Hi,

I need a push and a big one.......I just joined 3FC the other day and had lofty intentions of joining WW again. I was to go to a meeting this morning, sign up and restart this journey. Well as you can see I'm here, have not gone. Am disappointed in myself. I used the "got up too late, have to walk the dog, have to make my lunch for work, need to make phone calls, and I even took out my ladder and changed a light bulb"....how's that for determination? How come I can't switch that determination around? What is it that makes me stay rooted in this spot? Okay here goes.....food replaces my need to a) socialize b) socialize c) socialize. Oh I am not housebound, and I do have friends and get out and work and stuff. I just don't have any deep relationships with anyone except food. Phew......wow that's out....but it's still not moving me to WW.....There is a meeting on Saturday Morning.....

Is this site real, will you really support me, hold me up by my shirttails, not judge what I write no matter on pathetic it sounds? I look at all of your threads and see these scales of exercise and weight loss. I want one of those scales that move towards the magic number....but I just don't feel like working for it.....what is the matter?

Thanks for listening.

INHTSE-

You CAN do this- You CAN do this for YOURSELF!
Everyone here is very supportive and we are here to help and to
listen anytime.

Try to keep a positive attitude even when things seem to be
going the wrong way and it will pay off.

Thanks for the kind words, I'm looking at your success above me. How have you done it. I see you have a treadmill icon. I have a treadmill and have been on it sporadically......and truth be known I love my treadmill......used to run on it. A few years ago I was in much better shape. I just can't find it.....I can't seem to dig deep enough, but anything you can tell me about how you've lost 61 pounds will help....I certainly need help......thanks enjoy your day.

I basiclly started off slow and made small changes that I was able to live with day to day. Water is a great tool for me to ward off hunger. I drink water ALL the time. I just started walk in my neighborhood and gradually kicked it up to running-now I am addicted! Some days are really hard I MAKE myself get up every weekday at 4:30 am and go to the gym. There are days I DO NOT want to go however I talk myself into going and when I am done I feel so good, not only physically but emotionally too. I find that working out in the morning helps me to make better food choices through out the day. I say to myself "do you really want to ruin everything you did this morning for a quarter pounder with cheese from McDonalds" and the answer is ALWAYS NO.

Good Luck again - Take care!

By nature I'm a big procrastinator about everything. I can put off and put off things that I anticipate will be the least bit unpleasant. Before I started working on my weight I thought about this trait a lot, because I knew it was a key to my (a) being heavy and (b) never being successful at losing. Looking at what specific thought patterns had derailed me in the past was something I had to do before I even started this time. So I spent a lot of time examining some of my gut reactions and actions in certain situations so that I would recognize them when they happened, and have a plan to either head them off or counteract them.

For example, I lost my weight through Jenny Craig, which involves weekly appointments. I made a promise to myself that, no matter what I would go to that appt. No matter how the week had been, how much I wanted to sleep in, how much I "didn't feel like it," I would go. I also promised myself I'd go to the grocery store immediately after to get supplies for the week so I wouldn't have the excuse of not having the right food in the house. Sometimes that was the hardest part of my week -- making myself go when the Old Me was throwing up every excuse in the book. But I went, because I knew that, in away, my entire effort depended on it. Missing one appt would be the crack in the wall, giving me permission to miss other appts, not go to the store, etc. I was not going to let that crack happen.

Another big factor is that I'm not a morning person, so I knew that after about 2 days I'd wiggle out of eating the right breakfast and packing my lunch/snacks. So, I strategiezed -- how could I beat myself at my own mind games? By packing all my food the night before!

Also, all-or-nothing-thinking is the other side of this coin. That's the voice that tells you, "Well, you had that burger for lunch, you might as well eat whatever, the day/week is blown." You have to be prepared for that voice, and be prepared with an answer that keeps you on track. When you DO talk yourself out of exercising one day (or there's a genuine problem that prevents you), you have to be ready to make alternate plans.

Getting started is the hardest thing, always. Spend some time between now and Saturday psyching yourself UP. Talk to yourself in a POSITIVE, encouraging manner so that by the time Saturday rolls around, you may still be apprehensive but you'll also be almost excited to get started. You can do it; you don't have to do it perfectly from day 1, you just have to resolve to learn your own demons and develop skills and tools to fight them.

Very well put funniegrrl!!!!!

Hi Canada,
I too just registered here...I too want to start WW...I used to be on the program, so I got the old material out this morning. Just writing down what I'm eating has put me half way to the meeting! I have to juggle my kids with my husband's schedule...so there is a built in excuse not to go. I have to fight that urge not to start (especially tonight when Survivor and Grey's are in tv).
Now I am on here for a reason...I don't want to be fat anymore! I assume your reason's are similar. It's not so much that we don't want 'it' enough, I think my excuse is fear of failure (yet again). I feel awed reading the entries all over this site and knowing that there is a community, knowing that we all struggle.

