Welcome and Introduction
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I'd like to say welcome to the new members. It amazes me as I read each and every one of these intros how all of us have been through the same struggles. I always felt like I was alone and now I know I'm not.0
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You are very sweet, and such a beautiful girl! I am so encouraged by your before and after and I see you have obviously done an amazing job in losing so much weight. My congrats to you on that!
Thank you all for the kind welcome
Welcome Elisha! First off, you are gorgeous! Way to go on your weight loss! I can so relate to how you felt not being able to go grocery shopping, etc. Just loading the dish washer was painful for me at my highest weight. We are on our way now though. Congrats again! You got this!0 -
Hi! My name is Nellie. I'm 35 yrs old and am morbidly obese. I am 5'3 and weigh 296lbs. I have been struggling with my weight all my life but this is the biggest that I have ever been. I have three teenage children. Two boys ages 16, 13 and my daughter who is 14. I am like many of you in this group. I have tried diet after diet with no success of keeping the weight off. I have never truly been skinning and I truly do not want to be skinny I just want to be healthy and feel better about myself. In the last couple of months I have realized that my and my husbands bad eating habits have rubbed off on my two youngest children. They are home schooled and are around us 24/7. My daughter the other day came to me and asked me what these marks were on my sides. Stretch marks. She told me that she had some of those to just like me. She doesn't look overweight but I can tell because she gets out of breath alot more and her clothes are fitting tighter and she wears more and more baggy clothes like I do to cover up. My son is 5'7 and he also struggles with getting out of breath but out of the four of us he is the healthiest. He walks daily up to the carryout to get all of us our junk food that we crave which is up hill about half a mile. I couldn't do that I can't even do basic chores without getting worn out.
I have many health issues. I have high blood pressure and have started to have many chest pains.That really scare me. I also have asthma but this winter and spring has been tough on my breathing I have had bronchitus and after four things of antibiotics and breathing treatments I finally can breath normal most of the time. Last week though really scared me and my husband I couldn't catch my breath and started to hyperventulate bad. It got to the point where he wanted to call the emergency car to come get me because I was rolling my eyes in the back of my head and almost passed out. I also have leg issues. Which means that I am on medication for leg cramps Bad leg cramps if I don't take my meds I can't walk they hurt so bad. I also have diabetes 2 . I need a change.
I joined myfitnesspal in hopes to get some encouragement and advice throughout this process. My husband even though he says that he wants to get healthy gets mad when I try and we usually end up fighting. My biggest fear is that my kids are going to take after me and not live a healthy adult life.. And I want to be around. So I beg you to help me. I need to know how I can help my family without making them mad at me? Where do I start after being on my butt for two years due to school and owning our own business it is so hard to know where to start? I am so scared that I will not be around to watch my kids marry or even graduate from high school. God bless.0 -
Welcome, Nellie!
Being on MFP and reading the threads in this group is a really good starting point, I think. Then a visit to your doctor to ask what is safe for you to do in terms of diet and exercise. I would then check with your insurance to see what coverage you have for a nutritionist, a therapist, and a membership to a gym where you can get a few lessons from a trainer.
If you're home schooling, I think a few lessons and projects on nutrition and the hazards of obesity are great ways to get the kids involved. TV shows that focus on weight loss? Cooking lessons with the kids? Competitions to see who can go the longest without junk food?
You've taken the first big step... this is going to change not only your life and health, but everyone in your family's as well. Wooohoooo!0 -
You are very sweet, and such a beautiful girl! I am so encouraged by your before and after and I see you have obviously done an amazing job in losing so much weight. My congrats to you on that!
Thank you all for the kind welcomeWelcome Elisha! First off, you are gorgeous! Way to go on your weight loss! I can so relate to how you felt not being able to go grocery shopping, etc. Just loading the dish washer was painful for me at my highest weight. We are on our way now though. Congrats again! You got this!
Elisha, I agree with Heather... you are stunning!!!
I mean, we are an extraordinarily good looking group of women and men here overall, but you are definitely one of our gems.0 -
Hi All!
I join you today from another group. I have been fat most of my life. It really got out of control when my husband and I got together. You know how it is...you find your soulmate and then you start settling and letting yourself go. That is exactly what I did.
