MOTIVATION. Let me share some of mine!

Motivation is sometimes hard to come by when you're facing a large amount of weight to lose. I equate it to what one of those people on the TV show Hoarders must surely feel. I can imagine their thoughts: “I know I need to clean this place up, but where do I start?” Sometimes, finding motivation is as simple as looking to your friends. I thought about some people that have been great motivation to me in the last few months of dedicated changes in my Steps to a Healthier Me journey. Here are their stories. 

Vickie Black is one of the sweetest people I have been blessed to meet in the recent years of my life. She is a giving person to her family, friends, community, and she is a nurse. She is so amazing, but is so humble about how much her willingness to share her journey is helping others! I at first was going to pull quotes from her response to my questions, but they are just so wonderful that I want to post them all for you to benefit from too. Be prepared…it is great!

What made you decide now is the time to work on your health? “I’ve been making small changes for a long time. I’m very weary of change. LOL. So I had to sneak it in, but I’m getting older, I don’t want to miss out on my life. So, now is the time to get it together for the rest of my life. 

What made you want to create a FB page like Fit & Fabulous? https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fit-and-Fabulous 

“The page was created because I wanted to share my life journey with others. Anyone can make a change, but you have to start somewhere. For me that was learning to accept myself, to love me for who I was and to stop judging myself according to what I weigh. I love me. If God loved me enough to let his Son die for me then how could I cheapen his love by demeaning my self worth based on someone else’s view of fat? I was not lazy. I didn’t eat all the time. As a matter of fact, I starved myself a lot. Yes, I binged. I battled depression. Then I decided I was not hiding from family portraits anymore because I am a good mom, a good wife and a real friend. My fat didn’t define that. I wanted to be remembered for that. God made me who I am. Who can argue with that? So I wanted people to have a place of acceptance, no matter how they achieve their healthier lifestyle. I also wanted them to have a place to learn to love themselves at 400 pounds or 100 pounds. We are all beautiful in His sight! We just need eyes of love…that creates acceptance…and when you remove all the self disgust then you can move forward!”

  

What is the best motivator you have when the slump days get you? “Sometimes nothing helps. I just crash and burn. LOL! But, I get back up a whole lot quicker now. If I blow it, I don’t wait until Monday, my birthday, New Year’s, etc., to start back. LOL! I can start eating right or moving in the middle of the day. Besides giving it to God, I’m a control freak you know!, I love how my friends on Fit and Fabulous support each other…it is an amazing thing!”

 Is there any one thing in your better health/fitness routine that you plan on never giving up if any way possible?  “I am not an exercise freak. LOL! I just want to keep moving, whether it is playing with the kids, walking, dancing, etc. I love social networking. It opens up so many doors. I never want to quit sharing it gives me the strength to keep on keeping one. Sharing success and failures…it is empowering to not be alone!  Oh, and I love me some Spark Leah! Sometimes it’s the little boost I need. It keeps me away from quick carbs! LOL!”

Power!!! Sharing!!! Motivating!!! I know that those of you who are seeking better health via weight loss got some encouragement from her words too!

The next person on my list is Christie Cooper Wallace pictured to the left with her husband in December 2011 and to the right with her Grandmother in December 2012. I've known Christie for years. Christie had worked hard to get weight off with success of her own via exercise and a better diet. Then she hit that hated PLATEAU! I asked her the same questions I asked of Vickie and here is what she had to say.

“I decided to take this journey to become a healthier me. I have let myself go for years, I have constantly been a yo-yo dieter and realized this is not working for me. I haven't always been in the greatest health having insulin problems and high blood pressure. I knew I was too young to let myself continue down this bad path having to take all kinds of medications. I knew I needed to lose at least 80 to 90 pounds and everything I was doing was not working. I was exercising but something just wasn't right. I wasn't losing the weight I needed and still lacked a lot of energy. I needed big time help and that's when Advocare entered my life and has changed it beyond words. The three products I can't live without, which are Spark, Thermoplus, and Omega Plex. When I am having slump days, I just think to myself “I have worked hard and if I don't continue to work hard, I will just go back to that no energy, 48 pound heavier lady who had lost her confidence and zest for a lot of things in life.”

