Hi all! I have decided to start this journal in hopes that it will help me to focus on what I need to do -Lose weight! Get healthy! Be happy! A little about myself. I am 23, married, no children yet. One of my many reasons for wanting to lose weight is to be at a healthy weight for pregnancy. I weigh 216 and would like to weigh 145 or 150. My plan is to start eating healthy, exercise (aerobic workout and yoga), portion control, and to STOP MUNCHING! Ice cream and chocolate are my worst enemies:)
I joined diet talk for support. I have a very hard time trying to motivate myself and I find it hard to come up with healthy meals on a low budget. I would like to lose at least 10 pounds by the end of January. Hopefully with some dedication and support I can reach my mini goal! Well I guess that's enough for tonight. I will journal again tomorrow.:D

Welcome Jen. I think you'll find that keeping a journal is very motivating. I think you are being very wise to want to be healthy before starting a family. It only gets harder after the children come :)

We'll all be watching you, and help you on your way in any way we can.

Jen,

Hi there! I just started my own journal too and wanted to find a fresh one to start to read as well (as I keep seeing so many with hundreds of entries).

I am in much of the same boat as you. Though I am taller, our goal weight ranges are similar. As well, I also don't have children and it helps to bond with someone who hasn't, as bearing them will totally change a woman's body chemistry from what I understand.

I wish you all the best of luck. I am strategizing a work out plan soon that includes yoga as well.

I do have one bit of advice to you though. Before you start trying to lose the amount of weight you are, go to a gynecologist and have all your hormone related bloodwork done. I say this because I have just been diagnosed with PCOS/ovarian cysts and insulin resistance. If I had known years ago I could have been handling my weight issues better, knowing that I had a syndrome that makes it extremely difficult to lose weight.

Have them check your thryoid too especially. I was lucky, as mine was normal but I am genetically in the line of fire for thyroid disease.

Oh, and I've found that pure chocolate (especially dark) in small amounts will not hinder your weight loss efforts. It's the nougaty or cookie like stuff that will get ya! :(

Anyway, please feel free to check out my journal...it's here (http://www.diettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26494), called "All Things Post Diagnosis".

I look forward to reading about your progress! :o

Christy

Well today is a new day right? I have started off today with a piece of toast. I think I'll be having soup for lunch. Supper I am not sure about right now . When my husband gets home from work we will be going Christmas shopping. We have to get a few things still that have to be shipped to Alabama still. I hope they make it on time. I also have not gone grocery shopping yet this week so the fridge is looking pretty bare:) Tonight I want to sit down and make out a list of some healthy things to buy.
I would like to thank vtmom and Christy for your kind words. I will be sure to check out your journal Christy. Thanks for the advice too! Well that's all for now.

Well I did ok today. I ate ,but did not over eat. I do need to get into an exercise routine though. Tomorrow I will try to do one of my exercise tapes I have. We went grocery shopping today, and didn't buy any munchies for the week. So that's good.
The holidays are such a hard time. There are goodies everywhere you go it seems like. I will just have to put my blinders on I guess :) I would really like to lose 10 pounds by the end of January. I really need to get serious starting tomorrow.
That's all for tonight.

Hello Jennifer and welcome to DT.
I think you will find this site very helpful,friendly and motivating.

you are off to a good start buy not buying munchies. i too love ice cream and chocolate and night time eating its my worst enemy.

i too am on a budget. i look for sales and if its an item i like and its on sale i buy more than 1 of it to save for later.
do you exercise too?

i am pleased to meet you and if you need anything give a yell my way.

Today was not a very good day. I am pretty disappointed in myself. I told myself I would do an exercise tape today,and didn't. Tomorrow I have to be better. Why can't I just be good? I do this all the time. I tell myself "tomorrow I'll be better" and when tomorrow comes I tell myself the same thing. Not only do I want to look better, I want to feel better, and be healthier. I would like to be at a healthy weight before I get pregnant. I know that being overweight during pregnancy just makes everything harder. We would like to start trying sometime at the end of next year, and I do not want to weight this much then.
I have to find a way to keep motivated. This is so hard.

Take a multivitamin with plenty of Bs, and chromium (I take 400 mg a day). It will help you reduce your cravings...it was a lifesaver for me.

As well take Calcium with Magnesium, it will encourage your weight loss even more.

There are several non-ephedra (non-speedlike) supplements you can take to help make the journey a little easier. Everything from taking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with juice to certain amino acids.

I personally don't know what I would do without the little extra bit of power they give me, they've helped me so much.

And I buy everything I need at Wal-Mart, because I'm not made of money either. ;)

Well the holidays are over, except for New Year's. I have been extremely bad. I won't go into details, but it's bad. I have not been making entries in my journal, but I hope to change things.

Today is Friday. Tonight our friends come over, and we watch tv and munch. It's been a ritual for about 5 years. My goal for tonight is to eat supper and not munch. My New Year's resolution as always is to lose weight. I think the key to my success is going to be " baby steps". I just can't change everything at once. Well I guess this is take two on my journey.
:)

Welcome Jen, Hope to get to know you better in the coming months. We can support each other in our weightloss journey and then you can have that bundle of joy you want so badly. Ruthieb

Hey Jen,

You haven't posted in a while so I thought I'd say hi. Don't feel badly about falling off the horse during the Holidays. It's the hardest time of all for everyone.

