf down lunch, I feel as though it's so hard to make healthy choices. Not to mention the glass of wine or three I feel like I need so often!

I notice that I tend to gain weight while in a relationship. I think lost of us do though. You get comfortable and start eating out more and cheating on diets together. And before you know it, a small popcorn at the movie theater becomes a large popcorn, Butterfingers and Sour Patch Watermelons.

I'm trying Weight Watchers for the third time (because I can't ever stick with things) and I just got a FitBit Zip. I hope to lose some weight before a wedding in August as well as a vacation in California around the same time. I don't expect a miracle before then and I know I need to work at it, but I'd love to confidently pose for pictures in a few months.

You've got a good attitude just remember to be successful you have to make a lifestyle change, meaning for the rest of your life.

Now that you've got a Fitbit you should be able to sink that with myfitnesspal. It's a free app on smart phones that you can upload to your computer also.

Very handy easy tools to help you along.

Good luck hang in there, never stop and you'll eventually get to where you want to be.

[nonameslob]

Hi! Welcome! I can definitely relate to a lot of what you posted...gaining weight in a relationship (I gained 30 pounds in the first two years of mine), being tempted by treats at work, the after-work glasses of wine...

I hope you find success with WW. There's a section of the forum here for people who do weight watches, and you will find a lot of support elsewhere as well.

[Pattience]

Well its got to be tough when you are so busy and surrounded by temptation. My sister is a teacher but she's skinny through tons of exercise and a fair bit of restraint though she likes her sweets too which she has to make up for with exercise. She does triathlon.

I'd say, keep the wine on your list unless you really do drink too much. You can afford to keep it on for a while. For the most of the first part of my diet i would have one big glass of wine a day. I find generally its enough for me - but that's probably two standard drinks. I still lost weight steadily.

I think you have to be really really organised when you want to lose weight in a lifestyle like yours. Even in mine which is not so busy i have to be organised.

You also have to be really committed. And i personally believe, if you make some firm rules for yourself and never break them, you will be fine. The problem seems to be that a lot of people make rules they can't keep or aren't committed enough to them or aren't organised enough or something. And you identified that yourself in your post. I think for me, i just don't ever want to be fat again. As my gp told me yesterday, it doesn't suit me. And it makes me feel bad.

If you know your weaknesses - the ones that lead you to break your diets, then that's probably where you need the firmest rules.

I don't know a great deal about weight watchers but i see their stuff in the shops and i've tried their desserts and think what horrible food. Its just not enough and its lacking in substance. I think the system should work if it doesn't restrict your calories too much and you prepare your own food most of the time.

You know these days the trend seems to be a way from low fat and i am not sure if weight watchers has caught up on that. Nutritious fats are needed to help your brain register satiety apparently.

There is another system of counting your food allowance which you might find at least as easy if not easier than weight watchers and that can be found in the CSIRO total well-being diet book. The idea is that you can have x serves of dairy, x serves of meat, x serves of carbs and so on. And it tells what the values of each are so that you can substitute one thing for another and keep an approximate tally going without too much work.

At the very least, i find food logging helpful. I don't count calories anymore. I just eat whole foods and log my foods and adjust accordingly. I think its also a good idea not to restrict your food intake too severely because it leads to hunger. As a teacher, you are using lots of energy. I think its a very demanding job physically and emotionally so you can't afford to deprive yourself too much. If you take it slowly, you will probably have more success in the long term.

good luck.