Another person that has had a very powerful impact on my life in the last few months is Eric Tate pictured here with his sweet wife Meredith. He is another one of those people I have known my whole life. 
Eric at one time had a big soda habit. Four or five Mountain Dews or Dr. Peppers a day.  He said, “I had tried to stop before only to feel drained and have headaches. Spark solved all that. Just by replacing the drinks I dropped 15 lbs. in the first month.” Yes, just by making one change he dropped 15 pounds!!! (The amount of weight sugar drinks can add to you is staggering!)  Talk about a motivating experience! 
This caused Eric and his family to  look into changing more to get healthier and that is exactly what he did.  Eric said, “I was excited about the initial weight loss. So when I discovered the 24 Day Challenge I was even more excited. It motivated me to think I could possibly lose another 15 lbs in the coming month. And I did, I lost 16 more on that first 24 Day Challenge.”
Once again, Eric had found a source of motivation via products that worked to help him reach his health goals. He also states that, “My oldest daughter and my wife did that 1st Challenge with me. It was a lot of fun for us to start a healthier lifestyle change together.” And that my friends, is one of the biggest motivators of all…a family on a journey to better health. Encouragement in the HOUSE!!! 

There are many forms of motivation. Your life and your successes may motivate others, the same way the lives and successes of others motivate you. When we open ourselves up to share our journeys, it is amazing to see how people are willing to share with you their journeys. Traveling the hills and valleys in life with people that inspire you to keep one, keeping one as Vickie said, is where the real motivation is found.


This week has been tough for me as I nurse a foot injury. However, my detailed plan that I WROTE down and determined in my head that I WOULD FOLLOW NO EXCUSES, motivated me to modify exercise to keep this body on my path to Steps to a Healthier Me. I have found the new DVD of exercise videos AdvoCare came out with this year to be very helpful. The 24 minute work outs, and the ability to modify them to accommodate Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced was very helpful to me. I can happily report that I am 6 pounds down since last Friday’s post!

It does not matter what the number on the scale is. Your life matters because God made you. If you need encouragement please contact me anytime. I truly understand the trials of weight loss, emotional eating, yo-yo dieting, etc., etc., etc. One of the worst feelings is to feel alone while coping with a serious problem. I hope you will take a look at Fit and Fabulous. It is a very positive place for me. I will post links below to Fit and Fabulous and to a link about the Can You 24 video.

Please visit Steps to a Healthier Me and leave encouraging posts, tips, etc., for me to enjoy as well as others. I will be trying to post on that site daily with a word of encouragement and any health tips that I may find. We are all one bad day away from failure, and one great day away from success. And sometimes it is the boost we get from a motivating word, picture, product, etc., which pushes us from failure to success!

I thank you as always for your encouragement on this journey. Today in a very special way I thank Vickie, Christie and Eric. The three of you have been great encouragement to me this week for sure.

God bless all of you, and may you do well on your own journey to better health!

Contact information: stepstoahealthierme@gmail.com

Follow me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Steps-to-a-Healthier-Me/277083562304037?fref=ts and www.facebook.com/leahmorris

Visit AdvoCare at: www.advocare.com/120819680

Can You 24 DVD information site: advocare.com/canyou24

Fortify and Conquer

I don’t think anyone likes to do self examination into the area of personal problems anymore. We have a quick fix for everything, or a pill that will numb us to the symptoms, and even in our religion we “justify” our actions. Today, I continued using, The Cognitive Behavioral Workbook for Weight Management, as part of my regiment to attack my weight problems and deal with my emotional and binge eating issues. It would be very easy to fall back into a pattern of depression, hurt, anger, etc, BUT the goal is to face MY problems not make excuses or continue to hurt myself with food.

