Support Group...An idea.

[lindrusso]

This is for all the people on the Great Food board who have been talking about losing weight and for all those on this board (Hi, nice to "meet" you) who are interested.

I need something to jump-start me into losing weight. I wondered if anyone on this board would be interested in starting a "support group". Ideas are still just rolling around in my head at this point, but I was basically picturing a thread that we start each week (maybe on Mondays) where we can share our weekly successes and goals. It would be sort of a weigh-in where we talk about what we feel we did right, any weight loss we achieved, and what we set for our goals for the next week. We could come up with a title for the weekly thread that would cue members to check it out and "weigh in". What do you all think??? Anyone interested?

I just thought that maybe hearing everyone elses struggles, failures, accomplishments, insights, etc., might inspire me. Also, I thought that having to report to a public thread every week might help me get motivated too. Please be advised that I don't see this as a forum to necessarily advise people about dieting or not dieting or exercising or not exercising - that is something that is very individual and should be discussed with your doctor - but a place to share what works for us or what doesn't without judgement or criticism.

I'd love to hear feedback on this and any other ideas on how we might go about structuring this. It could even involve setting up a private chat room somewhere (is that possible with everyone using different ISPs?)??

If you are interested in participating, please respond here. And any ideas for a title for our group would be great. If there is a good response, I would be willing to kick things off this week with an introduction thread where we introduce ourselves and talk about our goals.

It's been wonderful to share our cooking experiences on the Great Food board, so I figured, who better to reach out to for the weight issues???

[andreajackson]

Hi my name is Andrea, and I would be interested in joining this weekly thread. I just need someone to help me be motivated so this is a great idea! I have wanted to start similar things but haven't had the chance! I hope that more people are interested also. Keep me posted!

[bijoux22]

Great idea! I have lost 14lbs in the last 7 weeks and have about 30 more to go. I would love to share recipes, and ideas on how to keep it interesting.

[Britin]

Hi,

My name is Tina. I think that this is a great idea. I definitely think that we could all benefit from sharing ideas and supporting each other as we work towards reaching our goals. We could all use another motivation to keep on the straight and narrow.

[JJeannette]

Hi! I've been doing WW this summer and am nearing my goal, but still would like to lose a few more pounds. I,also, need to work on toning up this "new" body--it's old but healthy so I may as well keep it that way! I know I will need all the help I can get this fall and winter,'cause that's when I always have a problem. So, I would certainly like any help I can get!

[jd]

Count me in. I've just started weight watchers and hope to lose about 40 lbs. I would love a forum to swap tips and ideas that help keep the motivation up. Great idea, lindrusso!

[Missi]

Hi! I also think a support board is a great idea. I have been on a weight loss plan for 9 weeks and have lost 18lbs but I would like to lose another 30. I am getting married in January and would like to be close to my weight goal by then. I think it would be very motivating to read posts by others who want to lose weight/get in shape. I will keep watching to find out more details!

[Holly S]

Lindrusso! What a fantastic idea. I am starting on an exercise program next week with one of the girls I work with, and I agree that having to "report in" would be a great motivator. I truly enjoy the sharing we do on this board, and feel like you are all old friends. What better way to have to support and empathy of friends that to be able to share the good and bad of our mutual goal! OK, Long winded way of saying "Count Me In"

[sage]

Wow --- this is so weird - I was just thinking this morning that I should post something saying how much I have gained from reading about other peoples ideas for getting fit, losing weight, managing breakfast, fitting workouts into busy schedules, snacking, and dealing with the "voices" coming from the vending machines at 2pm.

I've always had problems with my weight and have gone up and down, up and down several times. I am hoping (fingers crossed) that this time I'm down and staying down (weight-wise, that is). I've started exercising and eating better. I don't use a scale to monitor my progress - but this morning before I went to the gym I tried on a pair of jeans that I hadn't been able to wear for 2 years. They fit looser now than they did when I bought them! For me, that is much more motivation than a drop of a pound on the scale.

A thread like this would be really helpful (at least, to me!). Just the reinforcement that I am not the only one that is struggling with this has helped me tons. I now feel like I have a bunch of "exercise" buddies and "eating better (not dieting)" buddies. I think it also helps to have people you can discuss these issues with who know EXACTLY what you are talking about. I have very few friends who have had the same struggle with weight that I have - I even have one friend that simply FORGETS TO EAT sometimes - NOT ME!

So, I would certainly be interested in having a centralized place to "get together" to discuss our trials and triumphs.

Good luck to all of us.
S. Sage.

[BethH]

Count me in too! I have several beautiful pairs of pants and a couple suits that fit me a few short years ago...now I can get them on, but they are way too tight in the waist to wear comfortably (if they zip at all). I would love to lose some around the middle so I can wear these items again. Especially my gray wool slacks--love those!

I've been trying to be good and get to the gym and eat right (the usual) but could really use that extra motivation of having to report in etc. Let's get started!

ps...I have never forgotten to eat in my life! I know people like that too and they make me crazy! What's wrong with them?

[This message has been edited by BethH (edited 09-01-2000).]

[laden]

I think this is a fantastic idea. I tried to reply this weekend...sure glad the boards are up!

