I am afraid to even post this...

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  • sclmn12
    sclmn12 Posts: 3
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    Welcome Tom - you can do this! There's a motivating, supportive community here that is honored to help you in your journey. Whenever you feel discouraged or depressed tap into the support you have here.
  • GurleyGirl524
    GurleyGirl524 Posts: 578 Member
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    I have been here for a while. I have succeeded, and I have failed, and am now back trying again and this time I will reach my goal and I will not climb this hill again. Forget about dieting, it truly is a lifestyle change. You obviously want that change or you would not be here. Life consumes us sometimes and none of us are perfect. The journey is not always an easy but you have taken the first step. We all started somewhere. Feel free to send me a friend request. I am here every day and would love to help you.

    Read the success stories in the forums and you should find encouragement there.

    Good luck and would love to hear from you.
  • Dawnymaries
    Dawnymaries Posts: 109
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    Welcome, Tom. I am soooo happy you joined. This place is full of friendly, supportive and knowledgable people who will love to help you out.

    If you just follow the plan they make you, you WILL succeed. I have seen so many people do so well here. It won't always be easy - we all understand that here - sometimes it will be harder than others. But never give up, you can always keep trying. :)

    All the best of luck to you!
  • janinealfke
    janinealfke Posts: 93
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    Dearest Tom,

    I so feel your pain. In July 2011 my daughter was on a respirator in our local hospital with double pneumonia and we did not think she was going to make it. I was 563 lbs. Seeing her struggle for every breath horrified me, and in August I began losing weight. I didn't want to die.
    I saw a surgeon in San Francisco in April 2012 to discuss weight loss surgery. I had lost 70 lbs by then. He asked me to lose another 20 and once I did that he agreed to do life saving RNY Gastric Bypass surgery on me. I lost 40 more lbs by my surgery date of 7/30/2012. Since that day I have lost another 146 lbs and am down to 307 today. My goal is 180 as I am almost 6 feet tall. Gastric bypass is an option for you if you want to really get this weight off. It saved my life for certain. I am off most of my medications now and am on my way to having knee replacement so I can walk to get the rest of this weight off. THERE IS HOPE...whether you can get surgery or not.

    If you have no insurance, Medicaid should be able to help you get some kind of help. I'm here for you and will help to support you with a diet plan, or weight loss surgery. IT CAN BE DONE...you can start losing. I will try to help you in any way that I can. I so know how you feel. It's very difficult to be where you are, and there is always hope. Don't lose heart. Please let me know how I can help you and I'm there. Have you ever considered a weight loss surgery? It's not the easy way out that many think it is, but I have a facebook page called "Gastric Bypass Groupies" and you are welcome to join it, and read all our posts to see what the over 170 members say about their surgeries....99.9% of them would do it again in a heart beat. There are ways to start losing without surgery. That is by far, not the only answer...but may be a good option for you. I've been where you are. Please let me know how I can help you. You ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS.....

    Always,

    Janine Whitaker Alfke
  • verenadiaz9
    verenadiaz9 Posts: 1 Member
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    Good luck in your journey, i would recommend community support through this. Never give up on yourself. Iam almost pushing 300 myself, but the my fitness pal has really helped me count calories and motivate me to exercise, even thought the exercise is very tough at times. Feel free to add me if youd like, and ill do my best to support you. We are all in the same boat in some way or another on this site, dont be ashamed.
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,031 Member
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    Hello Tom!:flowerforyou:

    I am so excited for you as you just walked through a huge fear you had and came out the other side with great support awaiting you! Congratulations for taking that first step... asking for support like you did!

    :drinker: :happy: You took a risk and posted ...ppl are sharing wonderful stories of their own hard work and your post paid off in kind!

    Whatever you do...take before photos, lots of them and ongoing photos... you won't regret it and sometimes it's old photos side by side with progress ones that really make you see just how far you've come.

    As some have shared.... it's all about YOU now Tom.... you're doing for YOU ONLY...make it about you and you WILL succeed!!

    Warm hugs,
    Hearts:heart:
  • PattyfromToledo
    PattyfromToledo Posts: 74 Member
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    Hi Tom ... loosing weight is a change of life. Drop the word diet from your vocabulary all together. This is not a diet, it is a life change. Seek out various tools to help ... Dr support, a dietician and even a shrink. Don't be afraid to seek out the 3rd ... we all have our reasons for uncontrollable eating. Once your conquer that devil you will be more focused to do the work that it is going to take. You can do this as we all can. Be strong and seek out the aide.
  • megginanderson
    megginanderson Posts: 276 Member
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    Find me on FB - https://www.facebook.com/meggin.anderson
    Id love to help.
  • LauraBalyk
    LauraBalyk Posts: 219 Member
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    the first step is admitting your weight and that you need to get help , so yay ! I know how terrifying it is to start, trust me, ive tried starting many times. ive always been "big" and cant remember the last time I enjoyed clothing shopping or been happy with regular clothing stores. I have started my healthy eating journey many times, but I vowed to myself that this time was rock bottom and things needed to change !! If you are looking for more friends and moral support feel free to add me as a friend and I will try to be there for you to lean on as much as you need !!
    laura
  • bathony
    bathony Posts: 51
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    Hi Tom, you taken the brave, first step, well done. May I be one amongst others to wish you every success on your journey. You can do it!
  • kritik
    kritik Posts: 110 Member
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    Good Luck To You!!! You CAN do this. So many here cheerin' ya on!!
  • RunForChai
    RunForChai Posts: 238 Member
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    So much good advice---I'm adding my wish for your success.