I hope its real! Wouldn't that be fantastic! Maybe its the element that has been missing in our attempts...

I think that to be successful you really do have to figure out how to "trick" yourself.

For me exercising is the hardest. I fight with myself the worst debating whether to put on my shoes. I started setting exercise goals in terms of the number of minutes I would exercise for the month. I made a commitment to meet that goal, but I made sure to make the goal a reasonable one. I think my first goal was around 400-500 minutes. I liked the idea of a month because I knew that *I* would not last if I promised to do something every single day. And I knew that a weekly goal might not work, because getting sick could really throw a week off, so 1 month it was.

The commitment part of this has been really important. Before I committed to exercising, I had committed to better eating. What kept me going was a long term goal. At the time I was 39, and was determined to be fitter at 50 than I was then. So, to meet that goal, I have to commit to this for 10 years!

My ideas may not work for you, but I hope you can start to say where your danger spots are. Don't worry if something doesn't work -- as I've seen here a lot, failing isn't getting down, failure is STAYING down.

INHTSE, you are in GREAT hands here at 3fc. We are all here for you 24/7 in whatever capacity you need us.

The first couple of weeks are the hardest. Get through them any way that you can. AFter that it gets so much better. You will look and feel better, you will see a drop in the scale, the cravings will practically cease, it's all good and this propels you to go on. Before you know it you will create a new history for yourself. Your new habits will become ingrained in you. You will get more and more into the new lifestyle.

I also agree it is very important to set yourself up for success by keeping a well stocked home full of healthy and nutrious foods. Get rid of all the junk. Planning and shopping in advance is key for me. I NEED to know that I have healthy and tasty food just waiting for me.

I also tried to look at it at what I would be GAINING by giving up the high quantity of unhealthy foods. I would be gaining a healthier, happier, more active me. With a life full of soooo much more joy and so many less worries. So in reality by giving up the "bad" foods, I was giving up absolutely NOTHING.
The benefits outweigh the sacrifices one million fold.

Good luck on your journey. It is a difficult one at times, but oh so enjoyable and incredibly, incredibly worth it. You will be amazed at how quickly you really can turn things around. You don't need to get anywhere near goal to start reaping the benefits. You will be feeling so fantastic in just a few short weeks that food will no longer be your only form of socialization. Your confidence will skyrocket.

Robin brings up a great point I just want to piggy back on.

I got successful at this when I could turn a negative into a positive. One day a colleague offered me one of her amazing homemade brownies -- I had to say no TWICE! I didn't see it that I was saying "no" to the brownie, but saying "yes" to a healthier, fitter ME!

That doesn't mean I always say no to the brownies, I don't. But that attitude help made a big difference.

A second attitude shift was about "cheats" -- I had been on WW several times before and always went off plan and cheated. This time around I realized that while I COULD eat off plan, I wasn't really cheating anyone. My body is going to know what I eat, regardless of what I want to admit. I'd never had that kind of accountability before.

Oh -- I never said WELCOME!!!!!!!!

Oh, my god, that's it, I am afraid to get into any deep relationships with anyone , food is safe and always available and never turns me down. No rejection with food. I can't beleive I didn't see it till now but thank you for making it clear to me. i feel like I just had an Aha moment, now to figure out how to not feel this way and why I feel this way.
Thanks girls.

Just do it...here's my motivation....I WANT TO LIVE....I DON'T WANT TO DIE OF HEART DISEASE, I WANT TO HAVE KIDS AND BE ABLE TO PLAY WITH THEM, I'M SICK AND TIRED OF ALWAYS BEING TIRED. So that was my motivation. I'm not perfect just like everyone here. We all have set backs...but i reiterate what some ppl said before...first journal everything. It gives you accountability and more awareness of what you are eating...even if you are having a bad day. Don't give up...take small steps first like encoorperating more fuit veggies etc. Weigh everything so you know how much you really are eating. Prepare for lunch the night before. Also what i like to do is on free time (ie sat/sun) i sit down and plan my menu for the following week and then go shopping. NEVER shop when hungy...you'll make bad choices...also if you have no will power (like me) keep the junk out of the house. Start small with the exercise...take 2, 10 minute walks 4-6 times a week at first then increase the exercise. Little by little you'll start feeling better...and just know this..you'll have set backs...WE ALL do we're human. But that's what we are all here for!!!!! good luck.

Wow, and I mean WOW, you gals are just great! It was so good to hear from all of you. I didn't do too bad in the food department today, and I am gearing up for Saturday, more so now that I've read all of your messages. I just got home from work so I'm off to sleep (10:45 p.m. PST), so I'll catch up to you in the a.m. Again thanks....it seems to be a brighter prospect than it was 8 hours ago. Night

Hi Gang,

I did it....I'm in.....thanks will update you more later......

hoooooray