Was called a whale yesterday

Hi! My name is Amanda and I have been battling with my weight since I had my first son 10 years ago. When I sit back and think that I let myself go to this point it makes me sick to my stomach. I had one child after another and gained almost a hundred pounds each from both of them. Here I am now at 380 lb and struggling with fun activities I want to do with my children. Not to mention being fat-shamed and called things like a whale on Facebook on the daily from people I don't know. It really brings down your self-esteem and makes you sometimes feel like you don't even want to live anymore. Here I am 30 years old with really a great life. We own our house our car I have been married for five years and my children are 9 and 10. I run a successful business and my husband loves me unconditionally. Even though I have such a great life the one thing holding me back the most is my weight. I can't ride rides with the kids when we go on vacation I can't run around in the backyard with them and play football, and I get out of breath even walking up the stairs to kiss them goodnight. I have been on my fitness pal for a long time but just yesterday for restarted my journey. I want to live and even better life than what I am now. I want to be able to shop in the regular section at the store. I want to be able to buy an awesome pair of tall boots that will fit around my swollen ankles. I want to roll around in the snow and build a snowman with my kids. I'm on here opening myself up like this because I feel like I need more people backing me up so that I can succeed. my only support is my husband and while i love him and is so grateful for him, i really need some friends to help push me! Thank you for reading!
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Replies

  • pogiguy05
    pogiguy05 Posts: 1,583 Member
    edited November 2017
    First welcome and I know it is hard, but do not let what other people say effect you. The reasons why you should be taking this journey is that YOU want it for YOU. As I always say it took years to put on this weight so you cannot expect it to just melt off.

    Have you had any blood tests to determine things like A1C and cholesterol? My A1C is fine but since 2009 my Cholesterol has been high 249 last time.

    You CAN do this and why, look at some of the success posts here. It is about changing your lifestyle and then letting your body do its thing. Dont try to exercise to much at first cause you dont want to hurt yourself and have a set back.
  • DanniB423
    DanniB423 Posts: 777 Member
    Hi Amanda! I sent you a friend request and a message. :)
  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
    First of all you can set your Facebook settings so only your family and friends can see ur posts. Second it sounds like you know the answer. You are at the right place. The same effort you put into your successful business and family life is the same effort you need to put into YOU! Baby steps one day at a time. You can get to where u want to be. It's not coming off overnight. Be patient and enjoy the journey.

    Good luck!
  • cowgoo
    cowgoo Posts: 58 Member
    Maybe set your FB to private. People can be so harsh. I'm sorry you've had such an awful experience.
  • yogsvr4
    yogsvr4 Posts: 149 Member
    I wish you a happy journey to get where you want to be. Cut out the folks who are insulting. Ignore the people who can't help but make an *kitten* of themselves by attempting to shame someone else (they do it in hopes of making themselves feel better). Those people are just looking for targets, don't be one by reacting to them.



    FWIW, and as an FYI a whale is also a term for online gamers who have lots of $$$ to buy anything they want. Not how we hear it used around here, but just wanted to spread a little info.
  • JennyRATL
    JennyRATL Posts: 199 Member
    I have nothing more to add to what the other posters have said above; they are all spot on.
    But I can offer encouragement and support if you need it!

    I just don't understand mean people; they must be miserable....sorry that happened to you.
  • OregonRunner5
    OregonRunner5 Posts: 404 Member
    That's terrible :( Some people are so evil and don't know how to support or build others and just try to scrap out some self-worth by taring others down.

    I don't have a lot of advice except, be kind to yourself. Maybe do a little sluething, how do you feel after particular meals? (grains make me tired, eggs always make my hungrier). What meals would be easy to swap? (In my 30's I started brown bagging my lunch everyday to work and that made a big difference).

    Make gentle kind changes in your life to treat yourself like the queen bee your are and maybe see a good doctor. My weight is primarily hormone related. My daughter has PCOS and her weight is hormones. If you want to get weight loss surgery, a few friends of mine have done that with great results.

    You are always free to say, "No, this does not work for me." Period. It doesn't work for you move on. I've tried a myriad of different diets on for size just to see if they would work for me. Usually there was something about them I liked and kept and it was useful to have the experience and learn more about food.