I can't say this is lucky, but my medication kept me so sick that I didn't want to eat much, even of my Mother's homecooking- and that's sad.

But I think I've finally adjusted to it and I've made some resolutions, mainly involving exercise.

It's all one step at a time though. Don't give up. Post soon. :)

Well I guess this is Take 2 of Jen's Journal. I haven't posted in a long time. I did fall of the horse, but I'm getting back on!!:D
I have decided to scrape up the money to join Curves for Women. I like the idea that it's a gym only for women. My mom just joined last month, and she really likes it. I went in with her to look around, and I think I would really enjoy it too. I just read Christy's journal( All things post Diagnosis) she mentioned the Oprah show with people who lost hundreds of pounds. That show really inspired me to get my stuff together. Even though I haven't been eating well or exercising I haven't really gained weight which is a good thing. I need to really sit down and try to figure out what I'm going to eat. I need to make up a menu or something so I have something to stick to, otherwise I just start eating stuff that I know I shouldn't. I should do an exercise tape until I have the money to join the gym, which should be soon.:)
I still would like to get pregnant this year. I have let almost two months of this year pass by. I could have lost 10 or 15 pounds this year already if I had really worked at it.:( I need to stop munching still. My worst time is around 8 or 9 o'clock at night. I need to do something to occupy myself. I should get out my sketch pad and start drawing again. I haven't in awhile. I need to stop munching and start drawing! Well I guess I'm going to call it quits for tonight. I will journal again tomorrow.

Today is Febuary 19, 2003.

My goals are:

210 by March 19
200 by April 30
190 by June 1
170 by August 13
165 by September 13
160 by October 13
155 by November 13:balloons:

Well today I am going to my mothers house for a little while. She was supposed to find out prices for me at the gym. Hopefully I have enough money to go. I think if I was paying to go the gym I would be better about my eating habits. I would hate to waste money for a gym membership.

I think I'm going to have a yogurt and an apple for lunch. Tonight we're having spaghetti for supper.

I wish I was one of those people who loved to exercise. It would be so much easier.:) I hope this Curves place is as nice and fun as it looks.

Well my mini goal is to lose 10 pounds by March 19. I have alot of work to do!

Well that's all for now:)

Hi Jennifer!

So glad to see you posting again!! You seem very motivated right now. I hope you find a way to afford that gym membership! Once you get into the habit of exercising it will get a lot easier. It is just those first few times that are rough, but YOU CAN DO IT!

Setting short term goals is really a good idea. One step at a time! GOOD LUCK!! :D

-Lindsey

Hi Jennifer~

This is the first time that I have come across your journal and I'm happy I did. We seem very alike and are close in our current weights and goals as well. I do hope that you were able to come up with a way to pay for Curves. I know going to an all ladies facility is MUCH MUCH easier than a regular gym. We tend to be less intimidated and less wondered about how we look when we go there. :D

I actually joined Jazzercise back the first week in January...as cheesy as it sounds, I love it!! I only pay $32/mo and I can go as many times as I wish. I personally like it a lot better for a few reasons....no men (hehehe), lots of moving around as well as strength training and good music. I get so bored at the gym doing machines over and over again. :( I took dance for 15 years and I miss it so much, so now I'm back in action. ( I can't even believe that I used to be 145 lbs and all muscle...hehehe what a concept).

Anyway, I just felt like sharing that in case you were interested in it.

You can totally do this!! I believe in you!! I will continue to check back and post here, because I know EXACTLY what you mean about motivation.

Please check out my journal as well, if you have a chance.

hugs,
Ginger

Breakfast - 1 pop tart
Lunch - yogurt, apple
Snack - 1 string cheese
Supper - ?

I have not been feeling very good the last few days. Sick to my stomach, headache almost constantly, and very tired. Hopefully it will go away soon.:)

I haven't figured out what we're eating for supper tonight. I think probably spaghetti. I am trying to stay motivated. The past few days it's been hard since I don't feel good. Exercise is not exactly what you want to do when you feel like your head is going to explode and you're going to throw up.

Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow and can exercise.:)

I will journal tomorrow.

Jen,

That doesn't seem like nearly enough food to make you feel good during the day. And trust me, I know from personal experience that eating only carbs/sugar for breakfast will make you realllly tired.

Do you like eggs? Have protein for breakfast and a whole grain slice of toast. I do bacon when I have time (not much, just a strip). Or whole grain cereal with lots of nuts and dried fruits. :)

Add a big salad with good fats (olive oil dressing) for lunch. Do you like sushi? Most lunchtime sushi bars are pretty fast on your free hour. :)

You definitely need to feed your body right now instead of denying it. You will be really really hungry when you get home and tempted to overeat.

Hope you don't mind my advice, I just hate to see my friends eat too little. It will actually prevent them from losing strangely enough.

Jen,

Hi there girl! Are you still going to be updating your journal?

I haven't written in mine in ages, I feel awful about that. Seems like you and I both sort of deserted things when they got good. :(

If you read this, please write me. :o It would be lovely to hear from you again since we both seem to be on the same wavelength. Hehe!

Christy