So, today, as I worked on a new recipe – a trip to a farmers market over the weekend beckoned me to create a healthy recipe for gumbo which I’ll share later! – I worked on my workbook and I did some Bible study to help fortify the inner man. It was much easier to deal with my past and even my failures after taking a stroll through God’s Word. I literally had to put the workbook aside and spend some time with God in order to get out of the funk facing some painful memories caused today. God is good, and led me right to a passage that lifted me up!

Go with me to Psalm 28 and take a moment to read this short chapter please. Verses 6-8 really gave me a burst of positive thinking, a boost of can do spirit, and bolstered my faith in the promises of God to be there for me.

1.       Vs. 6 - God hears my requests! I know that as long as my requests are God’s will for me, and I do believe he wants me to be healthy body and soul, then my requests are heard and He will help me!

2.       Vs. 7 - I don’t have to count on my strength alone because God is my strength! He will shield me from temptation! He will help me! These thoughts truly do make me happy, and it does put a song of praise in my heart for the Lord.

3.       Vs. 8 – God is my strength and my Saviour!

So, with my soul nourished, and my head set on facing my problems I set out to identify one word today – gluttony. What is it? One definition I found summed it up as: excessive eating or drinking. So what does the Bible say about gluttony and why is it wrong? This question led me to this very well written article. I hope you will read it. It is not very long and really gives a good Biblical look into gluttony. http://www.gotquestions.org/gluttony-sin.html

The thought that gluttony is all tied into self control or the lack of it really got me to thinking today too. I must learn to be in better control of my thoughts over many matters, especially my actions and my words. Gluttony is really just an out of control desire to please myself to the detriment of my physical body and an act of rebellion against my Lord. I must learn to fuel my body wisely and as needed with food, fill my soul with the wisdom of God, bare my soul to the Lord via prayer, and educate my soul through study of God’s Word. In other words, fortify my soul and conquer sin! I can do this!

I have already lost 5 pounds on my journey, Steps to a Healthier Me. Yet, I will tell you now, the biggest encouragement has been you. I have had people share their own insecurities regarding weight and emotional/binge eating. I have had comments of encouragement poured out on me. You all have been such a blessing. I hope my ramblings motivate and encourage you on your own journey to good health. Have a great day everyone!

Letting Go of Guilt

Guilt is very dangerous and very helpful all at the same time. When we do something that is not right our conscience is pricked and we fill remorse for what we do. That is when feelings of guilt are positive. These positive feelings of guilt help us recognize that we have made a mistake or that we are veering from the course, and they cause us to want to correct our faulty behavior.

However, guilt turns deadly spiritually and emotionally when we defeat ourselves with it. When we experience guilt for falling into the same old trap again, and do nothing positive to change. Sometimes we even participate in more of the negative behaviors because it makes us feel better at the time on some levels.

Today’s Step to a Healthier Me, is focusing on the dangers of guilt and not being forgiving towards MYSELF. We will leave the discussion about forgiving others for another time.

Today our Bible lesson to focus on will be from Luke 5:19-21

¹⁹And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

²⁰And when he saw their faith, he (Jesus) said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

²¹And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

This lesson from the Bible was about the paralyzed man, and the great faith he, and the faith the men who lowered him through the roof top had, so that he could see Jesus to be healed. This roof top most likely was not just a pile of straw that was easy to break through. I would have required great effort to dismantle and open a whole big enough to be able to lower the man down. Yet they did what was necessary to accomplish their mission.

Notice what Jesus did in verse 20. He saw their faith. When you are trying to make changes in your life whether they are spiritual or physical changes do you have faith? Do you have faith in God to help you? Do you believe Matthew 7:7-8?

⁷Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

⁸For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

We must be faithful. When we seek God via prayer for assistance with our petitions, or desires, our most secret dreams, which we sometimes don’t even want to acknowledge to ourselves, we MUST believe that He will help us. God is powerful. He loves us. He wants us to be happy and healthy. He wants us to be successful.

