Week 1...A Success

I feel like a new person. So far I've stuck with my lifestyle change for 5 days and can't wait for the next day to get here. I don't even try to talk myself out of exercising anymore. I look forward to jumping on the treadmill and walking my 3km's for that day. The last couple of days I even wanted to push myself further but had to keep myself in check because I am prone to shin splints. I decided that if I was going to stick with this plan I needed to progress slowly (but not too slow) and keep myself from getting hurt before I've barely started.

Yesterday my husband and I were out during the lunch time hour. He is on the Atkin's diet and needed to eat meat. His thoughts were on Wendy's. I hesitantly agreed and was thinking "I guess it's ok if I break my diet and eat some meat...I need protein anyway". Don't you love rationalizing your food intake, ha, ha. Then I remembered that they had salads. My caesar salad was so yummy and I felt good about the choice I made.

Keeping a log of my food intake has helped me so much to stick with my plan. Only 1 day did I go 100 calories over my intake need. My girls and I went shopping and decided to eat at Subway. My oldest daughter and I chose the turkey and ham sub (as we are both trying to lose weight), but we couldn't skip out on the yummy cookies :-) I also had my one and only glass of sweet tea for the week. I decided not to look on this as a failure, rather it was just a choice I needed to make in my journey (choosing between pizza/burger and Subway).

It's been a great week and I'm looking forward to continuing on this "lifestyle change" journey. Blessings. Marg

Back on Track...

Wow, it's been 3 months since I last wrote on my blog. I stopped writing because I felt like a failure. I thought that if I just started with drinking more water it would move me along towards my goal of losing weight. It was too slow of a process and I became very down on myself for failing in this one little area. I just gave up. It's taken me 3 months to finally get inspired once again to attempt a change in my lifestyle...with a real plan at hand...to get up and get moving!

After seeing pictures of my friend, who has continued to workout, eat right and lose weight, and talking to another friend who has begun exercising, I decided that I just have to get my body moving. If I can do that, it will encourage me to take other steps.

My first step was making a visual reminder and "encouragement poster" for myself. I like pictures, so I used a clipart of someone walking on a treadmill. Also, I love Christopher Robbin when he tells Winnie the Pooh that he is stronger than he seems, so I put that on my board. To keep me focused on my plan and goal, in large font, I put down how many calories I can eat per day and how many calories I can burn on the treadmill. There is also a 2 week calendar (think short term) that I can mark off each day of completion and various reminders to "take it slow", "one step at a time", "no work - no results", and "stick with the program". I was pumped up and ready to get started. This was on Sunday.

Monday morning, I got up with my daughter and we went to the gym to exercise. I walked the treadmill for 30 minutes and felt proud of myself for taking the first step. When I came home I decided that I didn't want all that work to go to waste so I looked for a website that another friend recommended to me (Livestrong.com) and started recording my foods eaten during the day. I was off to a good start. I ate within my calorie limit and exercised. Day 1 completed with success. YAY!

Another great website is FitClick. Both websites, Livestrong and FitClick have iphone apps which keep up with your calories and exercises while you are "on the go". They automatically update and sync your information whether you're on your home computer or your iphone. Both websites help determine how many calories you should be eating based on the amount you want to lose. It charts how many carbs, fats, proteins and fiber you are supposed to eat and how many you have actually eaten. I would recommend using a tool like this to help keep you focused on your goal.

It's day 3 now and I'm keeping watch over my calories and planning my meals ahead of time so I don't go over my recommended carb amount. I love carbs and it's usually by downfall. Getting myself moving was my first step and I pray it will become a lifestyle change for me.

My short term goal is losing 5 pounds by the end of October. That is 1 pound per week. I'm excited and ready to make this change. I hope this encourages you to just get up and start moving. Blessings. Margit

Makeover

Life Changes is going through a makeover. I hope to be back online soon! Blessings to all of you. Margit

On A Trip

When you're traveling it so hard to keep doing the right things because you never know when your next meal will be or what it will be. I must admit that I have not done well with my drinking water or making wise food choices. I know that once I settle down for a week long meeting next week it will be easier because I will be in one place. My focus is still to try and do the best that I can. One change at a time, right?! For the rest of the week, I will be sure to drink a cup of water when I first wake up and one for lunch and dinner for sure. I know this is all about me, but I hope I can help you if you are feeling discouraged to not give up, even if the circumstances around you seem to hinder you from doing the right thing. Hang in there. Tomorrow is another day and a new start.

