Starting Over Talk - Peer Coaching Support Site

Thanks for the encouragement...

Yes, Sparkpeople (sparkpeople.com) is a really terrific resource.. I need to get plugged back in there. My niece lost about 30 lbs.. using it..

There are lots of communities and forums there.. Alot of good info.. and little fun things.. (like the wheel for points!) (although I never did figure out what you can do with the points!)

Debby, You'd probably find some groups for diabetics within some of their communities.. There are communities for virtually everything! There was even a Starting Over fan group.. and several Biggest Loser fan groups..

The price is right and I can highly recommend it too! Even if I have backslid a bit..

Check it out!

I will check it out. I am feeling better this week. I can tell I am a little smaller. My clothes feel a little bigger on me and that always feels good.

Last week at lunch I started eating a can of chicken breast and one-half cup of green beans. That's what I had everyday except Friday. I joined a friend for lunch and had grilled salmon and salad, no dressing. I think the light lunches have helped after all. A friend at work said I looked slimmer. I still have some carbs at dinner, but not a ton. I won't cut out vegetables, fruits and whole grains. I have cut out most snacks and don't snack at all during the week. I do have snacks on the weekend, but I try to limit the portion and make sure they have good nutrional value. My problem is that I will have a healthy food, but eat too much of it.

This weekend I devoted more time to my walking and am feeling stronger. I don't feel as hopeless as I did before. I'm still considering Curves. There isn't one near me, but there is a similar place nearby and I'm going to check it out.

Thanks for the ideas and support. I set some pretty high goals for myself in several areas of my life over the last 12 months. I have accomplished most of them. The fitness goal is now my top priorty.
I have learned that I don't know everything and I need to seek info from whomever I can for help.

Good for you Debby!!! I'm with you............asking can get you lots of tips and info. And then YOU get to sort thru all of it and pick and choose!!

The carbs is my downfall..........I can't really exercise much with my knee issue.........so really watching the snacking is a major thing for me!!

I really need to get back on SparkPeople too.........even if just for the daily meal/food tracking and water tracking..........that IS helpful!!! But, like everything.........I tried jumping in and doing all of it and burned out quickly...........so I just need to babystep!!!

Encouragement from others and not feeling alone is also a huge component for success!!!

I agree Grizz. I have to settle down and know this is for the long term benefit. As long as I am going in the right direction (down) I can deal with it.

I saw Dr. Oz on Oprah last week and he talked about what your waist size is supposed to be in proportion to your height. I forget the formula, but I did it and I need to lose at least 4 inches in my waist!!! This kills me because I used to always be the person people complimented on how tiny my waist was. I may have had hips and thighs, but my waist was always small and my stomach flat. Those were the days. LOL. And they weren't that long ago either, which makes it even more troubling.

Everyone is saying that a large middle is a big health risk, so it is not just my vainity that is at stake here.

I'm still having very high protein lunches, just chicken or fish with a green vegetable. I'm having Healty Choice frozen dinners for dinner with a large green salad, but it is not very filling. I don't like to have processed food, so I am going back to cooking fresh food next week for dinner.

I'm going to fight not to snack this weekend. That's the time I am tempted to snack on yogert, pop corn, rice cakes, and grapes. Pretty healthy stuff, but I must learn to portion them out better.

I know how frustrated I was when I had my back problems and lega problems. I could not exercise and it was horrible. Thank G0d I am so much better now.....I now have no excuses. LOL.

Hope your knee is healing okay.