Introduce Yourself
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Welcome back Erika! Your journey is one we’ve all been on so there’s lots of wisdom here. Read some of the previous posts which may be helpful.2
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Hi, Erika! Nice to meet you. Yes - WE GOT THIS! Looking forward to seeing you on the threads - there are many good, fun active ones - and a whole treasure chest of older ones that are full of wisdom.3
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Hi, I'm new to this group and started my mfp journey back in late january. I'm 26 and have been overweight all my life. Throughout my childhood it was only by a few kgs so never into obesity territory but all my memories from childhood are related to needing to diet. Everyone around me was so obsessed with my weight and none of the diets ever worked.
I've been active all my life, with the exception of the first 1,5 years of the pandemic but I managed to find myself at 304lbs on january 29th this year anyway.
I've had one successful weight loss period in 2018 where I was waitressing, cycling everywhere, doing taekwondo regularly, but most of all where I didn't have time to be bored and my stress levels were down too. Boredom and stress are two big factors that lead me to overeat. Still, I only lost 10,5kg over 7 months at that time but it was the only time my weight ever went down in my life so I count it as a win. And I wasn't even trying. I regained that went and 7kg more in the next 6 months though.
I started exercising again last september. I built it up slowly, starting with only twice a week. Now I do 5-7 classes a week and I feel good. It triggered weight loss somewhat accidentally and my current weight is somewhere around 282lbs, possibly 280. I don't own a scale and that makes my mental health better but I do weigh myself at my mum's. Last time was May 7th (the 282lbs), next time will be June 3rd. I had a 2,2lbs a week pace for a while but started eating a bit more to fuel my workouts so I'm down to about a pound per week loss. That's fine with me.
I'm 5'9 so I can lose about half my body weight and still be in the middle of the healthy bmi range but I decided my first goal is 220lbs and then we'll re-evaluate. I expect to be happy at 180ish lbs but who knows.
Every few weeks I feel that parts of my body are feeling different to the touch. At the start my glutes were feeling much firmer because of all the heavy squatting I'd been doing. Recently I've been obsessed with how much bonier my shoulders feel. I can't actually tell if this is new or if I just never felt myself up like that before but my muscles definitely feel different to me. My fitness has greatly improved too. We have aerobic capacity classes at our gym and the one and only time I did one I was 2nd or 3rd fastest in the class of 11, and the only obese person there. Since then my fitnesd has further improved, as has my strength.
I'm also losing inches here and there, though that process isn't linear at all. I've never fit into the clothes I needed according to my measurements. I'd try on jeans/pants/sportlegging supposedly my size and they would be extremely loose at the waist. So even though I should be wearing an EU54 or 56 (UK26-28, US22-24) to fit the measurements of my hips, I never wore larger than a EU48 (UK20, US16). And I recently fit into size medium sports leggings from adidas (the technofit range or something like that), which is supposedly a size EU38-40, which is what my mum wears and she's half my body weight. So I don't trust sizes and don't use them to measure my progress.
So yeah, I've already lost about as much as the last time but I think this time I might be able to keep it up since I'm actually tracking this time. Also sorry about mixing lbs and kgs. I only know a few key numbers in lbs and I could probably translate it all using a calculator but I hope the story still makes sense.
I've already had a bad experience on the dutch forum so I'm not even looking for support as much as I want people to stop discouraging me. I remember reading a thread from this group a few months ago and this seems like an understanding bunch of people so I'm happy to have found it again! Nice to meet everyone3 -
Hi @bojaantje3822, welcome to the group! I'm sorry you had a bad experience on the Dutch forum - you've come to the right place if you're looking for support, encouragement and shared experience.
Don't worry about mixing your kgs and pounds - I'm in the UK so I'm trilingual in metric, imperial and stones/pounds, and the group includes a few other folks who can think in both metric and imperial. Well done with your weight loss and fitness so far - it would be great to hear about your progress. And I totally agree with you about the craziness of women's clothing sizes - I'm currently a size 8/10 in some clothing ranges, an XS/S in others, but a size L/XL in certain cycling brands...
Jump into any of the discussion threads - we're a friendly bunch!3 -
Welcome @bojaantje3822. I'm glad you are here. Like Bella said - we are a friendly bunch - lots of kindness, humour and support - all sprinkled with a nice dose of wisdom and understanding.
You started almost exactly where I did - 280 some odd pounds and I too am 5'9." Made it down to the low 170s (even 168 a couple of times) - then bumped up about 30 pounds since surgery last fall. I'm am now holding steady, trying to find my way back into the weight loss groove. This group is my anchor.3 -
Thanks for the warm welcome:)1
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Is there something magical about the 280+ range for a start? Now why did you ladies steal my 1.xx inch between 172.25cm and however many cm you 5ft 9" ladies all are.... And remember: no looking down at me?!!!! 😡😘😹4
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I would love to join this group. I have over 100 pounds to lose but my first goal is 30 pounds. I need a hip replacement and am having a lot of trouble with severe arthritis especially in my spine. Weight loss would help for sure.
