Hello! I'm new!

SweetNSassyMimi

Hello everyone! I am new at this so bear with me. I am 37 years old and have been on one diet or another all my life. I would do well for awhile and then something would happen and I would give up and turn to food to placate me. I have an unbelievable sweet tooth...lol...Chocolate is so addicting! I recently had a health scare and this prompted me to once again start dieting and taking it seriously. I stayed in my house for almost two years without leaving because of my lymphedema. This never got any better because the more depressed I got the more I snacked. I am not a big eater just a snacker. Which is just as bad. Anyway, after being hospitalized for cellulitus, I realized there how weak I had become. This led me to go into a therapy rehabilitation center for 2 months. During my stay there, I learned a lot about myself that I was missing. You see, I have am a very happy, talkative, sweet person, however when I got depressed I lost that in myself. While in the rehabilitation center I made a friend who had much the same problems physically that I did and I wanted to cry when I met her. I had never met anyone that had the same condiition I had so young. We had a lot in common and made fast friends. Suddenly, I felt my old personality coming out and I really got involved in my recovery and became very social once again. I started this journey in the middle of July this year when I weighed 508 lbs. In rehab, I lost 56 lbs by the time I went home in the end of September. In rehab I learned a lot of what i can do physically if i push myself. The old adage "if you don't use it , you will lose it" definitely applies here...lol. At the end of each day there i ached all over but it was worth it! Now that I am home I still have a therapist coming in to work with me every other day or so. She is great and so encouraging. As of my last doctors visit which was November 10th, I was down to 447lbs. It has been a constant struggle since I have been home. In rehab they made my meals for me and counted my calories but at home I have to keep track of it myself. I have a nutritionist that comes to work with me 2-3 times a month and she has been helpful with my reading of food labels and figuring correct food sizes to eat. She recommmended I keep a food diary and i have been but I keep missing days. I need to do this online and I learned about this site from her and decided it would be great to have some help calorie counting and maybe some people to talk to for support and recipe ideas that have worked for them. I would be happy with anything, I just hate doing this alone because I always feel like I am slipping off the diet wagon.
I need this to work so I can save myself and maybe get pieces of my ife back together. I have a great husband and lots of family and friends but a lot of them don't have to struggle with their weight like i do and it makes it hard. So, in closing, boy this was longer than I intended...lol...I would love to hear what anyone has to say!
:happy:

eamartin

Well WELCOME!
You will love it here. Everyone is really so supportive and encouraging! Im a heavy snacker and I never thought anything of it until I joined this site and started realizing how many calories I was snacking on in a day! You will do great here! Add me as a friend if you want.

LexiB001

Welcome. you will find great support and motivation here. its really helping me, just to read the message boards sometimes! plus this site is really addictive (i think). we are all here for the same reason, we all have bad days and we all go through this together. WE CAN DO IT!!

eamartin

Welcome. you will find great support and motivation here. its really helping me, just to read the message boards sometimes! plus this site is really addictive (i think). we are all here for the same reason, we all have bad days and we all go through this together. WE CAN DO IT!!

Exactly!! Nicely put!

rshunk

Welcome! I have found so much support and encouragement here! It is so nice to have someplace to go to talk to others who are on the same journey as you and are interested in how you are doing with it! Sometimes friends and family just don't get it, especially if they have never struggled with their weight before. Best to you on your journey! Feel free to add me as a friend!