I've had much success with weight watchers for several years, although I've experience some ups and downs and would like to be able to maintain one weight instead of that yo-yo syndrome.

I'll watch for the HLSG board.

[lindrusso]

I'm so happy to see a response for this support group idea! I think this will be fun - or well, at least motivational! Again, any suggestions as to format or content would be great.

I figure we'll just develop this as we go along. To begin with, I feel we need a "tag" so that we can easily identify posts as part of this support group. How about HLSG - short for Healthy Living Support Group - at least until one of you creative folks thinks up a great name!! Any post that relates to this group could be started HLSG. Each week I, or whoever starts the new thread, could have the thread read "HSLG: Week of 9/4", for example, and that can be where we post about how we did for the week. That's about all I've come up with so far.

Later this week I will post an introductory thread so that we can introduce ourselves and get things rolling. I just want to give the others on the board a chance to see this post since the boards have been down all weekend.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend!

[CathyPA]

Count me in too. Weight is always a struggle for me, and as Fall/Winter approaches, I'm afraid that I will be adding to my "winter coat" from last year. I plan to return to Weight Watchers which has been successful for me in losing, just always struggling with the keeping it off part. However, I love the idea of having somewhere to go at any time and not waiting for a meeting. Since I've gotten so many great ideas from the food board, can't help but think this will be another "find".

[Kelly]

Count me in! This is a great idea!

I would love some support from all of you. My husband wears the same size jeans he did in high school (15 yrs ago) and can eat as much as he wants without gaining a pound. If he wants to loose a couple of pounds, he walks up & down the stairs a couple of times. All this, & he never exercises!!!!! Me on the other hand - I'm a different story!

I look forward to being involved in this.

[BeckyM]

This does sound like a great idea! I'm one of those people who does a fairly good job of exercising and who cooks pretty healthy meals, but I get sabotaged by sweets! I love baking, and I have difficulty resisting cookies, chocolate, and all that stuff! Having a place to read about others struggles and successes (and sharing my own) will be great motivation. I'm ready to start!

[Maelynn Cheung]

There is a piece of software called Netscape/AOL Instant Messenger that will allow you to hold a chat with as many people as you like -- all in real-time. It's like a conference call except you type instead of speak out loud (though some of us may still speak out loud anyway).

The software is FREE.
It's compatible with both PCs and Macs.
You DO NOT have to have AOL to use it.

Here are some frequently asked questions that may help: http://www.aol.com/aim/faq/getstarted.html

When/if you would like to try this, you can download the software from here: http://www.aol.com/aim/


This is a quick, easy and cheap way to chat. It's fun too. Please, if anyone tests it, let us know so we can either continue to recommend it or not. (We've tried it around here and it works fine. But we cannot duplicate every possible scenario for testing, so....)

Oh, and by the way, if you get it downloaded and would like to see if your chat works, when you click on the "chat" button and it asks if there is anyone you want to invite, you can invite me if it's between 8 and 5 Central Time. I may not have time to chat, but I'll let you know it's working. My user name is WebDR101

Have fun and great idea Lindrusso!

Maelynn

[lisad]

Invite me too! My screen name is DelaneyYogidog (don't ask why). I'd love to sit in sometimes. You could use this board to set a time for everyone to log on, or create a weekly time for the chat. If you want to create a set time, let us know and we can publicize it on the site. Thanks!
Lisa D

[lindrusso]

Thanks so much for your help LisaD and Maelynn. I had been looking into the AOL Instant Messenger thing. I just discovered that non-AOL members could use it to chat when I was setting up some family group pages on AOL. Will be checking this out this week...

Thanks again for your support - we'd love suggestions and input from both of you as we get this started. Please continue to jump in whenever you have an idea or just to chat!!

[lisad]

All--
I'm so glad you're interested in using this board more ... We've been working on ideas to help generate more traffic, and a support group is a great idea. Of course, you can use the board as is, but we may have a solution if you do want to chat. Maelynn is at work on it. We have some strange technological issues that don't allow us to provide true chats right now, but we think that will be resolved in the next couple of months. For right now, there may be a relatively simple solution using Instant Messenger. We'll post to this thread when we figure out how to handle. Thanks for your interest, and we'll let you know as soon as we can! Lisa D

[andi]

What a wonderful idea!! I just had my third child six months ago and have 30 more lbs to loose (I've lost about 25 so far) before I can fit back in those pre-pregnancy clothes. I'm working out at the Y with friends and working on eating "light" but it's so hard with such a hectic, busy life! I need MOTIVATION. Thanks for starting this...

[jdreifaldt]

Count me in, I am gearing up for Ski season and want to lose 10-15 pounds and get in shpae before winter hits...great idea and will get check out AOL.

[lisad]

Lindrusso--
Anything we can do to help, let me know. Thanks! Lisa D

[lesliem]

Great idea Lindrusso!

I be interested too.

[iqueen]

Lindrusso:

I would also be interested. I have been with Weight Watchers since the beginning of this year and have lost 27lbs. Only 9 more to go to goal. I have all my favorite CL recipes indexed for the last 8 years with WW points assigned to them for easy reference. Would love to participate in this but don't know much about chat rooms, etc. Please post more info when we are ready to start.