Yet, does our faith get bogged down when we keep dumping guilt down on ourselves for our past failures? Can we achieve the kind of faith that would lead us to tear any barrier down to reach our goal so the Lord can see our faith shining through? Or do we let our successes get u bogged down under an empty pizza box, or entire party sized package of M&M’s when we stumble along our path to a healthier eating lifestyle?

I have to forgive myself for my past failures so I can move on to success today, and tomorrow. I have to have faith in God’s promises. When I pray to Him and ask His help with my health and spiritual goals, ones I know that are in alignment with what the Bible says is His will for me, then I have to believe that He will give me the strength and the tools I need to succeed! If I don’t believe, then my faith is weak.

Notice the second part of our Saviour’s actions in verse 20. “Thy sins are forgiven thee.” We must repent of gluttony if we are guilty of it. If we refuse to eat enough to care for our bodies properly, then we must repent of harming the bodily temple God gave us in this manner too. Whatever, your poison, drugs, alcohol, food, pornography, etc, etc., in order to receive forgiveness we must repent. Repentance means to change, to turn from that sin. When we ask for forgiveness with a truly repentant heart and a heart full of faith in His promises we must believe in those promises.

Ask yourself right now these questions.

1.       Have you truly repented of your unhealthy food behaviors?

2.       If yes, have your forgiven yourself?

3.       If no, then why have you not forgiven yourself? After all God forgave you, and wiped it away forever! Let it GO. Learn from it, and let it GO.

Today was a heavy day for me on my weight loss journey. I took a BIG STEP. I am going to share my numbers with you. They are sad, and they are SCARY from a health perspective. But, I want to share my journey with you fully, in hopes that any success or failure even, can help you reach your health goals.

I have been reading a book I bought at least 2 years ago. The name of the book is The Cognitive Behavioral Workbook for Weight Management. (Again, I am NOT buying any new material. I am pulling from my past purchases and free sources on this budget friendly Healthier Me journey!) Apparently, at some time in the past, it did sink into my brain enough for me to know that I need to work with the Cognitive side of my brain. Cognitive means the processes of perception, memory, judgment, and reasoning. Or in SIMPLE terms, I grasped years ago that I had to change how I THINK!

So, I have been undergoing a journey about what makes me tick. And, the emotional side is not so pretty at times and I am still focusing on that side in my private time at this point.

But, I am going to share with you the physical side of my Healthier Steps journey today. I got in touch with my numbers. As of August 16, 2011 my weight is 309 pounds. I discovered today that I am off the charts and not in a good way! I fall into the Extremely Obese category with a Body Mass Index of 49.86% (I like that number better that rounding my BMI up to 50%).

When I looked online for other sources, I found that I was beyond what we have heard called Morbid Obesity and fall in the class of Super Obesity. WOW! Can you say tough to hear!

But, the numbers didn’t stop there. This work book encouraged me to measure my waist line. The number is quite sad, 55 inches. This puts me in a category of substantially increased risk for problems in the following areas: Blood Pressure; Lipid Profile: Cholesterol/Triglycerides/HDL/LDL cholesterol; Fasting Blood Sugar; Sleep Apnea; Nutritional deficiencies: B12, Folate, Calcium, & Magnesium; Thyroid Status, Depression, Anxiety, Binge-Eating disorder; Gynecological issues. I took the liberty of highlighting some things I have already had problems with in the past, and if I still struggle with them today they are underlined as well.

If you want to figure out your BMI you can do so by using this website:

www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi

Folks, I am laying it out there. I need to work on getting this issue with unhealthy diet and poor exercise and get it under control. As they like to say at Overeaters Anonymous, “I have to trust my Higher Power.” Well, that Higher Power is God Almighty, and if HE is on my side, then I can beat this.

I want to leave you on a positive note. I also got to a number that is obtainable and that I have already made progress towards since August 16, 2011. (Yes, I am saying that the scales are already slowly tipping downward on my journey!!!) I set a REALISTIC weight loss goal. I did not look at my ideal body weight based on my height. I figured 5-10% of my current weight, which for me is 15.45 to 30.90 pounds. I am shooting for a minimum of 3 pounds per week, with a 10 week deadline for the 31 pounds.

