I did 2 things: made a plan and set up accountability for myself.
My plan wasn't what it is now, but it was a plan nonetheless. And as time went on, I was able to adjust it to what I was learning and how my body was reacting. But I planned out what I was going to eat (started out as "don't deny yourself anything" now I'm at "stay within calories") and I planned what I would do for exercise (started as "just MOVE everyday, even if its only a little" and now im at "go to the gym or do a workout DVD 5 times/wk"). It was also important that I TRACKED everything I ate.. I started out using fitday.com, now I use sparkpeople.com.
Setting up accountability for myself wasn't as hard as it might sound.. I joined 3fc and started a blog. I had to make sure to stick to it, but now it's normal for me to post on 3fc most every day, and the same goes with my blogging.. both have been very important for me so far.
I made a chart to record my weight loss pics, I also took "before pics". From there I generated my plan, which was calorie cycling and started with smalls goals. I started with changing my eating habits last January, which took off about 20 pounds, in March I incorporated walking, in June I incorporated the gym 2-3 days a week, by October I was doing all of the above, plus 4-5 days at the gym. Baby steps, I needed baby steps the whole time to keep me from failing. I didnt just dive right into everything.
After that I joined weight watchers (n 3fc) and deciding to follow the core plan (I need to know what I could eat!) then I cleaned out my entire pantry, freezer and fridge
my way was a bit drastic but for me it's what I needed!
Before I did anything, I wrote down everything I ate every day for a week. I checked calories, carbs, and protein (keeping serving size in mind). I calculated everything.
That was my starting point~I cut back my calories by about 700 (easy to do with cutting out sodas and fast food.) I switched to eating chicken and veggies for dinner.
As for exercise I started slow. 15 minutes on my exercise bike a day when I felt comfortable with that I increased my time by 2 minutes. I also found support with some friends and we walked after work for about 30 minutes.
Soon I broke down my goals:
Water~It helped fill me up~ I gave up sodas even diet sodas because I found I retain water so much when I drink carbonated beverages.
Exercise~I have increased my workout times (Ive been at it for over 3 years) and intensity I have a goal for every day
Eating~I calorie count, everyday I am aware of what I eat and drink calorie wise. I also try to not eat heavy carbs in the evening.
Daily goals~I try to set a goal for myself everyday, because life isn't all about weight loss.
I took measurements and set up an account with thedailyplate and I tracked every single calorie that I put into my mouth! I am going to be taking some pictures today for my last 10 lbs photos.
For me, I COULDN'T take babysteps. It needed to be an all or nothing type thing. I have tried just working out or just giving up pop and fast food or trying to eat more vegetables. I've tried all that, get frustrated with not seeing results and quit altogether. It needed to be a drastic change for me in every aspect. Once I made that decision and I did it, I jumped over that first hurdle and it's been mostly smooth sailing ever since.
I made a meal plan, as in meal by meal, snack by snack for a week and followed it exactly. I cleaned out my fridge, freezer and cupboards of junk. I planned a when I'd workout and what I would do. And I weighed myself, had my reality check, sat down and made some goals.
Seriously, only the first two or three days were hard for me. And I don't even remember struggling too much then either. Once I got that initial kick in the pants, I just kind of accepted this as my new life. Taking baby steps and saying "I'll just go out to dinner one more time and then start my diet tomorrow" was me giving myself a message that I wasn't really serious about this. And truly, it has NOT been that hard for me ever since. Sure, I'm not crazy about working out and I miss having total bingefests on pizza and cake and everything, but seeing a pound or two loss on the scale has completely replaced the pleasure I got from eating and then some.
I created a journal where I could write down my weight every week, and I found pics from magazines to glue in it to motivate myself (stuff like people hiking, swimming, biking). I bought stars to represent lbs lost (yes, I got crafty with it all)
I pulled out my Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers books and made an eating plan for myself.
I started walking on a regular basis, and noted in my journal how much exercise I did each week and any special things of interest (TOM, trips, going out to eat and going off program). I wrote my measurements down too, and kept doing that.
fitday.com and 3fc were two internet tools I used, can't remember at what point I did those though.
I needed to learn to be flexible when it came to figuring out what worked and didn't work for me. and a huge thing was keeping at it even when I felt like I was not making progress and blowing it right and left. progress adds up. I'm a baby step woman, without question.
Last edited by dragonwoman64; 12-28-2009 at 03:34 PM.
What is the first you did...?
