Hi everyone!

Aunt_Kiki

Fifty pounds overweight here. 34 years old and all this extra baggage kinda snuck up on me. I have had the most horrible eating habits since my mother stopped feeding me when I moved out at 18 and it all went down hill from there. I have smoked for 17 years, I barely exercise, and the nutritional content of my food was almost non-existent- my favorite snack was Cheez-its and I would EASILY polish off a pint of Ben and Jerry's before bed probably twice a week. Massive carb addict. I had tried multiple times to quit smoking using the nicotine patches, but it never seemed to work.

This past Sunday, my boyfriend and his adult son were on Skype for the first time in a couple of years, and his son happened to mention how much weight it looked like we had gained. I knew I had been gaining weight, but I guess that was the actual moment I decided something needed to be done. I took Monday to finish off the last of my ice cream (hey, I had a goal but I couldn't let it go to waste!) and on Tuesday I started my very first diet EVER. Remember, I was in complete denial about how big I had gotten and just assumed I would lose weight "someday". I got in touch with the BF's son (did I mention he just happens to be a personal trainer - too bad there's so many miles between us) and got a meal plan started.

Tuesday was tough. I went through some serious sugar withdrawal headaches, my stomach was a mess and I kept having these weird hot and cold flashes, but I stuck with it, my only cheat being that I ate one flour tortilla with my chicken at lunch. I ran out of cigarettes in the morning but decided it was too late in the day to put on a patch, so I decided to try and make it to the next day with no nicotine. Wednesday brought an even worse headache, but my stomach seemed to adjust a little better to the huge influx of vegetables and my cheat that day was 1/2 c brown rice. That's when I decided I was going to add a small amount of carbs every day that was not already included in the food plan. By Thursday I was feeling better overall, and didn't feel like falling asleep at 3 pm like every other day of my life. Friday went well and by today, I seemed to have an overabundance of energy so I actually went to the gym for the first time in about 10 years. Five minutes on the elliptical (most torturous device ever) almost killed me so I went to the bike and rode 8 miles. I feel great! My sugar cravings are still the strongest but I'm able to power through them. I haven't smoked or used a patch since Tuesday and I don't think I'll need to. The water and veggies are taking care of that. I'm mainly posting on here for support - if I have someone to be accountable to, I'll be more likely to reach my goal. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope to have great news to report over the next few months!

sandypup1

Hi,
I just posted under sandypup1- newbie too. I too have gained 40, ten years older than you and raising teens, running them to sports, working, doing all the mom chores has put me last! Not taking care of myself. I had the opposite issue. Great shape for very long time, high school swimmer, then ran for years but in 40's started seeing the lbs come on quick. ugh. I'm not in menopause and don't smoke but do have sweet cravings. I know not to eat white anything but it's not easy to cut carbs, love bread! Anyway, please do your best to completely stop smoking. I was very close to my Nana and she smoke from 18-74 when she passed of lung cancer. So upsetting to see her so ill in the end. She was stunning, trim, elegant lady but the cigs cut her life short. Her eating habits were good, ate salads a lot and would have made it to 90 without the cigs. Don't be offended. You're doing the best thing for your well being! Good luck and there is someone else out here that is struggling with weight.