I am also going to be ASKING for God to help me, and I am going to have FAITH that He will give me all I need to be successful. I hope you do the same for your weight loss goals.

Stay tuned to my progress, please keep encouraging me, and may your successes be greater than my own! I will be traveling with work for a few days so I may not be able to check in with you all. I hope my in box, and comment section is overflowing with motivational tidbits from you when I get back in town. My next blog will probably have something to do with the difficulties of eating healthy and getting exercise while on the road!

If I spoke with you on the phone, via email, comments left, or private messages yesterday I want to say thank you for all the wonderful encouragement. It means a lot! AND, I have to add that the comments, questions, and words of support from people who feel like I do made me see that we need each other...people with similar struggles doing the samethings to improve...to become successful. Which leads me to a thought about the wisdom of God. Who does He encourage us to hang out with more, worldly people or Christians. Which then makes me think along these lines: like begats like, run with the dogs you'll smell like the dogs, hang out with motivated people you get motivated!

One last thought. I have to have a little faith in myself too. Even with my past failures at weight loss, or keeping weight loss off, I am not at a hopeless point yet. It is when I give up and stop trying that failure is accomplished. All I have to have is just a small amount of faith...faith as a mustard seed can move mountains.

May your Steps to a Healthier Me bring your closer to God above in the spirit, and to better health in the body! Love and hugs to you all! Leah.

Savory Tidbits

Welcome to the Steps to a Healthier Me blog. I am pleased to inform you that I had several people respond with encouraging words, ideas, and shared views about wanting to be healthier yesterday. It was a tremendous encouragement to me personally, and I hope the comments that are posted here on the blog and on my Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/leahmorris for those of you that may want to be friends on FB) encouraged you too.

Here are some of my successes from yesterday towards my goal to a Healthier Me. I spent time studying my Bible. I had a great motivator, this Blog that is focused on not only helping myself, but helping others! I also, was focused on making healthy food choices because I don't want to be hypocritical while participating in Steps to a Healthier Me. I also went out to eat, practiced self control, made wise decisions, and it was a spur of the moment trip too.

Today, I want to go to 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

I tend to be a happy go lucky kind of gal. However, I will tell you that most of the mirrors in my house don't show the full me. I can also tell you that I hate having my picture taken, but I will not shy away from the camera for one reason. I know the people wanting my picture love me and love me like I am. They may want me to be healthier, but they want that picture for their memories. So I grin and bear it knowing if I see the picture I will be disgusted by what I see, but at the same time, I treasure those pictures too because of the memories being made with loved ones.

I learned a long time ago to hide feelings that hurt behind a mask of pleasure. If something hurt your feelings, or if some one's words hurt your feelings they must not know. If they did it would be worse for you in the long run. Yet, I was not really happy, I was miserable.

As a student of the Bible my entire life thanks to my mom, I tended to read stuff, and let it go in one ear and out the other. I would remember just enough to fool my mom, do well in my Bible class, and spit out Biblical beliefs when called upon. I did not allow the wonderful morsels of God's Word to soak into my heart. Today I want us to focus on, to SAVOR, some of the Word of God and the food we eat.

1. God wants us to be happy! How can we "rejoice evermore" if we are not happy. This means when applying it to food issues that we should be able to enjoy our food without guilt. We have to learn how to do it. Portion size matters. Quality matters. So today, try to think of healthy foods you like and enjoy them. Rejoice that you can have a healthy portion!

2. Pray without ceasing. God wants us to be in communication with him all the time. Is there anyone you stay in touch with on a daily basis? Do you text, phone, email, FB, Tweet, etc., to stay in touch with anyone or more than one person daily? If yes, now ask yourself if you spend as much time with God via prayer or Bible study? It really puts it in perspective doesn't it!?! Today, as you rejoice over healthy food choices you have thought about, savor each bite and as you slowly chew your healthy portions pray without ceasing as you embark on your Healthier Me goals!

