Background on you

Kohanai

A person posted a "what's your story" post in the getting started thread, and it was nice to see what they were working with, where they are coming from (fitness/nutrition wise), and what their goals were. It was a "welcome" thread, and I didn't want to take it over.

I am a person that likes to keep perspective, but I also like to not feel alone. Ya know? It is at times comforting to know that the thing I'm struggling with, and think is super dumb, is something others struggle with as well, and really isn't dumb.

So, what's your story? Why are you here? What are you battling? Are you prepping for a competition? Trying to drop those last few? Making a lifestyle change and starting your journey? Do you struggle with picky eaters? Do you struggle against yourself?

seltzermint555

I'm married, no kids, 41 yrs old & heavy since my childhood. Was at 240 lb when I graduated from high school so I was plus size for more than 20 years. My heaviest was 307, changed my lifestyle for many years and accelerated that with MFP...got down to the 160s-170s in 2013-2014 and have maintained since then.

I'm here to stay on track. I notice when I am a little more engaged with the forums, it keeps my goals & "journey" (hate that word for it) at the top of my mind and I do a better job with my nutrition and activity. I back slid a little bit toward the end of 2016 and saw the 180s again and I didn't like that. Since then I've gotten back where I want to be.

Whether using MFP or other sites/gadgets, I plan to track my intake and calories for the rest of my life pretty much. I never want to be where I was ten years ago with my weight and comfort eating. I have very good habits in general and a SUPER supportive husband who cooks healthy food for us. But I still have horrible hunger/satiety cues and I seriously need to know what I "should" eat in a day calorie-wise.

Kohanai

I too have been 200+ since about middle school, so I know how tough that is. Good on you for recognizing your faults and working with them. The hardest thing for me to do was actually acknowledge those things, but I couldn't move forward because of the denial (my eating habits, my love of fitness yet lack of willingness to get my *kitten* away from the chair) so bonus points to you.

SalinitySally

seltzermint555 wrote: »

I'm married, no kids, 41 yrs old & heavy since my childhood. Was at 240 lb when I graduated from high school so I was plus size for more than 20 years. My heaviest was 307, changed my lifestyle for many years and accelerated that with MFP...got down to the 160s-170s in 2013-2014 and have maintained since then.

I'm here to stay on track. I notice when I am a little more engaged with the forums, it keeps my goals & "journey" (hate that word for it) at the top of my mind and I do a better job with my nutrition and activity. I back slid a little bit toward the end of 2016 and saw the 180s again and I didn't like that. Since then I've gotten back where I want to be.

Whether using MFP or other sites/gadgets, I plan to track my intake and calories for the rest of my life pretty much. I never want to be where I was ten years ago with my weight and comfort eating. I have very good habits in general and a SUPER supportive husband who cooks healthy food for us. But I still have horrible hunger/satiety cues and I seriously need to know what I "should" eat in a day calorie-wise.

Me too! I call it a quest.

BecMarty14

I paid no attention to weight as a kid. I was mostly homeschool educated and loved playing outside as much as I was allowed.
Spent some early adult years living in Southeast Asia where I first came to realize that I wasn't active little me, so I traded sweet tea for water and biked everywhere. I also did alot of house chores primitive style, with elbow grease, including getting water from a well with a bucket and scrubbing floors with scouring powder and a scrub brush. When I returned to the US, I discovered I could do push ups pretty easily.
I went to a community college and discovered kinesiology, a nutrition class that changed my life & a running buddy with whom I completed several marathons.
I eventually ended up with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and 4 completed years active duty military service.
Now that I'm my own fitness coach again, I find mfp helpful as I learn how to eat like I'm in my 30s.
I love being active, having energy and challenging my limits & want to be marathon ready once again by the end of the year.

robertw486

Interesting thread topic.


As for me, reasonably fit and withing a healthy (or close) weight most of my life. Was the "skinny kid" until I joined the military and put on some muscle, but stayed fairly active after the military too. Got lazy with easier jobs, but never really got into overweight other than for very brief periods. But after a period of super high stress job, terminally ill family member, some anxiety and PTSD issues, I ended up about 20-25 pounds overweight.

I decided to lose some weight as I sorted all those issues out, and found MFP for food and exercise logging from using another UA owned app (Endomondo). I was already losing weight, but started logging and set a slightly quicker goal to a healthy weight.

I've also had some back issues, and after an MRI found that I have a fragmented disc. I will need surgery in my future, but have already beat the odds on that. I was told some 6-7 years ago now I would probably not be able to do the things I do without having the surgery first. That part might be pure luck, or might be because I took the physical therapy recommendations to heart and keep at it. I hate certain stretches, and side crunches. But I do them anyway, and haven't had to deal with that surgery yet.

As for goals/competition, I'm usually better just doing what I like. I might do a few comps just for fun, or more likely do one I've never done before. But for the most part, I just do my thing and I'm not one to kill myself for a certain set finish time or goal unless that's what I just feel like doing.


