Goals

Last night I joined a Twitter chat session of Fitblog. I did this for a class assignment for my online Social media class but really enjoyed the hour. There were soo many people tweeting in the chat and they all had blogs about the same general topic that I do! Very cool! I added my blog to the list of blogs and have started looking through the list and choosing some blogs to read. I read one this morning. The women is about the same age as me and going through the same journey I am. She set a long list of goals for herself. She listed some great goals on there that I hadn't thought of. When I started my weight loss journey I decided I only wanted to set 2 simple goals for myself!

1) Lose weight!
2) Be Healthier!

Then, the outcome of my goals will be to feel better, stop hurting, move faster, etc. With these 2 simple goals, I wouldn't feel like I had failed all the time if I didn't reach a goal I set for myself. Or what if I never reached one of the goals I set for myself or it wasn't really obtainable to begin with?! I didn't want to ever feel like what I had done wasn't enough, start feeling like I was a failure and then give up and return to the same unhealthy lifestyle I was living before.

I don't think about how much weight I really need to lose or what weight I am supposed to be at to be considered Healthy. If I think about that all the time I will stress myself out. Some people might think of that as motivation but it would seem like an unattainable goal to me and make me stressed.

So I take my weight loss a day at a time. I feel proud of myself for whatever I did that day. Or if I do have an off day I don't dwell on it. I look at the next day as a new day. There is no way to eat soo much in one day that I would gain even a pound! So, if I have an off day I go for an extra walk the next day or I just start over... It's OK to eat a piece of birthday cake at a party. You should allow yourself something you enjoy to eat everyone once in a while. Don't over indulge, just enjoy! :) Just try to plan around it if you know you want to have it. Eat lighter the rest of the day or plan an extra walk that evening. :)

So, be proud of yourself and keep moving! You'll feel better in the long run! :)

Trying new things

I like to keep things interesting by trying new foods and new recipes. Food can get boring if you always eat the same things and don't switch it up every once in a while. Yesterday I tried two new things!

I made turkey burgers for dinner last night. I've had turkey burgers quite a few times since I started WW. I can actually say that I like Turkey burgers better than hamburgers now! Something that I learned in my Nutrition class is that Turkey burgers from a restaurant are a little healthier than a hamburger but not by much because they don't use the leanest turkey. Just something to think about if you find yourself eating out. I try to stick to Salads when I eat out.

So when I had my turkey burgers last night, I usually eat them on the WW rolls but the grocery store was out so we tried Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins. The where very tasty! I would definitely suggest trying them. Also, I couldn't decide what to eat with my turkey burger. I looked on weightwatchers.com and found a recipe for Spicy Potato Sticks (aka baked seasoned french fries). They were very good. I would suggest trying them!

For lunch yesterday I had Subway.I usually order whole wheat bread which is a very good choice but I decided I wanted to try something different yesterday so I tried the flat bread. I liked it and now have 2 options when I go to Subway. I do wish they still had wraps too.

I went to a drive in movie last night and brought my own snacks. Instead of getting the high calorie, high fat snacks from the snack bar there I brought light microwave popcorn and a drink. The difference in calories between light microwave popcorn and movie theater popcorn is amazing. Once you start eating healthier and eating less fat and oil you can start to taste the difference and the oil will kinda start grossing you out. Not to mention how your body will react to the high fat foods when you haven't eaten them in a while.

On a side note, its soo exciting when you put on clothes that you haven't worn in a while that have been tight since you bought them and they fit you well and are almost a little big. :) My little triumph for the weekend!

I hope I can get some exercise in today but it is raining out. Maybe I will turn on my Wii and dance for a while. A great aerobic workout!!

Why I chose to blog about my weight loss journey...

My name is Martha and I am 30 years old. I have struggled with my weight all of my life. I have tried many different diets and supplements in the past to lose weight, including (but not limited to) Atkins, South beach diet, diet pills to suppress appetite, just eating low fat, etc... The one diet that has really worked well for me is Weight Watchers (WW). I have lost over 75 lbs before while following WW but gained it all back over time.

This picture on the left is a picture of me in February of 2010. I am currently back on the Weight Watchers diet. This time around feels different! I really feel like I am dedicated this time and trying to change some bad habits I have developed and make some new good habits. This time around I have been working on portion sizes and exercising more. I still allow myself some of my favorite foods but in moderation and try to stay fully aware of how much I am eating.

I started WW in March of 2010 and have lost a total of 31 lbs so far. This picture on the right was taken a few days ago on May 31st.

I started trying to lose weight because I was going to be in a wedding and I did not want to be in front of people the size I was. Since then, the wedding has been canceled. I started trying to losing weight because I was embarrassed to stand in front of other people...now, I want to lose weight for myself, because I feel better and healthier already and I want to continue to feel this way. I still have a long way to go but try not to set goals for myself. I take it one week at a time and celebrate my small accomplishments.

I chose to blog about my weight loss journey to share with other overweight people my struggles, challenges, triumphs, and experiences. I hope that what I learn will help others in their own journey's.