Good morning or afternoon, evening. My name is Debby. It is cold outside today.

I have been over weight most of my life. I would say that I have probably lost at least a ton of weight in my 54 years. I am so determined to fix what is wrong. I am going to start loving myself. I want to realize that I am worth getting fit.

I am disabled, which makes it hard for me to do very much exercise. Because I have medicare with a supplemental policy, I have the program silver sneakers.

With this I have 3 gyms with in a 20 mile radius that I can use. One is a brand new state of the art gym. It has 3 indoor pools. The one I like right now is the warm pool. Then there is the pool for children. There is a slide in that one. then there is the olympic size pool with lane in part of it. They have several aroebic classes a day. All of these are indoors.

Then there are the outdoor pools. I qualify for all the pools. The outdoor pools are awesome. There is the one with slides and lots of fun things. But as I have already had skin cancer removed from my face, I won't be doing the outdoor pools.

The gym equipment is awesome. I tried 3 of the machines. But, I have been sedintary so long that there is no way at this time that I can use these yet. Notice I said yet. I am looking forward to using them in the future.

I would like to have a buddy or two or three, to help me with reaching my goals,. I am making small goals at a time. If anyone would like to be my buddy, give me a holler as we say here in my neck of the woods.

Debby

Hi Debby! You'll find lots of support here! How wonderful that you have access to those gyms and especially the pools! What weight loss plan are you using? Exercise is wonderful and everyone should do it if they are able, but it's what we eat and don't eat that really controls weight loss. Whatever plan you're using, I wish you the best! Good luck!

Well I am basically floundering trying different things out. I am using high protein with lots of low carb veggies.I have cut out potatoes and bread.

The gym was so great yesterday. I really gave it my best. I got a set of small weights and did every exercise that I could think would do a good job on each portion of my body.

I haven't gotten to do an aerobic classes yet. They said the are pretty intense for a beginner. So for the next couple of weeks I am going to just use the warm pool.

Any suggestions?

Welcome! I agree with the ever-brilliant Jacqui -- getting a healthier body starts in the kitchen. And it stays in the kitchen mostly, too, lol. It sounds like you will have excellent options for exercise when you are ready, but you can do SO MUCH by changing and controlling your diet. You can do most of the hard work right in the kitchen.

Good luck to you!

Hi, Debbie! I'm all about short term goals, too! Welcome to the board!

Thanks for the welcome guys. I have had a battle with the scales. I am addicted to it so much. I am doing my best to not weigh until Monday. that will make my mini goals seem more real if I make it.

Hi Debby, I am trying to learn how to use this blog. I, too, am looking for a buddy to talk to, and help me over the humps. I really want to get motivated to exercise!! I tried to PM you, but I didn't have permission.

Hi Debby, i agree with Jacqui too. Its largely about the food but its excellent that you are so motivated and excited to start being active because it helps and has so many other benefits. And its great that you have easy access to all those facilities.

About the scales. I weigh myself everyday but i understand its not important to get upset with the ups and downs you see on a daily basis. In the beginning most of the weight loss we notice once we start eating less or better is water loss. But it does feel good that it goes down.

There are many reasons for huge fluctuations in the scales (assuming even you weigh yourself first thing in the morning before food). So do not be disheartened when it jumps up again overnight. Eating salty foods is one thing that causes water retention, getting too dehydrated can cause great downward leaps. Currently i haven't been to the loo for days and i think this is part of why my scales are not moving much at the moment.

That is to say its important not to understand the scales only in terms of fat loss and gain in the short term fluctuations. Even having a period causes water retention so the scales may not go down for a few days when you are menstruating.

if you are confident your calorie intake is less than your calorie output then the scales will go down in the long run. And after the initial rapid losses they will go down incrementally rather than in leaps and bounds. Its important to be patient and persistent. If you have a good program, you need to maintain confidence in it.

Good luck.

Hi Debby, I'm in my 46th year and very active at the gym now. I wish I had some swimming pools available to me! I think that would be a gentle way to get my cardio in (I have knee trouble)...good luck, you are never too late to start losing the pounds and getting healthy! If it helps, I've recently starting to eat according to the Mediterranean way of life...lots of fruits, veggies, fish/chicken, nuts and olive oil (in a nutshell). It's flavourful and I've lost a lot of the heavy butter/cream/meat dishes I used to rely on!

Thank you guys so much for the wonderful advice. I have been very careful about my calorie intake. I also have tried to incorporate a salad everyday. The salad has both iceburg lettuce and spinach. I did my swim classes Monday Wednesday and Friday. Monday and Wednesday, I was mostly just swimming with the noodle and floating. P.S. I can swim, I just used the noodle so I could stay in one place some and do kicks and things. I know that sounds jumbled. I don't know how else to describe it.

Friday I was looking at some of the weights they had at the end of the pool. They just looked so heavy. I was about to get back in the water when a life guard came up to me. She offered to get me the small weights they had for the aeorbics classes. I used them and really worked out. It felt wonderful.

I was so afraid that I would be very sore the next day. Actually, I felt better. I am going to the gym to swim later on today. I am very excited to see where I have come.

I weighed in this morning with great results. I am down 5 pounds and I don't believe it is water loss. I am going to get a tape measure today to measure with.

Does anyone know when you can get pm access?

I think you can get PM access when you have been a member for 20 days and when you have 20 posts, By the way, Welcome 2 The Forum