I started my weight loss journey on MFP 260 days ago. I have grown frustrated in the last couple of months because my weight loss stalled. I kicked my Wii Fit board back into gear today and saw that I am clocking in at 271 pounds. My goal weight is 140. That's nearly half my weight!!! I have been on blood pressure medication for a year. My first goal is to lose enough weight to where I don't need the blood pressure medication anymore. So 131 pounds doesn't sound like an insurmountable goal, I am going to break down my weight loss goals into 20 pounds chunks. I wiped out all of my progress on MFP and am going to start over as of today.
I look forward to being a supportive member of this group. Please feel free to add me as a friend!
Thanks,
uwaamanda 0 -
Great to meet you. Please jump in and join in wherever.0
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Hi everyone, my name is Pam. I'm 52, 5'5 and atm I am 273 lbs. I started out at 290 ( my highest ever ) I decided to sign up for one of those "1 time free diet coach" The lady called me and we talked for 1/2 hour. I think that was the very first time I ever told anyone other than my doctor my weight! She had me list all proteins and carbs, focusing on natural foods and minimal processed. I did well with that, it got me down to the weight I am now. I decided to myself if I go see a nutritionist perhaps I could keep going. I'm the type of person that if I have to "own up" to someone about my eating or weight I will try to stick to it. The nutritionist said I needed to have bread (toast) and potatoes and rice, that would hinder my want for ice cream at night or whatever junkfood I might crave! Well I tried her way for almost 2 months and I lost 2 pounds then gained 3. I'm thinking I'm going to go back to the carb/protein natural food with the occasional "cheat dinner" if we're out or if I do have a craving!
I've been overweight just about my entire life from teen years onward. I did lose 50lbs right after high school, and kept it off, then I met my husband. The old comfort zone settled in!!! We are married now 28 years and he loves me and I love him no matter how I feel I look, (thinking I'm not very attractive, and how can I be to him!! Can't he see?)) He's talked with me about it and really tries to help me, by getting me off my butt to walk (not a lot because he works 2 jobs) or yelling PUT THAT ICE CREAM BACK!! lol.
I just want to do this! I have decided to myself I don't really have a "goal" weight as of yet, I figure if I lose something that is a goal in itself!! I think it will help me to keep going, I get pretty excited when I get on the scale and it's less than it was before!! lolol I felt better when I was doing the protein/carb more natural foods, I think I will go back to that way of eating.
Thank you all, and very nice meeting you, hopefully we can do this and support one another.0 -
Hi everyone it's nice to meet all of you!! My name Krystal and I am about to turn 29 in June and I am 5'7 and most likely 400 pounds about some time ago I was weighed in doctor office at 370 pound wow was that ever a shocker and I am little scared to actually weighed. My story is similar to everyone's story. I have gained so much weight over the last 10 yrs. its crazy looking back now. I am a reatilve care provider (which means I run my in home daycare) for my niece who is super adorable and turning 3 in july and two handsome nephews hayden who is turning 8 in july and christian who is 9. I want to start my family with my husband who I been with for 12 yrs and married the last 4yrs and I can't do that being so over weight and having the health issues I have from being my size. I also suffer from insomnia all the classic health issues one would suffer from being morbidly obese. I want and need to change for myself and for my health!! I am looking forward to being apart of this awesome support group..... 0
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Welcome to the newcomers! I've only been here a little while, but love this group immensely already!
My name is Becky, I just turned 40 and have a 14-month old little boy.I'm 5'2" and 283. I started at 290.4 about a month ago. I want to get healthy once and for all so that I can have the energy to keep up with my son and so I can be around for him for a long time.0 -
Welcome to the newcomers! I've only been here a little while, but love this group immensely already!
My name is Becky, I just turned 40 and have a 14-month old little boy.I'm 5'2" and 283. I started at 290.4 about a month ago. I want to get healthy once and for all so that I can have the energy to keep up with my son and so I can be around for him for a long time.
We
you already too, Becky! 0 -
So I beg you to help me. I need to know how I can help my family without making them mad at me? Where do I start after being on my butt for two years due to school and owning our own business it is so hard to know where to start? I am so scared that I will not be around to watch my kids marry or even graduate from high school. God bless.
Welcome Nellie!