    Personally I deleted my Facebook account. I know that's almost unheard of, but it was a major source of anxiety in my day. I now share with my family via e-mail, postcards and phone calls. I miss it sometimes, but it sucked down a lot of time and was very distracting. It also gave me unfair messages about myself (I'm such a loser) and helped shape my internal sense of reality (like how the country was on fire and everything was doomed). After withdrawing for months from that, my focus is better, my anxiety is down and I'm thinking better for myself.

    So yeah, beware of groups giving advice - ever! Haha. Good luck to you! ((Hugs))
  • mygrl4meee
    mygrl4meee Posts: 943 Member
    I am sorry you were mistreated. I am struggling a bit myself right now. I lost 100 pounds but slowly gained 30 back.. Right now my goal is just to log my calories. I don't care if I am over.. Just admit the good and bad. Take it a day at a time and make small goals. I hope to start coming being at my calorie goal next Monday.
  • walktalkdog
    walktalkdog Posts: 102 Member
    Hi! My name is Amanda and I have been battling with my weight since I had my first son 10 years ago. When I sit back and think that I let myself go to this point it makes me sick to my stomach. I had one child after another and gained almost a hundred pounds each from both of them. Here I am now at 380 lb and struggling with fun activities I want to do with my children. Not to mention being fat-shamed and called things like a whale on Facebook on the daily from people I don't know. It really brings down your self-esteem and makes you sometimes feel like you don't even want to live anymore. Here I am 30 years old with really a great life. We own our house our car I have been married for five years and my children are 9 and 10. I run a successful business and my husband loves me unconditionally. Even though I have such a great life the one thing holding me back the most is my weight. I can't ride rides with the kids when we go on vacation I can't run around in the backyard with them and play football, and I get out of breath even walking up the stairs to kiss them goodnight. I have been on my fitness pal for a long time but just yesterday for restarted my journey. I want to live and even better life than what I am now. I want to be able to shop in the regular section at the store. I want to be able to buy an awesome pair of tall boots that will fit around my swollen ankles. I want to roll around in the snow and build a snowman with my kids. I'm on here opening myself up like this because I feel like I need more people backing me up so that I can succeed. my only support is my husband and while i love him and is so grateful for him, i really need some friends to help push me! Thank you for reading!

    Reading that some idiot (that doesn't even know you!) on Facebook called you whale is making my blood boil. I hope you are proud of all of your accomplishments; your beautiful family and your own home, car, and business. I understand about being unhappy with your extra weight. May I recommend baby steps, one day at a time, one accomplishment at a time. Set small goals for yourself. Maybe such as walk up the stairs x times per day for one week, then raise that number the next week, and so forth. You will also need to devise a food plan, and be careful with it, which is very difficult with small children, as it's so easy for mom to just eat what they don't, instead of throwing it away. But changing your mindset, again, small, doable changes in small increments, is key.

    Logging every morsel is challenging at times, but it works. Reading the posts on this site are helpful, I think. You got this, girl!
  • RunawayCurves
    RunawayCurves Posts: 688 Member
    I am finding eating high fiber and eliminating most processed stuff especially processed sugar is able to remove food cravings and stop hunger.
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    I applaud you for wanting to make changes. That is brave and admirable! Many people have success here. Good luck!
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    edited November 2017
    pinuplove wrote: »
    1. Cut whoever is calling you a whale out of your life completely. They're not worth the time it took you to read that comment, much less any time spent fretting about it.

    2. Complete your fitness profile here and start diligently logging your food and activity.

    3. Read the forum stickies if you haven't already.

    4. Add friends if you'd like, but don't think of them as a means to push or motivate you. Think of it as a way to keep the journey fun and interesting. Like road tripping with a group of friends rather than driving across Kansas on your own with no radio :lol:

    Just loved this post! That was the first thing I thought... OP, you need to go through and either unfriend people or adjust your privacy settings.

    The second thing I thought was, you can absolutely do this! I'm a lot older than you, but also found myself with young kids that I couldn't keep up with and was feeling bad, physically & mentally, all the time. Don't focus on the overwhelming picture of needing to lose X amount of weight. Set up your profile with a reasonable weekly goal, and just focus each day on the number you need to hit... that's all. Don't overthink it, or try to overhaul your entire lifestyle. Just meet your calorie goal. I know I expected to feel deprived, but when you start of bigger (like I did), you still can eat plenty & lose. Welcome & wish you the best! :)