A second life to live.

SparkPoints: (166,012)
Fitness Minutes: (74,278)
Posts: 21,066
2/19/12 9:00 A

Hi and congratulations on beginning your Spark journey!

There's so much here to help you along the way and excellent advice to setting and achieving healthy goals. With the thousands and thousands of fellow Sparkers you will always find someone you can connect with. I am always amazed how many lives have been changed for the better through the use of SparkPeople.

If you have not already done so, I suggest that you check out the videos in the "Healthy Lifestyle" section. Scroll down for the site orientation videos.

www.sparkpeople.com/resource/motivation_ar
ticles.asp?id=571

That should point you in the right direction. I find that if you just start looking around Spark, you will quickly learn about the wonderful tools available for your use. After being a Sparker since 2007, I still find something new and very useful.

Welcome and best wishes!

Posts: 2,144
2/19/12 8:51 A

Hi Kat!! and to SparkPeople!!

This site is just amazing, full of all kinds of information and tools to help us on our journeys to a healthy lifestyle. Best of all is the caring Community of fellow "Sparkers" ready to offer support and encouragement.

I think there are a lot of us who, like you, don't have the motivaitonal buddies in "real life". My DH is supportive but doesn't really understand how excited I got when my underwear was too big and I had to buy smaller ones (!!).

At any rate, there are plenty of people here on Spark who understand completely. What I would suggest, in looking for a buddy-- I see from your SparkPage that you've joined a few Teams. So be active on those Teams, post to the discussion threads, read other people's blogs and look at their SparkPages. See if there is someone who strikes you as a "kindred spirit"-- whose goals or life circumstances or motivational attitude, really strike a chord with you. Then, send that person a Private Message. This is like Spark e-mail. Strike up a conversation, see if that person is interested in being an "accountability buddy".

Don't be discouraged if someone else turns you down-- they may have issues going on in their own lives, where they don't have time or whatever. Keep looking and I can guarantee you'll find someone. At the same time, don't stop being active on your Teams. We're all only human, and it would be a shame to depend so totally on one other person to help you, that if she gave up, you'd be lost.

As for the physical activity-- I think it would be really important to check with your doctor(s) for what would be appropriate. Not only, what kinds of activities, but also how many minutes to start with, and a plan or schedule, on how to build that up. I was a complete couch potato, and started with only 10 minutes a day.

Keep in mind that what we eat plays a bigger part in weight loss; exercise is important, but we really need to be using that Nutrition Tracker. If you're not sure how to use it, this video explains that:

www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_art
icles.asp?id=1154


I wish you much success!!

SparkPoints: (54,891)
Fitness Minutes: (27,344)
Posts: 2,021
2/19/12 8:43 A

to SparkPeople!!

SparkPoints: (67)
Fitness Minutes: (15)
Posts: 6
2/19/12 3:34 A

My name is Kat and I am a 23 year old stay at home wife. I don't have any children and I think its because of my weight causing problems with my hormones. We're looking into it :)
I love cooking & crafting and for the most part I eat very healthy (lots of fruits and veggies). I'm pretty sure the majority of my problem lies within my VERY sedentary lifestyle.
I decided to join this website because in my real life, I have no support system. Don't get me wrong, I have a wonderful family who loves me but no one to help keep my butt moving and to push me towards my weight loss goals. I'm tired of having no support and no one there to motivate me (and trust me, I NEED motivation, boot camp style).
I am looking for a buddy (or two or three) that I can work with, whine with, motivate with, and push with. Someone who is reliable and looking for a friend to help along this tough TOUGH journey that we are all trying to embark on. I don't have a fancy cell phone with apps but if your interested, message me!
I went though an illness that took away 5 years of my life and after 2 transplant surgeries, I am more than ready to take it back and start living again!
~xoxo