This is the WHEE Support Group daily diary:
WHEE (Weight, Health, Eating and Exercise) is a community support diary for Kossacks who are currently or planning to start losing, gaining or maintaining their weight through diet and exercise or fitness. Any supportive comments, suggestions or positive distractions are appreciated. If you are working on your weight or fitness, please -- join us! You can also click the WHEE tag to view all diary posts.
jump, crawl, hop or meander over the turnstile to read more about this DailyKos daily diary for those who wish to work on their weight (yes, if you need to gain weight too!), if you are trying to work out or maintain a fitness program, lose weight, get diet tips, or check in and commit to a plan for the day. All are welcome to add whatever you feel you need to wish to say in the comments. This is a support diary!
I have been around the Intertubes for a good long time, and like many of you, it is a sedentary lifestyle. I am a computer design consultant by day, and a novelist/poet and chatter by night. Since mid-year last year, I have been a daily reader, commenter, and donor to Barack Obama, and as such, I come here every day. It is the ideal place to find a support group for helping change a lifestyle that - frankly, isn't very sustainable. I had an active childhood and youth, and was notoriously underweight until adolescence hit. At that point, sitting in classrooms and driving a car to school in order to go to work right afterward took away the one thing that was keeping my body in balance - the 10 mile bicycle ride. I have gotten back to regular exercise several times, but only after doing drastic things like giving up the car and instituting a bicycle as the official vehicle of the family.
However, holding down professional employment now, and having success in a side-profession that keeps me using up minimal calories typing novels, while yielding a good deal of personal satisfaction has led to gradual but insidious increases in size, and with age, arthritis has set in, making it less and less desirable to take breaks to move and stay fit.
For me - the key to the needed weight loss (and I have lost weight and become thin in the past - there's no lack of discipline once I start!) is movement. A daily moderate fitness program. I need it for my blood pressure and blood sugar, and I need it for weight control and overall health. I also can't just sign on to Weight Watchers (there is a discount program at my job that makes WW a possible attractive option), because I can't eat that food. I have multiple food allergies and am gluten intolerant. In fact, gluten intolerance and uncontrollable craving for wheat were a large contributor at first to my unstable weight, and after I got off the gluten (going on 5 years now), I have done a lot of compensating for things I can't eat any longer - with larger portions.
I am giving a portion of my story and background to explain my own approach and method this time, because I already know the number of calories in things, I already know that particularly early on in a weight-loss program it is important to measure things so that I know I'm being honest, but it is also important - FOR ME - to exercise moderation.
And for me, moderation is to follow my doctor's recommendation on a modest walking program - 30 minutes a day to start, and a reasonable calorie deficit, keeping to the food restrictions I need to, in order to lose weight safely and without starving, deprivation, or making my blood sugar plunge.
And for me, that program is 30 minutes of walking to bring my pulse up to 130 or so, which makes it aerobic, and a diet of 1400 calories a day or less.
For those of you who are looking for one,there is a calorie counter widget on Google.com, and there's another one here
I started a Livejournal diary about my personal journey in meeting the challenge of having to lose a large amount of weight for health reasons, and anyone is welcome to comment there. I will be posting daily, and it is a diary for others to join in and add their own comments, questions, and experiences
I don't need surgery, do you?
My own hope is that I will be able to share information with other gluten-free folks, cooking and fitness tips, dealing with hunger, and emotional and fitness support from those who have been there.
And now, because I loved the poll that bluesophie posted yesterday on WHEE, I am going to post our roster and a poll for anyone who likes. If your name does not appear, please request that it be added to the roster! And feel free to add your own answers to the poll!
Update: noon Central Time: I am slightly winded, but I walked a MILE today! And here I said I couldn't do it! For those who don't see your names on the roster, please leave a comment and I will update it and the next diarist will have the updated list. Thanks for all the support everyone!!! And good luck to all of you!
Roster
The current members of WHEE are:
1864 House
3rdGenFeminist
anotherCT dem
anotherdem
askew
batgirl71
bfitzinAR
bluesophie
Brimi
CA coastsider
Cassandra77
chicago minx
Chocolate Chris
coigue
CONEFLOWER42
crystal eyes (?)
cusoon
debbieleft
Dragonladykatie
Ebby
econlibVL - cheerleader
Ed G
Edward Spurlock
Embee
Fabian
fiddler crabby
flor de jasmine
freesia
gchaucer2
GoldnI
Greasy Grant
jiffykeen
Ken in Tex
kkbDIA
lineatus
Lisamoe - cheerleader
louisev
luvsathoroughbred
matching mole
Munchkn
Oke
Pandoras Box
Proylance (?)
RiaD
RLMiller
Roadette
roses
RunawayRose
SallyCat - cheerleader
Shayle
sheba
sheddhead
StageStop
StrangeAnimals - cheerleader
supenau
Tenn Wisc Dem
trs - cheerleader
volleyboy1
webranding
Wee Mama
xysea
Planned Diaries
Planned diaries:
Sat PM - bluesophie
Sun AM - louisev
Sun PM - Stage Stop (weekly, unless otherwise noted)
Mon AM - Sheddhead (since this will be a joint diary with fitness Monday, if someone wants to take Sunday PM, please let me know)
Mon PM - cusoon
Tues AM - help
Tues PM - help
Wed AM - Edward Spurlock
Wed PM - Sheddhead
Thu AM - StrangeAnimals (I owe you an email!)
Thu PM - help