Hello!

Cathy7794

Hi everybody. Obviously, I'm new here and need to lose weight and make some lifestyle changes. My name is Cathy, I'm 41 years old, married and have 3 children. I've been "chunky" since I was a teenager...never what I personally would have considered obese or, as my doctor told me in December, morbidly obese! When I look in the mirror, I don't see someone who is morbidly obese. Sure, I see an overweight person who definitely has a little (ok, quite a bit) extra to hold on to. I don't feel fat (until I go clothes shopping ) and my husband makes me feel like I'm a super model. While pregnant for my last child in 2003, I hit my highest weight ever; 214 pounds. Since then, I've added another 6 pounds on top of that. In December I found out that I have high blood pressure and my cholesterol levels were a little high. That was when my doctor told me that I was morbidly obese. I left the doctor's office and went to my car and cried. I felt so old and so fat! :sad: I had always felt much younger than what I am and always thought that I ate fairly healthy. I've never been much for exercise though; and I had to admit to myself that what I did eat, was often in excess. And, I had been a smoker since the age of 17. I spent the next week terrified that my heart was just going to explode in my chest when I smoked a cigarette or ate piece of cake. It was awful! When I went back to the doctor a week later, she assured me that my heart would not explode in my chest and she put me on a plan to lose at least 10 pounds and to quit smoking by June of this year. Merry Christmas to me!! :grumble:

So, here I am in the middle of March....I quit smoking a month ago (yay Chantix!), cut out all soda and sugary drinks (former Mt. Dew addict here.) and am now down to 206 pounds! I try to get in some type of exercise at least 3 days a week. We've got a family membership to our local rec center and have access to gym equipment, swimming, and roller skating. I started out almost a month ago with walking on the treadmill. The first few times, I was done after about half a mile. I'm now up to 2 miles @ 4mph. :happy: I have also, just this past week, added some strength training. So far, I'm loving it. A little sore, but not too bad.

Anyway, those are the basics of me. I do have a couple questions though, for those of you who have been here a while.

1. Do you always eat your extra calories from exercise?

2. Do you only count your calories burned from actual workouts or do you also count calories from everyday activities? Things such as yard work, bike rides with the kids, mopping the kitchen floor, etc.

Sorry for the rambling...and the possible over usage of the smileys. :laugh: I do love them! Thanks for reading and hopefully you all can pass on some helpful tips and advice to a newbie.:bigsmile:

scubavic

Hi Cathy!

I did this website in 2010, but I wasn't very motivated. I never took advantage of the message board either. Last year I joined WW and lost 25lbs. I was starting to feel good. Then the holidays hit, got busy and quit WW. Now I've gained back 15lbs and feel awful.:sick:

A little bit about me. I just turned 44 two weeks ago. I weigh 235 lb and am 5'7". Like you, I'm "fluffy", got extra to hold on to, but don't feel morbidly obese (but that's the category I'm in too). I've had incredibly high cholesterol for about 10 yrs and haven't done much about it. I also have been diagnosed with a fatty liver. Again, I haven't done much to fix that. I use to be a teacher, but I quit about 2 yrs ago and went back to school to be a paralegal. I am doing an internship 3 days a week right now until May. Then hopefully I'll get a full time job. I need to get motivated.

In October I am going to England to my brother's wedding and I want to look good. I don't need to be super model skinny, but I want to not look preggers!

I am starting this program again today. I am going to be successful this time! I am also starting my exercise program today. I went for a 37 min walk - 2 miles. Tonight I am going to workout on the bow-flex with my hubby. He needs to lose about 25-30 lbs so we are going to do it together. you know it is really sad when I own a bow-flex, and a tread-climber and they just sit there and gather dust!

vicki:flowerforyou:

audreygonzy

Good for you!! I came to MFP to get into shape and try to control my weight more but seeing stories like yours are inspiring. You seem so determined! In regards to your questions I used to always eat my extra work out calories. When I would exercise I saw t as a ticket to eat even more.:blushing: I now know that if you don't eat them, it helps make the journey to lose weight even easier!:happy: When I don't make it to the gym I try to go for a walk, bike, or even bowl. These are things I count but I don't include things like house or yard work because these are part of my daily life and how I set my lifestyle (normal daily activity) in the beginning of setting up MFP. I hope this helps with something! Best of luck!:flowerforyou:

Cathy7794

Thanks ladies! My story, inspiring? Aww, shucks.:blushing: Thank you. I'm just trying my hardest and hoping it pays off. I just hate that it takes so long so SEE the results of the hard work. I can definitely feel it though. Best of luck to both of you also and thanks again for the warm welcome!