Introduce Yourself
Replies
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Hi all. Thought I'd join in. I have been gaining and losing weight for over 30 years. I'm sure I've lost and gained close to 1000 pounds over the years. I reached my highest in 2012 at 343 pounds. I got down to 191, and the stress took over. I hit 313 this summer. Then decided that I don't want to be this heavy when I turn 50 (next April) so here I am again. It's now or never. I've been tracking since July 24 and have lost 42 lbs. My goal is to get to 160, but that may change when I get in the ballpark. I used to be an athlete, and I want to be more active. I used to love jogging I hope to be back at it by Christmas. Right now I'm just walking, but I'm up to 4 to 4 1/2 miles (when it's not too hot).
I'm not on a special plan, I just track and try to keep the calories in check and make sure I'm at a deficit every day. Thanks for letting me join and I look forward to hearing about everyone.3 -
@dustyspal Welcome to LL! 42 lbs since the end of July is pretty impressive. Hopefully you're eating enough and not keeping too harsh of a deficit, which can cause health issues.
Best of luck to you getting back into jogging. I've been doing that myself with the Couch to 5k program. I highly recommend it.
Feel free to jump into the conversation threads here or start your own. Looking forward to hearing more from you as you continue kicking butt with your weight loss.2 -
Hey there! My name is Matt and I am 40 and started at 356 lbs on 4 August 19, and am currently 323. I have gone through a total mental transformation. This isn't a diet for me, it is a lifestyle change.
I am achieving this change through a combination of many disciplines, DDP Yoga, Strength Training with a personal trainer, Aquatic Aerobic classes and walking at every chance I get. On the mental side of the house, I do meditation daily and am always posting daily motivational things on MFP. I am very active, track everything I eat good or bad.
I have earned the nickname of the Accountability Tyrant among my MFP friends because I accept NO excuses for myself and try to help all those around me to truly commit to their goals as I have. Because of that commitment, there are no off days, no cheat days for a couple of reasons. 1. You can't cheat on a lifestyle and 2. I love the grind. The grind knows what you do no matter what we say, and it gives you nothing that you haven't worked for!
Looking to surround myself with positive, committed people who want to have a symbiotic friendship where we all push each other to new heights greater than those we can achieve on our own!3 -
Hi all. Thought I'd join in. I have been gaining and losing weight for over 30 years. I'm sure I've lost and gained close to 1000 pounds over the years. I reached my highest in 2012 at 343 pounds. I got down to 191, and the stress took over. I hit 313 this summer. Then decided that I don't want to be this heavy when I turn 50 (next April) so here I am again. It's now or never. I've been tracking since July 24 and have lost 42 lbs. My goal is to get to 160, but that may change when I get in the ballpark. I used to be an athlete, and I want to be more active. I used to love jogging I hope to be back at it by Christmas. Right now I'm just walking, but I'm up to 4 to 4 1/2 miles (when it's not too hot).
I'm not on a special plan, I just track and try to keep the calories in check and make sure I'm at a deficit every day. Thanks for letting me join and I look forward to hearing about everyone.
Hi @dustyspal,
Welcome.
You have lost 42 pounds in 71 days. That means you are averaging 4.14 pounds per week. This assumes that you did not lose any water weight at the beginning and you probably did. In another couple of weeks I will be happy to help you crunch your numbers again with your weight starting after the first 2 weeks. This will help guide you and make sure you are losing weight at an appropriate rate of loss for yourself.0 -
MatthewRuch wrote: »Hey there! My name is Matt and I am 40 and started at 356 lbs on 4 August 19, and am currently 323. I have gone through a total mental transformation. This isn't a diet for me, it is a lifestyle change.
I am achieving this change through a combination of many disciplines, DDP Yoga, Strength Training with a personal trainer, Aquatic Aerobic classes and walking at every chance I get. On the mental side of the house, I do meditation daily and am always posting daily motivational things on MFP. I am very active, track everything I eat good or bad.
I have earned the nickname of the Accountability Tyrant among my MFP friends because I accept NO excuses for myself and try to help all those around me to truly commit to their goals as I have. Because of that commitment, there are no off days, no cheat days for a couple of reasons. 1. You can't cheat on a lifestyle and 2. I love the grind. The grind knows what you do no matter what we say, and it gives you nothing that you haven't worked for!
Looking to surround myself with positive, committed people who want to have a symbiotic friendship where we all push each other to new heights greater than those we can achieve on our own!
Hi @MatthewRuch,
You are saying lifestyle but I read it as a diet or it would be for me. The reason is my life hasn't stopped because I began losing weight. I still have social gatherings, family events, holidays, vacations, etc. I believe that weight management is driven by the majority of days while the minority is for having fun. I don't want to be "on" everyday for the rest of my life. This is how I want to live my life and thus it is my lifestyle.
