Marla's Intro

Hi,

My name is Marla and I am really looking forward to this journey. I am 38 years old, married to a wonderfully supportive husband and have twin 13 year old girls. I live in Spokane, Washinton and am really looking forward to Spring walking weather.

I have been struggling with a yo-yo weight issue since college. I have had a challenge staying at a comfortable weight. Lately, just even getting there is very difficult...I might say almost impossible. I also have a cholesterol problem that I need to keep in check.

I have successfully reduced my cholesterol and have kept it down to a good level. However, I am pushing to get it a little lower!

My challenges have been eating when I am bored or upset or simply needing an outlet of danger!!! I quit drinking alcohol 5 1/2 years ago and just recently have seen an interesting connection in my weight gain and the time that I quit. I had issues with controlling the amount of alcohol and now I believe that I have replaced that with Nilla wafers. My husband has the same issues and we are abusing the cookies together. It seems that is date night. Sounds pathetic, but don't underestimate the power of the cookie binge!

I have a 20 year reunion coming up and would love to be in my old size for the occasion. My family is very active and we love the outdoors. I gave myself a big challenge of gettting in shape to take a very difficult backpacking trip and we just never got around to it in the Fall. I would love to get myself in the condition to take this on this summer and having the extra 15 pounds off would make a huge difference on my joints.

So in short, I am looking and have been for a while to make a big life change. I believe that I have made some great progression, but some of my hangups have prevented me from really getting to the place that I would like to be.

I have a very supportive family and I am looking forward to leading them to a healthy lifestyle by example. I can't wait to get started and I am really excited about doing this with a group for support!

90 Day Challenge III

Welcome to the 90 Day Challenge! Real Living Nutrition provides this challenge a couple times a year for 2-3 individuals who want to work on their health and weight goals. Each person has their own invidividual goals they are working on but in a supportive team environment. They will share their stories along the way in our blog.

Welcome to Veronica, Marla, and Payton! I am looking forward to a great challenge!

Meri Raffetto

http://www.reallivingnutrition.com

Hello Alison, Diane & Susan,

I've finally worked through some technical glitches on my end, and am happy to join all of you on our blog! Thanks for your patience and for the encouraging postings I've been reading from you during the past few weeks.

I decided to take this journey after several weeks of focusing on my workout routines, without much focus on the nutritional side of the program. My progress has been slow because of it, realizing now the importance of a 360 approach - strength training, cardio and nutrition - and commiting to a program with other people.

I've also learned that I'm much more successful when I attempt to make these kinds of changes in a group or community environment.

I've always struggled with bad eating habits, mostly stress and emotion-based eating. Sweets and caffeine are my big downfall, coupled with a dislike for a lot of vegetables. This of course leads to big swings in energy levels throughout the day.

Thank you Meri for this opportunity, and the new resources and information you been providing to us. And thank you Susan for introducing me to Meri, Alison and Diane. I'll look forward to talking with all of you during our next teleclass.

Pam

Hi again,

It's been a while since I've checked in with everyone. I do love reading the posts from all in the group - reminds me that I'm not in this balanced program alone!

I've been struggling a bit with my self-control. I attribute it mostly to lifestyle right now. I am very harried with my little ones and all their activities they are involved in. I find I have so much less time to concentrate on the discipline I need to keep me on track. I've realized just how many bad habits I've assumed through the years! But...I do love all the information I've been receiving in the program. There is so much to absorb! And that's what I'm particularly excited about - I will have this information for many years to come. I am committed to this program - I like the fact that this covers so many facets of one's life - exercise, food choices, psychological responses to eating, etc.

I will keep plugging along and hope my partners do the same. Small steps are better than none. My vision is still intact - I will walk away with so much more knowledge to continue to make the changes I desire for a healthier body.

Thanks Meri for your continued patience and guidance! Diane, Pam and Sue - hope you're all doing well!

Hi all,
What a shame that I can't find my original post. In a nutshell I decided to do the 90 day challenge because I wanted a healthy foundation nutritionally to take me into my 50's and above. Figuring it'll take about 5 years to become comfortable with all the information I would receive during the challenge I thought I'd better start now.

OK it was mainly because I've put on a bit of weight this last year or so and I've been very uncomfortable with myself. I know I should be exercising more but I don't. I know I should be staying away from my beloved carbs but I don't always. I know I shouldn't snack at night but if my husband is eating (and he is) I eat too.

And then there really is the question of "just exactly what is healthy eating, anyway?" Should I eat this? Would that be better? Is there another option? I don't know! I have a lot to learn and am looking forward to it.

We all make choices. We choose to sit on the couch or go for a walk, to eat what we want and when we want to. Sometimes we don't even realize that we have other choices. I want to make good choices and am happy to have the opportunity to get the information I will need to make the good choices in my (and my family's) future.

Diane

Stress, PMS and those darn cravings

It seems that as a team we have gotten off to a slow start. Thank you Meri for being patient with us! I plan to use this weekend to review my goals and reconnect with my vision. I do believe in this program-- even more than ever now that a week has passed and I have experienced first hand the pain of change.

My recent two weeks have included some life stress and that cyclical friend of ours PMS which have both sent me back to old habits of emotional eating and inconsistent food preparation (which I need for a good outcome to the day). I did not grocery shop last weekend so the food selections at home became increasingly inhospitable to the healthy eater. In fact, if a healthetarin were a species, she go extinct in the environs of my home in about 5 days.

I had mixed success with some of my promises to myself - for example drinking water and going for a short walk before eating in the evening. Two days it worked and three days it did not. I felt that PAIN of change and gave in to the comfort of old habits.

So, looking forward, I'm planning to do some healthy grocery shopping for next week, prepare some healthy foods to have for packing my lunch and continuing with my exercise regime.

I encourage you to post your blog -- this has been helpful in itself - just getting my mind back into the program. Good luck!

Intro

Hello my new friends! This is Susan E and I'm pleased to begin this journey with you. My reasons for participating in this program are threefold:
1. I have committed to a more active lifestyle and would like to balance my fitness and exercise with an equally healthy approach to nutrition.
2. For most of my life I have engaged in emotional/stress related eating habits. Now that I am in my forties, it is affecting me more significantly and I would like to finally move beyond a mindset of always worrying about food or using it for reasons other than nutrition/enjoyment.
3. I am joined by a dear friend on this 90 day challenge and we have promised each other that we will shop for, buy and enjoy a fabulous New Year's Eve dress to help celebrate both our success on this program and 2007.

I look forward to learning and sharing with all of you in the coming weeks!

My Introduction to the 90 Day Challenge

My name is Alison and I am very excited to start - and finish - this 90 Day Challenge. I wanted to do for a number of reasons. I have been feeling weight come on quickly as I've entered my 40's. I can see how my metabolism has changed. I want to eat smarter and lose weight. And I want to have someone with knowledge guide me through to make better food choices. This will then (hopefully) allow me to incorporate new and lasting food choices into my life. In a nutshell, I want to look and feel better than I do presently!