As I told you a couple of weeks ago, one of my goals for this second year of the dailySpark is to get more of your stories published on the blog this year. In addition to your Success Stories, food reviews and tales of Spreading the Spark, I'm also going to be sharing your best tips. Here is another round of tips and stories from some of our "Spark" preorder prize winners. These SparkPeople members won our daily T-shirt giveaways, and now they're Spreading the Spark in return by sharing their best tips. Meet Judy, Lori and Jeff:  Judy, aka DAISYLADY lives in Collins, Ohio, and has been active in her local team. She even met some other Buckeye State SparkPeople in June at a SparkRally in Columbus. She's been a member since 2006, but she got serious about getting healthy this year--and it has paid off, she says. What goal is SparkPeople helping you achieve? My goal is not so much to lose the weight, although I want that too, but I want to be more flexible and healthier and achieve a more balanced lifestyle. What are your top 3 tips to stay on track? To stay on track, I 1. track all my foods in the nutrition tracker, 2. get my exercise in and 3. mingle with all those great (members) for tips and hints. How do you stay motivated? Staying motivated is a hard thing to do for me but the wonderful (members) really help with this. My grandchildren are my biggest motivators to get fit. What advice do you have for someone who is just getting started on a healthy lifestyle journey? Be a sponge and soak up all the information and tips you can here on SparkPeople and really pay attention to what you eat and use the great tools on SparkPeople. What SparkPeople feature is the most helpful to you? I think the nutrition tracker is the most helpful for me. I used to think I was eating plenty of food, and when I first came to SparkPeople I found I was eating about 750 calories a day so I was starving my body. 
Lori, aka LORIKB of Fort Wayne, Ind., has lost more than 130 pounds using SparkPeople. (Can I get a WooHoo?) She joined in September 2008, and she wants to be able to keep up with her teenage daughter. What goal is SparkPeople helping you achieve? It is helping me to try to live a healthier life. What are your top 3 tips to stay on track? How do you stay motivated? 1. Support from teams, 2. tracking nutrition, 3. reading articles and blogs What advice do you have for someone who is just getting started on a healthy lifestyle journey? Take advantage of all SparkPeople has to offer 
Another Ohioan, Jeff , aka JEFALLEN has only been a member of SparkPeople for nine months, but he has already exceeded his initial goal--and set another. He had lost 88 pounds three years ago, but then he threw out his shoulder and the weight crept back on. Now down more than 55 pounds, he's just seven pounds away from his new goal: 188 pounds. What goal is SparkPeople helping you achieve? My first goal was to get to 195 pounds, down from 250 pounds, which I achieved August 30. I am now working on a second goal to lose 7 more pounds to get to 188. Becoming more physically active, although not a real goal, was an excellent side benefit! What are your top 3 tips to stay on track? How do you stay motivated? 1. I use a list of "whys": why I want to lose weight and get physically fit. When you have a big list of "whys," the "how to" gets a whole lot easier. I refer to the list often and find that from time to time I can even add more whys. When I fall the list helps me get back up. 2. Use Spark People. There is a wealth of information on this site. Find some very active teams and get involved. Involvement helps keep your goals of weight loss and fitness firmly in your mind. The support a good team or group can give you is priceless. 3. Tracking and Reflection. Track your calories, track your exercise. At the end of the day or week reflect on what you did in pursuit of your goals. Review your successes and your mistakes. Resolve to make the next day better if needed. If you fall down get up immediately. What advice do you have for someone who is just getting started on a healthy lifestyle journey? Just do it. Don’t wait until tomorrow. The problem with waiting until tomorrow is that eventually tomorrow becomes today. Today always has a tomorrow. Remember the lyrics from this old Christmas cartoon: “Put one foot in front of the other And soon you’ll be walking 'cross the floor Put one foot in front of the other And soon you’ll be walking out the door” What SparkPeople feature is the most helpful to you? That one is easy. It is not any of the trackers although I use them, It is the support that is the most important feature to me. I am involved in a BSG (buddy support group) through the SP Class of Jan 4-10. It really helps in accountability and sharing common goals with other people. I really cannot thank that group enough. Thanks for sharing your stories with the dailySpark! I love reading about how real people use the site and transform their lives. What tips did you find most helpful? |
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