Thursday, November 19, 2009

The internet is my friend.

I've just been sitting here, trying to wake up and reminding my daughter she needs to wear socks and shoes to school (she forgets every single day - the child would live barefoot if she could), and thinking. The internet has payed a huge part in my weight loss efforts so far.

Let's put this politely - I'm broke. I have no job, I've been looking for one for over a year now, I have very few marketable skills (and no qualifications), and quite frankly, things on the money side suck right now. Especially since my husband has just been out of work for two months - he was hit by a car while crossing the street. He's back now, but we're still getting into the swing of things, and even though all those medical bills are being forwarded straight to our lawyer, I still worry when I see them.

The first time I (really) tried to lose weight I did weight watchers - mainly online because the leader at my local meetings seemed to have lost weight and gained bitchiness. I disliked how she was so rude to everyone - she reminded me of the "fat fighters" skit from Little Britain. Maybe I'll embed it if I can find it and figure out how. So anyway, I used WW online, which was an awesome resource.

This time, there is really no way I can pay for something to help me lose weight. If I don't own it already, I'm not buying it right now, and maybe that's a good way to do things anyway, seeing as I now have all the information I need just a google search away. I keep my food diary on paper, just because I prefer to, but if I so chose, I could use Sparkpeople for that. I can look up recipes that suit both my waistline and what I have on hand.

I can also use the internet for the mental part of my journey. I can put my thoughts out there and record my journey, and recieve awesome feedback from people who are reading. But more importantly there are a million weight loss blogs out there, and I believe that every single one can help me on my journey in one way or another - it's a resource I'm so grateful for. I'm not alone, even if I can't sit in a meeting room. That's the part I love. I love that I'm not alone, I'm connected to a million other people through blogs, people who I wouldn't even know if I passed them in the street, but people who are showing me the way and walking with me in my struggles. I wouldn't change that for the world.

So I guess this is the first of my series of "I'm thankful for" posts in the run up to thanksgiving. If you're reading this, I'm grateful to you. If you write a blog, I'm doubly grateful to you. Thanks for being awesome!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey Izzy, you can totally do this! You have all the tools you need. Nutrition Information is the best place to start - at least it was for me. I just counted calories. Packaging and the internet are the best tools, and they are FREE. :) You will find all you need to make the best decisions to lose weight. You can TOTALLY DO THIS!