Hi all,

I know this is going to sound silly to some, but for me the first step and actually starting to monitor my food is a success to be celebrated -- I tend to be a habitual snacker, so being able to *not* shrug off my desire to lose weight and say, "Oh, I'll start this tomorrow." is a big step for me. I've been starting tomorrow for years now.

Anyway, I signed up for an account at fitday.com and tracked everything I had today. I set a calorie goal of 1300-1600 for the day, and ended the day at...1598. I tracked my food yesterday at the end of the day without trying to change any habits (i.e. munching and grazing my way through the day like I normally do) and I was at around 2500 -- oddly enough, I was maintaining my weight at that amount, haven't gained anything in about a year (well, except for the mystery pound or two that show up and go away every few weeks or so...).

I didn't do any extra exercise, but I figure at least I did *something*.

It doesn't sound silly!!!!!!!!! Probably the biggest hurdle I overcame at the start of this "journey" was to not cheat on the daily food logs my personal trainer "forced me" ( ) to fill out! I started out by writing 1 Coke instead of 2 (for lunch, "snack," and dinner) because I was mortified to have her see that I was drinking a six-pack a day! She never caught on to me (I don't think), but the day I walked into the gym and handed her an honest food log was the day I TRULY started the journey. It is a HUGE step to be honest with yourself...I think it's half the battle to admit where you're "weaknesses" are and to face them head on. Coke was my weakness, and it wasn't until I truly faced the fact that I was drinking 5 - 6 cans a day, that I realized how poorly I was treating myself.

Weight loss is about lots of tiny baby steps all adding up to a healthier (and happier) you. Well done!!

Fitday is a godsend! (As long as you're honest with it!)

Good luck with the next steps!

the hardest thing to do is start, i've said for awhile now oh i'll do it tomorrow, but i've started like you i just had to say enough is enough and now i've been on it 2 weeks now (the jorge cruise diet) i feel great, keep up the good work. i don't even drink soda anymore if i do it's once in a great while and it's usually diet 7 up


lovesbassets i see your in mass what part, and how expensive are personal trainers, and where do go for that sort of thing. if you dont want to answer in the thread you can pm me oh and if i'm being to noisy just tell me

Hi Shanna ,

You're not nosey!! I'm in Littleton, MA. I go to a tiny little gym that opened up about 4 years ago. My trainer co-owns the place with her boyfriend. I pay $30 for 30 minutes of one-on-one weight training with her, which might sound expensive, but it includes unlimited use of all the equipment (elliptical, treadmill, bikes, steppers, weights, etc.) and monthly weigh-in/measurements/BMI -- which I actually choose to do every other month instead. In other words, there's no "membership fee." If you see her for training, then you belong to the gym. And I get a deal if I pay for 10 sessions ahead of time (I think it works out to about $25 for 30 minutes). It's probably my biggest expense, but I seriously wouldn't be where I am today without her. She's amazing, a life-saver, and (now) a really good friend! It's a great place because everyone knows everyone else -- I'd hate to go to one of those huge impersonal gyms. I really lucked out .

Thanks, everyone, for the words of encouragement~

Congratulations! Food logs are great, they help you plan for the future in addition to knowing what you're doing now.

DON'T get discouraged if you have a bad day here and there. Count your calories anyways -- you might be surprised to see that you didn't do as badly as you thought. For instance, even if you splurge, you might see that you still haven't gone over the number of calories it would take to maintain your current weight. If you count even when you haven't done so well in regards to food, then you'll stay on track.

Good job!

Hi! I'm new to this, and new to using an internet community. I have been switching from thread to thread and am feeling hopeful and INSPIRED for the first time in a long time. I weighed this AM @ 208.2, and have decided to try the RealAge diet because I am getting concerned about health risks (I'm a midlife lady). I need to lose 70 pounds. I need to exercise. I will start a journal as soon as I figure out how, and I love seeing the posts of all of you. Keep writing, please, you have no idea how much you are helping so many of us!