Cam301

New to Fitday and I'm excited to see if this will work! But that's really up to me! Does anyone have any advise or suggestion about the site. Thanks and good luck all!

jancamp09

You are right - it is up to you. I know it helps me to record what I eat and what exercise I do - it really motivates me to exercise more. The one thing I have to warn you about though - Don't get too discouraged if you don't lose weight at the beginning - especially if you are exercising. You know if you are losing weight without the scale telling you! Your clothes fit differently and you feel differently! Pick a pair of pants that are just a bit too tight (not the size 2 pants you've been keeping for years in the back of the closet hoping to get into one day). They should still do up but when you look in the mirror you know they are too tight for work. Keep these on hand and in two weeks when you are getting discouraged, try them on again.

Also, I always find a tape measure a little more motivating then the scale. I find the scale seems to go up and down in a 2 lb range forever! For me, my hips and thighs are my 'trouble' spots so it is nice to see these go down even a little! If you belong to a gym, I find classes are easier and more motivating then working out on my own. At my gym, a lot of the classes use small weights and bars so I do get some weight work. If you don't belong to a gym and it is not possible to join one, set your alarm an hour earlier each day and get out and walk. When that is not enough for you, then walk a minute, run a minute but the most important is to keep going. Use stairs at work if you can, park at the very back of the lot and walk. Small things add up. Whatever you do, try to keep moving at night and not sitting on the couch as you will likely eat at that time. For a couple of weeks, set a goal of a room a night to clean up - if you are cleaning, you are not thinking of food and not eating. You also have the benefit of a clean house! Soon you will no longer have the night cravings - it is just getting over that hump so keep busy!

Good luck! Make your own plan and stick to it! I'm not sure how old you are but I do know that the older you are, the slower it is to lose but I also think it is just as important in my 50's to look good as it did in my twenty's.

LauraJo9

Hi. I am somewhat new, too. I used to use the WW site, which there was a fee involved. Try not to get frustrated with a couple things on this site. There are lots of ads, but that's part of why it's free. When you enter a food, sometimes you have to keep scrolling until you find the one you want. I find it's easier to enter my own foods and refer to that list. Also, I find if I'm "idle" for even 10 minutes or so, the site keeps making me log back in. That can get tedious. The forum site isn't as active as WW either. Don't always expect people to respond right away.

On the plus side....it's a great way to keep track of calories, exercise, weight loss goals, and such. I like using the reports to see my progress over time. And heck, free, is always good!

Cam301

Thanks jancamp09

Just wanted to let you know that the reply was very encouraging. The advice you mentioned are things I can definitely incorporate into my daily routine. I use to walk/run in the morning for I moved to cascade foothills where it's beautiful that part of the day. It has been hard for me lately to get up earlier for I made many excuses, weathers too cold, its too dark to go outside, or i was just too lazy/hungover, to do it. LOL. I am 23 years old and there really is no excuse for me to not live a healthier lifestyle right now. The weight gain has put a toll on me emotionally. I love the memory of feeling great about myself when I exercised and ate healthy. I look forward to putting my new eating and exercising habits into action. Thanks again!

staceyalberta

I'm new & just found this site today. I was looking for an online way to track my food. End of story just wanted to track my food. I was VERY pleased to find such a comprehensive bunch of tools right at my fingertips, all very user friendly. I did lose 83 lbs & kept it off for a year, but processed foods & salt found me... & here I am with 11 lbs to lose, but hey I'd rather take off 11 lbs than let myself go back to 83 lbs or even worse more than that. Happy to be here & hope to meet lots of people.

jancamp09

way to go! 11 pounds isn't a lot to have to lose but it takes as much dedication as losing a lot of weight. We all know those last 10 are the hardest to lose. Way to be so disciplined as to not let things get out of hand! I have about the same amount to lose, 10 - 14 pounds. Good luck! Do you have any tips from when you first lost your weight that helped you?

Jylington

I, too, am new to this site. From what I've seen, it's a great site. Love the forums as well for advice and tips. I tried the Curves Complete on-line for thier free month trial and liked how it kept track of your carbs, fat, protetin, etc. But didn't want to pay the $ per month. So am very excited above this site for keeping track of my intake.

staceyalberta

hmmm tips that helped me. these are just suggestions right...lol.
~journal all your food, as well as exercise.
~ be accountable to someone, spouse, partner, friend, message board, co-worker
~ pick exercise you love to do you'll stick with it longer
~ don't eat food you don't like you'll be tempted to cheat
~ try something new, exercise, veggie, whatever
~ take measurements of the body
~ take really good before pics i never did & wish i had
~ have little goals get all my exercise for the week, eat my food, water whatever & then give yourself a non-food reward.
~ have a end of goal reward. mine was a new tattoo