I think you need to work on changing you first, gain your self-confidence and power back and then lead by example and make small changes in your family's life. Lead by example. Don't try to change everything all at once. Don't worry about them getting mad at you. You do what you need to do to make yourself happy. A happy and healthy Mama makes for a much better family life all around. They will see that eventually. You work on YOU and then they will follow. You children will become what you become. If you want them to change, you need to change yourself. Work on yourself first, the is the BEST gift you can give them.0 -
Hello, my name is Jodi. I am typing this through my tears, so please excuse any typos. I am 51 and 5ft 2.5in (have to get that extra half inch in there) and 3 weeks ago, I weighed 337. I have been heavy for most of my life, but not anything that I was alarmed with, I had never had any negative physical consequences from my weight, and up til about 5 years ago, I was pretty active. I even coached little league football and ran with the kids! I work for a large corporation as an instructional designer, so I am sitting for long periods at a time, but there was a lot of walking at our building going from meeting to meeting. At one point, I used a pedometer, and in a regular day, I would log almost a mile just at work! My employer started offering work from home offers, and I took advantage of it. For the past year, I have gone from 2 days at home to 4, and from 275lbs to 337 (EEK!!!) My husband is obese as well, and was recently diagnosed with pre-diabetes. We knew we had to do something, so to the nutritionist we went. Three weeks later, he is down almost 20lbs and at my last weigh in, I had lost 11.4lbs!!!
I know the majority of our weight loss has been water, and I know that the rate of loss will slow down, so I wanted to make sure I was connected to some online support for accountability and mutual support. I love MFP, it makes tracking so much easier! I am sticking with a 1,200 calorie diet, and my husband is sticking to 1,500, so we have made some major changes in the food we have in the house, and the recipes we fix.
I am looking forward to getting to know some of you who are dealing with the incredibly daunting task of losing so much weight! I want to feel like I can go hike, play and enjoy life with my grandkids!!!0 -
Hi Jodi! Welcome to the group.. daunting is right, but somehow it becomes easier when you are surrounded by people who feel the same way you do. Welcome! Jump in.0
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Welcome to all the new members. I completely understand how daunting losing a large amount of weight can be. You have found a wonderful group of women who are very supportive. It is also great here because we all have large amounts of weight to lose and have so many other things in common. You will love it here, I know I do!0
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Hi all. I posted on the standard introductions on MFP forums looking for friends with a lot of weight to lose. A lovely person invited me to join this group. Just thought I'd come and say hi and say you are welcome to add me as a friend.
I am Kate, from the UK, and I am 20 stone 11 pounds (291 pounds) and I want to get down to like, 168 pounds. A big kick to my confidence was the realisation that I have overweight for longer than I haven't over the course of my life. I am only 28. Plus my health is really taking a toll, I have constant knee and foot pain from the strain put on them by my weight.
Hope you are all well
x 0 -
I'm not quite sure how I managed to miss introducing myself, but I have. I'll have to see if I can pull together my journey tonight or this weekend... For me it is disjointed, and where I am now, I never was before, and where I was before, I'll never be again, so I'm all kinds of mixed up.
I'm Carly, 37, 5'4", 247 pounds (highest was between 335-350 - I never weighed to confirm the 350, but you can look at the photo evidence...). So many struggles on a minute by minute basis... I'll write again when I can pull my head together.0 -
Welcome Katykuns! And Carly I feel like you are an old member now! LOL. This is a terrific group for those needing to lose a lot of weight so hi to Katy.. and it's lovely to have a fellow UK person in the group. Apologies if I have missed others.0
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Hello.
I'm Audrey, I am 32 years old. I have been big for as long as I can remember. In 3rd grade my mom was buying my clothes from the "Plus Size Kid" section at JCPenney's.
I have a wonderfully supportive husband and two beautiful children who are 9 and 6.
I've "dieted" off and on (and mostly off) for years, but I've never consistantly lost weight (unless you count the time I was hospitalized for blood loss and on an IV diet).
I've been signed up for MFP for several years, but this is the first time I've stuck with it for more than a few days. I also started working out at the gym. It's been rough but in a way it hasn't been too, if that makes sense. I've had some aches and pains, but I've noticed an increase in my energy and a decrease in my appetiete. It's pretty awesome.
I quit drinking soda about 6 weeks ago. I cheated once (when I took my kids to a movie) but have been pretty consistant with it. I know that's made a huge difference in my life.