In my first year of weight loss I dropped 158 pounds. In my first year of weight loss there were also about 6 weeks of time I was eating my maintenance calories or above for some of the reasons I mentioned above. I could have lost a little more weight if I had sat in the corner on Thanksgiving munching on celery sticks instead of piling food on my plate but that is not the life I want.
I do not believe in cheat days. I do agree that you can't cheat on your life. I do have planned days of more food but I usually set a limit to how much that will be.
Everything I do is part of my plan which means I never have a reason to quit. Even when I make a big dumb mistake and think I am eating 350 calories and I am actually eating 700 that is part of my plan because I will make mistakes in my life.
I don't like to use the word lifestyle that much but I did it for this reply. I prefer to think of what I do as my new normal. I am shifting my normal away from the guy that gained the weight to the guy who loses it and keeps it off. I am not done shifting yet but I am making great strides.4 -
Good morning @NovusDies!
Thanks for the kind words. I don't call it a diet because I restrict myself of nothing and the fun days are indistinguishable from the training days. My always open diary attests to that! Every day is monday to me.
For me that works. For me being in control of my mind and and having empirical data on what my body is doing on a day to day, month to month basis is important so I can adjust in realtime to the what life puts in front of me
For example my current weight chart
I know that the swings and semi plateau coincide with my start of serious strength training and subsequent work with the dietician to get my calorie intake to where it needs to be with the added activity
Also, cannot wait for my next InBody report on tuesday, it will be need to see what has changed from my baseline last month.
Will type more later but have a trainer appointment in 30 minutes!
Have a great day!
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Hi everyone! Joining MFP again. Lost 30 lbs last year and I need to lose 100 more! This sounds like the group for me 🤗2
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It’s a good group of “ Losers” and very supportive!.....I have been a member for a couple of months...I really enjoy all of the posts!1
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Welcome to everyone! This gaff is so comfy. No judging, lots of cheerleading and great advice. And the best part? Everyone understands
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@dustyspal welcome! Your avatar picture is wonderful; I really enjoy dogs (current pack is comprised of three dogs: A Beagle, a Poodle, and a Cockapoo). You mentioned you were an athlete, was there a particular sport or activity that you enjoyed?1
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@smat52 welcome! Just curiosity on my part, would you mind sharing how you found the LL group? I am always impressed with the sheer volume of information available on this site and wonder how folks happen to join.1
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@MatthewRuch welcome! Your charts and graphs are very thorough - good job! I like data and your posts impressed me.0
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@hansep0012. Hi. Well, several lifetimes ago, when in HS and college, I played basketball and softball, then later, tennis. It seems so long ago.1
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@hansep0012 message board. 300+ lbs and Looking For More Fabulous Friends1
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@dustyspal ah, yes, I think of my life in phases - HS and college were phase 1.5 because I wasn't a kid - I had a job, transportation and a great deal of freedom, and yet it wasn't phase 2 because I was single and had no children.
Right now, I am in phase 4, mainly because phase 3 was my divorce / single parent phase. I gotta tell you, I love me some phase 4 because it is similar to being open to experiences with minimal responsibility - although my husband just smiles as I take up old sports and new ones, too! My old sports include tennis and my tennis partner is a backboard, lol. I am learning to play golf and making new friends as well as having lessons with a golf pro. I am back to swimming laps and my new twist is to participate in water aerobics. Hmmmm. What else? Oh, yes, the gym, and my trusty treadmill work out with the new feature of weight machines.
Old sports and new ones, yes, it was very long ago for me and I am hoping that I can capture some of that joy of movement and skill from long ago. The social aspect is also a really nice bonus as I am attempting to build my phase 5 retirement life around fun and friends and family.
Pam
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@smat52 Good job finding the group through the message boards. I did some searching, didn't find anything to my liking and decided to start a group. The group did not "take off" as I had hoped so I ended it and went back to reading the message boards.
@NovusDies had regular posts on many of the boards I frequented and his replies resonated with me on a variety of topics. Lo and behold, he posted a link to this group and I joined in. LL has been a great influence on me because of the members and their wisdom, humor, insights, and willingness to share.
Pam
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Hi everyone! When I was on MFP years ago, you could request friends for support. I notice now that everyone's profile is private. Just wondered if people friend each other anymore, or do people just keep in contact through groups and message board?
Thanks!2 -
Hi everyone! When I was on MFP years ago, you could request friends for support. I notice now that everyone's profile is private. Just wondered if people friend each other anymore, or do people just keep in contact through groups and message board?
Thanks!
You have to click on the username and then when the next screen comes up you click on the username again. The following screen allows you to send friend requests.
