Hello from Chicago

jasummers76

I have been in MFP about a week. I have been on my journey for about three years. While I love all the stories and posts the biggest one thing that I have gained on this application is the food diary. It has so many foods that we purchase on it that it is saving me so much time. I started my journey at 350, major reason for my weight gain was being diagnosed Bipolar and the medication being Zyprexa. I gained 100 pounds in six months and developed diabetes. Then years went by trying different meds and so forth. Many meds increase hungar and for me as I can not speak for others the meds, combined with depression and the worthlessness I was feeling about myself kept me from addressing the weight and the diabetes. In the last three years I have started to regain control of my health. I am now at 271 I am 41 years old and 5ft10. The medications I am on now finally have me wanting to live. I am one of those people who used Phentermine for few months here and there along my journey to aid in my hungar while learning about my foods. No need to agree about the use of it here for me, I feel I used it well for my situation. I used it only for two months then three months over the last three years while being monitored by both my doctor's. I shared my experience with it in another forum feel free to check it out. I am now trying to expand what I eat. I mostly stay on a diet of fish chicken turkey cottage cheese salads and veggies. I allow myself to endulge here and there and not allowing myself to beat myself up cause I had a slice a pizza or a taco. I just do not go overboard. The biggest thing I learned since the beginning about the types of food I ate besides the basics, I was adding several hundred Cal's a day with mayo and ketchup. God do I live those. Still do just do not drown my food in it anymore. Still learning and incorporating more exercise in my daily routine. Which is hard for me as I work a office job 10 hours a day and have kids that want some time. But like we all are learning I will learn to try more activity with the kids so I can lead by example to show them to be healthy and that they can do anything.