    One tip about exercise---I think that when people are very heavy one of the best, first exercises besides walking is to get into the pool--you can get a flotation vest and "run" or walk with zero impact on your joints. It is also cool in the pool. But--do bring a snack for afterward as being in water makes most people hungry--I slice apples or pears into very thin slices, or carry a baggy of almonds or even a yogurt.
  • keem88
    keem88 Posts: 1,689 Member
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    i have never been in the same boat as far as being overweight, i joined this site to lose some weight i had gained from recovering from an ed (i was at my heighest of 127, right in the middle of the weight i should be in but for me that was high).
    $250 can go a long way in a food budget, i live in southern ny so i understand how food up here can be more expensive (i lived in the midwest for a few years and the groceries were cheaper, le sigh).
    what helps me is to try and do shop from home, so i can search by all the unit prices and find the best deals. i imagine you have a shoprite since they are based in nj, and they offer that service. even if you go to the store to shop, it helps to look at the shop from home online first to see the prices for your store. i started saving loads of money when i did that, and can still eat healthy.
    i don't eat meat, but my staple food shopping is: dried beans, veg broth, wheat gluten (to make seitan, a meatless subsitute), pasta, veg that is in season and frozen veggies, fruit, dairy, seeds/nuts
    it sucks that you don't have a support really, but there are some awesome people on here.
    you need to find something you enjoy though. make it a lifestyle change instead of doing different diets. technically everyone is on a diet, bc a diet is what you eat.
    find a form of exercise you enjoy. i used to love to run but it messed my knee up so badly that i can't really do it anymore. i love taking the dog on hikes, it's free and you feel great being outside. start small, even if you are taking a 20 minute walk a few times a week.
    and make sure you are eating foods you enjoy. don't feel like you have to eat diet foods all the time. skinnytaste.com does have awesome recipes made to be lower calorie/lower fat with the flavor and taste of classic recipes you enjoy.
    good luck on your journey and as long as you have support here, you will be fine :smile:
  • pagoubupa
    pagoubupa Posts: 105 Member
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    My goal is to lose 210 pounds. I have lost 114 so far. You can add me as a friend if you want. You CAN do this. It is possible. Just consistently log your calories and stay within your calorie goal.
  • karen_965
    karen_965 Posts: 1
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    Tom, You have made the first of many steps toward a healthier life. You acknowledge you need help. We all do and that is why we are all here. Good luck and hope to see your progress.
  • lindseygibeault
    lindseygibeault Posts: 30
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    Sent u a friend request. Im sure we can all relate to you! This is emotionally draining for me some days. But I just keep moving on. Theres gotta be a good ending to working so hard!
  • AprilNew1
    AprilNew1 Posts: 10 Member
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    You can do it, you are among many friends on here that will support and encourage you through it all. GO FOR IT!!!! Sent a Friend Request :0)
  • sherrihuntsmith
    sherrihuntsmith Posts: 32 Member
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    I'm so happy that you are here. Everyone else has great information to give. I'm just going to support you. here, we all learn from each other. I love the food and exercise diary. It's what has kept me motivated. I love seeing the numbers. It takes the emotions out of my eating, which I needed. We are here for you. And we are going to love you , and cheer for you and love you when you succeed and love you when you stumble. We are going to help you stay on your path. And you are going to love it right back. I'm sending a friend request.
  • ajwild001
    ajwild001 Posts: 84 Member
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    Baby steps is absolutely the way to go. Never deprive yourself, but work on making more healthy choices than unhealthy ones. This is a day by day effort, and sometimes even hour by hour.

    Also - goals are absolutely great. Start with a small goal like making sure to get in 8 glasses of water. Then in a week or so add in a 30 min walk daily (even if you need to break it into 3 10-min walks), then add in a healthy breakfast within an hour of waking up (this jumpstarts your metabolism for the day), etc. It takes about 3 weeks for a new change to become second-nature.

    Sometimes when you set numeric goals, if you don't achieve them it can derail your efforts because you punish yourself (I do this to myself all the time!!). Just remember that if you don't meet the numeric goal, you are still in a better place than today. Document your measurements and clothes sizes and track those as well. Downward movements in those can be more telling in how you are improving yourself than any movement on the scale.

    Good luck!!! We are here for you!
  • MGreensides
    MGreensides Posts: 173 Member
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    "Try not to be scared of the time it will take to accomplish your dreams, the time is going to pass by regardless". This quote motivates me so much, hope it helps. Best of luck to you Tom.

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