I think the MFP news feed is quite terrible and so I mostly ignore it. As such I suck at being an MFP "friend". I like this group setting better.1 -
@hansep0012. Love it!!!!0
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@NovusDies thanks I was doing that, but they're all marked private. I agree about the news feed and will just remark in the group setting. Have a good day!0
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Hey everyone! I'm Stefani, and I'm 30 years old. I avoided the forums and adding any friends for the first 6 months of tracking calories (even went so far as to remove friends I still had from my last time on here in 2014), because I feared that feeling 'watched' would make me less honest with myself, but I'm in stride now and am feeling more outgoing. I've lost 80 pounds since April, taking me from 397 lb to 317. I'm confident that I can reach the 100lbs lost mark by the end of the year!3
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Hey everyone! I'm Stefani, and I'm 30 years old. I avoided the forums and adding any friends for the first 6 months of tracking calories (even went so far as to remove friends I still had from my last time on here in 2014), because I feared that feeling 'watched' would make me less honest with myself, but I'm in stride now and am feeling more outgoing. I've lost 80 pounds since April, taking me from 397 lb to 317. I'm confident that I can reach the 100lbs lost mark by the end of the year!
Hi @stefsc1 Stefani,
Welcome to LL.
You have made some amazing progress so far!
I don't really push the external accountability concept here. I am not sure if any of the LL members would be interested in that or not so currently no one really watches each other for anything more than support and guidance.
I look forward to you contributing.2 -
@NovusDies Oh, the 'watched' feeling was entirely in my own head! Especially since we have the ability to set our diaries as private. I just knew from past experience that I may not want to log everything as honestly as possible if I felt there was an audience. Now that I'm confident in what I'm doing and have developed my habits, I'm eager to make some friends here. Thanks for the welcome! 3
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Hi, I'm Jen, 34. I have over 100lbs to lose to get to the healthy weight suggested. I'm currently 306. I just got engaged a few weeks ago and I'm still in that afterglow. Four months ago I had a big bump in the road while making good strides and I messed up my knee (torn Meniscus) and I had surgery in August.
This week, my FH and I are getting back on track to tracking our foods and staying within our daily calorie goals. Next week, we plan to start out workout routine. Just going to walk on the treadmill and work on my cardio for the most part, but I picked up my old core balance ball from my parent's place and plan on inflating it, and work on my core as well as do some arm work with weights.
While my FH and I are working on setting up a healthy lifestyle to get us healthier, the wedding next October is a motivation as well. I just need to remember it's one step at a time!
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@NovusDies Oh, the 'watched' feeling was entirely in my own head! Especially since we have the ability to set our diaries as private. I just knew from past experience that I may not want to log everything as honestly as possible if I felt there was an audience. Now that I'm confident in what I'm doing and have developed my habits, I'm eager to make some friends here. Thanks for the welcome!
I have heard some stories that make me think that some "friends" can take it a bit far though. I had one send me a PM because they thought I had been inactive for a period of time. The reality is I just do not allow any of my information to post to the newsfeed. Since I never look there I adjusted all the settings so people would not be out there "Liking" exercise, weight lost, streaks, etc for no purpose.
You probably weren't being watched but who really knows on the internets.
Anyway the best part of your post is that you are feeling confident now. It also took me about 6 months to relax and finally realize this was not like past attempts that failed. Until then I denied even trying to lose when someone asked even when my weight loss was painfully obvious.
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Penguinswaddlenotme wrote: »Hi, I'm Jen, 34. I have over 100lbs to lose to get to the healthy weight suggested. I'm currently 306. I just got engaged a few weeks ago and I'm still in that afterglow. Four months ago I had a big bump in the road while making good strides and I messed up my knee (torn Meniscus) and I had surgery in August.
This week, my FH and I are getting back on track to tracking our foods and staying within our daily calorie goals. Next week, we plan to start out workout routine. Just going to walk on the treadmill and work on my cardio for the most part, but I picked up my old core balance ball from my parent's place and plan on inflating it, and work on my core as well as do some arm work with weights.
While my FH and I are working on setting up a healthy lifestyle to get us healthier, the wedding next October is a motivation as well. I just need to remember it's one step at a time!
Hi @Penguinswaddlenotme,
Welcome to LL and CONGRATULATIONS on the engagement/upcoming wedding. You are going to be so happy you have given yourself time to get into a good routine before the wedding planning craziness kicks in (unless it already has).
One step at a time. One day at a time. One small change at a time.
We are pretty relaxed here so jump in anywhere.
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Hi @Penguinswaddlenotme,
Welcome to LL and CONGRATULATIONS on the engagement/upcoming wedding. You are going to be so happy you have given yourself time to get into a good routine before the wedding planning craziness kicks in (unless it already has).
One step at a time. One day at a time. One small change at a time.
We are pretty relaxed here so jump in anywhere.
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Thank you! My mind is already spinning, but I'm just getting started with the Wedding stuff. probably next month will start Crazy Time!
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Penguinswaddlenotme wrote: »
Thank you! My mind is already spinning, but I'm just getting started with the Wedding stuff. probably next month will start Crazy Time!
Since I am sure I am invited and you will want to know I will take the vegetarian option at the reception.1