3. It is hard to over eat when you give thanks for food that you have and reflect on the many others who do not. As you make your healthy food selections today remember to be thankful. Thankful that you have food in your home, or money to go to the store to buy food.

4. Understanding God's will. What does this passage tell us? That God wants us to be happy, to talk to Him all the time, and to be thankful. So if you are asking yourself questions about getting healthier today reflect on God's will for you as shown in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Then apply these principles to your food choices today.

I want a healthy relationship with God more than a healthy relationship with food. However, I believe I have to get my unhealthy eating habits under control, or else I am enslaved to them. God sent Jesus to buy me out of bondage, yet, when I live in a sinful way I allow myself to be placed back in bondage. God does not want that for me or for YOU.

Here are some cheap ideas about eating healthier on a budget with common foods.

1. Check out the dry bean isle at the grocery store.
I am looking at a 15.5 oz can of Tiny Green Butter Beans. The contents are: Lima Beans, Water, Salt, Sugar, and Calcium Chloride. The can also cost $.87 for 3.5 servings. I promise one can of Lima beans will only dish out 2 servings of beans, but according to the label it 3.5. That comes to nearly $.25 per serving when going by their recommended servings. Plus, I am getting what quality of water? (I recommend water with no fluoride, chlorine, etc. Zero tolerance on added chemicals whenever possible!.) You are getting salt and sugar too...and what is calcium chloride??? It is a salt of calcium and chlorine according to Wikipedia. Now, do we really need this extra salt, sugar, salt, or chlorine in our foods.
I am now looking at a bag of dried black beans. Now, I realize I am comparing butter beans and black beans, but I am using what is on hand. We are doing things on a budget remember! LOL! One 16 oz. bag of black beans costs about $1.80 (I think. Memory Lane is not what it used to be.) It tells me that there are13 servings. Which is about $.14 per serving. Every time you serve dry beans verses canned beans you have a savings potential of $.11 per serving. For a family of 4 that is $.44 of savings per meal. As I look at the contents label I am shocked to see the following listed: Black Beans. No, no, no, I want my added sugar, salt, and calcium chloride!!!
Just by choosing to expend a little extra time soaking dry beans (this will also help in getting rid of the gases that cause us to have gas.) and tossing them in a crock pot to simmer away all day I can save a lot of money. If it takes 6 cans of processed beans to yield the 13 servings I get from one bag of beans then I stand to save a lot of money. If the cans cost $.50 each that is $3.00 v. $2 or less for a bag of dried beans. It is definitely worth the little extra work to bypass the chemicals and other added ingredients that we get in processed foods.

2. Grow your own foods or find local farmers to buy from. Many of us don't have time or the know how to garden these days. However, you would be surprised at the amount of produce you can yield in very small containers. I encourage you to learn about container gardening. If you have flowerbeds, use them to grow food. I also recommend that you use non GMO - genetically modified - heirloom seeds for all things you grow.
Caution on corn. Sadly, even if you use a heirloom seed, you must be careful to not allow cross pollination to occur, or your corn will be corrupted by a GMO product by cross contamination via the pollination process. Other than growing your corn in a green house with a controlled population of butterflies/bugs/bees to assist with pollination or an air pollination system there is not really any way to prevent this from happening. Especially, if you live in my neck of the woods where we are surrounded by GMO corn Fields.
If you know of a good local farmer ask if you can help with the gardening in exchange for produce. Many hobby farmers get overwhelmed at times, want to go on vacation during the summer, or just need some help and may be glad to trade out services.
If you do garden remember to save your seeds. They are like free food for next year. You can very easily Google proper drying techniques or seed saving guides online. You may want to reap the knowledge of any family members from the gardening era in your family!

3. Another incentive of portion control. You make your groceries go further. Plain and simple. If you eat only half of what you normally do in a day's time you have saved 50% right off the top.