Karen, BC4 -
Welcome! You’re in the right place to get the support you need. Please go back and read some of the earlier posts and discussions. We’re all in various stages of weight loss and maintenance. So there’s a wealth of wisdom here on having much weight to lose and how to do it successfully. It’s a learning process to find what works for you. A good start is logging and measuring your daily food intake.0
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I am Vickie, 5'8" 310.6 lbs. I have lost the same 50 lbs about a thousand times. I seem to be on my game for a bit then if I make a bad choice, I let it derail me. I need to be able function. I don't want to develop diabetes or any other weight/food health issue. I am so tired of my body aching. I shouldn't have to get my body loosened up every morning. I start the day moving like I am 120 yrs old! Just need support and encouragement...4
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Welcome MrsWynn! Please read my comments to defiant63 above. I think that could be helpful. All of us here have lost and regained many times over before finding a path to losing weight. The good news is that you can do this and will reap the benefits of feeling better and healthier.3
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Welcome Defiant63 and Mrs Wynn. Yooly has written some wise words - so I'll just say hello and looking forward to hearing from you in the threads. Don't be shy - we all learn from each other - even if you feel "new" your contributions will make the group stronger.2
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My name is Jesi and I currently live in Wisconsin. I am the heaviest I have ever been at 346.0 this morning and I need to come back to using MFP religiously as it helped me to lose 50lbs back in 2011/2012. I plan for this to be my "hot girl summer" and get back at it. If anyone wants to be pals, send me a request and we can motivate each other along the way
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Welcome Jesi! I’m way past the age of hot girlyness but hope I have some wisdom to share here. Read some past posts and get to know us.3
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Oh Yooly you're hot alright ☀️🔥🏜️♨️🌶️😎😘1
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Hi to all
Been here before and had always appreciated this group. I'm back and look forward to hearing from all. I have a question-I see many discussions and different groups on this site but it looks like so many of them are old. Not sure if I am accessing everything correctly.0 -
Welcome back! Scroll down to the discussion section for the most recent posts. Many of us are in summer mode with family commitments, vacations etc. So posting is spotty - which is why you’re a welcome addition! Jump in the pool.3
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Hi Deafenbaugh! In the Larger Losers group, as Yooly said, the current conversations are taking place in the "discussion" section. But there are some great older posts - with a tremendous amount of valuable information in the "announcements" section (where we are now). Lots to read to keep you motivated and to help you set your path.
Hope to see you in some of the current threads - we all keep each other going.2 -
Hey, it's @Yoolypr who claimed you were looking for a more esoteric hot, and given she was an ESL teacher I'm going to assume she was going for a more Greek nod to inner hotness as opposed to some mystical mumbo jumbo!🤣
However I still think that hot is hot 😎 especially at the meltdown temps she posts!
I'm anti sweating in my old(ishlike) age, and 72 is plenty hot outside when sunny!😘3 -
Inner hotness - feeling confident and good about yourself. Although it’s not always about weight, losing some can’t hurt.
External hotness 🔥. We have no 72F even at night. Check out Sunday (42C) 🥵
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Gosh Yooly I feel overwhelmed and exhausted just looking at that weather forecast, let alone trying to function in those temperatures. You have my sincere sympathies!4
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I’m sure the people in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Dubai are laughing their butts off at my paltry heat wave. But 95F is more usual here. Sooooo....... no more complaints!2
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We are going to be in the high 80's, low 90's this week here in Wisconsin and I'm sure the humidity will be above 90% so I will be staying inside as much as possible until this passes.
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Hmmm.... the thing is whether they're laughing or not.... the ability to function and do things is as impacted by "extreme" hit and "extreme" cold weather. Do we ackimitise given time? After 2-3 years I believe most people do even when moving from hot to cold or cold to hot. But it still affects and I still think that 15 -21C is much much better than 0 or 30!🙀😎3
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I admire anyone who manages to function in a climate that is extreme either at the icy/snowy/cold end or the hot/humid/steamy end. Neither are conducive to normal living.
I'm soooooo grateful that I live in a temperate climate, where even on the hottest summer day I can still continue to walk and cycle...and when the most I have to tolerate in the most severe winter is a few days of icy/snowy pavements. The winter just gone we had only 16 nights of sub-zero temperatures, and not one solitary snow flake...
Today is the hottest day of the year so far...tomorrow hotter still. But then back to cooler temps for my camping trip next week...
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Temperate climates - I dream about that. In the meantime we’re into week three of 100+
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Oh Yooly! 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵2
I'm too old to be using phrases like "hot girl summer" but I try to be hip to the groove with the youths 