Hi, I'm New!

Winterhygge

Hi everyone, I'm WinterHygge. I'm 30 and married with one child (preschool age). I have about 200 pounds that I need to lose to reach my goal of 150 pounds. I'm 5'8".

I just joined MyFitnessPal because I was so inspired by a thread I found when I Googled to see if anyone had lost 100 or more pounds without surgery. I couldn't believe the supportive, courageous people I found here and I knew that this was probably the best place for me. Other weight loss sites I've tried have been either overly competitive or shaming, but the people here seemed really nice.

I've been overweight all my life and was bullied terribly as an adolescent, which plunged me into a 20+ year long depression for which I am currently seeing a therapist. I've tried Weight Watchers online multiple times, crash diets like crazy, and nothing has really worked, especially over the long term. I would get depressed and the binge eating would start again and I'd end up worse off than where I started. I just had my first child a few years ago and am now at my highest weight ever. Depression has been a huge factor for me in terms of keeping the weight on. I get depressed, I overeat like crazy, and I end up in bed sleeping rather than exercising. It's a vicious cycle and now my quality of life has greatly diminished.

My main reason for wanting to lose weight has changed dramatically from what it used to be. It used to be all about looks and fitting in (and not being bullied), but now it's about wanting to be able to do things with my daughter - be in family photos, to be on our Christmas card with her, to ride on amusement park rides, to take her for trips that require plane rides, to go to the movies and to restaurants with her and not worry about the size of the seats, to take her to swim with dolphins and to be able to fit into a rental wetsuit and get into the water like everybody else, to walk all day long at Disney World and not be too sore to walk all day long the next day as well. I am tired of being ashamed and hiding. I don't want weight to prevent me from living a full life.

I downloaded the app and have started counting calories. Basically right now I'm super hungry and I'm not sure if I will last with this, but I thought having a community of nice people might help me. Feel free to friend me. Thanks, and I look forward to meeting you!

SNLover87

Hello and welcome! Feel free to add me as a friend - my goal is also 100 down, and currently 56 lbs in. I'm always up for more supportive friends Don't worry though, that first couple of weeks is rough as you adjust to the new lifestyle, but it gets easier from there. You can do it!

scottyg70

Hello, welcome and good luck! First off: postiive mentality! You will succeed! It's a matter of finding the way to do it. Feel free to add me as a friend. Learn from your new friends and always ask for advice, that will help you greatly!

Lonestar5775

Welcome WinterH, you have come to the right place. I love your reasons for wanting to change your eating habits. You will indeed realize all those benefits and more that you aren't even aware of yet.

One thing I would recommend is search through the forums (there is a search function there) for "How to get started". It will help you avoid some of the more common mistakes.

If you have not, go back to your profile and complete the information about yourself so the MFP calculator can set your daily calorie goal. It is important because it will prevent you from setting an artificially low goal and then find yourself hungry all the time.

The calculator allows you enough food to not be deprived and yet still lose 1 - 2 pounds/week (you set the goal). Be patient and allow the logging of calories to guide you.

I'm super excited for you and look forward to you posting progress along the way. Feel free to add me but I am a mid-50's guy already at my goal and maintaining so we may not share many things in common. Do find some friends to share the experience. You will someday look back and realize how big this first step is you are taking today. Congratulations!!!!

nglesner

welcome to MFP. I have been away from here for a while and unfortunatley I put on the weight that I had lost when I quit tracking. I am back here to try and get myself back on track, It's been a long struggle and having friends helps! I'd be more than happy to help you anyway that I can

Nikki

Sassyiam63

Welcome! My name is Cathy. I'm a nurse. My kids are grown but my daughter and granddaughter live with me. (Savanah is 3 yrs old). It's definitly hard to take care of ourselves in this day of modern technology and demands on our time. My fitness pal has been really helpful to me. My starting weight was 184. I'm down 12 lbs. Its been slow and steady. I have also incorporated some lifestyle changes, ie increasing my activity and my goal is to keep my fat grams below 42gms/day.
YOu're going to do great! Good luck with everything.

rswalls

Welcome - feel free to add me!

alliemarie77

Hi! You can add me if you'd like. I've been here a while, and don't plan on leaving anytime soon. (-: I started with around 200 pounds to lose. I have not had surgery, and the weight is coming off! (-:
The best advice I can give anyone is.... Drink lots of water. Move more than you did before, and read labels on all the foods!!
Good luck!

DeliriumCanBeFun

Hi Winter! Glad to see you have made that most important first step! I also deal with food addiction and depression, and I know that can be a terrible battle with yourself that no one who hasn't fought it could understand. Remember to be kind to yourself. You didn't get to this point overnight, and it is going to take a lot of time and hard work to get to be where you want to be. But every little change you make will be so worth it. I'm going to send you a friend request

denisewht11

Hi Winter! I'm new here too. Just joined this morning because I heard about it through a customer at work. I'm hoping that I can connect with others going through the same struggles. I'm about 100 lbs overweight and my husband about 50. I stress eat, boredom eat, and eat on the run and it has all finally caught up to me. I work for the postal service so you would think that I am active enough to lose some of it! I'm learning I have to watch what and how much I put in my mouth and when. I have a "skinny mini" 15-year-old at home and want to set the right example for her and show her that I can do it! Please feel free to add me as a friend on here. There seems to be an overwhelming support system here. Looking forward to getting started!

musicboxes

Welcome my friend.

Just take one step at a time, one day at a time & one pound at a time. Every little thing you do will make a big difference & you will become the happier & healthier you, you want to be & be rid of the depression.

These are a few things that have helped me along the way: (1) Get out the tape measure (even though you may not want to) & track your measurements, as you may surprise yourself by the loss of inches as well as pounds. I loose inches faster than pounds. (2) Eating protein keeps you from being hungry (3) Eat the foods you enjoy but cut your serving sizes.

We are all in this together!

You can do this!!

nikki4208

Hello! I just sent u a friend request we have the same goals!!

sandykendrick

Hi I wanted to you to know that I am very new with myfittnesspal. I'm veryT excited about getting started. I had a friend tell me about this and suggested that I might want to give it a try. So far so good. Im not saying its going to be easy because I know it won't be because in the past it hasn't been easy. Lets get started! I need all the help and any suggestions any can get!

Winterhygge

Thank you everyone! I am really nervous but looking forward to being a part of the community. Today I went out and got a bunch of Amy's organic frozen meals (instant portion control, no chemicals) and am heating up a broccoli cheese pocket for a snack as we speak. I still have about 1,000 calories I can eat for dinner according to my calculator! So hopefully I will survive this first week.