We want to hear from our members!  How are you using ListPlanIt‘s lists?  Do you prefer the printable lists or are you enjoying creating lists in your account?  Put your experiences in a post and send it to me.  Here is the first, of which I hope will be many, post from a member to ListPlanIt, Sara (see her full bio below).

Over the last year, I’ve been undertaking one of the most challenging  tasks of my life – getting healthy.

I had long been frustrated with my size and weight, and by Christmas 2011, I had had enough. I wanted to lose the weight, so I started making changes in my life (including giving up some prescription medications that I was sure was holding me back), and slowly, I began moving more and eating better.

It’s been hard work, but it’s been well worth it! So far, I’ve lost 48 lbs, and am still working on losing another about 20 lbs!

One of the hardest tasks was simply to get moving and I simply started with doing things like taking the stairs and parking at the far end of the grocery store parking lot. But I soon realized that I need to be more organized with my exercise goals, and when I wrote them down in my planner, I was far more likely to exercise, because of my urgent need to cross things off my daily list!

I’ve heard it hundreds of times – when you plan your goals, write them down and schedule them, you’re far more likely to achieve them. The same goes for exercise. When you put it down in writing, there’s a psychological thing that goes on that makes you more likely to want to do the work that will help you achieve success.

Using the new ListPlanIt.com exercise list, I was able to make a plan for the week. For the first time, I was actually hoping to work out five times in one week. I set up my list with the days and dates of the week, and wrote out my plan using the first column, Exercise Goals. Then, using the Notes column, I recorded what I actually did.

Click here to view the list in Personal Interests.

As you see, it didn’t always match up with what I had originally planned. After all, I am a work-at-home freelance writer and mom of two very busy boys, as well as being involved with the school PTA, church activities and more. Needless to say, my time is not always my own! BUT, I kept moving! Even if I couldn’t do what I had originally planned, I made sure I did something, even if it was just doing the Free Step on my Nintendo Wii while watching television after everyone else had gone to bed.

Of course, as you see, I ended up taking Friday off. I was tired and sore, and, frankly, I figured I’d deserved it, having spent 7 hours on my feet at the school Sports Day!

Sara Westhead is a woman with many hats. A work-at-home wife (12 years) and mom of two boys (ages 7 & 10), she has been writing professionally for 14 years, specializing in religion, parenting and crafting. She is an avid photographer, reader and digital scrapbooker, and keeps herself busy at her local church, on the school PTA, teaching Mandarin Chinese to children and working with local charities in public relations. Originally from New York City, she has lived in Virginia, Michigan, China and the UK, but now resides in Bermuda, where she was raised.  You can find her at her  blog: http://thebermudascrapper.blogspot.com/