I really need to start focusing on better foods. I'm great with fruits, not so good with eating veggies. I refuse to NOT eat what I love, because past experiences tell me that trying to cut everything is my own personal recipe for failure. I'm doing pretty good with moderation.
I'm thankful to found this group. While I have an amazing husband I also have a not so amazing family and they haven't been very kind to me in my past, nor in my present state of wanting to address my weight issues. I know there are going to be days when I feel like I can't do this, and I need all the support I can get. I also look forward to supporting others in their journeys.
Now for statistics. I'm 32, 5'6" tall, and I weight 360 pounds. Sadly, this is the lowest I've weighed in about 7-8 years. My heighest documented weight was just over 400 pounds when I was pregnant with my son. I'm excited to lose weight, and can't wait to reach 350 which is my first "mini" goal (hey, getting on a scale without a visit to my doctors office would be awesome).0 -
Welcome Audrey! Nice to have you join the group!0
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Hello all,
My name is Zac. I am 6'3 and I weigh 415 pounds. For pretty much all of my life I have been overweight. By the end of seventh grade I was a little over 6'1 and 287 pounds. In high school I passed three hundred and settled in around 320. For years I hovered near that same weight (besides a brief stint at 260 while I lived in Brazil), but over the last 7 years or so it has been creeping up until it passed 440. I know I passed it because that is as high as my scale goes. Once that happened I knew I needed to make a real change. I needed to get down to a healthier weight.
My issue isn't so much not knowing what to do, it is just not doing it. My sister is a registered dietitian and she can get on me at times for my eating. What really did me in was my lack of exercise and my choice in foods. Sometimes I just chose to eat too much. I would go out to dinner with some friends and eat well, but on my way home I would pick up a burger. I didn't need it. I wasn't hungry, I just wanted it.
Another part of it is genetics. Both of my parents are large. I can't blame it completely, but for the years I weighed in at 280-320 I was as active as my friends and ate about the same as they did. I need to recognize that I cannot eat the same way as others and maintain my weight the way that they do. I am about 25 pounds into this journey and we will see where it leads me.0 -
Hi Zac, and welcome! If you find the dated daily thread, that's where most of us post. There's another man about your age, RatPat, who is doing really well and really stepping up his activity with walking and biking. Good to have you join us!
Karen in Maine0 -
Welcome Zac and Audrey! Amazingly supportive group here. Come see us on the check ins!
Carly in OK0 -
Hi. I'm very glad that I found this group this morning. Last week--the day before I joined--my husband said that he was going to bring up gastric bypass surgery for himself at his next doctor's appointment. I couldn't sleep that night. My first reaction was if he were to lose all of the weight why he would he still want me. My second reaction was maybe I should look into it too. I did because it is covered by my provincial health insurance, and then I read the book. I don't think that I could go through it and I'm scared of hospitals and being cut open. I searched the app store in one last ditch effort to find something that would work. I'd look into weight watchers before but we couldn't afford for both of us to join. I don't have the will power to do this unless I have someone to keep myself accountable. MFP is what I've found and since joining last week I've lost 4 lbs and I don't feel like I'm starving myself. I'm happy to have become friends with all the supportive people that I've found and hope that this will be a sustainable lifestyle change so that I stop yoyo from 250 to 280.
Cindy0 -
Adding my name to this list. I've struggled with my weight since high school, although my early struggles make me sad. I remember crying because I weighed 114 pounds in 9th grade, and my mom encouraging me to lose 5 pounds while it was easy. Thus began a career of not loving my body and never thinking I was good enough. Yay for me! LOL
I'm now 44, and have about 100 pounds left to lose. I started out a year and a half ago without any real plan. I just decided to start "eating half". I was dealing with some pretty intense foot and ankle pain, and knew that if I was ever going to get that under control, I need to reduce the amount of weight that foot and ankle was supporting. Baby steps in, and I lost 25 pounds without even realizing it. I kept up the momentum and lost a total of 60 pounds, but then had some big distractions - kidney surgery, moved into a new house, discovered the reason my foot and ankle hurt was because it was actually broken with a torn tendon and ligament (Yikes!) and took some time off my weight loss journey. I never felt I was "done" though, and never gave up. Just went on hiatus for a while.
I gained back about 15 pounds, but I'm back in the game again. So far, I'm down 10 of those fifteen pounds and still going forward. My main focus is eating less and moving more. I have a Fitbit and am doing a DietBet right now, and these help me stay focused. I'm hoping joining a group will give me one more layer of accountability.