I really liked that you mentioned the aspect of different struggles and how we deal with them. I think it's different for a lot of people, and at some point appreciate the psychology aspect of it. I just try to support people, even when I can't understand the what or why of their struggle sometimes. They aren't me, and I'm not them. At some point I might struggle with something they excel at daily, and might need the same support to help me get through it.

seltzermint555

Kohanai wrote: »

I too have been 200+ since about middle school, so I know how tough that is. Good on you for recognizing your faults and working with them. The hardest thing for me to do was actually acknowledge those things, but I couldn't move forward because of the denial (my eating habits, my love of fitness yet lack of willingness to get my *kitten* away from the chair) so bonus points to you.

Thank you! It sounds like you are making great progress yourself.

I think I was in denial for a long time too. I was so accustomed to being in the weight range of 250-270 lb and I didn't have health concerns, that I just told myself I was meant to be that size. It wasn't until I gained even more weight that I faced the reality of my problems. I also think that for most of my life I watched other people eating the same or more than I did at meals, and believed there was something medically wrong with me or that I was just "unlucky" because I was fat and they were thin. It took a very long time for me to understand about people having different eating habits, different calorie needs, activity levels, and so forth. There is a lot of interesting psychology behind it all! I hope to stay on top of my own habits, seeing the good and bad!

Ninkasi

I'm 51, married, no kids. I was always very active - growing up I was a competitive figure skater and when I got into college I switched to yoga and long-distance cycling. About 10 years ago I broke my leg, which sidelined me for most of a year. You could also call me a rabid careerist, I guess, because I concentrated on work, left the bike in the garage, and my weight started creeping up. My doctor put me on blood pressure pills and told me if I lost the weight, I could stop taking the pills. At my last weigh-in 3 weeks ago I was 215, the heaviest I've ever been. My doc said try MFP...I had actually made an account several years ago but did nothing with it because I wasn't ready to commit to logging every mouthful of food, but here I am again, writing it all down this time. Is it a pain? Eh, kinda. But this process is easier than having to remember to take a pill each day for a lifetime. In 2 weeks I appear to be down 4 pounds, so...yay!

It's especially important now because I do a lot of traveling overseas for work and I'm required to pass a physical every year. If I fail, I'd be fired. I'm not at a point where I need to be concerned about it. Yet. So, better to get on it now. I'm 5'10" so I have a lot of places to hide weight that normal-height women don't, but I've ridden that about as far as it can go.

I cleaned and tuned my bike today and went for a quick ride. I need a couple replacement parts, a new helmet and taillight and I'll be back on the road to 140. I have a long way to go, but I'm determined.

corinasue1143

I'm 5'10", weighed around 150 til I was 30. Gained a lot of weight quickly, was never able to lose it. Still trying, now 68. Have been to one diet
Dr. Who said I can help almost everyone but I can't help you. Didn't prescribe phen-fen like he did for most. Guess I got lucky. Went to a nutritionist who helped me go from 260 to 200, then she changed jobs and left me on my own and I gained some of it back.

Kohanai

This is a difficult thing for me to talk about, but it's a healthy thing to talk about - goals, struggles, past self. A lot of the things I stress over are, I know, small and not worth stressing over. So, it's nice to see how folks have handled their particular stories.

I've always been big. When at my healthiest in high school (lots of sports and theater) I was still over 200. I've just gone up since then. As an adult, I dealt with some pretty serious health issues, watched family deal with serious health issues, dealt with some crappy docs, but didn't make any changes because "I come from hefty stock, and I'm strong, so clearly I must be healthy even though I'm big."

Being in school these last several years, I'd work all week, study at night, then spend all weekend working on papers and labs. I'd order pizza and go through a couple 2L of Coke (a day). Even though working out was my happy place, I didn't do it, because I didn't make time for it (I honestly could have). I did a fatbet with with some friends and was excited to win my money back, but realized I was all messed up when my winning weight was 27something - this was after loosing a certain percentage of my initial starting weight. So I focused on getting control over my nutrition. I didn't exercise regularly. I logged, I prepped, I researched. That started around January last year.

Then I realized just how hard it was going to be to get a job in my field, and decided that I needed to get myself military-ready in case a private sector job didn't pan out. I always wanted to join, so this was exciting. To get there, I started crossfit in October and fell in love. I am now down to the 230s and am hooked. 1 more month of school, then I'm at it all full time. Excited to see where that leads me.

Now that I'm seeing positive changes, my mentality is becoming a little more positive. I've got a long way to go though. So once I'm done with school, and get settled into a consistent workout routine (I'm seeing a nutritionist beginning in May as well), I'll lock down a therapist. The goal is to be able to survive boot camp if that is where life leads, be happier with myself, and be healthier. My genes are working against me, so I've got some serious butt to kick.