Moving Forward

Today was harder than yesterday, but I'm hanging in there. I am packing for a trip for the family and I was so busy that I didn't get all my water in today. Boy, I can sure feel the difference. At least this will encourage me to keep up with my water during the day. I may be off-line for at least a week due to our trip out of country. Keep up the good work for those who are joining me in this journey of change.

Harder To Get The Water Down

First days are always great for me if I've made up my mind to start a diet plan. However, 2nd days are much harder. Drinking water today was a greater chore to get all my cups down. This is the day that I usually fail and give up. Knowing I am accountable to this blog is helping me to stay focused and "just do it". YAY...7 cups down!

When I said that I would start slow...I really meant it. The rest of this week I will work hard to focus on my water intake and remind myself that it's good for me and will help me feel better and healthier :)

Success on Day 1

Ok, I thought today would be hard, but once I set my mind to just drinking water (plus my 3 cups of coffee) it was easy enough. I just got a 700 ml water bottle and started gulping before I even had my first cup of coffee this morning. YAY...I drank a total of 6+ cups of water today. I didn't realize how much water could fill me up to the point that I really didn't want to eat extra food.

I found that even though I only made one change today, it affected how I thought about what I ate. With each cup of water I drank, I counted it as a success towards my goal and did not want to mess it up by eating a "snack" my body didn't need. Although I ate well during the day, I did sneak in an ice cream snack this evening. This is a challenge I hope to deal with soon.

Tomorrow...my goal tomorrow is to drink at least 6 cups of water, but try to go for 8. It sure made me feel better today and I can't wait to see how much better it will make me feel as I continue.

Day 1...Tomorrow

Tomorrow is always a good day to start fresh. At night when I am introspective, tomorrow always looks better because it's a chance to have a new beginning. I like tomorrows.

Do you like drinking water? Water is no fun for me! There is no flavor. NO sugar. This is a very hard change for me to make and I hope I will be successful. Water is good for our bodies. It helps our muscles burn calories more efficiently.

Tomorrow, my plan is to drink at least 4 glasses of water and absolutely NO sweet tea :-( One change at a time, right?!

On The Way To A Healthy Me

Aging is no fun. But it doesn't have to be that way does it? For the past 3 years I have struggled with unwanted weight gain. I can tell my body has slowed down. I've tried to diet and exercise but have not been successful...ever! I am not a happy camper in this body that has become so foreign to me.

As I get older I realize that I can't handle a lot of change at one time, so my goal is to start slow. My short-term goal is to lose 5 pounds by the end of August. My long-term goal is to lose 20 pounds by the end of November. I want to exercise 30 minutes at least 3 days a week at the beginning, but work up to 45 minutes 5 days a week. Check back with me to see how it is going.

A New Beginning With Accountability

I recently watched the movie Julie & Julia and was so inspired by Julie starting her own blog to keep her accountable in order to finish something for once in her life. I must admit that I am a lot like Julie...I love to start things but it has always been very difficult for me to follow through and finish. This is for me.

Hi, I'm Margit, a 47 year old middle-aged woman, going through bodily changes, emotional changes, mental changes and spiritual changes. It's like being a teenager again. A roller coaster ride of ups and downs, not knowing what to expect from day to day. Unfortunately I have gray hair hidden under my highlights to prove that my youth is long gone.

Today I read a friend's blog (K.P.) about her journey to lose weight. I was so encouraged and wanted to start making changes of my own immediately. However, I am not a fast starter, nor do I stick to what I start, ha, ha.

This blog is to give me accountability, like Julie, to keep moving towards my goals as I seek to make changes in my life. For once I want to start something and finish it well. If you are trying to make changes like me, I hope this will encourage you to stick to your plans and meet your goals, whatever they may be.

My first focus will be on becoming more healthy.