I have joined weight watchers in the past, but I tend to not have much in common with the groups. I'm a pretty holistic type of person, too hippie to be mainstream and too mainstream to be a hippie. I eat natural foods but do most things in moderation. So if I want a bag of potato chips, I have a bag of potato chips. And, I want the real ones, with real fats, and real potatoes, fried crispy and delicious. But then I'll balance the rest of the day to accomodate that with lots of veggies or lean meats. I think real food tastes good and don't want to put the fake stuff in my mouth, even though I could have more if I wanted.
Getting long winded, but that's basically who I am. Looking forward to throwing my hat in the ring and seeing where it takes me.0 -
Welcome Carostad and Cindy,
Come see us in the daily check in posts - that is where we are most active. There is also a challenge about to start - and we are pretty easy on those...
So, welcome!
Carly in OK0 -
Welcome to all the new members! So glad you found us. Feel free to ask anything because as you will find out, I can almost guarantee at least one member, if not more, have been there done that. We all understand each other here. This is a very supportive group of people. Hope you love it here as much as I do.0
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Hello to all-My name is Jesse and I was 384 at my highest recorded weight. The lowest I got since then was 254, by hard work and determination, but now back in 300's. Due Nov 7th with out 3rd child and trying my best not to gain weight.
I had been looking up skin removal surgery for motivation as when I lost before the apron was already gross. Cant imagine how it will look WHEN(have to keep telling myself WHEN not IF) I get to a normal weight range so looking up reviews from those who lost the weight and also had the skin removed is great motivation to me. To imagine having a normal life one day. Able to run, not worry if I fit somewhere, not feel ashamed. I was looking up such things when I came across a post from this site. Realized I joined here a few years ago but I think for calorie counting after my first child, when I lost 98 lbs in 8 months once I was done nursing and felt I had m body back to myself. Planning to do the same this time but want to pass the 254. We are planning one more child but I want to reach at least 230 before that happens then once all done, lose it for good!!
I am 33 and have been over 230 since I was a teen and first became aware of numbers really. I was overweight as a child but never learned what calories meant or anything like that until about 6 years ago. Still, knowing something and being able and willing to do something about it are two different things. I would do well for periods then just give up on myself. Binge eating combined with large portions and emotional eating I would gain back weight at alarming rate.
My entire family is morbidly obese. I want to break the cycle. I don't want my children to grow up thinking its normal. I want them to have a chance at a real life, from the beginning. Living this way I feel I have this counterfeit life and I want to know what it is to really live. Not crippled by the extra weight on my body.
I am here for motivation and hopefully to get support as well as give it when I am able! 0 -
I've finally gained the courage to join this group. I never considered myself morbidly obese until I went to the doctor a year ago and when a got a copy of the diagnosis, one of the things listed was morbidly obese. I was horrified and depressed.
Growing up I was fairly active, but I always thought I was overweight mainly because everyone always commented on how thin my sister was. I became an emotional eater and it spiraled out of control when I was married to my first husband and I gained 70 pounds over 4 years. I lost about 40 of it after we divorced, but then gained it back plus 30 more during my next relationship and he kept bugging me about my weight and telling me how much we wanted a really skinny girlfriend. Fast forward, and I met my husband 3 years ago and he wants to lose weight with me and over the past 3 years, we haven't done anything about it. When his dad passed away last year, we both came to the realization that we have to do something now and that neither one of us wanted to be obese in our old age.
I bought myself a Fitbit and have really made a conscious effort to walk more especially since I work at a desk job for 9-10 hours a day. By changing my eating habits and cutting out breads, I've managed to lose 5 pounds but I still have a long, long way to go.0 -
Hi Beachgirl! Glad you joined us. There's a daily thread posted in the discussion list that most people post to. I'm still finding my way around here myself, but it's been a nice group.
It's interesting see your perspective here, knowing both you and your sister way back when. I never really thought much of your weight in high school. I was more obsessed with my own weight. I remember your sister being thin, but you were "average", tall, but average. I felt short and dumpy, and now even more so. Wish I could go back and tell that teen I was how awesome I looked, lol, at least from the perspective I have now. The voices in our heads are so unkind. I'm working really hard at changing that.
Looking forward to moving forward with you here. We can do this!0