When I first started portion control meals I was shocked at what my intake really was. I even commented that "it is a wonder I can fit through the door ways!"

I hope that by sharing with you my ups and my downs, and some of the things that helped me get to where I am today with my weight and my food struggles, that you find some encouragement. Just knowing that you are not alone as you struggle to be a healthier you. That it is not only you that stands in front of the pantry knowing you are not hungry but wanting something to fill a spot inside of you, and hoping something you are looking at will do it.

So today join me as I rejoice in all the things and the healthy food God has blessed me with, as I seek Him out in prayer all day with a special focus on the healthy food he provides, and as I try to be so very thankful for all of my blessings, and one of them is you!

Baby Steps

Welcome to Steps to a Healthier Me.

I hope you found this page because you are on a journey in your own quest for a healthier you!

I wish I had all the money in the bank I have spent on attempts at being healthy. I have had successes in the past, yet today finds me starting a new climb again into getting healthy. I got to thinking that I wish there was a place I could go to that had other people like me sharing ideas and getting support. Then that led me to thinking that I needed to start it!

I am not computer savy. I just get by. So please bear with me as we start a journey together.

I won't promise to blog everyday. I may even blog that I am struggling and need you to encourage me at times. That is what I want to find. I want to find people that are struggling with weight issues and are looking for everyday affordable approaches to losing weight.

I am a firm believer that knowledge is powerful. If we start steps together concerning weight loss, and share what works for us with others starting the journey what a wonderful way to stay motivated to be healthy.

I had a very active childhood. I also learned some terrible eating habits as a teenager that haunt me today. Binge eating. Emotional eating. Closet eating. I have been on the roller coaster. I would like to get off.

I once went to Overeaters Anonymous and found that it was a great support group with people who understood my frustrations. It was with others who knew what it meant to be obese and hurting. It was a group of people who shared their stories and gave support. Yet, I found that I simply could not make it to a meeting, or could not afford to get to a meeting. If there is a local OA group in your area I stongly suggest you use it to your benefit.

While going to OA, I learned about the 12 Step Program for Addicts. I really like the idea. Yet, because I could not go to meetings regularly, I found myself with yet another idea, but no "will" to do it alone.

I also went to Weight Watchers group meetings, joined online, and did WW points on my own at home, but soon lost motivation. I know several people that have had great success and I do believe WW is a great tool if you can afford to take advantage of it.

I went to a weight loss clinic for weekly injections, pills, and barely 900 calories a day. While doing this I spent roughly 1.5 hours in the gym six days a week sometimes seven. Yes, I did get results, but I couldn't keep up with the cost. So first it was the chemicals that were helping me lose weight, and then I had to stop the gym dues. Needless to say, it wasn't long and all that hard work was a memory.

Today, I want to start something new. I will not buy anything. I will use books I have already purchased...and believe me that list is LONG...or that I can check-out via library loans or online. I will also, not be buying any exercise equipment. I will use what I already own...which again is rather extensive. Remember I said I wished I had all the money I had spent on stuff to help me loose weight in the past. I would say it would easily total 5 figures, as in 10's of thousands of dollars!

Here is what I believe.
#1 I can't do this alone. I need to understand what God wants for me when it comes to health.
#2 I can't keep doing the same things that got me here today.
#3 I need to be motivated, and I am the best motivated when doing for others.
#4 I want to be knowledgable about health, exercise and nutrition.
#5 I want to surround myself with others on this journey to a Healthier Me.

I am sure I will tumble down the steps a lot and so will you. Yet, I know that WE can encourage each other on this journey, and that will motivate us to get up when we fall. It will encourage us to try different things. It will encourage us to reach out for help and to help others. It will bring success if we just keep trying to take small positive steps each day to a Healthier Me!

Please leave feedback. If you see something that isn't correct let me know. If you want to know more about something let me know and we can learn together. If you find something that works for you let us know so we can try it too.

I hope that you have made the first step to a healthier you!